Former Deniliquin man Max Rennie’s passion for rowing has taken him all the way to the United States after being recruited by US coaches.
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The 22 year-old is studying at the University of Washington in Seattle after receiving a sports scholarship.
He has been rowing for nine years after developing a passion for the sport in Melbourne at boarding school.
‘‘Rowing is definitely one of my passions and it has been for some time,’’ he said.
‘‘I enjoy it because it’s a sport that rewards hard work and I also like the large amount of teamwork that is required.
‘‘I went to boarding school in Melbourne, at Scotch College, where I initially picked up rowing.
‘‘During my time at Scotch I was lucky enough to be a part of several successful crews including one that was selected to compete at the junior world championships in Trakai, Lithuania,’’ Mr Rennie said.
Mr Rennie grew up on a farm in the Deniliquin area attending St. Michael’s Catholic School and Deniliquin High School before he went to boarding school.
‘‘I wasn’t born in Deni, I was born in Malvern hospital but we moved when I was about six months old so I grew up in Deni.
‘‘I was pretty sporty as a kid; I played a bunch of different sports including cycling, triathlon, as well as footy for the Deni Rams.
‘‘I do miss home a lot. It’s hard sometimes because you really are so far away but I try and speak to my family at least once a week on FaceTime which helps a lot.
‘‘I’m currently still unsure what exactly I want to end up doing but I think it will be something in construction. I am finding difficulties in getting work over here while on a student visa but rowing keeps me busy,’’ Mr Rennie said.
Mr Rennie travelled overseas in 2015 to continue competing and to complete environmental studies at the same time.
‘‘I chose to go over to the US because it allowed me to keep rowing at a high level as well as get a degree. This was something that wasn’t on offer in Australia so I took the chance to continue doing what I love.
‘‘There were a few coaches from US universities who were reaching out to me to see if I was interested in coming over to row and get a degree after the junior world championships.
‘‘There are still universities in the UK and other places that are asking if I would be interested in coming over and rowing with them but I made the choice to go to the University of Washington in Seattle because it had a very good rowing program as well as being a world class university,’’ Mr Rennie said.
Mr Rennie has been a part of several successful crews including the third Varsity that won the world championships in 2017.
He attributed the success to hard work and dedication to perform at the highest level possible.
‘‘We placed first (at the world championships) which was really special for us.
‘‘I would say to those trying to make it big in sport to keep working hard. A lot of high performance athletes have worked incredibly hard to get there and very few make it from purely talent alone.
‘‘I encourage others to keep aiming towards their goals and you never know what might come your way,’’ Mr Rennie said.
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