For the fifth time in history, Team GB are Olympic Champions in the Men’s eight (M8+).

Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Charlie Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford, and cox, Harry Brightmore, who are also reigning World and European Champions, had to pour everything they had into the race, crossing the line ahead of the Netherlands and USA. This was a fairytale outcome for the crew’s coach, Steve Trapmore, who had won gold himself in the Men’s eight at Sydney 2000.

Morgan said: “It was an absolute blur. Our cox was screaming at the top of his voice, we committed, put ourselves into the gold medal position as soon as we could and after that it was survival of the fittest. Everyone came with us. We held on and I think we must’ve clawed something out in the third 500m. It’s been a fantastic 10 man team with Stevie; every decision we’ve made over the past three years has been about this and no decision has been the wrong one.”

Sholto said: “You dream about this, you work so hard for it every day but you can’t let the thoughts of what it means to you cross your mind, you’ve just got to do what you can on the day and that’s what we did. It’s overwhelming how many people are here to support us.”

Photo credit: Steve McArthur / Row360

The Team GB Women’s eight (W8+) won a brave and brilliant bronze, which is only the second ever GB medal in this event. The crew were also coached by an Olympic medallist, Richard Chambers, who won silver in London 2012.

Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Holly Dunford, Emily Ford, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart, Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde, and cox, Henry Fieldman put in a superb performance. Rowing with the strong rhythm that has been the hallmark of all of the GB crews at this regatta, they held third place behind Romania and Canada through each timing point, despite being pressed very hard by the USA during the first 1500m, and then by the fast-finishing Australians.

Heidi said: “I can’t remember any of the race. I was zoned in from the first stroke, just focusing on Henry, our cox, to try to do exactly what he said on every stroke, one stroke at a time.

Rowan said: “We attacked the whole way. I didn’t ever feel complacent with bronze. We were going for silver and we never came off the gas. If we had, we wouldn’t have got the bronze. So I feel really proud of us, absolutely going right until the last stroke.”

She  added: “The entire women’s squad is strong as a whole. The depth is getting stronger and I think with the programme we’re on, we’re going from strength to strength, so I can see GB moving further up the podium in the coming years.”

Today’s medals are a double cause for celebration for the family of brother and sister Tom and Emily Ford. Emily said: “I tried rowing after watching London 2012, but I didn’t start as a natural. Mum and Dad didn’t push us into anything but they encouraged us – we tried all sports.” Tom added: “They encouraged us to follow our dreams and do what we enjoy. That happened to be rowing, and they’ve supported us ever since we decided that we wanted to do it full time and throughout university. Ultimately they’re the reason we were on that podium today.”

The eight rowing medals won at Paris 2024 is one of the best performances seen by Team GB’s rowers. Impressively, 36 of the 42 competing athletes are returning home with a medal.

GB Rowing Team Director of Performance, Louise Kingsley, Rowing Team Leader in Paris, said: “The Women’s quad gold was just sensational, and to do it in that style, winning by the last stroke, definitely gets the message through that it’s not over until it’s over! That got us off to a great start, set morale in the team high and set expectations high.

“We’ve had some cracking races, some great finishes – some we’ve been on the right side of, some we’ve been narrowly on the wrong side of, but you can’t fault any crew. Every crew has gone out there and given absolutely all they have to give, and then for us to finish on that Men’s eight – wow! This is right up at the top end of where our expectations were – it’s been an incredible regatta.”

Team GB rowing squad medal summary

Catch up on all the results from the eight-day Olympic Rowing Regatta at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in Paris here:

2024 Olympic Rowing Regatta Hub

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They join the men’s and women’s fours and the men’s and women’s quads who have also qualified directly for A finals.

The Women’s pair have also today progressed through to the A/B semi-final joining the Lightweight women’s double sculls, the Men’s pair and Women’s double sculls, who all qualified over the weekend. This means that all 10 Team GB crews have progressed positively through their heats.

Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Holly Dunford, Emily Ford, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart, Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde, and cox, Henry Fieldman put in a confident performance to win their Women’s Eight (W8+) heat.

Hattie said: “It’s really good to get going. With the eights there is always a bit of a wait – initially, we were grateful to have a few more days than the rest of the team but by Saturday we wanted to get on with it and it’s great to have one race done.”

Heidi added: “It’s been really exciting watching the rest of our squad race. We are a really close team and we can get confidence from the other cews. Watching the quad, the four, the lightweight doubles earlier just walk away in the third 500m gave us confidence in our legs that we could do the same. So there are pros and cons to racing last but great to get our first race under our belts. We’re happy with our performance today.”

Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Charlie Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford and cox, Harry Brightmore were once again dominant, winning the Men’s eight (M8+) heat five seconds ahead of Australia.

“It was a good race”, Jacob said, adding: “We knew we had to execute a strong performance to get through to the final. It was about keeping to our processes – simple is better. There’s so much time between now and the final, so you could have a flat out race today and still be able to perform. It wouldn’t have changed anything for us – if we’d had to fight to the line we are fully prepared to do that. It just so happened that we executed our first 1,500m well enough that we were able to enjoy the last 500m a little more. The expectation for us is to be on the hunt and execute the best race that we can. There’s no more to it.”

Sholto said: “Stevie (Steve Trapmore, coach) always has a plan for us so we follow his lead. There is always expectation but ultimately we’ve got to keep the focus in the crew and do the simple things right. That’s what we’ve done all the way through this Olympiad and we’re going to keep going, searching for more, keep it as simple as possible.”

The Women’s pair (W2-) of Chloe Brew and Rebecca Edwards were third in their repechage and now progress to the A/B semi-final. Rebecca said: “You want to beat everybody but today our goal was to get to the A/B semi finals. Nobody is getting a medal today. That race was high pressure because either our Olympics would finish or we could keep going. We’d love to beat everyone but the most important thing is to take the steps.

“I think yesterday was interesting because the results from the heat didn’t follow the patterns at all. Everyone has gone away and worked hard and brought their best – and you want to compete against the best. For us we’ve learnt that small boat racing is tactical and physical – you can go as hard as you want but you have to be able to row in a way that is sustainable and play the race plan. It’s been a really big learning curve. No matter what the result is it’s always important to Chloe and I that we can show our best and that we’ve left no stone unturned. You can take great satisfaction in putting your best out there. That’s all you can do. The worst thing to be is ruled by the fear of going home and not showing what you can do. That pressure is there and I’m proud of how we handled it.”

Chloe concluded: “We know what to do if we’re in that situation again. I was confident that we could do it this morning. I didn’t think about a scenario where we wouldn’t be here and I think that came through in our race. We definitely improved on yesterday. “

Olympic Rowing Regatta Hub Page

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Of the 23 women and 19 men, 50% are making their Olympic debut and 50% are returning Olympians. These include double Olympic Champion Helen Glover, Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Tom Barras and Team GB’s only brother and sister, Tom and Emily Ford.

