Exeter’s Tobias Schröder to race in Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race

Exeter student Tobias Schröder (2021, MPhil History of Science, Medicine and Technology) has been selected to race in the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race for the fourth time. He is currently set to sit at the stroke seat, followed by a crew of world champions and five Olympians.

Tobias started rowing aged 12 at Nottingham Rowing Club, and first represented Great Britain in 2017, where he took home a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships.

He studied an undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Magdalen College, where he rowed for Oxford all four years. ‘Those were difficult years’, says Tobias, recalling the cancellation of the Race in 2020, and Oxford’s near misses in 2019 and 2021 (losing by a length and under a length, respectively).

Tobias is continuing his studies with an MPhil at Exeter College. He returned to Oxford in September with a gold medal from the 2021 U23 World Championships under his belt. ‘This year is an opportunity to put right the losses and missed opportunities of the last few years’, he says. ‘I am very excited for the race’.

The standard of the Oxford team in the Olympic run-off year has made for a particularly exciting season. ‘I’ve found it challenging to compete for selection against such high calibre athletes, but I have really enjoyed it and it has confirmed for me that I want to pursue a future in competitive sport’. Tobias has ambitions to be selected for the Paris Olympics in 2024.

‘We have a fast boat and more importantly, a really strong team culture and sense of camaraderie’, he says. ‘We can’t wait to showcase our hard work in a few weeks’ time’.

The Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race will be raced on the championship course in London on Sunday 3 April and will be broadcast live on the BBC. We look forward to watching Tobias race and represent Exeter College and the University.

Tobias in training for Oxford, sitting at the stroke seat