Tom George graduated from Princeton in 2018 and is currently set to race 3-seat in the Great Britain M8+ at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
What inspired you to go to your first rowing practice; was there anything memorable about it?
I’m not sure what it was that truly inspired me to start rowing. I always had a lot of energy growing up and sport became a real vice for me to control that. Initially I saw rowing as an opportunity to get into good shape for other sports. It was certainly a love/hate relationship to start with - loved racing, hated training. I was 16 when I had my road to Damascus moment and realized I was far better at rowing than any other sport.
Was there a practice, race or other event when you fell in love with the sport, or when you knew you might not be too bad at rowing? When you thought you could make the national team?
My ongoing romance with the sport stems from competing at Henley in high school. What an event. What a regatta. As a young boy it was absolutely mesmerizing. A Gladiatorial tête-à-tête steeped in tradition at a week long festival of speed.
I don’t think I ever really thought I could make it onto a national team until I had done U23 a couple of times and trained a bit with the GB senior team. I raced junior worlds, but that was only really a starting point. It would have been phenomenally naive to think I was set for the highest echelons of the sport off the back of juniors. It did, however, allow me to acknowledge how much I enjoyed rowing (and racing) at a competitive level.
Best race/practice, worst race/practice?
Best Race - I quite like the adage that you are only as good as your last race. Fortunately that was a good one for us: The final at WCII this year - an absolute barn burner to the line following a last minute crew change. It’s somewhat of a dream in elite rowing to have to go at it that hard with another crew and to be, essentially, equals.
Best Practice - A good old fashioned Waka Waka on Carnegie under the watchful eyes of GC Hughes.
Worst Race - Despite my poetic musings about Henley, I have never won the regatta. Raced 9, won 0 (is this the worst EVER record by an athlete?). So pick any one of those haunting occasions.
Worst Practice - 3x2 miles. Again under the gaze of GCH!
Best/Anything you've done in the sport no one knows about?
I am actually the volunteer fire safety officer for the GB Rowing Team. So that keeps me busy between sessions.
Any/Most important advice for young rowers?
Rome wasn’t built in a day - it takes time to develop in this sport. But persevere with it and enjoy the process. Rowing can take you to some amazing places and introduce you to some amazing people. Let it.
Hometown: Cheltenham, GBR
Club Affiliation: Leander Club
Date of Birth: September 22, 1994
Height: 6'4"
High School: Radley College
Education: Princeton University, 2018
Current Coach: Steve Trapmore
National Teams: Eight - Junior, 2012; Under 23, 2014, 2015, 2016; Senior 2017, 2018, 2019; Olympic, 2020
International Results: Tom has been part of the men’s eight for the 2018 and 2019 seasons, winning two World Cup silver medals, European silver, two World Championships bronze medals and World Cup gold.
Comments | Log in to comment |
There are no Comments yet
|
row2k's Olympics coverage is brought to you by:
row2k's Olympics coverage is brought to you by: