Leander athletes help Great Britain bag World Cup series

LEANDER athletes were involved in two of the three boats that secured medals on the last day of the Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland.

The two golds and a bronze medal last Sunday were enough for Great Britain to secure the World Rowing Cup series. GB picked up 27 points in Lucerne and 45 at the previous world cup in Varese.

The men’s quadruple sculls boat of Leander’s Cedol Dafydd and Rory Harris along with Twickenham’s Callum Dixon and Nottingham’s Matt Haywood secured gold in a time of five minutes and 39 seconds.

The quad powered their way through the Polish crew who had led all the way to 1,750m, in an epic sprint for the line to secure gold.

Speaking about the sprint finish after the race, Harris said: “It sounds weird to say, but I had total confidence in us that I just felt I needed to set the tempo, and these guys were with me. I felt that we could row through the Polish and we just wouldn’t give up. Christian always talks about ‘keep inching’ and we just kept moving the whole time, even if it was a little bit, we kept moving.”

Leicester Rowing Club’s Lauren Henry secured Great Britain’s other gold medal in the women’s single sculls. Leander’s Eleanor Brinkholl and Molesey’s Megan Slabbert picked up bronze in the women’s pairs.

With Romania leading, the GB pair were just pipped on the line by the Czechia crew to secure third place.

Speaking after the race, Brinkhoff said: “We knew the Romanians would be fast, but there were a couple of us who were close in speed during the semis, so we thought it would be a fight to get into the medals and then I think we were leading for silver, but then just didn’t quite have it in the tank.

“It’s been a tough block of racing and training, but it has made us hungry for more next time. It’s nice to have something today to show for our efforts in the last couple of months.”

Both GB women’s fours crews were in the A final. In a tight race the first crew of Leander’s Lauren Irwin, Heidi Long and Eve Stewart along with Reading University’s Daisy Bellamy just missed out on a podium finish as they crossed the finish line in fourth place. The second GB four of Leander’s Lizzie Witt, Juliette Perry and Amelia Standing along with Oxford Brookes University’s Martha Birtles finished in sixth place.

Leander’s Dan Graham, James Vogel and Joshua Bowesman-Jones along with Oxford Brookes University’s Jake Wincombe finished eight in the men’s coxless fours A final.

In the women’s double sculls B final, Leander’s Sarah McKay and Lola Anderson finished third while clubmate Cam Nyland and Twickenham’s Vwairé Obukohwo finished in fifth place.

Leander’s Tobias Schröder and Jamie Gare continued to build their race experience in the men’s double sculls where they finished third in the B final. Leander’s Tom Barras was fourth in his men’s single sculls B final.