{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Chris James chats with Morgan Bolding, Olympic rower","standfirst":"Morgan Bolding, a Cub Scout from Cornwall, went on to become an Olympic Gold Medal winning rower and double World Champion. Having had a tough childhood, he credits Scouts (and a space hopper) with helping him build the resilience to overcome further setbacks and cross the finishing line.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/zahb2pzm/morgan-and-olympic-rowing-team.jpg","width":4500,"height":3000,"altText":"The image shows the Great Britain Olympic rowing team after they won Gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. They\u0027re standing on a blue floor with the Olympic rings on wearing their Great Britain OIympic uniform. There are four men standing at the back and four men kneeling in front of them, holding a Union Jack flag. All of them are smiling with a few rowers holding their arms and gold medals up in the air.","caption":"Morgan with the rowing team after winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EMorgan\u2019s just visited his old \u003Ca href=\u0022/scouts/\u0022 title=\u0022Scouts\u0022\u003EScout Troop\u003C/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022/explorers/\u0022 title=\u0022Explorers\u0022\u003EExplorer Unit\u003C/a\u003E. One of the things he enjoys most at these visits is passing around his Olympic gold medal.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile some athletes like to keep theirs in the box, Morgan prefers to put it to work, inspiring the next generation. Every child gets to hold the medal. \u2018The more weathered it gets, the more I\u0027m proud of it,\u2019 Morgan says. \u2018It\u0027s probably been held by around 6,000 kids now.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMorgan\u2019s had as many setbacks as successes. After winning a place in the men\u2019s eight for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHe was then unlucky enough to fall ill when it came to selection for the rearranged games a year later. While many would walk away at this stage, this only spurred him on.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2023, he and the team won both European and World Championship titles, and then finally, Morgan won gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/rtlhtiow/morgan-as-cub-of-the-year.jpg","width":1020,"height":574,"altText":"The image shows Morgan standing outside on grass in front of a hedge on a sunny day. He\u0027s wearing his Cubs uniform and a cap while holding a trophy for winning Cub Scout of the Year in both hands above his head.","caption":"Morgan winning Cub Scout of the Year","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003ETell us about your time in Scouts\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI had the most amazing time at Wadebridge Scouts. It was very much part of my upbringing. After Scouts, I joined Camel Explorers (as in a camel with the hump because we\u0027re on the River Camel).\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere was a flagpole at my favourite Scout camp in Devil\u0027s Jump in Bodmin Moor. One of the leaders set us the challenge of going up by space hopper to this flagpole, which must\u2019ve been 300 metres away up a very steep hill. I was the only one who had the stubbornness to make it!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFrom that day, my leader knew I was going to do something special. Coincidentally, that very same Scout leader, Jon, was in the stands watching the rowing at the Paris Olympics I raced at.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/mrddazhi/morgan-rowing.jpg","width":5000,"height":3333,"altText":"The image shows a body of water in front of trees, with a platform to the right showing a flag and people standing to cheer on the rowers on the water. In the foreground, there\u0027s a rowing boat with twelve rowers visible in the photo, with some of them holding oars as they row across.","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EWhat skills and qualities did Scouts give you?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe skills I learned from Scouts have been a huge factor in my life. I had a difficult upbringing.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMy mum was a single mum and unwell a lot of the time, while my dad was a refugee from the Bosnian War who lived in Canada. I was taken into care and sent to live with my grandparents. At the age of six, I started my life in Cornwall, and I joined Cubs soon after.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen I was four, my brother was born and he became my purpose. I had to look after him and give him a better childhood than I had. At 16, I moved to Surrey to pursue rowing.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHe wrote to me at Christmas, saying, \u2018Morgan, I wish we could\u2019ve spent Christmas together, but deep in my heart, I knew you had to go. I know you\u2019re going to become a rower in the Olympics, just work as hard as you can and you\u2019ll make it, I bet my life on it.\u2019 This was 13 years before I won gold!