The 2025 Under-23 World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland, marked a significant moment for the New Zealand men’s eight. For many of its members, including Collegian Matthew Waddell (Sargood 2017-2021), it was a long-awaited opportunity. This group was largely the same crew whose international debut was curtailed by the Covid-19 pandemic four years prior. This regatta had a collective redemption for the group that had put their dreams on hold.

Matthew, now in his third year at the University of California, Berkeley, has already built an impressive rowing resume. He earned gold and bronze medals with his Intercollegiate eight at the IRA National Rowing Championships. He also represented New Zealand in the coxed four at the U23 World Championships in 2023. 

His rowing journey began in Year 12 at St Paul's Collegiate School, progressing steadily through the New Zealand rowing system – Juniors, U21s, and U23s. Each stage built towards moments of international competition, but none carried the same emotional weight as this competition. The World U23 regatta ran over five days with the crew competing in heats, semis, and finals. After an intense semi-final being narrowly pipped by Australia and Great Britain, the crew progressed to the A Final the following day. The crew got off to a great start capitalising on their momentum throughout the first 1,000 metres. After seeing themselves in a good position, the crew put in a relentless third 500 metres to push themselves into silver medal position. Matthew described this third as “The most crucial moment of the race as it gave us the momentum and adrenaline we needed to push towards the line”. Matthew said, “It was a surreal feeling crossing the line, knowing that all the hard work had paid off. It was going to come down to our ability to handle pressure on the big stage in the final, and we did that, which we are super proud of”.