Young GB medallist and Stanford University student, Hylton Harvey, is putting the Jersey flag on the world rowing map, one stroke at a time…
Over £100,000 is set to be distributed to 23 local athletes as part of a new performance scheme helping islanders to excel in their chosen sport.
Jersey Sport this month announced that a total of £103,500 has been allocated to allow the athletes – who compete in 11 different sports – to access professional development workshops on the Performance Sport Programme.
One of the athletes set to benefit from the scheme is 21-year-old Stanford rower Hylton Harvey, who was recruited for the college team which he competes with alongside studying towards a Management Science and Engineering degree.
Express sat down with him to chat about his sporting ambitions, and how the new funding programme will help him to achieve them…
Can you tell us about your sporting journey so far?
I began rowing in 2018 at school. I had very little success in the first few years but ultimately found myself in my school’s first eight in 2021, the same year I first trialled for Great Britain.
2022 was the year my rowing success started, making the final of Henley Royal Regatta with my school crew, Radley College. That year, I also rowed for GB for the first time, winning a Gold at Munich International Regatta and a Silver at the U19 World Championships.
Since then, I have continued rowing in all formats and competed at European and World Coastal rowing championships in 2023 and 2024, placing fifth for Jersey Rowing Club at the 2024 World Champs.
Did you expect to get this far in your sport?
I certainly didn’t expect to get this far when I started rowing. I rowed my year-group’s fourth eight in my first year and I was much slower than my peers.
However, I was always competitive and wanted to get better.
What do you love about your sport?
I love the unity of rowing.
A rowing shell weighs just 96kg but supports the movement of close to 1000kg of rowers making it very sensitive to our movements. As such, great care and precision must be combined with physiological strength to race at a competitive level.
How do you feel about being chosen to benefit from the Performance Sport Programme?
It is an incredible honour and achievement to be included in Jersey’s Performance Sport Programme.
Being selected for this programme means receiving support to compete at the highest level across rowing’s disciplines, representing Jersey to the best of my ability.
How will the programme assist your sporting progress?
It will give me the resources I need to continue competing at the highest level throughout the year.
Rowing is extremely physically taxing, requiring three to four hours per day of training for international athletes, making recovery essential. Jersey Performance Sport will help me with nutrition and physiotherapy to ensure that I can commit to the required training without encountering illnesses or injuries.
What is your sporting dream?
My rowing dream is to compete at the Olympics for GB.
Even before starting rowing, the Olympics was something I dreamed about as the ultimate stage on which to compete.
Competing for GB has been a tremendous honour and to do it at the Olympics would be a feeling like no other.
Meet more Performance Sport Programme athletes…
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