Theo Weinberger

Club CUBC Men

Year of Birth 1998

Hometown Henley-on-Thames

Nationality British

College St John’s

Undergrad/Graduate Masters

Year 5th in Cambridge, 1st on MPhil

What are you studying? Scientific Computing

What is the most interesting part of your course? Do you have any professional or academic plans after? My undergraduate degree’s combination of physics with high performance computational methods in order to accurately model physical systems is fascinating. I’m looking to go on to do a PhD in Condensed Matter Systems or potentially go into a research role in industry.

Future ambitions? Winning the Boat Race and Henley Royal Regatta on the rowing side of things. Otherwise getting onto a PhD course is pretty high on my priorities.

How do you balance rowing and academic life? Through efficiency with work. Work expands to fill the time you have available if you let it.

When did you start rowing, and why? I started rowing at my first year in school. I wasn’t particularly good at any other sports apart from running which I hated but I thought that the things that made me good at running could help with rowing.

What was your first club? Eton College Boat Club.

What is your favourite part of rowing for Cambridge? The squad - the friendships are like no others.

What’s your rowing history, and what has been your biggest achievement so far? I’ve almost been rowing for 10 years now. In that time I raced in the GB v France match as a J16, won gold for my school second eight in 2015 at National Schools, won the Lightweight Boat Race for Cambridge and was selected for Goldie last year. To this day my national school’s second VIII gold remains one of my proudest achievements. We had struggled a fair amount as a crew in the build up to the race with several injuries and swaps having to be made. The race was like no other we had raced, we were usually slow starters but this time we went out hard and sprinted the whole way down the track desperately holding on to the lead we’d taken in the first 500m and clinging on by 1/3 of a length.

Have you raced in the Boat Race before? If yes, when? No.

Your favourite race so far? My second VIII National Schools race.

Do you have any race day habits or superstitions? Not really, although each season I choose a favourite cap that I’ll wear for most sessions/all the racing.

Your sporting idol? Peter Sagan.

If you could have any sportsperson in your crew, who would it be? Peter Sagan again (reckon he’d make a decent rower)

What gets you through a tough session? Do you have a mantra, rituals? There’s no not getting through a tough session. You have to keep internalised and mentally on it, if you start panicking or thinking you’re going to give up inevitably you will.

Any hobbies, other interests outside rowing? I’m very into cycling (my brother actually cycles for OUCC). I am also an avid cook and dabble in some baking. In my downtime I also get up to some very average art projects.

How do you motivate yourself and your teammates, especially with Covid restrictions? Good chat and positive attitude. Not taking things too seriously when you don’t need to take them seriously makes most things a lot more enjoyable. Of course getting that across the squad is harder this year but with Zoom and social media it’s still possible to keep in contact with everyone.