Oscar McGuinness - Rowing

I was never particularly good at any sports I tried when I was going through school, and I tried almost all of them. Rowing found me in 2015 in high school and I took to it quickly. Rowing is one of those sports where whatever you put in is exactly what you’ll get out of it which meant that drive and work ethic beats natural ability almost every time. Outside of school I made the 2017 South Australian state team which lead to receiving a SASI rowing scholarship and since then I’ve competed at five World Cup Regattas, two World Championships and the 2024 Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta.

My rowing career began as a lightweight athlete which meant I was required to weigh in at 70kgs prior to racing. After failing to qualify the lightweight double scull the 2023 world championships, and with the announcement that lightweight rowing was to be entirely removed from the games after Paris 2024, I transitioned to heavy weight rowing. As a heavyweight I rowed the double scull at the World Cup with SASI athlete (and my best mate) Mitch Reinhard where we were able to qualify for the A final. I think that will always be one of my best memories in this sport.

Questions

The best thing about being a SASI Athlete:

Having access to world class facilities.

My favourite food to fuel me as an Athlete:

Pizza.

My favourite movie:

About Time.

My favourite colours:

Blue.

My sporting hero and why:

Tony McGuinness: than the fact that has my dad, as captain of Adelaide Crows he kicked the first goal for the team in their AFL history.

My favourite possession:

My 1999 Holden Rodeo.

The sporting activity I most like performing:

Racing.

If I wasn’t doing my current sport I would like to be:

A firefighter.

The most important things in life:

The people you live it with.

My ambassador activity tip:

Try to participate in a sport that has a positive community built around it, it shouldn’t always just be about the exercise.

My favourite way to keep active:

Walking the dog.

The sport I like watching the most:

Cricket.

What sporting success looks like:

Being able to walk away knowing that you’ve turned every stone and given it your absolute all.

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