Bennett was part of a Leander Club crew, along with reigning World Champions Fiona Gammond and Holly Norton, that claimed gold in a well-contested women鈥檚 eight competition on Sunday.

鈥淭hat was a really nice way to start the season,鈥� said Bennett. 鈥淚t was great fun racing with the girls, they are all up-and-coming rowers and really talented.鈥�

Leander also won the men鈥檚 eight title in a new regatta record as they got the better of an experienced Oxford Brookes University crew featuring Olympic champion Scott Durant and fellow Rio 2016 rowers Peter Chambers and Mat Tarrant.

Holly Nixon and Jess Leyden, World Senior and U23 Champions respectively, teamed up with Lucy Burgess and Emily Carmichael to claim a clear-water victory in the women鈥檚 quadruple scull.

And their club colleagues at Leander recorded a one-two in the men鈥檚 competition, with gold going to the lightweight quad of Ed Fisher, Charles Waite-Roberts, Jonathan Jackson and Samuel Mottram.

The first day of competition saw a 26-year-old record fall as an Isis A crew featuring Ollie Cook took full advantage of the weekend鈥檚 tail-winds to win a cracking men鈥檚 four final in a new regatta-best time of 6:03.17.

Cook was one of three reigning World Champions to claim gold on Saturday, with Wallingford RC鈥檚 Brianna Stubbs and Ellie Piggott continuing their successful partnership by dominating the women鈥檚 double competition.

Leander Club鈥檚 Nick Middleton and Tom Barras did likewise in the men鈥檚 double, while Cambridge University Women鈥檚 BC鈥檚 A crew of Myriam Goudet, Alice White, Lucy Pike and Melissa Wilson claimed the women鈥檚 four title in impressive fashion.

Four aspiring GB para-rowers competed in an open arms-trunk single scull, with Scott Jones (Gloucester Hartpury), Sophie Brown (Sudbury RC) and Ekow Otoo (Marlow RC) winning gold in their respective classifications.

Paralympics legend Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson presented the medals and said: 鈥淭he inclusive nature of these Championships is really important and great to see. I wish more sports would do it.鈥�

This year鈥檚 Championships 鈥� sponsored by Visit Sarasota County, hosts of the 2017 World Senior Championships 鈥� were the first to include prizes for non-high performance programme clubs and universities.聽Tideway Scullers School, Lea RC, Kingston RC and Thames RC were among the clubs to take home shields.

More than 1,000 rowers from 100 clubs 鈥� 19 of which were composites 鈥� raced during a busy and competitive weekend.

Jim Harlow, Chairman of the Regatta, said: 鈥淚t has been a hugely successful weekend at the 91桃色 Senior Championships. We have seen lots of close racing over the course of the weekend, with crews really pushing each other to bring out their best. It is testament to the dedication and hard work that every rower and coach puts in; it鈥檚 great to see.

“I would like to personally thank all the outstanding volunteers, without which this event would not be possible. I鈥檓 already looking forward to next year!鈥�

Go to to see the results in full and click on the expander boxes below聽for聽reports and reaction from the weekend, plus a roll of honour.

The post Record-breaking weekend of racing at Senior Champs 2016 appeared first on 91桃色.

A host of reigning World Champions, at both senior and U23 level, will also be representing their clubs when the two-day competition is staged at the National Water Sports Centre, Holme Pierrepont.

“I love racing at the British Championships”, Scott Durant, Olympic champion

The last time Durant raced, he was part of the Team GB men鈥檚 eight that stormed to gold in memorable style on the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas. Two months later, and at the end of a week when the Rio 2016 heroes were celebrated in Manchester and London, he will line up in an Oxford Brookes University eight looking to retain the British title they won last year.

鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to this weekend, I love racing at the British Championships and it should be good fun as always,鈥� said Durant.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always good to get back into an Oxford Brookes boat and race with the students coming through. Brookes played such a huge part in my rowing development 鈥� I was there for six years between leaving school and joining the GB Rowing Team, and I owe so much of my rowing success to them.

