Ollie Maclean

Favourite Venue: Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Favourite Boat Class: Quad

Ollie started rowing in 2012 at King’s College in Auckland. Starting his rowing career primarily as a sculler, Ollie quickly established himself as one of New Zealand’s most promising up-and-coming athletes. His first major medal came at the 2015 Aon Maadi Cup, where, despite rowing up an age group, he claimed bronze in the Under 18 Men’s Quadruple Sculls.

In his final year at King’s College in 2016, Ollie placed fourth in the Under 18 Men’s Single Sculls before earning selection to represent New Zealand in the Junior Men’s Quadruple Sculls at the World Rowing Junior Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The crew raced strongly throughout the regatta, reaching Ollie’s first international A Final and finishing fifth overall. Following an impressive season, Ollie was named Auckland Junior Rower of the Year.

After leaving school, Ollie joined the Auckland Regional Performance Centre while representing North Shore Rowing Club. He showcased an outstanding domestic season, winning the Under 20 Men’s Double Sculls, claiming silver in the Under 20 Men’s Single Sculls, and bronze in the Under 22 Men’s Quadruple Sculls at the New Zealand Rowing Championships. His performances earned selection to the New Zealand Under 23 Men’s Quadruple Sculls, where the crew delivered a superb performance to win gold at the 2017 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, crowning Ollie a World Champion.

Later that year, Ollie moved to the United States to begin studying at Northeastern University. During his first season in 2018-19, Ollie was awarded Freshman Rower of the Year. 

After his first collegiate season in the United States, Ollie transferred to the University of California, Berkeley (Cal), where he began an outstanding collegiate rowing career while pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Society & Environment, with a concentration in Global Environmental Politics.

In his first season at Cal, Ollie helped the team achieve a fourth-place finish at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championships. That same year, Ollie and his doubles partner, Jack Lopas of Yale University, became the first New Zealand rowers based at overseas universities to represent New Zealand internationally. Racing in the Men’s Double Sculls at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Sarasota, Florida, they claimed the silver medal after a closely contested final against Italy.

Following his continued international success, Ollie was selected as the traveling reserve for the New Zealand Men’s Eight at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Throughout the campaign, he trained alongside the crew and played an important role in supporting the team through to their Olympic gold medal-winning performance.

After finishing his BoS, Ollie started his Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration. 2022 collegiate season proved to be one of the most successful of Ollie’s career so far. Ollie’s varsity eight remained undefeated throughout the season, capturing both the Pac-12 Championship and the IRA National Championship.

Cal continued its dominance in 2023, once again going undefeated and successfully defending its IRA National Championship title. Following another exceptional season, Ollie was named the Pac-12 Rower of the Year for the second consecutive year. Following the collegiate season, Ollie returned to New Zealand and earned selection in the New Zealand Men’s Coxless Four. The crew claimed bronze at World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne before continuing their momentum at the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, where they won bronze and secured Olympic qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Ollie remained in the Men’s Four throughout the 2024 international season. The crew claimed silver at World Rowing Cup II in Lucerne before producing a dominant performance to win gold at World Rowing Cup III in Poznań heading into the Olympic Games. At the Paris Olympics, Ollie helped the New Zealand Men’s Four secure the silver medal, earning his first Olympic medal.

Following the Olympic Games, Ollie took some time away from rowing to gain professional experience. He also completed a Master of Science: Organizational Leadership. Ollie spent time living in San Francisco and New York, where he worked as a Client Solutions Associate at an expert network start-up, before returning to New Zealand to resume training for another Olympic ambition.

At the beginning of 2026, Ollie returned to Lake Karapiro to continue training and prepare for an opportunity to join the Toyota Rowing Team in Japan. Spending ten weeks living and training with the squad, he helped lead the crew to victory in the Men’s Eight at the All Japan Rowing Championships. Returning to New Zealand later that year, Ollie earned selection in the New Zealand Men’s Coxless Four and Eight, which is set to race at the 2026 World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam.

Away from rowing, Ollie enjoys spending weekends with family and friends and making the most of New Zealand’s outdoors. He also enjoys relaxing with his family’s dog whenever he gets the chance.