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Harry Molloy enjoys unconventional journey to the podium
New Zealand coxswain and St Peter’s College rowing coach Harry Molloy enjoyed a magical moment when steering the Mixed Eights crew to a historic bronze medal at the 2025 World Championships in Shanghai. We chat to the 24-year-old about his passion for coaching and his unorthodox route to a global podium.
After a below-par heat row in which the New Zealand Mixed Eight crew scraped into the final at the World Championships coxswain Harry Molloy admitted the team required a radical change in tactics.
Finishing sixth fastest and only just advancing to the medal race was not in the script and Harry recalls the honest conversations the crew needed to have ahead of the final later that day.
“Our distance per stroke was rubbish, and that’s when we made the decision to rip up the old plan and just ‘swing on it’ hard in the final,” explains Harry. “There was no pride in racing steadily and consistently and finishing sixth. We were going to gun it to the 800m mark and try to get on the podium.”
The masterplan worked beautifully. Competing in lane one, New Zealand led in the early stages and held third at 500m behind eventual gold and silver medallists Romania and Italy, respectively.
“The plan worked a treat,” said Harry. “Romania were gone, but we were close to Italy and three-quarters of a length up on the US"
With rising belief that the crew could podium they crossed the line in bronze – more than a second-and-a-half clear of the US in fourth.
It was an outstanding medal for the nine-strong crew - which included gold medal-winning Men’s Pair Oli Welch and Benjamin Taylor and bronze medal-winning four, Isla Blake, Juliette Lequeux, Rebecca Leigh and Alana Sherman – but also rich reward for Harry, whose journey is truly inspirational and proves that there are multiple routes to the podium.
Harry steered the NZ Mixed Eight crew to a historic bronze medal at the 2025 World Championships in Shanghai.
Harry joined the St Peter’s College rowing programme in Auckland as a Year 10 student and as one of the smaller kids he was encouraged to take on a role as a coxswain.
Naturally competitive and loving how hard work could reap rewards in rowing he went on to bank no less than four Maadi Regatta bronze medals for SPC.
“Initially, I probably liked winning more than rowing but over time I learned to adore rowing, I enjoy the team building, camaraderie and working towards a common goal,” he says.
However, like many boys at the end of his school rowing journey he quit only to re-engage with the sport two-and-a-half years later while studying at the University of Otago.
Inspired once more he joined West End Rowing Club and re-engaged he read “every piece of rowing literature” he could to improve as a coxswain.
Within just several months of re-starting the sport he was offered a trial for the New Zealand U21 squad and so began his meteoric rise.
“In 2018, I didn’t even receive a North vs South trial, yet somehow, three years later, without having coxed for two-and-a-half of those years, I’m selected for the New Zealand U21 national team. It’s funny how it works out.”
In 2023 he was selected for the New Zealand Coxed Four team at the World U23 Championships in Bulgaria and competing coincidentally alongside two other SPC old boys - Harry Fitzpatrick and Sean McHugh – they finished fifth in the A Final of the Coxed Four.
Harry was selected for the 2023 New Zealand Coxed Four team at the World U23 Championships in Bulgaria and competed alongside two other SPC old boys - Harry Fitzpatrick and Sean McHugh. Harry pictured above with his crew and coach.
After a six-month racing stint in England with Thames Rowing Club, which included a prestigious victory in the Thames Challenge Cup at the iconic Henley Regatta, he returned to coaching at SPC in the second half of last year.
He had started coaching at SPC in 2021 as a U15 Assistant Coach after being advised that coaching would help his craft as a coxswain.
However, he approached the 2024-25 season as a SPC Novice Coach, not totally convinced the role was for him.
“Over the years I’ve um’ed and ah’ed a little bit about coaching, but the SPC U15/novice group from last year are so deathly competitive and so much fun to be around, it is infectious,” adds Harry. “The way all 25 of the lads interacted was very special. It certified my belief that coaching was for me.”
Coach Harry with his St Peter's College gold medal winning U15 Octi crew at North Island Secondary Schools Championships.
