At the February 2016 New Zealand rowing championships, Brake competed in three boat classes. With the U22 coxless pair, he won gold. In the premier eight, he won silver. With the premier coxed four, he defended his national title. Internationally, he remained a member of the New Zealand eight. In preparation for the Olympics, they travelled to the 2016 World Rowing Cup II on the Swiss Rotsee, they came fifth. At the World Rowing Cup III in Poznań, Poland, they won bronze. The team came sixth at the Olympic competition in Rio de Janeiro. The last time a New Zealand eight had even qualified for the Olympics had been at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, 32 years prior.