Cambridge University Boat Club rower George Bourne looking to make up for Paris Olympics omission at Boat Race
Whatever the result on Sunday, George Bourne will forever be grateful for the opportunity to compete in this year’s Boat Race.
By his own admission, the last 18 months have thrown up some psychological challenges for the former Isle of Ely Rowing Club member.
A world silver medalist as a member of the Great Britain men’s quad in 2022 and also a part of the same boat that booked its place at the Paris Olympics 12 months later, it appeared that Bourne was well on course to appear in the French capital.
And yet that dream was ultimately painfully quashed by the selectors – leaving Bourne to watch events unfold on the biggest stage of them all from home.
However, rather than wallow in self pity, Bourne has embraced life as part of Cambridge University Boat Club and his reward is a place in the Blue Boat this weekend.
He said: “Missing the Olympics was a change in the trajectory that I had been on because I’d been a world silver medalist in the quad and we qualified that quad in 2023.
“I thought I was on that path but that didn’t work out and I ended up in the single, trying to qualify in quite a short period of time, which didn’t happen. Mentally that was something to try to bounce back from.
“It’s not that I lost my love for rowing and I’m keen that missing out on the Olympics is not something that defines me.
“I still had a good time, I won a world silver medal and had been going really well.
“Yes there was a blip, nobody wants to miss an Olympics and that definitely was a setback. It knocked me psychologically because it wasn’t something that I expected to happen at the start of the year in 2024.
“But the Boat Race is so separate from anything else, having that goal is completely new and it means I haven’t had to dwell on anything.
“I’ve been able to pick myself back up and I continue to love rowing like I always have done.”
The impact of chief men’s coach Rob Baker on Bourne should also not be overlooked.
The two have been in contact since 2019, and the 27-year-old has appreciated the guidance and support.
Bourne, who was in the same class as England’s opening batsman Zak Crawley and England rugby player Ben Earl at Tonbridge School, added: “Fundamentally he’s just a great guy. He’s honest, he’s transparent and then on top of that you add in a real knowledge of moving all boats, but especially eights and in the context of a Boat Race, it’s kind of the perfect blend.
“He creates a squad with a great culture and happy athletes.
“He’s had to make really big decisions all year and I’m sure it’s the same every year, but I watch him do it with openness and honesty.
“It adds so much to us as athletes to see someone like him operate at such high standards – that raises our level.
“He’s been massive for me. I’ve had a relatively difficult last couple of years with rowing and you forget all of that quite quickly when you’re working with Rob because it’s fun and deliberate as well. Everything has got a focus and a plan.
“I’m sure it’s not been intentional, but Rob and the programme have been a massive part of me bouncing back from the Olympics disappointment. It’s given me a chance to focus on something new and exciting. He’s been great and I’m so grateful to him.”
Bourne, who will be one of five Peterhouse students in the men’s boat, would love to repay Baker’s faith by delivering a sixth Cambridge victory for the men’s crew in the last seven years.
And as far as he is concerned, that achievement would sit atop of his impressive rowing CV.
“I genuinely think making it into the Blue Boat is right up there already. I was thinking that not even when I got the Blue Boat uni suit, but just the uni suit to race for Cambridge for the first time this season – that was massive,” he said.
“I remember being given my first vest to race for the county and definitely my first GB vest and my first World Championships.
“Even just representing Cambridge in the first fixture, those milestones are all so important to me.
“It’s such a personal thing because you know the effort that you’ve put in to earn that selection.
“To be representing Cambridge, it’s one of my proudest moments in the sport. And to make the Blue Boat as well is huge. To go on and win it would probably top the lot.”
A Cambridge victory would also be the source of great pride for the Isle of Ely, where Hauxton-raised Bourne spent his formative years in a boat.
The club also helped 2017 Women’s Boat Race winner Holly Hill to learn her trade, with Bourne eager to follow that example.
He said: “Ely was really big for me. I went there when I was just coming out of the stage of being a beginner and it was my first taste of being a full-time athlete.
“It’s definitely an amazing place to train. It was formative for me and gave me a sense of rowing and being an athlete.
“We were opposite Cambridge University’s Boathouse and so the Boat Race was one of the first big things in rowing that came on to my radar.
“I remember being sat in a store cupboard while working at a restaurant in the centre of Cambridge watching the 2017 Boat Race. The images of Ely of that time, I still remember the exact video that was used in the build up.
“It definitely inspired me and showed me the opportunities that rowing could bring.
“It was massive being there on the Ely Straight, knowing what potentially could happen. I feel like I’ve come full circle in many ways.
“It was something that right from the outset I wanted to do and some of that was down to Holly. She was an inspiration of how that could work and what it would look like.”
