PURNELL Nicholas

General
BROTHER
He and his brother Alex both competed for Australia at the 2018 World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and the 2019 edition in Linz-Ottensheim, Austria. He says although he enjoys rowing with Alex, he does not see him differently to other teammates. "I always thought it was a possibility that we could be on the team at the same time. Alex developed comparatively quite a bit later than myself, and on my side of the equation it seemed that maybe I'd peaked early in my career and my time had passed. It has been great that it's finally happened. We're close, but he's also just another member of the team, so there's not a huge difference in how we go about things. It's really good to have him around, I think we complement each other well." (rowingaustralia.com.au, 28 Aug 2018)

BREAK FROM SPORT
After being a member of the crew that failed to secure an Olympic quota spot in the men's eight for the 2016 Games, he decided to take an 18-month break from the sport and work away from rowing. He returned to the boat in 2018. "The good thing about having been away for 18 months was that I was able to take stock and reassess what worked for me and what didn't. It was always in the back of my mind to come back to it, however I felt the time was right for me delve into the real world, bolster my CV, and explore other avenues and opportunities in life before considering a return to rowing." (rowingaustralia.com.au, 28 Aug 2018)

DOCUMENTARY
He appears in a short documentary film named 'Silent Without the Sun' and directed by Australian rower Edward de Carvalho. The film focuses on the problems that Australian rowers faced in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. (olympics.com, 11 May 2021)