“Team GB has an impressive Olympic tradition in rowing, and I am delighted to welcome the 42 athletes that have been selected today for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” commented Team GB Chef de Mission, Mark England.

“The Olympic experience in this squad is huge, and I have no doubt it will be an asset to the 21 athletes who will make their Olympic debut in Paris this summer. Team GB is also set to include more women than men in the team for a second successive Games and it is fantastic to see two mothers, Helen Glover and Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne, named as part of the team today.

“Our rowers have posted some outstanding results this season and I am sure the crews will relish the opportunity to showcase their talent in front of their friends, family, and Team GB fans as they race the Olympic course at the National Olympic Nautical Stadium of Île-de-France in Paris this July.”

Commenting on the team selection, 91ÌÒÉ« Director of Performance Louise Kingsley, who will be Rowing Team Leader in Paris, said: “This Olympic cycle has come with a few challenges along the way, but the athletes, support staff and coaches have really pulled together to create a fantastic atmosphere, culture and training environment that has lead to impressive results on the water. We qualified nine boats at the 2023 World Rowing Championships and added a tenth most recently at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. Now, we have selected a very strong team of athletes with a good mix of returning and first-time Olympians who I know are relishing the opportunity to go out there and write a unique chapter in the legacy of the GB Rowing Team.”

Olympic Regatta Results and more

Meet the crews:

Women’s four (W4-)

Photo: Team GB

Double Olympic champion and mum of three, Helen Glover is joined by returning Olympian Rebecca Shorten alongside Esme Booth and Sam Redgrave who are both making their Olympic debuts. This crew formed at the start of the 2024 season and are unbeaten this year having won gold at World Rowing Cup I, World Rowing Cup II and the European Rowing Championships.

Helen said: “Selection for my fourth Games feels different because the first time I still had this disbelief that I was becoming an Olympian! A huge reason for aiming for Paris was thinking how great it will be to have my family there to watch and support me and being able to share all of this with them is so special.

“Our four has a very good mix of Rebecca’s experience and the new energy of Esme and Sam and I do really feel more emotional for them than myself, seeing them enjoy this for the first time and getting their first Olympic vest. I love celebrating other people, so seeing them have this experience today and witnessing them enjoying this for the first time is amazing. I’m so fortunate that I’ve rowed with the most phenomenal people throughout my career
 It’s exactly the same here in our four and I’m really enjoying working with them.”

Men’s four (M4-)

Photo: Team GB

The four has medalled at every event this Olympiad (nine gold, one silver, one bronze). Identified as part of the ‘Project Paris’ group in 2020, Oli Wilkes, Matt Aldridge and old school friends, David Ambler and Freddie Davidson will all be making their Olympic debuts in Paris.

Oli said: “It’s very surreal to be selected for our first Games. I never really thought this would be a possibility and it feels so special. It’s been a lot of hard work but it’s a brilliant opportunity. There’s a lot more to a Games, but we want to keep thinking about it as another race, to not get overwhelmed by the occasion and to focus on the job at hand!”

Lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x)

Photo: Team GB

Emily Craig and Imogen Grant are reuniting for Paris after missing the podium in Tokyo by just 0.01 seconds and only 0.5 seconds off gold. Since then, Emily has kept a print out of that photo finish on her living room wall. Stepping on this cycle, the double are one of only two crews in the World to remain unbeaten this Olympiad. They have the chance to make history by becoming the last ever Olympic medallists in this event.

Emily said: “Double Olympian sounds crazy! Being an Olympian the first time round was something I had dreamt of since I was 12 years old, so going to two Olympics is even more out there! I thought I would be one and done, and here I am back for Paris!”

Men’s pair (M2-)

Photo: Team GB

Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George won bronze at the Tokyo games in the Men’s eight. They switched to the Men’s pair after taking a year out to study at Cambridge and compete in the Boat Race. They have been on the podium at every race this cycle (seven gold, three silver, one bronze), won their first championship title at the 2024 European Rowing Championships, and are unbeaten in 2024.

Ollie said: “Last time GB won gold in the pair was Redgrave and Pinsent in 1996 and that was the only gold for Team GB at that Games. That’s when Lottery funding started and that makes it even more special to be in this boat class and to try to emulate what those guys did. It’s nice to have the opportunity to put our little piece of history in the much bigger puzzle that is Team GB.

“For me, having friends and family in Paris will be amazing as it gives them the opportunity to watch and support us in something that will seem almost like a home Games. To share that with them, whatever the result, is something really special.”

Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x)

Photo: Team GB

Hannah Scott returns after racing the quad in Tokyo. She is joined by first time Olympians, Lola Anderson, Georgie Brayshaw, and Lauren Henry. The quad were crowned World and European champions in 2023 and 2024 respectively.

Lauren, the youngest athlete in the squad said: “It’s amazing and a dream come true to be selected. I want to thank everyone who has helped to get me to this point, my parents, coaches and teammates. It’s incredible being the youngest in the team. I remember being on a junior training camp and the coach said ‘one of you could still make the Paris team’ and I thought ‘I want that to be me!’, so to actually do it is amazing. I might be the youngest but I know I’m surrounded by a great group of experienced people and am confident in my performance and results. Ultimately, we still have a job to do and want to get a result in Paris that we can be proud of.”

Men’s eight (M8+)

Photo: Team GB

Tokyo bronze medallists Jacob Dawson, Charlie Elwes, James Rudkin and Tom Ford are joined in the eight by returning Olympians Sholto Carnegie and Rory Gibbs. Morgan Bolding was a reserve in Tokyo and will therefore make his Olympic debut along with Tom Digby, and cox, Harry Brightmore. The eight are double European and double World Champions this cycle. They are coached by Men’s eight Sydney 2000 gold medallist, Steve Trapmore.

Tom said: “It’s always amazing to be told you are selected for Team GB. For me, knowing that my sister Emily has also been selected for her second Games (in the Women’s eight) is huge. It’s a really proud moment for our family. Sharing this experience with Emily is just brilliant.”

Women’s eight (W8+)

Photo: Team GB

Heidi Long, Holly Dunford, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart and Annie Campbell-Orde are all making their Olympic debuts. Hattie Taylor and Rowan McKellar have switched from the four in Tokyo while Emily Ford is the only returning athlete from the eight in 2020. Cox Henry Fieldman won bronze in the Tokyo GB men’s eight and will make history as the first male to cox a female boat for GB at the Olympic Games.