Inspired in his coaching role at SPC, Harry was also flying high as a coxswain and was invited to compete at the prestigious 2025 Windermere Cup in Seattle. Then later in the year, Harry earned selection in the New Zealand Mixed Eight boat, the first time the event, which comprises four men, four women and a coxswain, featured at a World Championships.
Harry and his crew racing at the prestigious Windermere Cup in Seattle.
With many sports encouraged to introduce more mixed gender events, Harry was delighted, for several reasons, at the decision made by World Rowing.
“I’m an advocate for the Mixed Eight, firstly because it is a seat for the coxswain, and the event does bring a really fun vibe,” he adds. “It’s good for the sport too; viewership goes up while the number of athletes at the regatta remains the same. It bodes well for the longevity of rowing as an Olympic sport.”
The event will help increase viewership while the cost remains the same (athletes cannot specifically be selected for the Mixed Eight and the rowers must have taken part in another event). I believe the introduction of Mixed Eight bodes well for the longevity of rowing at the elite level. It is a cool innovation.”
Competing on the final day of competition, Harry had a long wait before taking to the water for the morning heats.
Aiming for an automatic qualification spot via the first two, the New Zealand crew did not execute as they would have wished. However, finishing fourth in heat two they critically advanced into the six-strong final as the sixth fastest crew and were given a second chance in the final. It was an opportunity they made the most of to deliver bronze.
“We were expected to finish sixth in the final following our heat, but to go out with eight mates and pull off our tactical plan was electric. It was such a cool moment.”
Collecting his medal later that evening, Harry swells with pride when talking about his achievement.
“It was pretty cool,” he says. “My mum and younger brother Oscar (a current Year 13 student and former SPC coxswain) flew over to watch me. I don’t think I ever believed I would get to a World Championship podium, not through lack of ability but I didn’t ever think they would be a seat for a coxswain. It was all very surreal.”
Harry (far left) and his Mixed eight 2025 World Rowing Championship crew collecting their medals in Shanghai.
Steve Landells
Steve Landells is an experienced communications specialist and sportswriter with more than 25 years' experience. He is currently a proud dad of a rower who competes for St Peter's College, Auckland.
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Harry Molloy enjoys unconventional journey to the podium
New Zealand coxswain and St Peter’s College rowing coach Harry Molloy enjoyed a magical moment when steering the Mixed Eights crew to a historic bronze medal at the 2025 World Championships in Shanghai. We chat to the 24-year-old about his passion for coaching and his unorthodox route to a global podium.
After a below-par heat row in which the New Zealand Mixed Eight crew scraped into the final at the World Championships coxswain Harry Molloy admitted the team required a radical change in tactics.
Finishing sixth fastest and only just advancing to the medal race was not in the script and Harry recalls the honest conversations the crew needed to have ahead of the final later that day.
“Our distance per stroke was rubbish, and that’s when we made the decision to rip up the old plan and just ‘swing on it’ hard in the final,” explains Harry. “There was no pride in racing steadily and consistently and finishing sixth. We were going to gun it to the 800m mark and try to get on the podium.”
The masterplan worked beautifully. Competing in lane one, New Zealand led in the early stages and held third at 500m behind eventual gold and silver medallists Romania and Italy, respectively.
“The plan worked a treat,” said Harry. “Romania were gone, but we were close to Italy and three-quarters of a length up on the US"
With rising belief that the crew could podium they crossed the line in bronze – more than a second-and-a-half clear of the US in fourth.
It was an outstanding medal for the nine-strong crew - which included gold medal-winning Men’s Pair Oli Welch and Benjamin Taylor and bronze medal-winning four, Isla Blake, Juliette Lequeux, Rebecca Leigh and Alana Sherman – but also rich reward for Harry, whose journey is truly inspirational and proves that there are multiple routes to the podium.
Harry steered the NZ Mixed Eight crew to a historic bronze medal at the 2025 World Championships in Shanghai.
Harry joined the St Peter’s College rowing programme in Auckland as a Year 10 student and as one of the smaller kids he was encouraged to take on a role as a coxswain.
Naturally competitive and loving how hard work could reap rewards in rowing he went on to bank no less than four Maadi Regatta bronze medals for SPC.