鈥淚t should be a good competition. There are a lot of guys coming into the GB team who will be racing for the likes of Leander this weekend, so it will be tough but we are hoping to retain our title.鈥�

Also representing Oxford Brookes are double Olympian Peter Chambers, twice World Champion Mat Tarrant, who was a men鈥檚 heavyweight spare in Rio, and Joel Cassells, a European Champion and World bronze-medallist in the lightweight men鈥檚 pair this year.

Sam Scrimgeour, Cassells鈥� partner in the boat for both of those races and the lightweight men鈥檚 spare at the Olympic Games, races for Imperial College BC this weekend.

The men's eight from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Bennett鈥檚 last competitive outing was with the GB women鈥檚 eight that won a historic silver medal in Rio. She returns to action as part of a strong Leander Club squad looking to once again secure the Victor Ludorum accolade for top performing club.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited to kick-start the season at the British Championships,鈥� said GB Rowing Team Start graduate Bennett, who will compete in a women鈥檚 eight field that has attracted an impressive 31 crew entries.

鈥淚t’s great to see so many women getting involved and racing. The eight is a very fast but fun boat because you can share all the moments with eight other people.

鈥淚t will be the first time I’ve raced since my Olympic final and the scenery will be a bit different but I鈥檓 really looking forward to it.

鈥淚t鈥檚 great to have the opportunity to represent my club. They’ve given me a lot of help over the years so when I was offered the chance to race for them this weekend I couldn’t turn it down.

鈥淚t will be tough after the post-Rio break I鈥檝e had but I鈥檓 going to go out there and give it my best shot.鈥�

Other rowers with senior GB experience include Becca Chin, Caragh McMurtry, Jamie Copus, Zak Lee-Green and Nick Middleton, who won both the double scull and quadruple scull titles at last year鈥檚 British Championships.

There will be plenty of potential Tokyo 2020 stars for rowing fans to look out for this weekend, including several who shone at this year鈥檚 combined Senior, U23 and Junior World Championships in Rotterdam.

鈥淚t鈥檚 fantastic to see such a strong and diverse line-up”, Jim Harlow, Regatta Chairman.

Ollie Cook (University of London BC) and Callum McBrierty (Leander), powered to gold alongside cox Henry Fieldman in the senior men鈥檚 coxed pair, while three of the women鈥檚 four that won in Rotterdam 鈥� Fiona Gammond, Holly Nixon and Holly Norton 鈥� will race in Leander colours this weekend.

Lightweight women鈥檚 quadruple scull World Champion Emily Craig will represent University of London BC, while Ellie Piggott and Brianna Stubbs 鈥� her team-mates in Rotterdam 鈥� will race for Wallingford RC.

All six of GB鈥檚 reigning U23 World Champions will be in action 鈥� Jess Leyden (Leander) and Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne (Reading RC) were emphatic winners of women鈥檚 double scull gold, while Hugo Coussens (Durham University BC), Ollie Varley (Newcastle University BC), Matthew Curtis and Gavin Horsburgh (both Edinburgh University BC) took the lightweight men鈥檚 quadruple scull title in fine style.

Eleven other U23 medallists and eight World Junior medallists will also take their place among the 1,004 rowers from 100 clubs 鈥� 19 of which are composites 鈥� who have signed up for this weekend鈥檚 championships.

Jim Harlow, Chairman of the Regatta added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 fantastic to see such a strong and diverse line-up at this year鈥檚 Senior Championships. It is testament to the strength and depth of senior rowing across the UK. Rowing is one of those rare sports where club rowers have the chance to compete alongside GB rowers including returning Olympic champions. After so many inspiring performances on the Lagoa in Rio it is set to be a hotly contested championship.鈥�

Races will take place in nine categories 鈥� men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 double sculls, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 fours, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 quadruple sculls, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 eights, and mixed para-rowing.

