A READING resident has been awarded an MBE for sporting achievements in the New Year’s honours list.
Oliver Stanhope, MBE, was nominated for his services to rowing. With his fellow PR3 mixed coxed four team mates, he holds the European, World and Paralympic titles. He rows at stroke.
Th 23 year old brought home gold from his first Paralympic Games in Tokyo last summer.
“Being awarded an MBE is cooler than the gold medal though, as I will always be an MBE.
“The Paralympic title only really lasts for four years,” he said.
Mr Stanhope is originally from Middlesex. He started rowing at Walton Rowing Club in 2008, but was encouraged by teachers to take the sport more seriously. First at Halliford School, where he was pupil until 2014, and then Hampton School.
“It will be great when my old school teachers find out as they played a big role in making me who I am now,” he added.
He had a strong rowing influence in his personal life too. Both of his parents have rowed for Great Britain at the Olympic Games.
“I was originally more into Triathlon, although I was inspired by going to see the mens eight race at the London 2012 Olympics,” he said.
He rowed in an eight for Hampton School at the Henley Royal Regatta in 2015 and 2016.
In 2017, he raced with Molesey Rowing Club in the Thames Cup at Henley, just before successfully breaking into the Great Britain PR3 mixed coxed four squad.
“That’s when I decided to move to Reading,” Mr Stanhope explained.
“It’s a better journey to Caversham, where we train, than the one from my parents’ house in Hampton would be.
“I have three training sessions a day, so it’s pretty intense.
“There is also more a city vibe to Reading, so I can get away from rowing.”
Cycling is one of the ways he gets away from it, as it is beneficial for the back and other muscle groups after long training sessions.
Alongside sport, Mr Stanhope is studying part time at Oxford Brookes University for a degree in real estate management.
“Although I deferred a year in 2019 to prepare for Tokyo 2020, which then happened a year late, so by the time I go back I am going to be a mature student,” he added.
Ahead of the games, Mr Stanhope spent several months living in the hotel at the then Madjeski Stadium with team mates Giedre Rakauskaite, Ellen Buttrick, James Fox and Erin Kennedy. They have also been awarded MBEs, and he is looking forward to celebrating with them: “We did not really have a chance to celebrate our Paralympic gold together, so this will be a great,” he said.
Mr Stanhope is hopeful of a place on the rowing squad which will represent Great Britain at the Paris 2024 games. Beyond that, he would like to spend some time as a rowing coach before moving into the real estate industry.
