Tom Mackintosh is a part of the Men's Eight who claimed an Olympic Gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games held in Tokyo. His first Olympic Games since his debut into the elite rowing scene in 2018.
Alongside his team, they made history breaking the 49 year drought for NZ Men's rowing in the eights. Through hard work, the team achieved their goal by going through the "Regatta of Death" making them the 6th rank crew leading into the Olympics.
After winning both the men's premier pair and double, Tom was awarded 2021 New Zealand Rowing Championships Male Rower of the Year. He was also a finalist for the 2021 Hawke's Bay Sports Person of the Year.
Tom started his career being selected in the 2014 junior men's coxed four, where they won bronze at the World Rowing Junior Championships. After a break to focus on University, he was selected in the 2016 New Zealand U21 team that competed in a two-regatta series against Australia. He then went on to compete in the U23 men's eight in 2017 placing 7th at the World Rowing Championships.
In 2018 he moved into the U23 coxless four and took home a bronze medal from the U23 Worlds. When the New Zealand selectors decided to take on this young crew to compete at the elite World Rowing Championships in Bulgaria for experience, the crew achieved a final ranking of 15th at the regatta. In 2019 Tom was reselected into the men's U23 coxless four, and he and his crew managed to take home a silver medal. Following the World Rowing U23 Championships Tom successfully trialled for the men's elite coxless four, which finished 14th at the World Rowing Championships.
Tom joined the 2020 Olympic Men's Eight team after the crew claimed gold at the final Olympic Qualification Regatta, making Tokyo his first Olympic Games.
Tom is originally from Hawkes Bay and holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance and Accounting. He also co-runs a cherry distribution company in the Waikato.
As a speaker, Tom speaks alongside his team mate Michael Brake “ a dynamic pair sharing engaging stories covering the importance of teamwork, defying expectations and executing at a pinnacle event. All during a global crisis! Key topics include: sacrifice, high performance, overcoming adversity, resilience, mindset, communication, conviction and the importance of having absolute faith in your team.
Talking Points
High Performance Mindset
Why do some teams succeed and others don't? This talk covers key strategies Tom and the NZ Olympic Rowing Eight implemented to go from a 6th ranked, non-Olympic qualifiers to Olympic Champions in the space of one year.High Performance Mindset
Crafted in a way these strategies can be implemented to any business or team this talk is a must for anyone pursuing excellence.
Tom delighted the 200+ audience of rural professionals at our NZIPIM Gala Dinner, with a really engaging, warm and passionate presentation, scoring a straight 10/10 rating from attendees. F ... keep reading NZ Institute of Primary Industry Management
Tom joined us for NZ Funds Connects, a webcast engaging with thought-leaders, investors and developments shaping business, markets and financial advice. Tom shared his experiences in the lead-up to and during the Tokyo Olympics and his perspectives on balancing high performance sport and academic and business pursuits. We also discussed tips for enabling teams to succeed and the techniques his gold medal-winning rowing squad apply to work together in high pressure environments. Tom is a natural speaker and is deeply passionate about his areas of focus. It was a pleasure having him as a guest.
Tom recently conducted a Q&A session ( over Zoom) with The Canterbury Rugby players, coaches and management. Tom's natural energy, passion and connection with the group was beyond impressive. His messaging around goal setting ,developing confidence in self and team, taking on challenges, overcoming hurdles , and much more were delivered using his own personal brand, resilience and humour. He kept the audience engaged with relatable stories of his significant Rowing experiences. Tom is gold medal standard and his professionalism did not go unnoticed. The group left energised and excited about his messages they knew that they had just heard from a champion of a man both on and off the water.