Racing is scheduled to begin at 9am on both days and conclude around 4.30pm on Saturday and 4.10pm on Sunday. This year鈥檚 championships are the first-ever to include prizes for non-high performance programme clubs and universities.

For more information about the 91桃色 Senior Championships, visit .

SCHEDULE FOR A FINALS (ALL SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Saturday

15:30 鈥� men鈥檚 double scull

15:48 鈥� women鈥檚 double scull

16:06 鈥� men鈥檚 four

16:24 鈥� women鈥檚 four

Sunday

13:40 鈥� para-rowing

15:06 鈥� women鈥檚 eight

15:24 鈥� men鈥檚 quadruple scull

15:42 鈥� women鈥檚 quadruple scull

16:00 鈥� men鈥檚 eight

The post Olympic superstars to race at Senior Championships appeared first on 91桃色.

Thornley and Grainger turned an indifferent season into a silver lining today, battling all the way down the course with the Polish favourites only to be outdone in the very dying metres of the race.

The silver was a first for Thornley – and one she will cherish – and a fourth for Grainger since 2000 to add to the gold she won in the same event at London 2012.聽 The tally makes her Britain鈥檚 most decorated female Olympian of all time.

Grainger said of the race and their early lead:聽 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think you ever feel like you are going to win but we were ahead and it felt good and then you come down very quickly.聽 It was certainly a dramatic race鈥�.

Thornley added:聽 鈥淚t was a really great race from us and a silver medal is so nice, I think鈥�.

Earlier the open men鈥檚 pair of Alan Sinclair and Stewart Innes, and double of Jonny Walton and John Collins produced gutsy performances to finish fourth and fifth respectively. The men’s quad of Jack Beaumont, Sam Townsend, Angus Groom and Peter Lambert also gave everything they had to finish fifth overall – an impressive result after their disrupted build-up to the Games.

Peter Lambert, Angus Groom, Sam Townsend and Jack Beaumont gave their all

Stewart Innes and Alan Sinclair

John Collins and Jonny Walton

Alex Gregory, Mohamed Sbihi, George Nash and Constantine Louloudis produced a dominant performance in their men鈥檚 four semi to qualify for tomorrow鈥檚 final, leading throughout.

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning were equally impressive in their semi, taking an early and big lead before going on to win comfortably.

Will Fletcher and Richard Chambers emptied the tank giving their all in the lightweight men鈥檚 double scull semi but could not get into the top three and qualify for tomorrow鈥檚 final.

Alan Campbell will race the final GB semi of the programme tomorrow morning in the men鈥檚 single scull.聽 The men鈥檚 four and women鈥檚 pair will line up for their finals.

Click on the expander boxes below for full race reports, reaction and results.

For further information about this report please contact the GB Rowing Team press officer, Caroline Searle, via comms@gbrowingteam.org.uk OR the phone numbers in the contact box below.

The post Grainger becomes GB’s most decorated female Olympian appeared first on 91桃色.

Rio鈥檚 Lagoa was a place of joy for four Team GB rowing crews and a theatre of considerable pain for two others today.

The weather behaved, the water conditions were more favourable and the sun shone as five-times Olympian Katherine Grainger and her 2016 double scull partner, Vicky Thornley, produced a consummate semi-final to reach Thursday鈥檚 final in second place behind Poland in an event which saw the World Champions fall by the wayside in the opposing heat.

Thornley said:聽 鈥淚t鈥檚 good to come through. Semis are always very tense.聽 We are now looking forward to Thursday and we know that we can do more and better鈥�.
Grainger added:聽 鈥淲e always said that we would take this regatta one race at a time and we have been doing that.聽 When it was all over today we both said we could have done better, so that鈥檚 promising鈥�.

