Barras Bows Out

Olympic silver medallist Tom Barras announces retirement

Olympic silver medallist and two-time Olympian Tom Barras has retired from international rowing.

Tom began rowing in 2005 aged eleven at Burway RC and made his senior international debut winning bronze at World Cup 1 in the Men’s quadruple sculls in 2017. He had several successful seasons in the Men’s single sculls but switched back into the Men’s quadruple sculls and was selected in this boat for the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Here, together with Jack Beaumont, Harry Leask and Angus Groom, Tom achieved his dream by winning a silver medal. The second place finish saw the quad make history as Team GB’s first ever Olympic medal in that boat class. He remained in the quad for the Paris Olympiad, where they narrowly missed out on the 2024 Olympic podium with a fourth place finish after illness interrupted their preparations in the last two weeks of the campaign.

Outside of rowing, Tom is a qualified physiotherapist who studied at Cardiff University and has managed his time well to gain experience and work in his chosen professional field alongside his rowing whilst in the Senior Team

Explaining his decision, Tom said: “After nine unforgettable years on the British Rowing Team, and with a heavy heart, I have decided it’s the right time to retire. I have loved my time here, I must have! The hatred of the training: 20k ergos, 2k tests, Sierra Nevada, yet still I came back, every day for nine years. Somehow that mix of pain and purpose kept me coming back for more. This year however, I felt that age and life finally caught up with me, and it quickly became apparent that this would be the appropriate time to step away from the World stage.”

“I feel incredibly grateful for everything this journey has given me. The experiences, the people and the pride of representing Great Britain. A career that a younger me, a ten year old boy stood outside Burway RC, could never have imagined. I feel fortunate to end my career as a multiple World medallist, double Olympian, and to share in a special piece of British Olympic history, as part of the first British quadruple scull to win an Olympic medal.”

Tom also wanted to pay tribute to his fellow team-mates and the team behind the team: “I would love to thank all the fantastic athletes I have had the privilege to train and race with year after year. They have pushed and inspired me, making every single day (even the hard ones) worth it. Also, a huge thank you to all the coaches, physios, doctors and physiologists who have supported and guided me throughout my time at Caversham. Their patience, persistence and belief have not only shaped my rowing career, but also who I am today.

“Massive credit and thanks must also go to the chefs, for the great food that has kept me fuelled, the boatmen for ensuring we always have the best and most well looked after equipment, and the behind the scenes teams for putting together the most amazing kit, competitions and training camps. Without the support of this fantastic group of people, there is no doubt that I would not have had the career and successes I have had.”

Men’s Olympic head coach Paul Stannard, who directly coached Tom said: “It has been hard work coaching Tom over the last 9 seasons… but thoroughly enjoyable! Watching Tom grow and mature over the years has been incredibly rewarding. Tom came to the Senior team as a single sculler having been told by a number of coaches that he wasn’t any good in crew boats! In his first year with us he won a spectacular bronze medal behind sculling legends Ondrej Sinek and Angel Fournier Rodriguez and ahead of Robbie Manson who had set the World Best Time in June of that year. Once settled in the squad, Tom did improve his crew sculling and was a key part of the history-making Silver-medal-winning Quad in Tokyo in extremely tough conditions at the height of the covid pandemic. Tom has achieved a great deal in his time with the team and I look forward to his continued support of the team as he has committed to working with us as a physio in the years to come!”