He was an Australian national champion, a representative at World Championships and won a bronze medal in the coxless pair at Sydney 2000[1] Long attended Newington College[2] and coached by Olympian and Old Newingtonian Michael Morgan.

[3] Long was selected at stroke in the New South Wales state representative men's eight to contest the 1998.King's Cup at the Interstate Regatta within the Australian Rowing Championships.

[3] Long made his Australian representative debut while still a schoolboy in the 1991 junior Trans-Tasman series of match races against New Zealand.

He travelled with the squad on their international season and was in the eight when they raced at the Henley Royal Regatta as an Australian Institute of Sport eight and won that year's Grand Challenge Cup.

[7][3] In 2000 the Australian gun coxless pair were James Tomkins and Drew Ginn who had moved down into the smaller boat after their success in the Oarsome Foursome.