| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (2003-07-20)20 July 2003 (age 22)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Rowing | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Oli Welch (born 20 July 2003) is a New Zealandrower. He won the gold medal at the 2025 World Rowing Championships in the men's coxless pair.
Welch began rowing whilst he was studying atAuckland Grammar School, later joining West End Rowing Club inAuckland and in 2022, he joined Avon Rowing Club inChristchurch after starting a Financial Engineering undergraduate degree at theUniversity of Canterbury.[2]
In 2024, Welch and Josh Vodanovich won the gold medal in the men’s pair at the2024 World Rowing U23 Championships inSt. Catharines, Canada.[3] Welch won four titles at the New Zealand Rowing Championships in February 2025, winning the under-22 coxless pair event with Cody Johnson, as well all helping Avon Rowing Club win the pairs, fours, and eights.[4]
Later that year, he began rowing alongsideBenjamin Taylor, a fellow member of Avon Rowing Club. They won their first regatta as a pair at the Varese World Cup event in June, 2025, claiming a notable victory over the Croatian 2024 Olympic Games gold medallistsValent andMartin Sinkovic.[5][6] They then had a second place finish in the World Cup Lucerne event two weeks later.[7] In September 2025, Welch made his debut at the seniorWorld Championships, winning gold with Taylor inShanghai, China, in the men's coxless pair.[8] It was the first gold medal for New Zealand in the event since the retirements ofHamish Bond andEric Murray the decade before.[9]
