Teen eyes gold at worlds
Hamilton rower plans to ‘go big or go home’ in his first overseas competition
Hillcrest High School student Justin Smyth, 17, started rowing as a hobby in 2019, now he has been chosen to represent New Zealand at the U19 World Rowing Championships in France in August.
Justin was not only selected alongside fellow Hamilton Rowing Club athlete Jack Clark, Queenstown rower Marley King-smith and Wellington rower Maxim Ericson for the quad team but was also picked to lead the team from the stroke seat.
He says he is stoked to have made the team, but is still processing it.
“It still hasn’t fully sunk in. When I started rowing, I never thought I could end up here,” Justin says.
Justin started rowing in 2019, inspired by his sister.
“My sister started rowing and I was going to all the regattas.
“I thought it looked like a cool sport to do because it is completely different. I tried it and got hooked straight away,” he says.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind sport. Every time you jump in the boat it’s different, you need to adapt to the conditions like the weather and different team members. On top of that you are working every single muscle in the body.”
During his first season with Hamilton Rowing Club, he took part in a number of novice competitions, where first-year rowers compete against first-year rowers regardless of age, in an eight and a coxed four.
“I was the youngest, my teammates were all adults. It was a bit weird for them because we were racing schoolkids,” Justin says.
In 2021, Justin started competing in a single scull and entered the Maadi Cup for the first time.
“Everyone else had more experience than me, so I was quite nervous. But I ended up leading the race — until the last 500 metres. Jack Henry from Onewhero Area School started chasing me and beat me by just over a second.”
Justin took home a silver medal, one of a total of three that season.
“I was pretty happy with myself because I had never led a race before. I mean it sucked that I didn’t win, but it was a great race.”
When Justin applied to try out for the New Zealand U19 team to go to France, he had a lot of competition.
“Apparently they received over 500 applications and only 50 got picked to try out,” he says.
When he was told he made the team, the first person he told was his mum Anjanette.
“He just sent me a cryptic message saying ‘We might need to start fundraising’. I’m so proud, he has been working so hard, he really lives and breathes the sport,” she says.
It will be the first time Justin has travelled to a different country.
“He never even had a passport,” Anjanette says.
Justin says he is most looking forward to competing.
“I can’t wait to row and feel the atmosphere. Just being on the lake with rowers from all over the world is gonna be pretty cool.”
Going into the competition he has one goal though: “Go big or go home, I want to win gold.”
Justin is in his final year of high school and while he has no specific plans for the future yet, he knows rowing is definitely going to be a part of it. There is even another overseas stint on the cards.
“I was approached by some universities in the US, like Princeton and Yale. They said if I was interested they could look at a scholarship.”
To find out more about Justin’s successes or to donate to get him to France, go to his Givealittle page.
Meanwhile, Hamilton Boys High School student William Milne and Waikato Rowing Club athlete Josh Syme have also been selected to go to France.
They are part of the New Zealand U19 men’s eight alongside Auckland rowers Oliver Leach, Baxter Mcgillivray and Jacob Avery, as well as Christchurch rowers Oscar Clatworthy, Sam Woodgate, Fergus Johnston and Matthew Glen.