Olli Zeidler is one of the greatest rowers in the world today. After starting his sporting career as an elite swimmer, he switched to rowing and, after just three years, became world single sculls champion in 2019. In 2024, he won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, smashing the Olympic single sculls record by more than four seconds – and that was in the semi-final. Olli, who holds a Master of Law degree in tax sciences, is also a Brand Ambassador for Deutsche Bank and an Ambassador for Stiftung Leben mit Krebs (Living with Cancer Foundation). On a visit to Deutsche Bank’s 21 Moorfields offices in London at the end of his Olympic year, Olli shared his thoughts on what makes a champion.

Olli comes from a distinguished family of rowers. Both his grandfather and his aunt won Olympic gold for Germany and his father, Heino, was a champion oarsman too. Heino is also Olli’s coach. Olli recalls, “Switching to rowing was a good way to spend more time with my Dad”.

However, rowing at the highest level requires maximum effort, and coaches can and must be demanding. Is it hard to strike the balance between being a coach and being a dad? Olli adds that father and son have found very effective ways of combining the discipline and challenge of top-level coaching with strong family bonds – adding, with a smile, “My Dad’s job is tougher than mine”.

Having switched from swimming to sculling in his teens, Olli was up against established oarsmen with more experience than him. He needed to learn the hard way. Olli’s custom-built sculling boat is more than 7m long but weighs only 14kg, so combining power with balance – in other words, being fast while keeping the boat stable – is tougher than it looks. Olli remarks, “Falling into a German river during the winter isn’t the fun part”. His reward came with the rapid progress he made, and seeing improvements day by day.

“The first four kilometres are hard because you can still feel your hands”
Olli Zeidler

Olli is clear about what makes a champion: it’s all about discipline. He’s been prepared to train every day, summer and winter, even when conditions are tough: “Unless the lake was actually frozen, I would go out on it.” On winter days, he adds, “The first four kilometres are hard because you can still feel your hands. After that it gets easier, because your hands are numb.” Going the extra mile was key to Olli’s success – he was prepared to go out in tough conditions when other competitors would not. This enabled him to build his feel for the boat, which can make a crucial difference.

Olli’s sculling career took off remarkably quickly, but his progress wasn’t always smooth; he met setbacks along the way. As world champion, he went to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as a firm favourite to win a medal, but finished out of the medals – a deep disappointment, as the Olympics is the biggest prize for him.

Olli took some time off, and then, looking at the medals won by members of his family, decided to keep his Olympic dream alive. He was convinced that the key to fulfilling his dream was to work on his weaknesses, turn his Tokyo experience into a learning opportunity and come back stronger.

For Olli, the Paris Olympics in 2024 became a North Star – a goal that he worked towards and prepared for. He reflects, “It’s important to have a guiding light, because there will days when you feel down. You need that goal.” Olli even had the Olympic rings tattooed on his back – risky, perhaps, after Tokyo, but a sign of his commitment and focus on his goal.

Olli describes the almost physical feeling of elation after winning the gold medal in Paris: “It feels like you’re flying.” For a single sculler, this is an individual success, but Olli is keen to share that success with those around him. “This was not just a reward for myself. It was for my team, for the friends I didn’t see enough of during the months and years of training and preparation, and for the Living with Cancer Foundation.”

Olli sums up succinctly what, in his view, makes a champion: “It’s about going the extra mile. It’s about working on your weaknesses. It’s about working out what you can do better after upsets. It’s about always improving – and in particular, it’s about trying to continue to get better, even when you have reached the top.”

Olli's training is not weather dependent

Gurdon Wattles is Managing Director, Communications Business Partner at Deutsche Bank

Images: Oliver Zeidler