Georgina Grant

Club OUWBC

Year of Birth 1998

Hometown Tunbridge Wells

Nationality British

College Harris Manchester

Undergrad/Graduate Masters

Year 2nd

What are you studying? MPhil History of Science, Medicine and Technology

What is the most interesting part of your course? Do you have any professional or academic plans after? I’m studying the history of pandemics in the Covid era. I’m also writing my thesis on the development of national fitness with women’s sport in 1930s Britain.

Future ambitions? After I have graduated I would like to travel. I particularly want to develop my spiritual side and spend some time devoting myself to unpaid labour and meditating on an ashram in the Himalayas. I might also spend some time trekking or cycling through the mountains. I want to set up a cake shop by the sea and get a sausage dog. The shop will also double up as a yoga retreat and teammate Martha will share the business selling handcrafted goods. Beyond this I want to row the ocean with some teammates.

How do you balance rowing and academic life? Fuelled by coffee and my weekly planner.

When did you start rowing, and why? In 2011 I was invited to what I thought was a kayaking session, which turned out to be a learn to row course. A decade later here we are. I soon learnt to get competitive and enjoyed the sense of independence. The feeling of being out on the middle of a lake as a teenager was so freeing and fun. I also loved the travelling side of it - I got to go on training camps abroad and saw lots of new places and met lots of new people. It really broadened my world as a young person.

What was your first club? Bewl Bridge Rowing Club

What is your favourite part of rowing for Oxford? It’s being part of the historic legacy of the Boat Race, particularly with regards to developing women’s representation in the sport (and being part of a group of women that want to continue that) and also my amazing teammates. It’s cool being part of a rivalry that is so old but still means so much to the current athletes.

What’s your rowing history, and what has been your biggest achievement so far? In 2015 I took sixth place in the Junior World Rowing Championships in Rio de Janeiro, W4. I was in the Oxford Brookes University Boat Club 2016-2017. In 2020 I was selected for the Oxford Blue Boat. My biggest achievement is probably being selected for the 2020 Boat Race after taking a couple of years out for injury and to focus on my undergrad. I’m so glad I took up the sport again because I have discoverered a further depth of strength and resilience I didn’t know I had, particularly in the Covid era.

Have you raced in the Boat Race before? If yes, when? No, I should have this year but Covid happened.

Your favourite race so far? Henley Women’s Regatta

Do you have any race day habits or superstitions? I consume copious amounts of caffeine. The coach has to say ‘have a good one’ as we boat. I must have chocolate milk ready for after the race.

Your sporting idol? Rosie Mayglothing for all her pioneering work on women’s rowing

What gets you through a tough session? Do you have a mantra, rituals? Boat snacks and knowing that I am pulling hard for my teammates.

Any hobbies, other interests outside rowing? Blogging, baking brownies and roller skating with teammate Martha.

How do you motivate yourself and your team-mates, especially with Covid restrictions? Lots of brownies and staying focused on the end goal.