Two races, two golds - Woolnough on 'awesome' debut
Rower Fergus Woolnough has said it was an "awesome feeling" to win two gold medals in his first two senior races for Great Britain. Woolnough was part of the men's eight crew that took gold at the European Championships in Bulgaria and the World Rowing Cup in Italy, two weeks later.The 22-year-old was only selected for the squad for the first time in April. "Even being selected for the boat feels like a massive accomplishment and then going out to races and being able to deliver some really good performances, that is an awesome feeling," Woolnough told BBC Radio Gloucestershire."It makes all the very cold windy mornings through the winter worth it."
Woolnough, from Gloucester, grew up playing rugby union for his local club in Dursley, but it was a PE teacher at his school who recommended he try rowing because of his height. He was pointed in the direction of a talent-spotting session in the sport."For a long time I was very much under the impression I was going to go the way of rugby, but I'm very glad I didn't choose that way," Woolnough said."It's worked out amazingly for me. It's the first year of the cycle but even now it's been amazing, the journey I've had. Everywhere I've been, the things I've done, the places I've been able to row.""I can't wait to hopefully continue for a long time."Woolnough went on to attend Hartpury College and University before completing his studies at Oxford Brookes University, where his rowing experience and exposure increased. "It's a very weird thing thinking I started when I was just 15 at school doing a bit of sport and now it's my job and my life," he said.
Next up for Woolnough is the second regatta of the World Cup series in Switzerland from 27-29 June.Great Britain are the reigning Olympic champions in the men's eight and with two wins to their name in 2025 so far, Woolnough said the challenge now was to keep the standard high."Winning the first couple of races this season has been a really good start but I think the guys in the eight last year won a lot of races," he said. "We've continued having a target on the men's eight's back for the time being, we've got to keep improving and hopefully keep winning to keep that."
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