Rahul Marchand
Squads
Boat Race History
- 2024 Oxford Men’s Lightweight Boat
About Rahul:
What course are you studying and what level?
Engineering Science MEng
Why did you chose that course?
Engineering is about solving problems in the world around you and that’s what I’d like to do. I also like the breadth of the course.
When, where and why did you start rowing? And what do you love about the sport?
I started rowing at school in 2019. I loved the challenges of progressing physically and technically. I’ve since made a bit of a detour to the coxing seat.
What was your first rowing club and coach?
SPSBC was my first rowing club and my first rowing coach was Douglas Perrin.
What or who was the earliest sporting inspiration you remember as a child?
Rowing-wise I remember watching the 2016 Rio Olympics and not really knowing what the sport was at all. I didn’t really think much about it for a couple of year then until I tried it in 2019.
How has rowing and being part of the Boat Race squad impacted your life?
It has been a very rewarding experience. Though it has made life a little hectic during term sometimes I’ve so far been able to balance rowing alongside the rest of my life.
If you weren’t a rower, what sport do you think you’d excel at?
I’ve wanted to give running a proper go for a while. I just haven’t had enough time to train properly with all the coxing and rowing. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’d excel but it would definitely be a lot less of an uphill struggle than rowing was at 55kg.
What is your favourite non-academic book?
I recently read Ethics in the Real World which was very interesting.