On making her Olympic debut, Heidi said: “It’s something that myself, my family and friends have been working towards for a very long time, so the fact that it’s here still feels surreal. Everyday I’m trying to keep focussed on rowing and what we are trying to achieve but I also want to enjoy and feel the excitement of all these special moments like being here today and going to kitting out. It takes a village to get to this point and knowing that my friends and family will be in Paris to support the whole team will hopefully inspire and encourage us to have the best time of our lives.”

Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x)

Photo: Team GB

Tokyo silver medallist Tom Barras is joined by Olympic debutants Callum Dixon and Matt Haywood. Completing the quad is Graeme Thomas, who raced in the double in Tokyo and was selected for Rio 2016, where he was heartbreakingly taken ill before having a chance to take to the water.

Second-time Olympian, Tom said: “Olympic selection is awesome. It’s a huge moment in an athlete’s life. It’s the build up of so many years of training, hard work and effort. All the miles we put in at training camps, the frustration and the enjoyment, it all culminates in this
 selection for the greatest show on earth! Winning the silver in Tokyo was a brilliant, magical experience and I hope we can continue to build on that.”

Women’s pair (W2-)

Photo: Team GB

Switching from the Women’s eight in Tokyo to the pair in Paris are Chloe Brew and Rebecca Edwards. Chloe’s father, Paul, swam for Team GB at Seoul 1988, while Rebecca’s proudest moment was winning World Cup gold in the Women’s eight in Lucerne in 2023.

Rebecca said: “Selection for a second Olympics is incredible. I always believed I could do it and I’m proud of myself for sticking through the hard times and for enjoying the good times and it’s so rewarding to feel I’ve got to this point. Chloe is my best friend in rowing, we live together, we row together so sharing this with her is pretty special and we are ready for it!”

Women’s double sculls (W2x)

Photo: Team GB

Becky Wilde and Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne qualified the double for the Games just two weeks ago. Becky joined the senior team this season and has only raced internationally at the 2024 European Championships and the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. Mathilda returns from Tokyo having taken time away from the team to have her son, Freddie. Now two, Freddie is enjoying supporting his mother on her Olympic journey.

Mathilda said: “The reality of us qualifying is starting to sink in! I’ve enjoyed the journey this time around and it’s great that my family and son Freddie can come out to Paris to support us. Becky is great to race with because she is fearless and energetic and I feel like we are really bringing out the best in each other.”

Team GB Rowing team

Women’s eight (W8+)

Heidi Long (Leander Club/Marlow RC)
Rowan McKellar (Leander Club/Broxbourne RC)
Holly Dunford (Molesey BC)
Emily Ford (Leander Club)
Lauren Irwin (Leander Club/Durham University/Chester-le-Street ARC)
Eve Stewart (Leander Club)
Hattie Taylor (Leander Club/Sir William Perkins’s School)
Annie Campbell-Orde (Nottingham RC/Leander Club)
Henry Fieldman (cox) (Leander Club)
Coach: Richard Chambers 

Men’s eight (M8+)

Sholto Carnegie (Leander Club/Marlow RC)
Rory Gibbs (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Morgan Bolding (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Jacob Dawson (Leander Club/Plymouth ARC)
Charlie Elwes (Leander Club)
Tom Digby (Oxford Brookes University BC/Griffen BC)
James Rudkin (Newcastle University BC/Hollowell Scullers)
Tom Ford (Leander Club)
Harry Brightmore (cox) (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Coach: Steve Trapmore

Women’s four (W4-)

Helen Glover (Marlow RC)
Esme Booth (Leander Club/Stratford upon Avon BC)
Sam Redgrave (Leander Club/Norwich RC)
Rebecca Shorten (Imperial College BC)
Coach: James Harris

Men’s four (M4-)

Oli Wilkes (Oxford Brookes University BC)
David Ambler (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Matt Aldridge (Oxford Brookes University BC/Christchurch RC)
Freddie Davidson (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Coaches: Christian Felkel/Dan Moore

Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x)

Lauren Henry (Leicester RC)
Hannah Scott (Bann RC/Leander Club)
Lola Anderson (Leander Club/Newcastle University BC)
Georgie Brayshaw (Leander Club)
Coach: Andrew Randell

Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x)

Tom Barras (Burway RC/Leander Club)
Callum Dixon (Twickenham RC)
Matt Haywood (Nottingham RC/Burton Leander RC)
Graeme Thomas (Agecroft RC)
Coach: Paul Stannard

Lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x)

Emily Craig (University of London BC)
Imogen Grant (Cambridge University BC)
Coach: Darren Whiter

Women’s double sculls (W2x)

Becky Wilde (Leander Club/Bath University BC)
Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne (Upper Thames RC)
Coach: Tom Pattichis

Men’s pair (M2-)

Ollie Wynne-Griffith (Leander Club/Cambridge University BC)
Tom George (Leander Club/Cambridge University BC)
Coaches: Christian Felkel/Dan Moore

Women’s pair (W2-)

Chloe Brew (Leander Club/Plymouth ARC)
Rebecca Edwards (Leander Club)
Coach: Tom Pattichis

Reserves

Photo: Team GB

Olivia Bates (Nottinghamshire County RA/University of Nottingham BC)
Lucy Glover (Edinburgh University BC/Warrington RC)
James Robson (Leander Club/Newcastle University BC)
Will Stewart (Leander Club)

Team Management, Coaching and Support staff

Louise Kingsley, Team Leader
Tom Dyson, Deputy Team Leader
Jo Bates, Team Manager
Maurice Hayes, Resources Manager
Andrew Randell, Head Coach – Women
James Harris, Women’s Coach
Darren Whiter, Women’s Coach
Richard Chambers, Women’s Coach
Tom Pattichis, Women’s Coach
Paul Stannard, Head Coach – Men
Dan Moore, Men’s Coach
Steve Trapmore, Men’s Coach
Christian Felkel, Men’s Coach
Ann Redgrave, Team Doctor
Penny Stern, Team Physiotherapist
Emma Stewart, Team Physiotherapist
Gareth Turner, Sports Scientist
Molly Lloyd-Jones, Sports Scientist
Shelley Wyatt, Team GB Press Officer
Paul Cobbett, Regatta Support
John Gearing, Regatta Support
Dan Lockey, Regatta Support

Crew photos: Team GB

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Added to the bronze won on Saturday, the eight medal haul saw GB finish second on the medal table, tied on the number of golds with the Netherlands.

The Women’s four (W4-) of Helen Glover, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten won gold 2.5 seconds ahead of the Dutch World Champions, to maintain their winning streak in 2024. Esme said: “The result here is important, it’s a beautiful event, the scenery is amazing and it’s a great place to come. I think after the Europeans we sat down and put down a few things we wanted to work on, today was a really good chance to put those building blocks into place and have a good run down the track. Winning emotions are amazing, my parents are here and it’s so special to have everyone out here supporting us.”

