Going for gold: How boarding school shaped this young rower

Fergus Hamilton has his sights set on gold at the Paris Olympics this month. But he credits his success to his time spent at boarding school.

Rowing along the River Seine scything through the city of Paris is a little different to zipping up and down the waters of Melbourne’s Yarra River.

But for young Olympian Fergus Hamilton, it’s his years spent training as part of the rowing team at Melbourne Grammar School that set him on the path for Parisian glory later this month.

The 24-year-old grew up on dairy farms in both New Zealand, and in Maffra, Gippsland, before attending Melbourne Grammar School as a boarding student.

And while a life spent on-farm as part of a dairy operation might seem worlds away from the career of an Olympian, Fergus credits his family’s time in dairying as central to his attitude and approach to the sport.

“Being exposed to what happens on a dairy farm from a young age teaches you much about responsibility, and how to care for yourself and others,” Fergus said.

While he is the son of British Olympic rower Richard Hamilton, Fergus credits the structure of boarding school life and the support from the school as essential to his success as an elite athlete.

Fergus Hamilton graduated from Melbourne Grammar in December and has been accepted to Yale. He won the junior men's World Championships in Lithuania last year in the 2-man scull. Picture: Zoe Phillips

A regimented training schedule, along with a gym in proximity to his boarding house and a cooked breakfast following morning training sessions gave this future Olympian the time and focus he needed to bring his rowing up to an elite level.

“Rowing is one of the many options that students at MGS can do for their summer sports, and coming from a family with a rowing background, I started straight away in Year Nine,” Fergus said.

“Starting this training volume at a young age helped me on my pathway to the Olympics. Being a boarder was actually a pretty big advantage when it came to training so much.”

Since graduating from the grammar school Fergus has won gold at the World Rowing Championships, before joining the Australian senior squad last year, securing his place on the Australian Olympic team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“I’m really excited about this opportunity as it is the pinnacle of our sport and only happens every four years,” Fergus said.

“If we continue to train and develop as we have been, I believe we will give ourselves every opportunity to win gold.”