Athlete Profile: Felix Drinkall

Name

Felix Drinkall

Course

DPhil Engineering Science

College

Wolfson

Sport

Rowing

Club

Oxford University Boat Club

Highest Competition Level

International representation 

Best Achievement

U23 World Champion 2019 

Short Term Aspirations

Win the Boat Race 

Long Term Aspirations

Win the Olympics 

How did you get into the sport?

I was fortunate enough to get into rowing at school. It was an informal post-class activity that mainly involved drifting down the Thames, eating ice-cream and playing football. This slowly developed into a sport that was taken seriously and we began to get more competitive. 

How has the Blues Performance Scheme helped you?

The Blues Performance Scheme has helped me structure my strength training better with brilliant 1-on-1 coaching with my coach Tiahan. Along with this, I have had access to nutritional and psychological training that has helped me focus on what I do off the water as well as on it. 

What is your advice on balancing sport and academia?

I don't feel I have much advice to give when it comes to balancing the two. I find the more that you have to complete the more efficient you get and the easier it becomes. So by that logic, my advice would be to try and you'll learn what you have to do.

How have you managed training during lockdown?

When we were told that the Boat Race was cancelled it certainly took the wind out of our sails. I needed some time to come to terms with this, so I did not even think about training for a couple of weeks. When it came to training again, OUBC had kindly lent equipment to all athletes before the lockdown so I was lucky to have a indoor rowing machine. Having scrolled through eBay, Amazon, etc. and used bit of imagination I also acquired my own weights set. Both of these have put me in a fortunate position, however the biggest struggle has been finding motivation to train away from the team. To combat this, I'm logging my training with a group of friends at OUBC as well as joining in in family yoga sessions to stave off boredom.