Royal Engineer Captain Jim Berriman will represent the British Army at the 2026 Virtual Indoor Rowing World Championships following a series of dominant performances at national and international level.
Captain Berriman is the reigning 2km British Indoor Rowing Champion in the 40-49 age category.
The 42-year-old, who stands 6ft 7in and has served 22 years in the Royal Engineers, will compete in the 40-44 age category in the 1km and 5km events. These are newly introduced distances at the championships. Heats will take place on 21 and 22 February, with the finals on 28 February.
Captain Berriman is the reigning 2km British Indoor Rowing Champion in the 40-49 age category, having defeated 96 competitors at the National Exhibition Centre in December 2025.
"On tours and exercises, if there was a rowing machine we would normally set a challenge with a leaderboard over a 5 or 10km row."
He previously won gold in the 40-44 age category for the 2km at the 2024 Virtual World Championships. Participants raced on rowing machines from locations around the world.
Racing whilst deployed on exercise in Belize at 2.30am due to the time difference, Jim recorded a time of 5 minutes and 58 seconds - breaking the coveted six-minute barrier and finishing 30 metres ahead of his nearest competitor. He added silver medals in the 2km and 500metres at the 2025 championships.
Jim's journey to the top of indoor rowing came almost by accident. A lifelong fitness enthusiast who started martial arts at nine years old and earned a brown belt in jujitsu, he spent years focused on powerlifting, boxing and running before discovering his talent on the rowing machine.
"I managed to get a 6:15 at the World Championships with limited training"
"The rowing machine is always in the gym and one we like to get involved in when cross-training," he explained.
His competitive breakthrough came through the Army indoor rowing programme. After winning his age category in the Army 2km championship with an initial time of 6 minutes 21 seconds, he earned a place on the Army indoor rowing team and travelled to Canada for the 2023 World Championships.
"I managed to get a 6:15 at the World Championships with limited training," he said. "After that I promised myself never to go into a competition underprepared. That's what made me switch from competitive running to a total focus on rowing."
"The pain of discipline versus the pain of disappointment – that's what gets me up out of bed when I don't want to"
His training regime is uncompromising. Rising at 4:45am to be in the gym for 5am, he completes strength and conditioning sessions in the morning and rowing in the evening. He has purchased his own rowing machine to remove barriers to training.
"The pain of discipline versus the pain of disappointment – that's what gets me up out of bed when I don't want to," he said. "I can pretty much train like a professional with the job I do."
Nutrition plays a central role, with Jim consuming 4,000 to 5,000 calories daily through a clean, high-protein diet while avoiding alcohol, sugar, bread and processed foods.
His preparation for major championships includes weekly benchmark workouts and extensive pace work at race intensity.
"It's about getting comfortable with the uncomfortable," he explained. "It’s a mind game. Every stroke is harder than the last. The only way to do it is to break it into segments and concentrate on breathing and technique."
Jim is now one of the top-ranked indoor rowers in the British Army and hopes his success will inspire others.
"We've all known a teacher or a person we have worked with who has inspired us," he said. "I hope I've been one of those individuals. Nothing replaces hard work and consistency of training. If you are willing to put in the work, you will achieve it."
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