ROWER Tom Walker has his sights set on the 2028 Olympics after receiving a second grant to help with training from Dorset Community Foundation.
Tom, 18, of Southbourne, was awarded £1,000 from the community foundation’s Lord Lieutenant’s Fund for Young and Talented, which is supported by Wimborne engineering company Superior Seals.
The fund awards grants of up to £1,000 towards costs such as training, travel and equipment that might prevent youngsters facing financial challenges from making the most of their natural ability.
The youngster, who has been rowing at Christchurch Rowing Club for five years, is one of the rising stars of the Beach Sprint event, which will make its debut at the Los Angeles games in four years.
It involves head to head racing where competitors run to their boats before slaloming around buoys and then rowing back to the beach and leaping out to sprint for the finish line.
Tom was invited to try the sport last year. “Lucy Hart, who is the Beach Sprint pathway coach for England, was the club captain at Christchurch and said ‘we’ve got this new sport going on, you should come down to Studland and try it’.
“That was the English Championships, I did two or three sessions beforehand and then competed and came second in the under 19 boys.”
He said he enjoys the hectic and unpredictable nature of the sport. “I love rowing, I love being on the sea and the waves are a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s also a good group of people, it’s the best of every part of rowing that I could imagine.”
Tom made his debut for the Great British team in the European Beach Sprint Championships in Poland in June and came back with a bronze medal in the under 19 solo after a dramatic sprint finish. “Just going to Poland, being part of such a big team and racing at an international event was such an amazing experience,” he said. “And coming away with a result like third place is a feeling I find hard to describe, I was just so happy.”
With all the training I’m doing I’ve had to cut back on how much I work so the grant has also helped cover transport and training costs
This is the second year he has received £1,000 from the fund. Last year he used the grant towards his own rowing blades, which all competitors have to have, a rowing machine and travel to training. This year’s grant helped fund his trip to Poland and the World Championships in Italy in September.
“The grants have been a massive help because for the Europeans I had to pay for travel, accommodation and kit so it has halved the money that my family had to come up with,” he said. “With all the training I’m doing I’ve had to cut back on how much I work so the grant has also helped cover transport and training costs.”
He said his success in Poland has given him a huge confidence boost as he aims for another medal at the World Championships and a place at the Olympics in four years’ time.
“I’ve still got a lot of work to do because I raced the current world champion in the semi-finals and he beat me by a couple of seconds, but if I keep my head down, there’s still a chance I’m in for a medal,” he said.
“I’m going to be in my mid-20s for the next two Olympics and by then I’ll have plenty of experience. I’ve set going to the Olympics as a personal goal, it’s something that I never, ever imagined doing but I think there is a small possibility I could do it if I keep working hard and keep training and trying.”
Dorset Community Foundation chief executive Grant Robson said: “When someone has the ability and determination to get to the Olympics its brilliant that we can give them a helping hand along the way, thanks to the support of our donors.
“We’ve already seen one of our Young and Talented grantees, swimmer Jacob Peters, make it to the Olympics so we’ll be following Tom’s career with interest.”
The fund opens again for applications in February 2025. Find out more about it here.
Pictured above: Tom Walker in action at the European Beach Sprint Championships in Poland in June and, centre, with his bronze medal
