July 2025: Logan Ullrich

After winning men’s four silver at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and then going back to the University of Washington for his final year, New Zealander Logan Ullrich started the 2025 season in the men’s single sculls. He was seventh at the 2025 World Rowing Cup Varese, but a fortnight later won the World Rowing Cup Lucerne before making the semi-finals at Henley Royal Regatta. He has just been named “The Oarsman” of the year by the US Intercollegiate Rowing Coaches’ Association. He is the Rower of the Month.

How did you get into rowing?

I got into rowing when I was 12 years old and my high school offered a come and try rowing event. My dad and my uncle used to row, so they said give it a go, you might like it. So I tried it, capsized within the first hour and really fell in love with the sport because it was outside, on the water, and I met some cool friends early on. That was in Brisbane.

When did you decide to row for New Zealand instead of Australia, and why?

I made the decision from the moment I started rowing, I always wanted to represent New Zealand. I always knew I was going to do it one day. With Covid, everything was up in the air, I had a gap between going back to college in America, and that’s when I decided to make the move back home and join the team there.

What did you learn about yourself and about rowing at the University of Washington?

When I first went there I thought I knew a lot about rowing and a lot about myself and my own performances. One of the assistant coaches told me I didn’t really know anything, and my ego was like ‘oh, what does he know?’

Over that five years the growth I had is hard to really comprehend. I can look back at those moments and he was 100 per cent right. I knew nothing, and I still don’t know anything, and now I think I know less. Even with five years’ more experience, I know less now than I thought I knew when I first joined.

The biggest thing we get taught is having a growth mindset, and that excellence is fluid. Just being a good person in everything we do. Excellence can be in rowing or in any aspect of our life.

What was the highlight of your collegiate career?

I had lots of amazing and challenging moments in rowing, but the highlight would have to be the friends and connections and lifelong friendships I made through college.

What was the build-up to Paris like, and how did you find the Olympic experience?

It was a short time in the Rowing New Zealand system. From competing at the IRAs in June 2023 to sitting at the start line of the Olympics in August 2024 is just over a year, so it was quite an adjustment going towards elite level rowing and joining a crew of three incredibly experienced rowers that had been in the national team system for a long time.

It was a big adjustment, but there were so many great learnings and challenging moments. It was really amazing. I had to completely shift focus to one goal, which was going as fast as we could come Paris. There were times when that was boring but a lot of times when that was really exciting.

I’m really looking forward to dedicating my time to just going fast; that pursuit of going from A to B as fast as possible was really fun, and especially through such a short lead-in that was extremely focused.

This season you’re racing in the single – how has the transition been from big sweep boats? Have you had any helpful advice from the Kiwi single sculling greats of the past?

It’s been quite a big shift, especially coming from the college system where we’re a team of 50-odd guys. I’ve still got a team of five or six, we’ve got amazing support staff and an amazing coach, but obviously rowing an eight to rowing a single is the biggest shift you can do.

There’s a lot of adjustment, even just for my body – hanging through two oars and the forearms and hands and holding on to the blades is all different, so there are big challenges there and they will still be challenges for the months to come.

I was really excited to be able to have the opportunity to even just try the boat. It’s fun to try it, and to try to follow in the footsteps of the amazing scullers New Zealand has had is really special. What makes that even more special is being friends with them and getting to have their advice and feedback. I’ve been closest with Emma Twigg and Tom Mackintosh, the two most recent scullers, and they’ve given me great bits of advice already.

How did it feel to win the 2025 World Rowing Cup in Lucerne?

I was excited to make the A-final. Being so new to it, the progression system is so challenging in the single.

I knew I had no pressure, I just had to race and see how it went. I crossed the 1500m mark, I felt like I was really fatigued but I knew I was in a good spot. I did a push there and sometimes in a push I might have already been over the red line and I don’t get any momentum. This time it turned out I hadn’t spent as much energy as I might have, so I knew a big sprint was coming.

I knew Yauheni Zalaty is an amazing sprinter, but I knew that if I kept pushing I might be in a chance for a medal. I didn’t think I could beat him in a sprint to the line but with about 150m to go I saw we were level pretty much. It was amazing to cross the line first.

How was your Henley Royal Regatta campaign?

It was a really fun week. I went straight from college racing to the World Cup circuit then tos Henley, so it was a hectic five weeks, but it was the most fun regatta to finish off.

It was a social week, and really enjoyable in that regard. Once the racing started it was an amazing challenge. The conditions – big headwinds, lots of boat wake – I was taking one race at a time. I was just taking one race at a time.

Coming up against Melvin Twellaar, he doesn’t have any weaknesses really, he’s good at the start, he’s good at the finish, he’s good in the middle. I wasn’t as efficient in that water, I wasn’t able to keep up with him through the middle and I was using more energy than I should have been, and so I couldn’t pull out a sprint. I was definitely happy with how I raced, I did the best I could, and he was the better rower on the day.

It was great learnings from that regatta. I need to be a lot more efficient in that rough water if I want to challenge for the pineapple cup in the future.

Where is your favourite place to row?

I’m going to say Lake Karapiro. It was my first experience of what I could gain rowing for New Zealand, so it’s always held that dream for me. It holds a lot of sentimental value, and my dad and my uncle used to row there when they were at high school.

If you weren’t a rower, what would you have been?

I wish I was a professional surfer.

I want to be involved in sport my whole life, in whatever capacity that is I’m not sure. I’d love to coach, I’d love to do sport management, anything along those lines. Sport’s given me so much so I’d love to be able to share that with others.

Is there anyone in your career so far who has particularly inspired you?

Definitely Emma Twigg. She’s incredible. Her tenacity and dedication to the sport, and she’s just an awesome person. It was inspiring being on the same team as her.

What’s the best piece of advice anyone’s ever given you?

‘Be like wool’, because wool is warm when it’s wet. It’s about the idea of resilience in everything, and just the durability of wool, encompassing being resilient. I thought of it as the idea of being the person even when nothing is going that well, being someone that you want to be around and being someone who’s there and supportive and empathetic as well.