Records tumble as Henley clubs dominate fours head

HENLEY crews prevailed in the first Tideway head of the season last Saturday over the Boat Race course from Chiswick bridge to Putney pier, with many new course records being set in the process.

Leander stole the show as they won all the open fours events as well as the junior men’s category over the four-and-a-quarter mile course.

Elsewhere, Upper Thames won the women’s club quad sculls while Henley Rowing Club won all three of the women junior events.

The weather was kind on the day providing light winds and sunshine for the 490 crews racing.

Leander — who used this event to mix GB rowers with club-based athletes — had nine crews competing in open events as well as two in the junior men’s category.

Leander captain John Collins was joined by Seb Devereux, Tobias Shroder and reigning world silver medallist in the men’s quad, George Bourne. The crew had a good race and took the win producing the fastest time of the day but were pushed closely by Leander’s second men’s quad of Rory Harris, Sam Meijer, Oliver Costley and Miles Devereux who narrowly missed out on the win by only one second.

The women’s four quad, stroked by world bronze medallist Lola Anderson raced alongside Rebecca Wilde, Imogen Magner and Hannah Scott — who placed fifth in the women’s single sculls at the World Championships. This crew triumphed against strong competition which included a full crew of GB team athletes racing under the colours of Tideway Scullers and in doing so set a new course record of 18 minutes, 56.8 seconds.

Leander dominated the men’s coxless fours as they secured first and second place.

The winning crew included World Champions from the men’s eight Tom Ford and James Rudkin, Olympic bronze medallist Jacob Dawson and development squad athlete James Robson who set a new course record of 17 minutes, 43.2 seconds. Leander’s second crew was made up of Felix Drinkall, Lenny Jenkins, Ryan Todhunter and current World Champion in the men’s coxless fours, Will Stewart.

The women’s coxless four of Flo Donald, Annie Campbell-Orde, Issy Hawes and Amelia Standing won their event in style with a 30-second win against second-placed Thames RC.

The men’s coxed four of World Champions Sholto Carnegie and Charlie Elwes from the GB men’s eight, were joined by world bronze medallist in the men’s pairs Tom George and Olly Wynne-Griffith, coxed by Olympic bronze medallist Henry Fieldman, and beat a crew of world champoins from Oxford Brookes to win the event in a course record time of 18 minutes, 7.8 seconds.

The women’s coxed four, stroked by Emily Ford and made up by Lauren Irwin, Chloe Brew, Rebecca Edwards coxed by Morgan Baynham-Williams, set a strong rhythm from the start took the win in their event by nine seconds, also setting a course record of 19 minutes, 53.7 seconds.

Lastly for Leander, their junior boys quad of Nat Gauden, Byron Richards, Guy Hutchins and Freddy Foxwell raced well to win their event and post a new course record of 18 minutes, 25.8 seconds. Leander’s second crew in this event finished in fourth place.

As the event was oversubscribed Upper Thames only managed to secure four entries including women’s club quads and women’s championship quads.

The two crews’ times were within seven seconds of each other with the crew of Yasmin Ryman-King, Courtney Edmonds, Pippa Birch, Alice Pickthall securing the overall win in the club quadruple sculls by just 0.2 seconds ahead of second placed Thames RC.

The Upper Thames quad of Lucy Ryan, Chloe Knight, Beccy Norman and Rachel Borrows finished 10th in the championship event behind mainly professional crews.

Upper Thames had two men’s crews competing in the championship quad sculls and club coxless fours.

The quad of Sam Diserens, Steve Griffiths, Matt Swiss and Dale Bucket did not have a good race by their standards as they finished further down the order than expected. Meanwhile, the coxless four of Hugh Cooper, Mike Scott, Jack Squizzoni and Julian Walsh were a scratch combination on the day due to injuries and illness and finished 13th out of 34 entries.

Henley Rowing Club had eight crews entered — two boys and six girls.

Henley’s junior girls took the honours in all three events — quad sculls, coxless fours and coxed fours — for the second consecutive year. All three crews also set new course records. In junior girls’ quads, Matilda Macartney, Tabbie Hall, Ailish Harkin and Freya Weiser won by six seconds ahead of Marlow and 15 seconds ahead of third-placed Tideway Scullers’ School.

Harkin had won the GB junior trials earlier in the month and this was her second time of winning the event. The crew’s time of 19 minutes, 42.6 seconds made them the seventh fastest of all 80 women’s quads competing. This was also the seventh time out of the last eight occasions that this race has been won by Henley. The Henley second quad finished 15th of the 38 junior quads.

In the coxless fours the Henley crew of Ella Dickson, Pippa Jamieson, Issy Kelland-Shorthouse and Emma Eltze, triumphed by 25 seconds ahead of Hinksey Sculling School. Their record time of 20 minutes, 18 seconds beat the record set by last year’s Henley crew by 51 seconds. The Henley second coxless four finished sixth.

In coxed fours the Henley crew of Emily Simmonds, Abbie Smith, Gwennie Hunter, Sophie Eltze and cox Caitlin Emery — despite a five second time penalty for being late at the start — took the honours ahead of St Paul’s Girls’ School.

This was Emery’s second win in the event and for Hunter an improvement on last year’s second place.