Helen added: “Lucerne is an amazing regatta in its own right
. This race is just such a special event for our sport. So to be out here, to be racing, to be winning in a nice, more controlled style, is great. We know where we want to get to and to see the pieces falling into place this early in the season is really encouraging, because we do feel like there’s more to come.”

Only two crews in the world remain unbeaten this Olympiad, and one of those is Emily Craig and Imogen Grant in the Lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x). The double led their final throughout, despite some initial pressure from New Zealand, and crossed the line with clear water. “We relish the competition,” Emily said, “It’s always great to come down the track – from the first World Cup, the Europeans when I was absent and now we’ve raced everyone who is likely to be in that A Final at the Olympics in two months time, so it’s nice to put a post in the ground. Getting back in the boat is a real testament to the bond that Imo and I have and between us and Darren, our coach. To get through the last few weeks and put out a performance like that. It was not only back to where we were but frankly a step on to where we have been. It feels very special and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve done.”

When asked about their Tokyo result, Imogen said: “I feel like at this point we’ve done the result in Tokyo justice. We came back with a point to prove and we’ve proven it over the last few seasons. The chance at having another crack at the Olympics is very exciting. But in honesty, we just want to be proud of how we row and race and so far that’s come every time we’ve raced together this season. I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved over the last few years, it’s such a privilege getting to do this together and regardless of the results in a couple of months time I know I’m going to cross the line in floods of tears because we’ll never get to do it again.”

It was a second World Cup gold in 2024 for Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George in the Men’s pair (M2-), also maintaining their winning streak this season. Ollie said: “It’s nice to be unbeaten. Great.  But we don’t want to dwell on that, we don’t want to stop. We have learnings to take away and there are parts that we know can be better. But we are happy with today and it’s good to get a win on a beautiful lake.”

Tom added: “We were in control and we are happy with that, but we’re never going to stop and be happy with where we’re at. We’ll keep pushing. People keep asking us about expectations and telling us we’re favourites now, it doesn’t really matter. We have a lot of training to do and we want to keep pushing to find more speed.”

GB stormed to victory in the Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x) with an emphatic win. The World and European Champion crew of Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Georgie Brayshaw led from the off to finish around 2.5 seconds ahead of Netherlands. Lola said: “You never really want to feel like you’re in control when you’re racing. It’s a process-orientated sport for us and the minute you start feeling relaxed, for us that’s a minute where someone could slip through your fingers. We try to stay internal and by that logic we don’t really notice what’s going on around us. But it’s spicy inside the boat. We never feel sleepy.”

Hannah added: “We’ve started to hear more about the Olympic gold medal that people have been chasing for years, but there’s plenty of people who are just as talented as us and haven’t won it. So it’s definitely about things going right on the day. That’s what’s important for us – we have to keep it focussed out there, the biggest thing for us is progress, that’s what we’ve been doing every day and that’s why we’ve been building through every race. Hopefully we can keep continuing on and building the speed.”

The Men’s eight (M8+) was fast and frantic with the GB crew of Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Charlie Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford and cox, Harry Brightmore taking the upper hand, finishing just 0.20 ahead of the USA who had won the earlier preliminary round. Speaking after the medal ceremony, James said: “I feel pretty tired but that was a really good race for us. Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face and the USA really punched us in the face on Friday. We had our backs against the wall there and turned it around to pull out a race like that today. You train hard to race, we relish racing, we love it, it’s why we do the sport.”

It was silver for Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Holly Dunford, Emily Ford, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart, Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde, and cox, Henry Fieldman in the Women’s eight (W8+). It was an epic race, which saw the GB crew lead from the start, only to be pipped in the final strokes by Canada. Heidi said: “ I think we’ve stepped on a lot in the last few days. What we did really well was we executed what we wanted to do, so if we have a plan for the next eight weeks I think we can really build and be in the mix at the Games.”

The Men’s four (M4-) of Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson won bronze behind USA and New Zealand. In a stacked field, Oli said: “Everyone’s come in hungry looking for the big one in Paris.” Freddie added, “We thought that was a good step on from the heat, we’re not over the moon but we’re happy with how we’re progressing and have to keep that going. The next few months will be tough. We’ll come away from this and go up the mountain to training camp, slogging out long miles on the machines and on the water. It’s tough but we are all looking forward to it. It feels like we’re on the up, we need to keep that rolling and not give ourselves a hard time for this result today.”

It was fourth for the Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x) of John Collins, Callum Dixon, Tom Barras and Graeme Thomas and fifth for the GBR2 Men’s pair (M2-) of Will Stewart and James Robson. Chloe Brew and Rebecca Edwards placed ninth overall in the Women’s pair (W2-) B final.

Catch up on full results on our hub page here

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Topping the medal table, Sunday saw four gold medals and a silver added to the four gold and bronze from Saturday. Highlights include a ‘clean sweep’ of golds across the men’s sweep boats, medals for all 10 Para rowing athletes, and gold for both the Women’s four and Women’s quad.

Louise Kingsley, Director of Performance at 91ÌÒÉ« said: “It’s been a great weekend and it’s promising to see us top the medal table once again. We are still learning and building through this season, but performances this weekend have put us in a good place as we look towards the Olympic and Paralympic Games later this year.”

Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George were sublime in the Men’s pair (M2-) finishing the race to win their first championship title since they moved into the pair. “Obviously it’s nice.” Tom said: “It’s a good marker and a checking point. We talk about it all the time but the big one is the Olympics. It’s good to learn how to win and win in different ways and different conditions. Today was a good example of that. It’s amazing – we’re European Champions and that’s really cool.”

Credit: Benedict Tufnell / 91ÌÒÉ«

The Men’s four (M4-) of Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson took the gold despite windy conditions on the lake. Freddie said: “We’ve done quite a lot of stuff in some windy conditions in training camp so I think that helped us, but it’s obviously a different beast in six-lane racing versus just doing pieces on our own. I think it took quite a lot of commitment through the middle of the race to get ourselves back into it and lead it and to build our rhythm from there. We said after our heat we didn’t just want to sit or be satisfied, so we had a real focus of just doing our own piece and to be happy with where we were. I think that helped us during the long race because we had quite a simple plan. Obviously there’s still a bit to improve but it worked well for us.”

David added: “Obviously we want to get the win so we’re happy with that, because we’ve only had a week and a half to turn around and improve after falling short in Varese. There’s now three weeks until the next race and we can work on quite a lot of things in that time. There’s a lot of positives to take away, but we know there are a lot of really good crews to come in and the Italians are always going to be a force to be reckoned with. We worked hard and focused after World Cup I, if anything, having a slightly disappointing second place at the World Cup galvanised us into getting our eyes on the prize, sometimes you need a kick up the backside to do it.”