Two rookie Team GB Olympic crews – the men鈥檚 pair and men鈥檚 double – also moved into the finals.聽 Alan Sinclair and Stewart Innes, European silver medallists, said that they could improve on their men鈥檚 pair heat and they did.聽 Taking second place today they looked strong in a perfectly paced final that saw them put in a strong middle section.

John Collins said that they knew they would 鈥渘eed to go somewhere they have never been in practice鈥� to come through today鈥檚 semi of the men鈥檚 double.聽 They stayed pacey and strong despite pressure from multiple crews to come home third in a race won by the World Champions from Croatia.

Walton added: 鈥淲e have been working so, so hard for this.聽 It is amazing to be in the finals.聽 Finally it鈥檚 come together鈥�.
Alan Campbell, four-times an Olympian, is clearly relishing the regatta here.聽 He was not fazed by the prowess of 2015 European Champion and multiple world cup medal winner Damir Martin in the adjacent lane.

鈥淚 focussed on my own race and not the Croatian and it worked鈥�, said the Coleraine man who was second by a comfortable margin over the remainder of the field and now moves to a semi on Thursday.

Chris Bartley, Jono Clegg, Mark Aldred and Peter Chambers fought a tightly-bunched lightweight men鈥檚 four semi-final but fell the wrong side of the top three dividing line in the final long sprint to the line as the French and New Zealanders came through behind an eye-catching Italian winning quartet.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we could have done anything more.聽 We didn鈥檛 leave anything out there today鈥�, said Peter Chambers afterwards.聽 鈥淲e were beaten by good crews鈥�.

Bartley added:聽 鈥淚 guess we can be proud that no-one held back. We put everything we had out there today鈥�.

Heartbreak also awaited reigning Olympic Champion Kat Copeland and her new lightweight women鈥檚 double partner Charlotte Taylor who are out of the regatta. They raced a repechage this morning but came home third – one place short of qualifying for the semis. In Rio this crew has not looked in the form that took them to World Silver last year.
Taylor said:聽 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have a great start, I think I caught one of the strokes and we got a bit dumped. We came through 750m and I said we needed to really fight for our lives here but we were never really able to close the gap.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it was our best race. I definitely feel like we鈥檝e raced better in the past.

This year we鈥檝e not properly found our gear in any of the races鈥�.

Tomorrow sees the first GB crew in finals action.聽 The men鈥檚 quad race at 10.22 (14.22 Uk time). No British men鈥檚聽quad has ever won an Olympic medal.

The race programme also includes semi-finals for the women鈥檚 pair, lightweight men鈥檚 double and men鈥檚 four.

For further information about this report please contact the GB Rowing Team press officer, Caroline Searle, via comms@gbrowingteam.org.uk OR the phone numbers in the contact box below.

The post A place of joy and a theatre of pain appeared first on 91桃色.

Alan Campbell will launch Great Britain鈥檚 Olympic rowing campaign this Saturday on Rio鈥檚 Estadio de Lagoa at 09.00 Brazilian time (13.00 BST) when he faces opposition from Belarus, Korea, Zimbabwe and Indonesia for a place in Tuesday鈥檚 quarter-finals of the open men鈥檚 single scull.

The 2012 bronze medal open men鈥檚 single sculler, from Coleraine and coached by John West, will lead off a British contingent of 12 boats and 47 rowers in action at these Games at a lake which Team GB Rowing Leader, Sir David Tanner, has described as 鈥渙ne of the iconic venues of the Games鈥�.

Saturday morning鈥檚 race-card includes the men鈥檚 pair of Alan Sinclair, from Inverness, and Henley鈥檚 Stewart Innes, the European silver medal winners (14.40 BST). They have drawn the Dutch crew of Roel Braas and Mitchel Steenman, also multiple medal winners this season, in their opening heat. 聽聽A top three finish from the six starters will see them into Tuesday鈥檚 semi-finals.

鈥淭he guys are excited about racing at their first Games and are fired up because of the support back home鈥�, said their coach Rob Dauncey.

