University of Bristol graduate Angus Groom helped Great Britain’s rowers make history on Wednesday by winning the nation’s first-ever medal in the men’s quadruple sculls.
While Team GB has a rich history in rowing, it is not in this event.
But all that changed on Wednesday at the Sea Forest Waterway, as Groom, Harry Leask, Tom Barras and Jack Beaumont in the British boat led from the start line in lane one before being overtaken in the final 500m by the world champion Dutch crew to finish in second place for a silver medal.
Groom, 29, completed a Masters in Stem Cells and Regeneration at the University of Bristol in 2018 and was part of the four-man crew who came fifth in Rio in 2016.
Glasgow-born Groom has had to overcome significant personal hurdles on his way to the silver medal, left unable to walk even short distances after the Rio Olympic games due to a hip problem.
In the winter of 2016 he underwent surgery on the injury which kept him sidelined for much of the following season but he has worked his way back earn a place in the British boat at Tokyo and now a place in the history books.
Team GB clocked a time of 5:33.75 at Tokyo in one of the most dramatic races of the meet so far with the Netherlands 1.72 second in front to take gold while Australia won bronze, with fourth-place Poland within a second of the British boat.
Groom told the BBC after the race: “We said when we pushed off, we’re just gonna trust each other, trust everyone to do their jobs and we just said throw everything at it.
He added: “That was the perfect race for me”.