Credit: Benedict Tufnell / 91ÌÒÉ«

Another dominant crew were Lauren Rowles and Gregg Stevenson in the PR2 Mixed double sculls (PR2 Mix2x), winning back to back European titles. Gregg said: “This is my first double medal. We won the Europeans last year so to come here and do it again is pretty special. This is a springboard now, we’ve worked hard over the winter and we know what we have to do.

Lauren dedicated the win to her partner and five week old baby, “Five weeks ago my partner Jude gave birth to our son and so today was for Noah and Jude – I was thinking about our little boy in the last 500m. I was getting emotional being away from him so I definitely did it for them. To be out here and to be able to execute this is amazing. And to have Gregg supporting me through that – he’s trusted me the whole way and trust is a key part of this partnership.”

Credit: Benedict Tufnell / 91ÌÒÉ«

Frankie Allen, Josh O’Brien, Giedre Rakauskaite, Ed Fuller and cox Erin Kennedy continued the unbeaten run in the PR3 Mixed coxed four (PR3 Mix4+), dominating the race and finishing thirteen seconds ahead of France. Ed said: “It was our first race in this combination and the first race of the Paralympic cycle, so this crew is constantly learning and this race was another step in this journey. We’re racing three times this year including the Paralympic Games, so we’re going to keep building, keep progressing, keep our noses to the grindstone and keep pushing on for the one race that matters at the start of September which is the Paralympics.”

Credit: Benedict Tufnell / 91ÌÒÉ«

Newcomer Josh, making his international debut, added: “European champion sounds pretty good. It’s very exciting going out there for my first final today. We executed the race plan really well and I’m just so pleased. We had a big block of winter training at Caversham in pretty tough conditions, and we went out there today and executed our race plan brilliantly. It’s great.”

It was a solid silver for the Women’s eight (W8+) of Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Holly Dunford, Eve Stewart, Lauren Irwin, Emily Ford, Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde, and cox Henry Fieldman. Eve said: “The race was good, we got off to a really good start and a good rhythm. It was disappointing that we couldn’t hold off the Romanians, but we’re learning every race and moving on. We’re in front of Italy in this race who pipped us at the end of the last race, so we’re happy with what we’ve done but hungry for more.”

George Bourne continued to build his experience in the Men’s single sculls (M1x) final, placing sixth. Rebecca Edwards and Chloe Brew were fifth in the Women’s pair (W2-). Earlier in the day, the Women’s and Men’s double sculls (M2x and W2x) B finals saw Becky Wilde and Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne finish seventh and Seb Devereux and John Collins finish ninth respectively.

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The racing came thick and fast, with crews adding eight medals to the gold won by Olivia Bates in the lightweight women’s single on Saturday. The golds came in the Men’s pair, Lightweight Women’s double, Women’s four and Men’s eight.

It was a one, two in the Women’s four (W4-) with the GBR1 crew of Helen Glover, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten taking gold and the GBR2 crew of Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Holly Dunford and Emily Ford taking the silver. The GBR3 crew of Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde, Lauren Irwin and Eve Stewart were sixth.

Talking about the GB crews doubling up, Rebecca said: “It’s weird to be racing our teammates at this level, but we do so many pieces side by side that it feels like being back home – with a few extra crews! This regatta has been a good stepping stone, each race we’ve learned that we’ve still got so much more to come!”

Sam added: “I think we’ve been doing well in training and today was a good row. I think we have got that little bit of magic together which is really nice to have this early on. There’s more to come I’m sure!” Helen said: “A gold medal is the best way to start the season!”

Racing just 59 minutes after the Women’s four final, the Women’s eight (W8+) of Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart, Holly Dunford, Emily Ford, Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde, and cox, Henry Fieldman battled through to win silver.

Holly said: “Having two races today was good fun and a good experience. I could definitely feel the first race in the legs in that second race, but it was good to race under those conditions. We had a turnaround of 59 minutes between the women’s four and the women’s eight races, but it’s good to get those races in the legs and still come away with two silver medals! We’ll regroup with the eight and figure out areas of improvement, but it’s definitely a good starting point and we’ll look to build on that as the season progresses.”

It was another World Cup gold medal for the GBR1 Men’s pair (M2-) Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George (GBR1) who haven’t lost a senior race at Lago di Varese. “We’re feeling good.” Tom said, adding: “Obviously it’s the first race in a long time, so we’re happy to get out there, get side by side and race these boys again because it’s a really strong field.” Ollie described the race as “a stepping stone”, saying: “The Europeans is the next big one for us ahead of the next World Rowing Cup and then the Olympics. So we will keep learning and continue to trust ourselves.”

Emily Craig and Imogen Grant were not phased by the drama going on around them in the lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x) final. The Canadian crew caught a crab right off the blocks, but the GB crew won by almost 7 seconds, continuing their winning streak in this Olympiad.

Imogen said: “We saw something at the start but didn’t let it shake our rhythm and just did what we needed to do. Emily added: “I’m glad we’ve sunk our teeth into racing. We’ve been chomping at the bit to get going, it’s nice to come back in with a bang. I feel like we’ve moved on and shown the world a little bit of what we’ve been doing behind the scenes for the last six months.”

The final race of the day saw the Men’s eight (M8+) of Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Charlie Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford and cox, Harry Brightmore win gold. Morgan said: “I think through the winter it’s tough to keep positive about what you’ve done in the past and believe you’ll still be good when you get to your next race. We don’t assume anything but this win gives us a lot of confidence. One good performance is nice to have on the board and there’s certainly more to come!”

The Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x) of Callum Dixon, Tom Barras, Matt Haywood and Graeme Thomas won silver. Callum said; “That was our best row to date so we’re really happy to come away with a silver medal.”

Graeme said: “For me, 2022 could have been my last race and there were definitely moments in that period that I thought it could be, but here I am. I was a bit emotional on Friday getting the first race under my belt. Once I got over that hurdle we were back to business and I slotted back into the groove. These boys did a great job of facilitating all the little things I needed as I went through rehab, so I’m grateful to them and they did a great job today. Right now we’re taking it one day at a time and just focusing on what we need to do as a crew to improve.”

Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson in the Men’s four (M4-) were pipped on the finish line by Italy to take the silver in a very close finish. David said: “We started well but we felt Italy coming up in the last 500 and they put on an awesome sprint to come through in the last 100. It was great from them and full credit to them for that. I think it’ll be good for us to get onto Europeans quickly. We haven’t had too much racing this season, this is our first side-by-side match up, so it’ll be nice to give ourselves a week to work things out and come back and see where that puts us. I’m looking forward to it.”

George Bourne attacked the Men’s single sculls (M1x) final in a packed field that included the world champion and narrowly missed out on the podium finishing in fourth. Also finishing fourth were Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Georgie Brayshaw in the Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x) and Rebecca Edwards and Chloe Brew in the Women’s pair (W2-). The GBR2 Men’s pair (M2-) of Will Stewart and James Robson finished fifth.

