Oar inspiring: From Scout to Olympic Gold

Morgan’s just visited his old Scout Troop and Explorer Unit. One of the things he enjoys most at these visits is passing around his Olympic gold medal.

While 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. ‘The more weathered it gets, the more I'm proud of it,’ Morgan says. ‘It's probably been held by around 6,000 kids now.’

Morgan’s had as many setbacks as successes. After winning a place in the men’s eight for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He 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. 

In 2023, he and the team won both European and World Championship titles, and then finally, Morgan won gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Tell us about your time in Scouts

I 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're on the River Camel).

There was a flagpole at my favourite Scout camp in Devil's Jump in Bodmin Moor. One of the leaders set us the challenge of going up by space hopper to this flagpole, which must’ve been 300 metres away up a very steep hill. I was the only one who had the stubbornness to make it!

From 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.

What skills and qualities did Scouts give you?

The skills I learned from Scouts have been a huge factor in my life. I had a difficult upbringing.

My 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.

When 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.

He wrote to me at Christmas, saying, ‘Morgan, I wish we could’ve spent Christmas together, but deep in my heart, I knew you had to go. I know you’re going to become a rower in the Olympics, just work as hard as you can and you’ll make it, I bet my life on it.’ This was 13 years before I won gold!

When 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.

I 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’d experienced the day before.

I’d be proud of my rowing career even if I stood here with no gold medals. I’ve rowed with enough incredible teammates (who weren't fortunate enough to go to the Olympics themselves) to know that medals aren’t how you identify great athletes. It’s those who turn up, no matter what, who I really admire.

A lot of kids ask me at school visits: ‘Are you talented?’ And the answer is absolutely not. I just kept trying.

You mentioned you've got a real love for the outdoors. What does it give you?

The outdoors is everything to me. After being wheeled off to a load of media commitments after the Olympics, we were free.

We’d 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's how I wanted to celebrate.

What is it about the outdoors you value so much?

I think it's the separation from all the negative things of the last 10–15 years. Things like social media, an obsession with phones and all the rest of the noise and busyness of modern life.

My 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. 

What’s next for you?

I'm 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’d love to hear them. If we can make it happen, I’ll come and do it with you! Whether it’s a seemingly impossible task that puts resilience to the test or a far away flagpole to spacehopper to, nothing is off the table.