Welch made his Australian representative debut still aged sixteen in the men's U23 eight who raced at the 1995
World Rowing U23 Championships in Groningen. That eight finished in eighth place. Welch studied at
Cambridge University, as a member of
St Edmund's College, following Sydney 2000 and he raced in the Cambridge boat for
The Boat Race in 2002. He was back in Australian national contention in 2003 when he competed at the
2003 World Rowing Championships at Milan in the coxless four which placed fourth. In the
2004 Olympic year he came back into the Australian eight. At
Athens 2004 Welch was in the three seat of the eight when they finished in third place and took the bronze medal. ==References==