Earlier in the day, John Collins and Seb Devereux won the Men’s Double sculls (M2x) B final, placing seventh overall.

Results from Sunday at World Rowing Cup I

Full results

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Highlights from the final day included a win and qualification in the Men’s eight (M8+), Emily Ford and Esme Booth making history as the first British women to qualify two boats at the same regatta and Benjamin Pritchard returning to the podium in the PR1 Men’s single sculls.

Summarising the regatta, Louise Kingsley, GB Rowing Director of Performance, said: “It’s been a fabulous week. This last weekend particularly has just been stunning. My highlight was the Women’s quad, they were sensational, but there have been many brilliant performances. The first important step this week was to gain qualification spots. We have nine boats securely through to the Olympics and four boats going to the Paralympics next year. The next step is to allow some time to enjoy the medals and then go back and do lots of analysis and then get our heads down for the big one next year.”

The World gold in the Men’s eight (M8+) was once again won by Great Britain. Jacob Dawson, Morgan Bolding, Rory Gibbs, Sholto Carnegie, Charlie Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford and cox Harry Brightmore secured their Olympic place in fine style before jumping into the River Sava to celebrate. Sholto said: “Olympic qualification is always going to be a little bit spicy. We just really believed in what Harry was saying and responded exactly to his calls, and stuck together as a unit. It’s been a tough season but we’ve kept together, kept pushing forwards and kept learning all the time.”

Rory added: “In a race like that, with that sort of competition, not only do you have to deliver your best race physically you have to execute it as best you can technically, which is a tall order. But we’ve done that, I think it’s a credit to the whole crew, to our friends and family. Everyone is a part of it. The job isn’t quite done, we’ve got next summer and the Paris Olympics, but for now we’ll take that win, celebrate tonight and build towards next season.”

It was a second consecutive World bronze medal for Benjamin Pritchard in the PR1 men’s single sculls (PR1 M1x). Speaking to the media after the race, Benjamin said: “I think it’s a missed opportunity this year to move up the field, but given that I’ve only had twelve weeks training this season it’s a worthwhile effort and we can build on it for next year. I’m happy, I’m just a bit gutted at the same time. But that’s the life of an athlete, you’re never quite happy with your performance. I did the plan, I executed it and I didn’t have anything left – that’s all you can ask for at the end of the day. Meg and the baby have been cheering me on back at home and in 24hrs I’ll be there and in dad mode which I can’t wait for.”

Narrowly missing out on the podium but securing an all-important Olympic qualification spot were the Women’s eight (W8+) of Natasha Morrice, Rebecca Edwards, Lauren Irwin, Karen Bennett, Esme Booth, Emily Ford, Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde and cox Henry Fieldman. Speaking after the fourth place finish Annie said: “I’m feeling mixed emotions. I’m very pleased to have qualified as it’s something we’ve been working towards throughout the season. But, obviously, fourth is probably the worst place to finish, so I’m also sad. I think it’s a product of the field this year, racing against the best. But this is such a new project for us, I’m proud of what we’ve achieved and ultimately I’m looking forward to next year because we’ve made it possible for there to be a next year!“

Commenting on Emily and Esme’s historic feat in qualifying the women’s pair and the women’s eight, she added: “Two members of our crew qualified two boats, which was a new challenge that no one else has done, so I’m proud of what they have achieved. I’m so impressed with them. All of us watching were so proud of them. It’s so hard to do it twice and they’ve done it. Next year we’ll be so grateful for that because it gives us more seats. Bring on Paris 2024.”

Kyra Edwards and Saskia Budgett fought hard to win the Women’s double sculls (W2x) C final (13th overall) with another great sprint finish which held off a surge from Germany. Lucy Glover continued to build her experience in the Women’s single sculls (W1x) crossing the line fourth in the D final, placing her 22nd overall.

Results from Final Day (Day 8) at 2023 World Rowing Championships

Photos: Benedict Tufnell

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Director of Performance for the GB Rowing Team, Louise Kingsley, collected the overall World Rowing Cup Trophy in front of athletes, friends and families after racing and said: “The athletes have given us some excellent races – with some that I can only describe as edge-of-your seat stuff but all showing class and great technique to deliver these medal winning performances. Full credit and thanks to the coaches and support team too. We will now be focusing on our preparations for the World Championships and qualifying boats for the Paris 2024 games.”

The Women’s Eight (W8+) was one of the ‘races of the day’, with Natasha Morrice, Rebecca Edwards, Lauren Irwin, Karen Bennett, Esme Booth, Emily Ford, Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde and cox, Henry Fieldman taking the gold medal thanks to a sprint finish in the final seconds. Becca said: “This means so much, I can’t even really believe it’s happened. I think a lot of us have had plenty of races and put in so much work. This has been a big turnaround in the team and means so much to every single one of us.”

Lauren added: “Henry was just calling ‘Go now, go now!’ and we trusted every word that he said. Inching back, inching back, trusting in the process that we would come through in the end. It’s a great feeling.” And Karen said: “It feels really good to be World Cup Winners, that was a surprise! We are just stoked that we came out and put that performance together!”

The Men’s four (M4-) final was a thrilling race with GBR2 Dan Graham, James Robson, Sam Bannister and Sam Nunn just missing out on a podium spot in the final strokes. The GBR1 crew of Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson however, continued their winning streak with another commanding victory.

David said: “It was quite a tough race, the competition is very fierce in this event and it’s also pretty hot. We always find the heat challenging. Being out there was quite energy-sapping, but we enjoyed the challenge.” Matt added: “I think we just trusted our rhythm. We know we have a very strong base speed, and the kiwis and Australians do as well. We hold consistently through the middle, trust the legs, trust that it carries us across the line and hope what happens in the last 500m takes care of itself. We don’t really think about that, we just step on and hope for the best.”

Photo: Benedict Tufnell

“We’re all looking forward to the Worlds,” said Freddie, adding, “ We have a lot of training to do before then, training camps and hard work, so it goes back to square one for us. It’s the end of the World Cup season, we’re happy with the results and now it’s back to square one to find out if we can get some more speed before Worlds.”

A dominant row and clear water win gave Emily Craig and Imogen Grant their second 2023 World Rowing Cup gold in the Lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x).  Imogen said: “It’s amazing. It’s the first time we’ve had the opportunity to wear the yellow as World Cup leaders and it felt pretty good to cross that line first. Over the world cup season we’ve raced most of the combinations, and it’s been good to see crews from Romania and New Zealand come back in. We had a great race with the US double too in the Varese World Cup so we feel like we’ve got a good sense of the field. But, no one ever sits on their laurels when they’re trying to win races so we’ll go back to 2 months of hard training and see if we can get every single thing that we can out of this double.”

