Henley Royal Regatta Day 6: Leander crew take first trophy for club as four Henley crews remain in contention on final’s day

SEVEN local crews remained in contention for trophies as the final day of racing kicked off on Sunday.

Leander’s first hopes for a trophy in the Town Challenge Cup ended in disappointment as its composite crew with Reading University was beaten by the Hollandia Rowing Club ‘A’ crew.

They were redeemed with victory in the Ladies’ Challenge Plate, beating a crew from Oxford Brookes University for their first trophy of the regatta.

The final of the Wyfold Challenge Cup was stopped following a collision on the course.

The leading London Rowing Club ‘A’ crew caught a crab and lost pace, leading the crew from Sydney Rowing Club, who were trailing by three quarters of a length, to collide with the boat.

The London crew had appeared to be steering into the Sydney crew’s path, but the race empire later said there was an issue with their rudder. The race was restarted at 2.20pm and won by London Rowing Club.

The morning began muggy and overcast with a temperature of 19C, and a brief shower as noon approached.

Showers are forecast through the early afternoon, with partially cloudy conditions after 4pm.

Shiplake College crews hoped to bring home trophies in their categories today.

However, the junior women’s eight oars lost to Headington School in the Prince Phillip Challenge Cup.

There is still hope for the men’s junior eight oars with coxswain in the final of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup against Radley College.

Leander Club’s women’s eight oars with coxswain will race Molesey Boat Club in the final of the Wargrave Challenge Cup at 2.40pm.

The Leander Club and Tideway Scullers’ School composite crew will race Oxford Brookes University in the final of the Visitor’s Challenge Cup.

The intermediate open four oars without coxswain will race at 3.30pm.

A prize presentation will take place from the Fawley stand in the stewards’ enclosure by Jean-Christophe Rolland, the president of World Rowing, at 5pm.

12.20pm

In the final of the Ladies’ Challenge Plate, Leander Club beat Oxford Brookes University ‘A’ by three quarters of a length.

The intermediate open eight oars with coxswain finished in a time of six minutes and seven seconds.

Race report to follow.

Alex Abuhoff, who is originally from Montclair, New Jersey, and rowed in two seat, said the crew managed to recover quickly after a slow start.

He said: “We knew the job we needed to do, try and go really hard off the start and try and get that edge on them.

“I think that it wasn’t the best start I’ve ever done, I think they might have taken a seat or two on as at the beginning but we really pushed on right at the end of the island and made a statement there and that set us up to keep pushing through the middle.

“On that side of the river we know that we really have to keep pushing through the middle because at the end we lose a little bit of advantage.

“I thought we did such a good job sort of keeping them in the corner of our eye, keeping them at arms distance and just really held that margin and trusted the rhythm all the way down the course.

“It was really exciting to be part of that and I’m really happy with the way the race went.

“We all come from very different place, I’m an American, there’s another American in the boat, guys from New Zealand, France, here of course, so I think it means something different for all of us but we all kind of had the same common goal and it really brought all of us together.”

He said that the crew had “hit the ground running” following a seat change two and a half weeks ago.

He said: “The majority of us have been together since March, but we made a small change a few weeks ago and I think we really hit the ground running with that, and I think we just didn’t stop, so really pleased with the way it went.”

He said it felt extra special to share the win with childhood friend, Kenny Coplan, who rowed in five seat.

The friends came to Leander together in 2017 after first meeting in high school 10 years ago.

He said: “We rowed together in high school, went to different universities, and then after we both graduated uni we went back and wanted to do something special together.

“It feels unreal, we both came here for the first time in 2017, and it’s been a dream since then and to do that with him and all of these guys is really special.”

Matt Beechey, head of rowing at Leander, said: “It feels ecstatic. The guys have had a pretty tough year, so to come away with a win is really good.

“You always feel confident going into a race, you always back yourself.”

12pm

Shiplake College were beaten by Headington School in the Prince Phillip Challenge Trophy.

The junior women’s eight oars with coxswain, who won the trophy last year, won by a quarter of a length in a time of seven minutes and nine seconds.

They beat the finish record set by the 2023 Winter Park Crew USA, by four seconds.

The judge said: “The lower rating Headington got out to an early lead and held it to Remenham but Shiplake challenged at the mile and eight. In the sprint to the line, Headington prevailed.”

David Currie, head of rowing at Shiplake College, said: “I thought from the beginning I was quite nervous about the race. The Headington crew were strong, and I thought they were going to be a very tough opposition to beat.

“Early on in the race they took the lead, and I started to think that maybe that was the way the race was going to go.

“Then through the middle our girls were absolute warriors, they dug super deep, they pushed back, and coming into the enclosures went through in the enclosures but ran out of a little bit of steam in the last 100m so unfortunately, they were the wrong side of them.

“Credit to the school, they made everyone so proud, but I don’t think they could have given anything else.”

He said that he hoped the result would serve as motivation for the students who will be starting year 12 in September.

He said that although they missed out narrowly in this race, he was reassured they were in the “ballpark” for a win.

He said: “Once they have dusted themselves off, I think they will be proud of the race that they put together.

“Nobody wants to be in a race, and they lose by two lengths so to be in a race that you’re competitive, battling for the win and just missing out it’s a bitter pill to swallow, but at least you can look at it and they definitely gave it their best shout.

“On any other day they probably could have beaten them so they’re definitely in the ballpark for the win, it just didn’t happen today.”

11am

A Leander Club and Reading University composite crew were beaten in the final of the Town Challenge Cup by the Hollandia Rowing Club ‘A’ crew.

The Dutch premium women’s four oars without coxswain finished in a time of seven minutes and four seconds by half a length.

The crew beat their previous finish record, set in 2019, by two seconds.

The judge said: “Both crews warned for steering, Hollandia warned most of the course. Crews almost clashed in front of the grandstands and an appeal by Leander was not upheld. Despite all this, some excellent rowing by both crews.”