For the first time in its history, Oxford University's Oriel College saw two of its students win medals at the same Olympic Games—and both were gold.
Liam Corrigan and Charlie Elwes, students at Oriel College, made history by winning rowing gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Corrigan secured gold for the USA in the men's coxless four, finishing with a time of 5:49:03, ahead of New Zealand (silver) and Team GB (bronze).
Team GB’s four rowers, including Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge, and Freddie Davidson—all members of the Oxford Brookes University Boat Club (OBUBC)—also put in strong performances. Ambler, a student at Jesus College, was part of a wider Oxford University success, with four students winning medals at these Games. Another medallist was Roman Roosli of St Peter’s College, who took bronze for Switzerland in the rowing pair.
In the men’s eight, Team GB claimed gold, with Oriel College's Charlie Elwes playing a key role. The British team finished with a time of 5:22:88, narrowly edging out their Dutch competitors, while the USA took bronze. This victory marked the fifth consecutive Olympics in which Team GB’s Men’s Eights finished on the podium. Another Oriel College student competed in the race for New Zealand, finishing fifth.
This is the first time on record that Oriel College has had two medal winners at the same Olympic Games. The college’s provost, Lord Neil Mendoza, expressed pride in their achievements, saying, "On behalf of our entire college community, I extend my congratulations to Liam Corrigan and Charlie Elwes on winning gold medals at the Paris Olympics. We are very proud of both athletes. If Oriel were a country, we would currently rank 30th in the world on the Olympic medal table."
The college is looking forward to celebrating its athletes’ successes as it approaches its 700th anniversary in 2026. Oriel College is also set to welcome another rowing gold medallist next year, Tom Mackintosh from New Zealand, who will join the college in October 2025 to pursue a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the Saïd Business School. Mackintosh won gold with the men’s eight at Tokyo 2020 and placed fifth in the men’s single sculls at Paris 2024.
Two other current Oxford University students also competed at the Paris Olympics, both in rowing. Nick Kohl of Wolfson College finished fourth in the coxless four for Italy, while Jack Robertson of Green Templeton College placed sixth for Australia in the same event.