“Initially, I probably liked winning more than rowing but over time I learned to adore rowing, I enjoy the team building, camaraderie and working towards a common goal,” he says.
However, like many boys at the end of his school rowing journey he quit only to re-engage with the sport two-and-a-half years later while studying at the University of Otago.
Inspired once more he joined West End Rowing Club and re-engaged he read “every piece of rowing literature” he could to improve as a coxswain.
Within just several months of re-starting the sport he was offered a trial for the New Zealand U21 squad and so began his meteoric rise.
“In 2018, I didn’t even receive a North vs South trial, yet somehow, three years later, without having coxed for two-and-a-half of those years, I’m selected for the New Zealand U21 national team. It’s funny how it works out.”
In 2023 he was selected for the New Zealand Coxed Four team at the World U23 Championships in Bulgaria and competing coincidentally alongside two other SPC old boys - Harry Fitzpatrick and Sean McHugh – they finished fifth in the A Final of the Coxed Four.
Harry was selected for the 2023 New Zealand Coxed Four team at the World U23 Championships in Bulgaria and competed alongside two other SPC old boys - Harry Fitzpatrick and Sean McHugh. Harry pictured above with his crew and coach.
After a six-month racing stint in England with Thames Rowing Club, which included a prestigious victory in the Thames Challenge Cup at the iconic Henley Regatta, he returned to coaching at SPC in the second half of last year.
He had started coaching at SPC in 2021 as a U15 Assistant Coach after being advised that coaching would help his craft as a coxswain.
However, he approached the 2024-25 season as a SPC Novice Coach, not totally convinced the role was for him.
“Over the years I’ve um’ed and ah’ed a little bit about coaching, but the SPC U15/novice group from last year are so deathly competitive and so much fun to be around, it is infectious,” adds Harry. “The way all 25 of the lads interacted was very special. It certified my belief that coaching was for me.”
Coach Harry with his St Peter's College gold medal winning U15 Octi crew at North Island Secondary Schools Championships.
Inspired in his coaching role at SPC, Harry was also flying high as a coxswain and was invited to compete at the prestigious 2025 Windermere Cup in Seattle. Then later in the year, Harry earned selection in the New Zealand Mixed Eight boat, the first time the event, which comprises four men, four women and a coxswain, featured at a World Championships.
Harry and his crew racing at the prestigious Windermere Cup in Seattle.
With many sports encouraged to introduce more mixed gender events, Harry was delighted, for several reasons, at the decision made by World Rowing.
“I’m an advocate for the Mixed Eight, firstly because it is a seat for the coxswain, and the event does bring a really fun vibe,” he adds. “It’s good for the sport too; viewership goes up while the number of athletes at the regatta remains the same. It bodes well for the longevity of rowing as an Olympic sport.”
The event will help increase viewership while the cost remains the same (athletes cannot specifically be selected for the Mixed Eight and the rowers must have taken part in another event). I believe the introduction of Mixed Eight bodes well for the longevity of rowing at the elite level. It is a cool innovation.”
Competing on the final day of competition, Harry had a long wait before taking to the water for the morning heats.
Aiming for an automatic qualification spot via the first two, the New Zealand crew did not execute as they would have wished. However, finishing fourth in heat two they critically advanced into the six-strong final as the sixth fastest crew and were given a second chance in the final. It was an opportunity they made the most of to deliver bronze.
“We were expected to finish sixth in the final following our heat, but to go out with eight mates and pull off our tactical plan was electric. It was such a cool moment.”
Collecting his medal later that evening, Harry swells with pride when talking about his achievement.
“It was pretty cool,” he says. “My mum and younger brother Oscar (a current Year 13 student and former SPC coxswain) flew over to watch me. I don’t think I ever believed I would get to a World Championship podium, not through lack of ability but I didn’t ever think they would be a seat for a coxswain. It was all very surreal.”
Harry (far left) and his Mixed eight 2025 World Rowing Championship crew collecting their medals in Shanghai.
Steve Landells
Steve Landells is an experienced communications specialist and sportswriter with more than 25 years' experience. He is currently a proud dad of a rower who competes for St Peter's College, Auckland.
