David Bewicke-Copley

David was raised on a farm in Leicestershire and his initial introduction to the outdoors came through helping his Dad with the farm work.

The first sports he took seriously were football, rugby and hockey and his initial dream was to play hockey at the Olympics. However, by the time he was 16 it was clear that he had grown to be the wrong build for hockey. Simultaneously, rowing coaches at school had been encouraging him to give rowing a go because of his height and so he made the switch.

Despite being the right height for rowing, it took him 2 years to show up to a GB junior trial and not come last! His school coach was a very important mentor during this time and David is still in touch with him today.

David continued rowing after school at Princeton University in the US where he studied Legal, Political and Economic Anthropology. He joined the GB Rowing Team at the start of the 2022 season, during which he was part of the men’s eight. He was selected into the eight again in 2023 but missed the racing season due to injury.