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Sam made history in 2013 as part of the team that won Great Britain’s first ever World Championship medal in the quadruple scull. He represented his country in the double scull at the London 2012 Olympic Games and in the quadruple scull in Rio in 2016, placing fifth on both occasions. 

A football and cricket enthusiast during his secondary school years in Reading, Sam began rowing at the age of 16. He took his first strokes in Reading as part of the GB Rowing Team Start Programme, making his international debut at the Under 23 World Championships in 2004. 

As a student, he continued to row with Reading University Boat Club and joined the GB Rowing Team’s senior squad, participating primarily in the men’s quadruple sculls. During Sam’s time with the team they set many milestones in the class, including a historic first ever British World Championship medal when they took bronze in Chunju, South Korea in 2013. The team included fellow Reading alumnus Charles Cousins. The following year in Amsterdam, they brought home a silver medal.

Sam represented Great Britain in two Olympic finals. At the London 2012 Games, he competed in the double scull, this time with Bill Lucas, another Reading alumnus. He returned to the Games in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, this time rowing in the quadruple scull. Both teams placed fifth overall. 

He retired from professional rowing in 2016 to take up the post of Master in Charge of Radley College Boat Club in Oxfordshire.

“The University of Reading and its Boat Club were instrumental in providing me with the freedom and support I needed to balance my ambitions both as an aspiring Olympian and a student wishing to gain a top-class degree.”

Sam Townsend

sam townsend

BSc Rural Resource Science (2010)

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Subjects A-B

  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Animal Science
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Architectural Engineering
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Building and Surveying
  • Business and Management, Accounting and Finance

Subjects C-E

  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Classical Studies
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management
  • Consumer Behaviour and Marketing
  • Creative Writing
  • Drama
  • Ecology
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environment

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  • Film & Television
  • Food and Nutritional Sciences
  • Foundation programmes
  • French
  • Geography
  • German
  • Graphic Communication and Design

Subjects H-M

  • Healthcare
  • History
  • International Development
  • International Foundation Programme (IFP)
  • International Relations
  • Italian
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Marketing
  • Mathematics
  • Medical Sciences
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Museum Studies

Subjects N-T

  • Nutrition
  • Pharmacology
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate Studies
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Psychology
  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Spanish
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Surveying and Construction
  • Teaching
  • Theatre

Subjects U-Z

  • Wildlife Conservation
  • Zoology

Subjects A-C

  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Animal Sciences
  • Archaeology
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Business (Post-Experience)
  • Business and Management (Pre-Experience)
  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Ancient History
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management and Engineering
  • Consumer Behaviour
  • Creative Enterprise

Subjects D-G

  • Data Science
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Energy and Environmental Engineering
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environmental Science
  • Film, Theatre and Television
  • Finance
  • Food and Nutritional Sciences
  • Geography and Environmental Science
  • Graphic Design

Subjects H-P

  • Healthcare
  • History
  • Information Management and Digital Business
  • Information Technology
  • International Development and Applied Economics
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Management
  • Medieval History
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Microbiology
  • Nutritional Sciences
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Project Management
  • Psychology
  • Public Policy

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