Charlie Marcus

Club CUBC Men

Year of Birth 1999

Hometown Hampton, UK

Nationality British

College Trinity

Undergrad/Graduate Undergraduate

Year 3rd

What are you studying? Engineering

What is the most interesting part of your course? Do you have any professional or academic plans after? It’s very hard. A week of training has around the same number of hours as a 9-5 job. Every minute of the day has to be maximised so that I get more both academically and in a rowing sense than others. This involves planning a day almost minute by minute months in advance in order to fit in lab time, training and supervisions.

When did you start rowing, and why? I began in 2013 because my older brother and sister had started and they enjoyed it.

What was your first club? Hampton School.

What is your favourite part of rowing for Cambridge? The common goal we all have as a team. Our boat club exists for one reason, to beat Oxford every year. Every squad member shares this goal, which really brings everyone close together. The race means so much to everyone and this creates a very competitive yet positive atmosphere in the club.

What’s your rowing history, and what has been your biggest achievement so far? The 2016 Coupe De La Jeunesse double gold for GB in junior men’s eight and the Isis/Goldie 2019 win. The biggest achievement is being selected for the 2020 Cambridge men’s Blue boat. Despite not racing, the scale of the Boat Race means that just being selected far outweighs anything else I’ve achieved. I’ve aimed to race the Boat Race since I was 15 and to get so close means a lot to me.

Have you raced in the Boat Race before? If yes, when? The 2019 Isis/Goldie reserve race win.

Your favourite race so far? 2019 Isis/Goldie.

Do you have any race day habits or superstitions? I always do big races in the same pair of socks. I don’t wear them any other time except for racing. They get me in race mode and are rugby socks from my old school. Others have worn identical pairs to win Olympic golds, Henley races and previous Boat Races. I also perform a mindfulness-like ritual just before the start line which gets me calm before racing.

Your sporting idol? Geraint Thomas.

If you could have any sportsperson in your crew, who would it be? Hamish Bond.

What gets you through a tough session? Do you have a mantra, rituals? Knowing that Oxford is probably training at the same time and we have to get more out of that session than they are.

Any hobbies, other interests outside rowing? I follow and support teams in a lot of sports from across the world outside rowing.

How do you motivate yourself and your teammates, especially with Covid restrictions? Covid has taken so much away from us, like the 2020 Boat Race. We have that missed Boat Race in the back of our minds constantly. We said last year we want to win three men’s Boat Races in a row and that hasn’t stopped this year. That would well and truly end the Oxford dominance of most of the 2010s.