Olivia Carnegie-Brown was watched by millions the world over when she won silver in the women’s eight at Rio 2016, but she still holds her former home of Oxford close to her heart.
The 27-year-old studied at Oxford Brookes and her mum still lives there, so when British Rowing asked her to be an ambassador for her beloved city in the new Power8 Sprints competition, she jumped at the chance.
The innovative new competition launched by British Rowing sees both male and female crews compete for their city over a 350m course in a head-to-head knockout format.
Eight cities will be competing against each other in the race on July 22 at the Bristol Harbour Festival: Bristol, Newcastle, Manchester, Nottingham, Exeter, Oxford, Cambridge and London.
“I was asked to be an ambassador for Oxford, and I’m really proud to be representing the city,” said Carnegie-Brown, about the event which will be broadcast on BT Sport.
“The Power 8 Sprints is a much shorter distance than the traditional 2000 metres, so we’ll have 350 metres of racing.
“I chose to get involved because I’ve rowed for ten years for Great Britain and this is the new style of rowing.
“I really believe that by bringing in Power8 Sprints it will rejuvenate the sport.
“You’ll actually get to watch the rowing from start to finish – you’ll see all the grit and determination, see what the crews say to each other and it’ll be really competitive racing.
“It’s small, small margins, side-by-side knockout racing, so it’s going to be great.
“It’s going to go out to new participants and new audiences and I want to be part of that change, part of that movement.
“I of course used to compete myself so it’ll be really excited to see how Oxford’s men’s and women’s eights get on in the Power8 Sprints.
“There’s the traditional Oxford and Cambridge boat race and they’ll be able to battle it out on the water on the 22 July at the Bristol Harbour Festival in the Power8 Sprints.
“Hopefully Oxford will give them a run for their money, and I’ll be backing them all the way!”
Olivia Carnegie-Brown is a City Champion for Oxford’s Power8 Sprints rowing crew, who will be competing at the inaugural event on the 22nd July, as the headline act on the water at the Bristol Harbour Festival. To find out how you can get involved, visit www.power8sprints.com
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