Sam Woodgate is a New Zealand U23 international in his third year at Harvard University, where he studies economics and rows in the university's programme. Rowing New Zealand's story on him, written by Steve Landells and published on 30 October 2026, traces how one school regatta set the rest in motion.
From St Bede's to the junior eight
Sam took up rowing at 14 at St Bede's College in Christchurch, coached by Dale Maher. He won gold at the 2021 Maadi Regatta in the boys' U16 crew, then a trifecta of U17 medals the following year: gold, silver and bronze. In 2023, rowing from the stroke seat, he won the Maadi Cup and the Springbok Shield with St Bede's.
Sam calls what followed the "domino effect". The Springbok Shield win got him a New Zealand junior trial, he seat raced for a place, and later in 2023 he raced for New Zealand at the World Rowing Under 19 Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. That opened the door to US colleges, and he chose Harvard for the mix of academics and rowing.
At Harvard he has stayed unbeaten at the Head of the Charles Regatta and has twice rowed in Harvard crews that beat Yale in The Race. He trains twice a day, six days a week. Earlier this year he claimed bronze with New Zealand at the 2026 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Duisburg. He would love to help Harvard secure its first Men's Varsity Heavyweights Eights title at the IRA National Championships Regatta since 2005, to come back into the New Zealand programme for the 2027 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, and one day to row for New Zealand at the Olympics.
A row with the Tokyo eight
When New Zealand's men's eight from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was reuniting to race at the Head of the Charles in Boston, Sam offered the crew a tour of the Harvard campus. Thomas Mackintosh, Matt Macdonald and Hamish Bond took him up on it. The crew were short of a couple of bow-side rowers, so they invited Sam to join them for a practice row. The Olympic crew also spoke to the Harvard squad about how they built their culture on the way to Tokyo.
“They rowed with that classic New Zealand rhythm, which was chunky at the front with a pause at the back”
Sam told Rowing NZ that this rhythm is the opposite of the way Harvard rows.
Why it matters
Sam's path is a good one for any junior and their parents to read: a school crew, a coach who cared, a trial, and then doors opening one after another. It's also a neat outside view of the rhythm the Kiwi eight rowed with, from a young rower who sat in the boat with them. Shaun won two world championships rowing that pause-at-the-finish style, and he knows it has its critics:
“I won two World Championships rowing like that, so it does work”
To learn how the pause works and how to train it, read the pause at the finish drill and why New Zealand rowing wins. For the junior side of the story, read why rowing sets you up for life. Shaun's free drills download has more drills to try with your crew.
Sources: After Maadi - Sam Woodgate (Rowing New Zealand, 30 October 2026)
