Hawke's Bay's Tom Mackintosh powers his way to victory in the national premier men's single scull. Photo / Photosport
A time will come when Tom Mackintosh can enjoy all he’s achieved in a boat.
For now, that moment’s a long way off.
The 27-year-old Hereworth School and Lindisfarne College old boy created a bit of history last weekend.
Mackintosh won his first premier men’s national single sculls title, matching the deed of fellow Hawke’s Bay Rowing Club member Emma Twigg in the women’s event.
It was the first time in the club’s long history that it’s boasted both premier single champions.
His sights are now set on the Paris Olympics and an opportunity to improve on the bronze medal he won in the single at the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade.
There’s a bit of a gee-whiz element to all this, as Mackintosh charts a lot of new territory.
So much so, that you almost forget he already has an Olympic gold medal in the drawer at home.
Since 1972, New Zealand yearned for another gold medal-winning eight. It took nearly 40 years until Mackintosh and company achieved the feat in Tokyo.
“We had Athol Earl, a member of the Munich [Olympic] eight, tell us after we’d won in Tokyo that he’d officially passed the mantle of eights rowing on to us,’’ Mackintosh said.
“I think, for me, it probably still hasn’t sunk in to be honest yet.
“It was a race that we performed well in and it was fantastic, but I imagine the magnitude of it will probably sink in when I’m having a beer in my 60s and revelling in the glory days.’’
It’s unusual that the best thing that could happen to someone turns out to be the worst.
Rowing’s a very hard sport and, only a year ago, he felt he was done with it.
“I found myself in a unique position, like many other athletes from the Tokyo gold medal-winning eight, in that we went to our first Olympics and we won.
“And that was kind of like ‘Well, the only thing I ever wanted to achieve was an Olympic medal and we came home with a gold one’.
“So that did affect my motivation to come back to the sport again and so, in a sense, yeah, I probably was ready to give it up.’’
It’s taken a change of boat to renew his enthusiasm to put his body through the rigours required to be an elite rower.
He loved being in an eight, but the single represents an opportunity for him to find an unequivocal answer about his prowess as an athlete.
The single’s a storied boat now too, after Rowing New Zealand pointed elite men such as Rob Waddell and Mahe Drysdale in that direction rather than an eight.
Mackintosh isn’t worried about living up to their legacy. Nor, in a sense, chasing down triple world champion Oliver Zeidler in Paris or keeping defending champion Stefanos Ntouskos at bay.
In the end, the person he’s actually competing against is himself.
“Look, I’d like to be medalling in the Paris Olympics and, if that comes, fantastic. If I get beaten on the day then, as an athlete, you’ve kind of got to be at peace with every result that comes your way.
“My approach to my entire rowing career has been to put as much work as you possibly can in and put yourself in the best possible position to get a result you’d like. If it doesn’t come your way and you get beaten, you have to accept it.
“Some days some athletes might have worked harder than you or they might just be faster than you. If you’re hellbent on winning and always being the best, then you can tie yourself in knots if things don’t go your way.’’
Mackintosh began his rowing career with the Hawke’s Bay club. University studies in Christchurch saw him row for other clubs but, despite living in Cambridge, there’s no question who he competes for now.
“I always wanted to win a few more national titles in the club colours so that was a big motivation to switch black to the Hawke’s Bay Rowing Club black-and-white. It’s fantastic and it’s a real privilege to row alongside Emma. She’s such an amazing person and an incredible rower and it’s very cool we can do it in our club colours.
“The Hawke’s Bay Rowing Club is amazing. We’ve got five Olympic gold medals [won by Keith Trask, Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell twice, Twigg and Mackintosh] from the club and, if you compare that to the amount of members, that’s a high ratio.’’
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