It was a second 2023 World Cup gold for Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George in the Men’s pair (M2-) after a thrilling tussle with the Romanians which saw the GB pair cross the line 0.34 ahead. Ollie said: “I think we’ve been learning a lot throughout the week, certainly yesterday we raced very differently from how we did today. We were trying things out, so it’s nice to see them pay off. Romania are a top quality crew, we’re under no illusions and they’re doing about 85 races this weekend doubling up those two lads and they do strange things, crazy things at the line, so we didn’t immediately know we had won it when we crossed the line.”

Tom added: “It’s one of those weird races where now I’m thinking it’s one of the hardest ones I’ve done. At the time it was very internal, we had our race plan – Ollie was really calm, I was probably less calm but he kept me honest and focused which was great. I’m happy with it. It’s nice to win today but we’ll go back to the drawing board next week and see if we can get a couple more seconds because the field is very tight. Everyone is going to go away and get faster, so we’ll have to go away and get faster.”

It was another World Cup silver for Georgie Brayshaw, Lucy Glover, Hannah Scott and Lauren Henry in the Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x). The race saw China lose its unbeaten run to finish fourth. “China were unbeaten and three crews got ahead of them today so this leaves this event wide open for the worlds,“ said Lauren. Hannah added: “I’m really proud of the GB women’s sculling squad. We’ve had Lucy jump in this week and hats off to her and everyone, because we’re able to adapt and hold our position on the world cup series, I couldn’t be prouder. We haven’t slipped at all, we’ve been challenged but it’s great to see.”

Varese World Cup II bronze medallists, Callum Dixon, George Bourne, Matt Haywood and Tom Barras improved with a silver medal in the Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x) to win the overall world cup. “It’s another step on our treadmill which keeps on rolling,” said Tom, adding, “Hopefully we are going to crank up the speed as we head to the world champs, so two training camps to come and hopefully then we’ll be fresh and qualify the boat for Paris 2024, which is the main aim of the year.”

Photo: Benedict Tufnell

The men’s eight (M8+) race was neck and neck throughout with Australia just getting the edge on the GB crew of Will Stewart, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Tom Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford and cox, Harry Brightmore. Picking up silver medals, James Rudkin said: “We wanted to get the win but fair play to the Aussies for putting together a really good race. They’re a very fast crew so no shame in getting beaten by them. They’re very strong. It’s a chance for us to learn from it and try to come back stronger.”

The Women’s four (W4-) of Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Helen Glover and Rebecca Shorten won bronze behind Romania and Australia. Heidi said: “It’s always good to get on the podium, but it’s not quite the race or result we would’ve liked. We’ve stuck to our processes and I think we have stepped on through this regatta. We’re ready for a big block of training and to see what’s to come in September.”

In the B finals, the Women’s pair (W2-) of Chloe Brew and Juliette Perry racing for just the fourth time as a combination finished in fifth place (11th overall) and Aidan Thompson and John Collins, racing at their second event, were sixth (12 overall) in the Men’s Double sculls (M2x).

Final Day (Day 3) Results from World Rowing Cup III 2023

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GB Rowing Team has added six gold medals, three silver and a bronze to the bronze won yesterday by Olivia Bates (LW1x) placing top of the medal table at World Rowing Cup II. Highlights from an entertaining day of racing include a ‘clean sweep’ of golds for the men’s sweep squad and two World Best times for the Paralympic squad.

Summarising the weekend, Louise Kingsley, GB Rowing Director of Performance said: “Off the back of a solid European Championships we’ve been away, done more work, refined the crews, and I’m really pleased with how the team has come out and performed at this World Cup. Judging on the quality of racing here, there’s going to be stiff competition across the boat classes as we progress through the season.”

Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George took gold in the Men’s pair (M2-), three seconds ahead of Switzerland. Tom said: “We’re thrilled with the win. We’ve set our sights on qualifying for the Olympics and having a good World Championships at the end of the year, and this is a stepping stone to that, so we’re happy. But also we know we’re going back to the training centre on Tuesday and it’s going to be ‘right, onto the next one’, and that’s important too.

Credit: Benedict Tufnell / 91ÌÒÉ«

Overall, we were comfortable with what we were doing and we were happy with our race plan and we executed it well.”

The Men’s four (M4-) of Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson maintained their winning streak despite pressure from Australia and USA. David said: “All the competition is tough from semis to final, so you’re always working harder. Regardless of competition, you have to step on to come away with a win.” Freddie added: “When it’s close in the race, we’re always looking to row well technically and keep pushing on and keep putting other crews under pressure. I think we did a solid job today, but we’re always looking to get better. I’m grateful we came away with a win.”

After being unable to race at the European Championships  due to illness, Harry Brightmore returned to cox the European Champions men’s eight (M8+) of Will Stewart, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Tom Digby, James Rudkin and Tom Ford to victory ahead of Australia and Germany. Jacob said: “Every race is both a challenge and an opportunity so it’s really good to be out here. We’re hungry and know that a result is only a result on the day and you have to prove it every time on the start line. There’s always pressure, but that’s why we do it.”

Sholto said: “The theme of this crew is to execute a clinical plan, we felt like we could improve after the preliminary race, and so today was just about staying in the moment one stroke at a time.

Credit: Benedict Tufnell / 91ÌÒÉ«

Lauren Rowles and Gregg Stevenson won their PR2 mixed double sculls (PR2 Mix 2x) race, finishing way ahead of the field, to record their second world best time at consecutive events (8.01.59). Lauren said: “We came out here wanting to go faster than we did in Bled and we did that so we’re happy. A win is what we train for, we want to be bold and take risks, doing things that haven’t been done before and putting down times that haven’t been done before.” Gregg added “Today was such a positive experience, really rewarding.”

Also continuing their unbeaten run with a World Best Time of 6:47.29 were the PR3 Mix4+ of Frankie Allen, Giedre Rakauskaite, Ed Fuller, Morgan Fice-Noyes and cox, Erin Kennedy. “At the end of the day we go out to get a gold medal, and we’re going to race hard for that medal. We knew with the conditions that the World record was a possibility, and I feel like we raced as hard as we could and it was an amazing achievement to have.” said Ed. Erin added: “This is huge. We started the season with a lot of momentum and it’s only building. It’s really exciting. We have more races to come this season, so hopefully when we get to qualification the unit will be rock solid. And who knows, if the weather gods are on our side, maybe we can achieve another world best time.”

