From Desk to Oar: The Resurgence of Tom Mackintosh

Tom Mackintosh, an Olympic gold medalist in rowing, left his corporate job to return to rowing with the goal of competing in the Paris Games. Realizing his body wasn't suited for desk work, he decided to refocus on his sport. He successfully made a comeback, qualifying for the Olympics again.

Sitting behind a desk and noticing his body becoming sore, Tom Mackintosh realized he needed to swap seats. Quickly.

After five months in the corporate world, the Olympic champion rower couldn't take it anymore. He decided it was time to get back in a boat to win another medal for New Zealand at the Paris Games.

“I’m not sure if you'd call it an epiphany or not, but one day my body was very sore from sitting at the desk. I remembered that the Paris Olympics were only 16 months away, and I'd spent as much time as I possibly could away from the sport,” Mackintosh recalled. “If I wanted to come back, I needed to do it now.”

Mackintosh, who won an Olympic gold medal with the New Zealand men’s eight in Tokyo, then took time off rowing to work at an investment firm in Auckland. It didn't take long for him to realize his body wasn’t built for a desk job.

Watching the national rowing championships on television at the office, a colleague asked how he’d compare himself with those still competing.

“I told him, I think I've been pretty competitive, having raced these guys my entire career,” Mackintosh said. “And he responded, ‘Well, Tom, to win the race, you’d have to be in the race.’ That was a pivotal moment for me.”

Initially not wanting to return to competition, Mackintosh gradually began to miss rowing and recognized the unique opportunity. “The timeframe for the Paris Olympics wasn't that long in the grand scheme of life. I might as well give it one more shot,” he recalled thinking. “Not everyone gets the chance to race in the Olympic Games.”

Working at the investment firm gave him the insight to evaluate the value of his rowing career. “I was learning the value of time and investments,” he said, “and realized I’ve invested a lot of my body here.”

Though he missed some freedoms from his time away—like weekends off and reconnecting with old friends—Mackintosh understood that rowing is a full-time job. “My body is my asset. I need to be physically fit and strong to perform well in rowing,” he said. “Every decision in life impacts that. It’s a full-time role essentially, 24-7.”

After leaving the investment firm, Mackintosh went to Japan to row for a company team as a transition back to competition. Requesting a trial for New Zealand's men’s singles boat, he successfully made the team and secured a bronze medal at the 2023 world championships, qualifying for the Olympics.

Despite the time off, Mackintosh hasn’t ruled out balancing work and sport in the next Olympic cycle. “It’s an avenue I’d like to explore,” he said. “Winning Olympic medals requires a big commitment, and at some point, you have to have an honest conversation with yourself about whether you want to go down that path again.”

He’ll also need to decide whether he can go back to behind a desk again, regardless of his future endeavors.