We caught up with James Doran, Boat Club alumnus to hear about his highlights of being part of the boat club and what he has been up to since graduating from his Neuroscience Bsc course in 2022.
"..the whole team atmosphere that weekend was something I’d love to bottle and carry with me the rest of my rowing career.”
James Doran – Boat Club alumnus
Course: Neuroscience Bsc Graduate 2022
Notable Achievements: Raced the prestigious Oxford-Cambridge Boat race in 2023, Represented Great Britain in the u23 European Championships (4- bronze 2022, 8+ gold 2021), Multiple BUCS medals and Gold in the Championship pair.
Boat Club Highlights: “Loch Oich training camp in the Highlands last year was a really fun experience, having such a large squad up there training towards a common goal in Henley Royal Regatta, complete with gorgeous scenery, stunning views (and plenty of Midges!). But the highlight would have to winning the men’s and overall VL at BUCs in 2022, in my final year. A great way to cap off my time at Edinburgh. All the pundits had written Edinburgh off, and I remember sitting down after winning the championship pair in my final BUCs race and just watching Edinburgh medal in every single race that followed for the rest of the day. It was a really special day personally for me (the Championship pair is the first championship event I entered at BUCs, and didn’t make the a final in my first year at uni, to winning it in my last), but the whole team atmosphere that weekend was something I’d love to bottle and carry with me the rest of my rowing career.”
Since leaving Edinburgh: “I’m still at uni! I’m Now at Oxford moving towards my second year researching ALS using stem cells which I differentiate into neuromuscular junctions to model the disease. I’m also still rowing, hoping to race the Ladies Plate with Oxford Brookes this summer at Henley Royal Regatta then have another crack at the Boat Race come Michaelmas term – all this building off my time at Edinburgh University Boat Club. My experience in the boat club has allowed me to progress further into the sport and on to the highest levels of competing – something I’m very grateful for.”