Credit: Benedict Tufnell / 91ÌÒÉ«

Emily Craig and Imogen Grant rowed through the USA in the final strokes of the Lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x) to add another World Cup gold to their World Best Time, European and World titles. Imogen described it as “quite a sprint finish!” with Emily saying: “We felt a bit of pressure having done what we did yesterday with the World Best Time. We came away from Euros chatting about how we had another gear, and we worked on that pretty hard. We knew we would be racing the USA and French here and you can’t underestimate the calibre of these crews and what they’ve spent the winter doing. We knew we’d have to take it to the line today and thank god we did.”

The Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x) of Lola Anderson, Georgie Brayshaw, Hannah Scott and Lauren Henry finished second behind China to take a hard earned silver medal. Lauren said: “we’re really happy with that race. It’s our first race in this new combination, so to push China so hard, we’re really chuffed with that.” Lola added: “We want more speed, to work together more as a crew, and win more medals. Hopefully we’ll take the step up to gold, so watch this space.”

The Women’s four (W4-). GBR1 of Heidi Long, Helen Glover, Rebecca Shorten and Sam Redgrave also won silver ahead of the USA. Rebecca said: “I think we could’ve done a bit better – we can still step on, we’re still learning with this combination.” Sam added: “We’ve definitely stepped on since Bled, but everyone has stepped on so we’ll keep building for the next race.”

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With three crews racing in the women’s eight (W8+) , no one wanted to miss out on the two podium spots. The GB crew of Lauren Irwin, Karen Bennett, Hattie Taylor, Emily Ford, Rowan McKellar, Esme Booth, Natasha Morrice, Annie Campbell-Orde and cox Henry Fieldman kept calm and held off Canada to grab the silver medal. Karen said: “At the start we knew what was out in front of us so we just did our best to build throughout the weekend. It was great to finish it off with a silver. We’d obviously like it to be gold but we’re still building so it’s a good step in the right direction.”

The Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x) of Callum Dixon, George Bourne, Matt Haywood and Tom Barras hung on in a tight race to win a bronze medal. “We’re in the building phase right now” said Matt, adding, “we’re still quite a new crew with the addition of Callum and we’ve been working hard from Bled to here. We weren’t happy coming off the back of Europeans where we didn’t quite get our final right so we’ve had to work hard with a good mindset and a hunger for more.”

Credit: Benedict Tufnell / 91ÌÒÉ«

Annie Caddick and Sam Murray had a solid race in the PR3 mixed double sculls (PR3 Mix 2x) but couldn’t hang on to a podium spot in the final stages and finished in 4th place. Before racing in the Women’s Eight, Rowan McKellar & Esme Booth also raced in the Women’s pair (W2-) final (GBR1), finishing in 5th place.

Earlier in the day, the Women’s pair (W2-) of Natasha Morrice and Annie Campbell-Orde (GBR2), the Men’s Double sculls (M2x) of John Collins and Aidan Thompson and Kyra Edwards in the women’s single sculls (W1x) all won their B finals, placing 7th overall.

In the other B finals, the Women’s four (W4-) GBR2 of Lauren Irwin, Karen Bennett, Hattie Taylor and Emily Ford, and the Women’s double sculls (W2x) of Lucy Glover and Saskia Budgett finished 9th and 10th overall respectively.

GB Rowing Team Final Results at World Rowing Cup II 2023

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Louise Kingsley, Director of Performance for the GB Rowing Team said: “This has been a solid start to the 2023 season and there have been some stunning performances out on the lake but there is still work to be done as we progress towards the World Championships later this year.”

Double Paralympic Champion, Lauren Rowles and new partner Gregg Stevenson put in one of the performances of the weekend to set a new World Best time of 08:02.94 in the PR2 mixed double sculls (PR2 Mix 2x). Speaking before collecting their gold medal Lauren said: “You can’t do much better than that. Certainly one of those days of your career that you will look back on and think it was a special day. One of the best – especially with this guy. We’re having so much fun rowing together – he turns up with the determination and perseverance to make this boat go faster and it’s given me the lease of life to do the same.”

This is what it’s all about.” said Gregg, reflecting on winning gold in his first international regatta, adding: “it’s been my first racing experience and a real learning curve, but there’s sunshine, a fast course, beautiful Bled and rowing with Lauren. She’s the GOAT!”

The Men’s four (M4-) of Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson retained their title as European Champions with a convincing clear water win. Matt said: “We’re very happy with that. It’s quite scrappy out there, windy and bouncy, but we dealt with it well. We got out and didn’t let anyone back in. We’re a new crew so we don’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves – we’re 50% different from last year’s crew, but the two guys have jumped in and did amazingly well.”

Freddie added: “We were expecting it to be bouncy so we were ready for it. I looked down and we were going a lot faster than I expected which was good. It’s a case of trying to keep it clean and not lose any speed, and I’m happy with how we did that. Now the focus is to take this, go to the next world cup with no expectations and be free to do our race plan and see where we end up. That’s our ethos in the four – go in with no expectations and enjoy our rowing and the racing and see what we get out of it.”

The final gold medal of the day came in the PR3 Mix4+ with Erin Kennedy (cox), Frankie Allen, Giedre Rakauskaite, Ed Fuller and Morgan Fice-Noyes continuing to dominate in this boat class.

Erin, who was returning to the team after being given the all clear from breast cancer said: “I’ve run that moment over my head many times. I keep crying. It means so much to me to be back because the last time I raced was at the Europeans last summer where I was quite poorly, but I managed to get through. To be back here doing it again with a new combination and be European Champions is amazing. It goes to the credit of the team behind the team as well for everything they do to get us out and racing.”

Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George picked up another European silver Men’s pair (M2-) medal after a photo finish which saw them just edged out by the Swiss. “It would’ve been nice to come home with the win,” said Ollie, with Tom adding: “It’s a strong field and something that we can learn from. There’s a bit to build on as we move through the year, but a good start to the season overall.”

The Women’s Eight (W8+) of Emily Ford, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave, Lauren Irwin, Annie Campbell-Orde, Natasha Morrice, Karen Bennett, Hattie Taylor and cox, Henry Fieldman also won a silver medal.

Speaking after the race, Rio 2016 silver medallist and Tokyo 2020 Olympian, Karen Bennett said: “It was definitely a blast from the past for sure. The last race I did was the Olympics so it’s just refreshing my memory and going out there and getting everything back on track. It’s great to be back in the team alongside these girls who are just fantastic, and Henry as well of course. So we’re getting back into the swing of things and a silver medal here is a great start to the season. There’s still a lot of racing to come and hopefully we can step on as we go.”

Emily Ford and Esme Booth who doubled up, finished fifth in the Women’s pair (W2-) before picking up their silver in the Women’s Eight.

Olivia Bates finished 8th overall after a tight B final race in the Lightweight women’s single sculls (LW1x) while Saskia Budgett and Kyra Edwards finished 9th overall in the B final of the Women’s double sculls (W2x).

Finals Results  at the 2023 European Rowing Championships

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