Meet Sofia Meakin

Words: Tom Ransley

Growing up as one of four siblings the young Sofia Meakin could not always rely on “taxi mummy!” Conveniently, D'Aviron Vesenaz Rowing Club was just 10 minutes by bike from her family home in Geneva, Switzerland, and her twin brother, David, added extra inspiration after returning from boarding school in Durham, England, having discovered the “cool” new sport of rowing.

It is from her family home in Geneva where Meakin logs in for our interview, before driving the four hour journey back to the training centre in Sarnen. Buoyant and brimming with energy Meakin is fresh from her day off but also buzzing with renewed enthusiasm for the sport having made the jump to openweight. The last time we spoke was in Sabaudia, Italy, after Meakin won a world cup LW1x bronze medal. It was 2021: the year her Tokyo dreams crumbled.

Over the course of an hour, the business management student, discusses how best to keep rowing relevant, protect its position in the Olympics, and shares her sporting journey which she hopes to conclude, centre-stage at the five-ringed circus.

Life in the team

With Paris 2024 on the horizon, life as a fulltime Swiss rower is an all-consuming existence. Meakin lives at the training centre with her teammates and admits “me time” is a rarity. “I’d like a bit more time to myself but thankfully I get along with my team.”

She used to live in Lucerne, a 40-minute round trip to the training centre, but moved because, “those 40-minutes are precious! Since Ian [Wright, Switzerland’s head coach] arrived most of the team live at the centre because we train so much”.

Sofia Meakin celebrates on the podium at Sabaudia, Italy.

Wright led Switzerland to Olympic gold at Rio 2016 before coaching in Australia. He returned to Switzerland post-Tokyo. “He is known internationally as being a hard coach,” says Meakin but believes Wright’s approach is nuanced. “When he arrived, he was aware that he had a really young team and I think he gradually built the load.”