\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"quoteText":"Scouts provided a huge amount of support and gave me an outdoorsy and practical outlook. I absolutely loved it. If you ask my friends who they\u2019d want to be stuck on a desert island with, they\u2019d usually say me, because I can build a fire and always find a way to solve any problem.","attribution":"Morgan","gridType":"quote","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen rowing was getting quite serious, I had to step away from Explorers to commit to the sport. In 2019, I got into the national rowing team. It was a long, hard road to get there, only for the 2020 Olympics to be postponed. It was then another huge effort to reach and succeed at the Paris Olympics in 2024.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI learned to love the process of rowing instead of the results. It took 15 years of failing before I won my first international gold medal. I turned up for training every day no matter what devastating setback I\u2019d experienced the day before.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019d be proud of my rowing career even if I stood here with no gold medals. I\u2019ve rowed with enough incredible teammates (who weren\u0027t fortunate enough to go to the Olympics themselves) to know that medals aren\u2019t how you identify great athletes. It\u2019s those who turn up, no matter what, who I really admire.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA lot of kids ask me at school visits: \u2018Are you talented?\u2019 And the answer is absolutely not. I just kept trying.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EYou mentioned you\u0027ve got a real love for the outdoors. What does it give you?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe outdoors is everything to me. After being wheeled off to a load of media commitments after the Olympics, we were free.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019d been on training camp for eight weeks and most people wanted to party. But instead, my girlfriend and I drove eight hours down to Chamonix to carry our tent 2,000 metres up the side of a mountain. We pitched our tent and there we were, two days after the Olympics, peering out at the sunset in the Alps. And that\u0027s how I wanted to celebrate.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/o3dn3kuo/morgan-hiking.jpg","width":2959,"height":2342,"altText":"The image shows Morgan standing on the top of a grassy mountain, wearing a red coat, navy shorts and blue trainers. He\u0027s holding his arms out horizontally either side and is smiling at the camera. There are clouds and mountains in the background, with a blue sky and a faint orange hue across the mountains as the sun sets.","caption":"","link":null},{"quoteText":"I want to give back and I want to involve myself in Scouts because I truly believe the outdoors is for every child. They just need to get out there and learn how much it has to offer them. I want to show children the power of just getting stuck in and giving their best every single day no matter what. That\u2019s what took me from a life of possible unfulfilled potential to becoming an Olympic Champion.","attribution":"Morgan","gridType":"quote","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EWhat is it about the outdoors you value so much?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI think it\u0027s the separation from all the negative things of the last 10\u201315 years. Things like social media, an obsession with phones and all the rest of the noise and busyness of modern life.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMy life involves a lot of computers and indoor training, but being outdoors is how I reset and recharge for my next tough challenge in life.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EWhat\u2019s next for you?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u0027m sort of tying up rowing, so now it feels right to bring it full circle back to Scouts. If your Group has any ideas for wacky challenges, I\u2019d love to hear them. If we can make it happen, I\u2019ll come and do it with you! Whether it\u2019s a seemingly impossible task that puts resilience to the test or a far away flagpole to spacehopper to, nothing is off the table.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"type":"Promo","cta":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EGot a suggestion for Morgan\u2019s challenge? Let us know at \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:support@scouts.org.uk\u0022\u003Esupport@scouts.org.uk\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E","link":null,"colour":"#f1f1f1","title":"","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"01 May 2025","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"Email us with a challenge suggestion for Morgan","url":"support@scouts.org.uk","newWindow":true}],"id":85661,"nodeName":"Oar inspiring: From Scout to Olympic Gold","title":"Oar inspiring: From Scout to Olympic Gold","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/o3dn3kuo/morgan-hiking.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dbb8f3a64e3ab0","caption":"Morgan Hiking","type":"jpg","size":2989731,"width":2959,"height":2342,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Oar inspiring: From Scout to Olympic Gold","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"After winning gold at the Olympics, Morgan talks about how Scouts gave him the resilience to cross the finishing line.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC84NTY2MSJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2025/may/oar-inspiring-from-scout-to-olympic-gold/"}