Oscar McGuinness

SA | Adelaide Rowing Club

Oscar McGuinness is one of Australia’s emerging leaders in men’s sculling, known for his grit, technical skill, and commitment to lifting the standard of Australian Men's Sculling on the world stage. Hailing from Adelaide, South Australia, Oscar represents the South Australian Sports Institute (SASI) and Adelaide Rowing Club, where he first emerged as a standout talent after transitioning from lightweight rowing.

A two-time NTC Scholar (2022, 2025), Oscar’s rowing story is one of quiet resilience and powerful comebacks. In 2024, he raced as the Australian single sculler at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta (FOQR) in Lucerne, narrowly missing the A/B semifinals in one of the sport’s most punishing selection environments. While the Olympic dream didn’t materialize that season, his ability to articulate the emotional weight of the experience, and rally those around him, revealed his leadership within the Australian sculling group.

Oscar returned in 2025 with a vengeance, delivering one of the defining performances of the Australian Rowing Championships. On the waters of Lake Barrington, he stormed to victory in the Open Men’s Single Scull final, capturing his first national title in the blue-riband event. The win, achieved with a fearless second-half charge, cemented his reputation as one of the country's most promising scullers. He also secured Gold in the Open Men’s Double Scull and added a win in the President’s Cup for South Australia, making it one of the most successful campaigns of his career to date.

McGuinness is coached by long-time mentor Nick Mitchell, a partnership forged through shared trust, intensity, and mutual belief. Their collaboration is now helping redefine what’s possible in Australian men’s sculling, a discipline that has long chased resurgence on the international stage.

A product of St Peter’s College in Adelaide, Oscar is currently studying Exercise Science at the University of South Australia. Known for his dry humour and no-nonsense attitude, he names yabbying among his favourite off-water pastimes, and credits Sam Loch as his first coach.

With an eye on big performance benchmarks, sub-7-minute 2km ergo at rate 20, and sub-3-minute 1km efforts in the double, Oscar is as exacting as he is ambitious. But for all the data and goals, he remains grounded in a team-first mentality.

“I don’t care if I’m stroking the boat or the reserve,” he said after his national title win. “As long as we’re out there pushing Australian men’s sculling back on top of the podium.”

In a discipline seeking its next standard-bearer, Oscar McGuinness may just be the answer.

Oscar is currently a member of the Australian Men's Double Sculls. 

Last updated May 20, 2025.