Next up in our preview of the 2025 spring collegiate season is an interview with Jacksonville senior Nathan Fletcher. We chat with Fletcher on starting rowing in South Africa, medaling at junior worlds, and more.

row2k - How did you get your start in rowing?

Nathan Fletcher - The reason I got into rowing was because it was the last available sport that opened for participation at my school. I was 12 and had very few friends and not much passion for anything because to me, it seemed I had no natural talent for anything I tried. So I figured I would go give this absolutely alien sport I knew nothing about a try as a last resort to try to be good at something and find a community to be a part of. When I realized everyone started on equal footing because rowing is such a unique movement, I was hooked because I was finally equal to all the other guys and could see how talent played very little in rowing success. It was the first sport where I felt if I worked hard, I would actually get better at it.

I remember dedicating myself more to trying to make the top boat of my age division than I had dedicated myself to anything in my entire life before that. When I got into the boat and felt my work validated for what felt like the first time in my life, I knew I would be sticking around for the long haul.

row2k - You’re in your senior year at Jacksonville; how did you end up there from South Africa?

Nathan Fletcher - I never intended on studying in the US because to me I didn’t think I was quick enough for most of my time as a rower, but in my last year of junior rowing I was placed in a pair with a partner much quicker than I was and I was forced to really step up so as to not let him down. Stepping up for the pair in my last school season helped me get into the SA junior squad and, when I went to Tokyo for the race in 2019 and got silver, it occurred to me that other people were being recruited for much less than what I had achieved so I thought I would give recruitment a shot.

I had some pretty specific criteria for what I wanted in a university (D1, small, by the ocean) and JU had all of that, plus coach Preston who recruited me is just an amazing man so I thought regardless of how my college rowing experience could turn out to be in terms of pure results, I would be surrounded by good people who were concerned for me as more than just an athlete, but as a person and so I chose to come to Jacksonville.

row2k - You raced and won a silver medal at the 2019 Junior World Champs, what was that experience like?

Nathan Fletcher - That experience was simply life changing. I remember struggling to get into the squad and specifically the 4+, because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it but after deciding to give it my all, I managed to get in at the last minute. It was amazing because I learned that the journey is so much more important than the destination. During the build up to junior worlds I learned so much about myself and about life that has stuck with me ever since and will stick with me forever.

RSA JM4+ in 2009, Fletcher in bow

The event itself was also amazing, Tokyo is the most incredible city and to see the fierce competition was awesome. When we showed up, it was almost scary at first because everyone else just seemed to have 2 heads of height on me and an extra 10 kilograms, which was not something I was used to, being one of the bigger guys back home. After that initial realization, I just kept myself calm with the thought of how much we had prepared, and that at the end of the event one boat has to win so why couldn’t it be us? Unfortunately we just missed out on the win by 0.3 seconds but even getting on the podium was a surreal feeling because it was a validation of all the sacrifices I had made to be there, and not just the sacrifices in that season, but in every season I had raced in since 2013.

row2k - What do you like most about the sport of rowing?

Nathan Fletcher - I like that hard work equals results and that there isn’t much room for luck. The fact that what I put in is very close to what I get out really appeals to me. I also like the introspection rowing allows on longer rows when you get in the flow state and you get to reflect on life and your thoughts while also trying to master your stroke. Then on pieces when you dig deeper than you think you can and then have the ability to take that out into the world when life gets tough is why I love rowing. It really has a unique way of revealing you to yourself in my opinion.

row2k - What has been your most memorable race and why?

Nathan Fletcher - I would say the 2018 SA School Champs 1st 8 race. My school’s 1st 8 had been having a hugely disappointing season not living up to our expectations at all. We had consistently been coming 6th-8th in the races that season when historically my school is a contender. Similarly to the IRA here, the only race everyone wants to win is the last one of the season, SA Champs. Even if we had lost every race before that, to win SA champs meant the season was a blowout success.

Over the course of the season, as it got to crunch time we figured that because the same crew kept winning they wouldn’t know how to race from behind, so we raced the start as if it was a go for home, to get ahead as quick as possible. After the start sequence, when I took a peek out of the corner of my eye, I saw the other crews all falter when they realized we had the bow deck on them. That gave me more gas to keep it up, and we just charged on down to win a race people had said we didn’t deserve to be in and had completely written us off for. Nothing has come close to that feeling and that was honestly the race that started me on my journey to row overseas.

row2k - How has this season gone, and what are your goals for the spring?

Nathan Fletcher - So far the season has been good! Fall was awesome with a lot of PRs all around the team and we are very excited to race this spring season. Our biggest goal is that we want to qualify for IRAs again after doing so last year, but we know that with the new bid structure, and the bid at SIRA being taken to Dad Vail, it will be a little tougher this year. We are very excited for the challenge. That type of adversity is what makes us better athletes.

row2k - What are you studying at Jacksonville and do you have any plans for after graduation?

Nathan Fletcher - I am studying exercise science and kinesiology. After graduation I want to go back home and hopefully study physiotherapy in South Africa and continue rowing for the university I go to. We don’t have eligibility years, and I don’t feel like stopping rowing quite yet, so my big plan is to go home to basically continue doing what I’m doing now until I become a qualified physiotherapist. Once I’m qualified as a physio, I’ll probably hang my up oar, but I’ve been learning that rowing has a strange way of drawing you back in even when you think you’re done, so who knows what the future has in store.