Patrick Wild: From Boat Race glory to Britain’s U23 Men’s Eight at World Championships

Cambridge University Boat Club’s Patrick Wild reflects on a remarkable first year of uni as he strokes Britain’s U23 Men’s Eight

It’s been a whirlwind season for Patrick Wild. His already rammed trophy cabinet has had to find a little bit more space for his spoils of victory from his first year at Cambridge University.

Wild has already written himself into light blue folklore. April’s triumphs on the Tideway, his old stomping ground, was made all the more remarkable because at the age of 18, he was one of the youngest ever competitors in the men’s Blue Boat.

Marko Banović told the Cambridge class of 2026 that winning a Boat Race would change their lives. Truer words have never been spoken.

“It’s the most incredible feeling. The number of alumni and people who care about the race, it feels like you’re racing for more than just yourself. You’re racing for so many people, and it’s amazing,” explained Wild.

Incredible, amazing. There’s several superlatives that Wild could use to describe his transition from the U19 pathway to the U23 pipeline and the environment he’s exposed to at the Goldie and Ely boathouse. Cambridge University Boat Club has become a juggernaut, and the men’s squad have been churning out arguably the fastest university crews in the world.

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Whether it’s winning back-to-back editions of the Head of the Charles Regatta, dominating eight out of the last 10 Boat Races, lifting this year’s Temple Challenge Cup, or running the 2025 World Champions to within half a length in last year’s Grand Challenge Cup, the achievements speak for themselves. It’s showcasing the very best of light blue development and all the good that’s happening under the eyes of Head Coach Rob Baker.

“I can’t understate how good Rob is, how good this programme is, and how good his understanding of the rowing stroke is, and what the most important things are to make a boat go fast.

“We get guys from all around the world, so there isn’t a massive amount of continuity between years. You get guys from loads of different programmes, and we have six or seven months to win the Boat Race and make the boat as fast as possible. His ability to do that is unmatched.

Baker is one in a long list of outstanding coaches who have helped shape Wild into the oarsman he is today.

“Bobby Thatcher coached me for three years and taught me most of the stuff that I know. He is a phenomenal coach. It’s a supportive programme, and it’s just been going so well.

“Donald Leggett coached me at St Paul’s and at Cambridge this year, and unfortunately he passed away a week or two ago. His experience and his passion for rowing- he just cared so much. I think he’s been a massive, great mentor for me.
“Rob, as mentioned, has been absolutely pivotal this year. For Henley specifically, I was more coached by Bill Lucas, the assistant coach at Cambridge, and he was also phenomenal, and has such a good understanding of the sport.”

Wild found himself in the stroke seat for the CUBC Temple escapade, the place he’ll be sitting when he takes on the world in Duisburg. On their way to lifting the trophy at the Sunday prizegiving, their first since 1999, they beat Oxford Brookes University ‘D’, the University of Bristol, the University of London, Oxford Brookes University ‘A’, and the University of Washington, USA.

“The Temple campaign was so much fun. It’s really good for Cambridge to show up at Henley the way that, for example, Brookes does. I think this is a massive step for us. We said from the start of the season in September that we think we can challenge to win multiple events at Henley. Of course, we only ended up winning the Temple, which was great, but we were competitive in other events as well, and I think that’s a massive step for the Cambridge programme.”

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Domestic adventures over, it’s back to the world stage for a fourth consecutive year. Sixth in the U19 Men’s Pair was followed up with silver in the Men’s Four, before winning gold with clubmate Alp Karadogen in the Men’s Pair last year.

After just one year out of the junior system, he’s bridged the gap to the U23s and is looking to contribute to a legacy of success in the Men’s Eight. It’s an event the British have won every year since 2019.

“I want to win; that’s the main goal, and that would be awesome. I think to continue the streak of winning, there have been so many phenomenal athletes who’ve been in this boat, would be to honour that and win it again. That would be really good.

“I think I learned so much from all three previous campaigns. They were all very different, but the most important thing for me is just to not take myself too seriously. To really enjoy it and enjoy the process, because that’s what it’s all about. When people are enjoying it, it’s usually going well.

“I’m rowing for Cambridge, but now a lot of my friends are rowing in the US. Getting a chance to row with them again, I haven’t seen them for most of the year, is really cool.”

By the time you read this, Wild and the rest of the U19 squad will already be in Duisburg, tapering ahead of competition starting on Thursday.

Coxing the Men’s Eight will be Nat Toms, who made history in 2023 as the first woman to cox a British Men’s Eight, steering the U19 crew to gold. She’ll be joined by Harvard teammate Kynan Tallec-Botos, who makes his debut in red, white, and blue. Osian James, the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bear, brings experience from last year’s U23 Men’s Four. Kai Schlottman is the other athlete studying in the UK. He was part of the Brookes outfit that won Championship Eights at BUCS Regatta.

Christian Reese, Matt Johnston, Alex Perkins, and Tom Corbett all return from their studies at Yale University, Dartmouth College, Princeton University, and Stanford University, respectively, and bring a wealth of U19-level experience as well.

They’ll be led by Patrick Duggan, who oversaw a record-breaking performance from Radley College Boat Club at this year’s National Schools’ Regatta. His 1st Eight won The Queen Mother Cup for Championship Eights for the first time in a time of 05:43.00.