Sole College gold medallist makes a splash at assembly
23 Sep 2021
The only Olympic gold medallist in College history – Sam Bosworth (13830) – has returned on Wednesday to address assembly.
Sam – the coxswain for the triumphant men’s rowing eight at the Tokyo Olympics – has spoken to the boys, alongside Olympic coach – and Mathematics teacher – Tony O’Connor.
Sharing his remarkable journey from Maadi Cup to Olympic glory, Sam has reminded the boys that “success as a team is down to excellence every day”.
Referencing a quote about winning a gold medal, Sam also highlights that “if you’re not enough without it, you’ll never be enough with it”.
Sam, who splits his time between rowing towards the next world championships and his role as a project manager and town planner in Auckland, has urged the boys to be “confident in your ability” and “don’t be afraid to fail and learn from those failures”.
He says we all need to “turn up every day at our best and take everyone else on the journey”, and always “trust and believe in each other” and follow your dreams.
Now 27, Sam coxed his College crew to win the Maadi Cup in 2012 and was a member of Corfe House – following in the footsteps of his father, Peter (9001) – from 2008–2012.
Tony, who returns to teaching at College next term after coaching the eight to gold, says that winning at the Olympics has felt the same as winning the Maadi Cup, explaining that the actual “journey is very special”.
He highlights to the boys the importance of focusing on things we can do better day to day – not the outcome, explaining that “what you do today determines what you do tomorrow”.