Master’s student David Ambler (2021, MSc Social Science of the Internet) will be rowing at second oar in this year’s Boat Race on Sunday.

The high-profile race attracts interest and support from across the globe, with millions of people tuning in to watch on TV and thousands more spectating from the banks of the Thames. The Jesus community will no doubt be looking on with pride and nerves in equal measure as David and his fellow Oxford oarsmen take to the water for one of sport’s greatest competitions.

 

David is only 24 but already has a serious collection of rowing medals and cups to his name – not least his 2019 gold medal from the U23 World Rowing Championships, where he was part of the winning GB Men’s Coxless 4. The sport is obviously in his blood. “I started rowing when I was 11” says David, “ My older sister, who studied Medicine at St Peters, rowed for our local club – Tideway Scullers in Chiswick – and I would go along to watch her and I knew it was something I wanted to try . I also joined the club and loved it. Rowing was a huge part of school life when I joined St Paul’s, which is on the Boat Race course (near Hammersmith Bridge), and I rowed there for five years.”

David headed next to Harvard University, to take an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Economics. Harvard is renowned for excellence in both academic studies and sporting achievement, making it the perfect choice for the keen young rower. He says, “The Harvard Men’s rowing team was big – there were about 50 guys – but everyone got on really well. We trained twice a day and most of the team lived together, so we were all very close”. One of those team mates was fellow 2022 Oxford crew member Liam Corrigan (Bow) who is studying for a Master’s in Financial Economics at Oriel. “Liam was in the year above me, but we got to know each other through rowing,” he explains. “It’s been great to come to Oxford, and compete with someone I already knew and got along with really well.  I also know Charlie Elwes (sixth oar and another Oriel graduate student), who was at Yale at the same time I was at Harvard.”

David also competed for GB in the U23 World Rowing Championships every summer during his time at Harvard, and in 2019 he was part of the Men’s Coxless 4’s winning crew. “It was a great feeling to win the championships that year”  he remembers. “We got along incredibly well as a crew which made the whole experience really enjoyable, and it was an accomplishment we had all been working towards for many years. To win after coming 3^rd and 2^nd the years before was certainly special“.

 

After Harvard, David returned to the UK and rowed for Oxford Brookes University in 2020-21. But he also wanted to pursue his academic studies, having really enjoyed his undergraduate degree: “My undergraduate degree was focused in psychology and sociology. It was an area I had really enjoyed studying which is why I looked to continue to explore it at Oxford.”  In September 2021 he joined Jesus College as a graduate student, and became a member of the Oxford University Boat Club. He found out he’d been selected for the Men’s Blue Boat in March.

 

Former British Olympic Rowing gold medallists, Oxford alumni and Boat Race veterans Peter Reed OBE and Andrew Triggs-Hodge OBE, both of whom are personal heroes of David, have been in touch in the build up to the race. He says, “They’ve both come down to meet the crew, to give us advice and lend their support, which was amazing. Each was on a winning Boat Race team during their time at Oxford, and even though they went on to achieve great things as triple gold-winning Olympians, both Pete and Andy said the Boat Race was one of their most memorable races.”

Now, a few months on, and with the Boat Race just days away, David is carefully navigating the challenges of managing a heavy pre-race training schedule alongside his studies. So how does he find time for everything? “I think it’s important to try and maintain a balance in life, to make time for other things as much as possible” he says. “Social time, family time, study and sport are all important but a degree of prioritisation is required. At the moment, we’re training twice a day, six days a week, and I’m working on my thesis, but after the Boat Race, I’m looking forward to spending more time in College, and seeing friends and family.”

 

For now, the Boat Race crew are David’s family, and their camaraderie is strong. He explains, “There’s over a 10-year age gap between the oldest and youngest members of the team, which could cause disparity, but actually the wide range of our experience really helps. We’ve got guys who’ve won world championships and who are two-time Olympians rowing alongside first year undergraduates. It’s a real melting pot of personalities and people but we’re all friends. Everyone brings their own attributes to the table – no one is the star.”

And is winning important? “As a boat we’re just starting to realise that it’s about the process as much as the outcome, and not worrying about what the opposition is doing. We’ve trained for a long time for this race, and I think success is when we achieve the goals we’ve set out to meet.  If we have our best race on April 3rd but Cambridge win, we will have still achieved a lot”.

While it’s still too soon for David to think about life after rowing or which career path he might follow, he’s certain that he want to keep competing for the next few years. “After the Boat Race and when I’ve completed my Master’s, I want to commit to rowing full-time. There’s the Paris Olympics in 2024, and LA Olympics in 2028, so my ambition is to stick with it and see what happens.” He’s already moved up to the GB Seniors Division, and taken part in several races as part of the GB Men’s Coxless 4’s.

 

“The nature of the Boat Race means you’re totally focused, and we know that anything can happen during those twenty minutes – there could be swimmers in the water or protesters along the bank as in previous years. You need a close knit team to deal with those things effectively.”

And is winning important? “As a boat we’re just starting to realise that it’s about the process as much as the outcome, and not worrying about what the opposition is doing” says David. “We’ve trained for a long time for this race, and I think success is when we achieve the goals we’ve set out to meet.  If we have our best race on April 3rd but Cambridge win, we will have still achieved a lot”.

While it’s still too soon for David to think about life after rowing or which career path he might follow, he’s certain that he want to keep competing for the next few years. “After the Boat Race and when I’ve completed my Master’s, I want to commit to rowing full-time. There’s the Paris Olympics in 2024, and LA Olympics in 2028, so my ambition is to stick with it and see what happens.” He’s already moved up to the GB Seniors Division, and taken part in several races as part of the GB Men’s Coxless 4’s.

With senior world championships and world cups every year, there’s a lot for David to look forward to.  And on Sunday afternoon at around 3.20pm, the whole Jesus Community will be looking forward to watching the Oxford Blue’s as they power-off from Putney and race the 4.5 mile course. Maybe, for one day only, we’ll Bleed Dark Blue as well as Bleed Green!

Coverage of the 167^th Boat Race on Sunday April 3^rd begins at 13.50 on BBC 1. Keep a look out for an interview with David and fellow crew member Jack Roberston (Green Templeton) which was filmed in College earlier this month, and which will be broadcast during the coverage.