2012 Olympic women鈥檚 eight finalist Vicky Thornley, from Wrexham, and five-times Olympian and Glasgow鈥檚 defending Olympic champion Katherine Grainger, have a tough opener in the open women鈥檚 double scull in which they need a top three placing to progress.

They are drawn to race alongside Lithuania鈥檚 2013 World Champions Donata Vistartaite and Milda Valciukaite in a heat also featuring 2015 World bronze medallists, Germany (15.00 BST).

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very tasty heat and the women are looking forward to testing themselves鈥�, said coach Paul Thompson.

Leicester鈥檚 Jonny Walton and Twickenham鈥檚 John Collins will kick off their debut Olympics in a heat of the open men鈥檚 double scull, which features current World bronze medallists New Zealand and 2014 silver medallists, Italy (15.30 BST).聽 A top three finish for the duo, coached by Mark Banks, will see them safely into Tuesday鈥檚 semi-finals.

Coleraine鈥檚 Peter Chambers and Chester鈥檚 Chris Bartley both took silver in the lightweight men鈥檚 four in London and return to this boat class in Rio where they race with Olympic first-timers Mark Aldred, from Birmingham and Maidenhead鈥檚 Jono Clegg.

In Saturday鈥檚 opening heat (16.10 BST) the quartet, who finished the world cup season on a strong note, with world cup bronze in Poland, have drawn 2014 World Champions and 2015 World silver medallists, Denmark. 聽They also race the Germans whom they beat into fifth place in the final in Poland.聽 聽Three crews go through to semi-finals.

鈥業t will be interesting to see how we run off against the Danes in the opening heat because they are one of the top crews in the world. It will put everyone鈥檚 minds at rest to see where we stand鈥�, said coach Hamish Burrell.

Jack Beaumont from Maidenhead has flown out to join the GB men鈥檚 quadruple scull crew in the past few days because of illness to Graeme Thomas.聽 Beaumont, Reading鈥檚 Sam Townsend, Glasgow鈥檚 Angus Groom, who learnt to row in Guildford, and Henley鈥檚 Peter Lambert will close out GB鈥檚 first day of racing.

鈥淎ustralia and Poland are the seeded crews, so it will be a good test鈥�, said coach Paul Stannard of their opening heat (16.40 BST) from which two crews progress to Wednesday鈥檚 final and the others to a repechage which provides those crews with a second chance on Monday.

SUNDAY

Sunday鈥檚 start-list will see the men鈥檚 four, women鈥檚 pair and the two lightweight double scull crews in action in their respective opening heats.

Gloucestershire鈥檚 defending Olympic Champion Alex Gregory, Surbiton鈥檚 Moe Sbihi, George Nash, from Guildford, and Londoner Constantine Louloudis start unbeaten this season in the men鈥檚 four. They line up with South Africa, France and Greece in heat three (16.20 BST).

Three crews from each heat will progress to the men鈥檚 four semi-finals on Wednesday.聽 Britain have been Olympic champions in this event at every Games since Sydney 2000.

鈥淥verall the draws are good but there is no easy opposition at Olympic Games level.聽 We are here to compete and to show how we can perform.聽 We have prepared well and we are now looking forward to it鈥�, said coach Jurgen Grobler who is coaching at his 11th Olympic Games.

Helen Glover, from Penzance, and Lossiemouth鈥檚 Heather Stanning will race a women鈥檚 pair heat which includes Denmark and Germany who are both world cup finalists this season (14.10 BST).

Robin Williams, coach to the Olympic, World and European Champion duo, said: 鈥淭he draw has turned out evenly balanced with the seeded crews missing each other but we have crews in our heats who can race, and race well, so we will be giving them the proper respect鈥�. Three crews progress from this heat.

Tees rower Kat Copeland, like Glover and Stanning, is a defending Olympic Champion. With Putney鈥檚 Charlotte Taylor, Copeland won World silver a year ago.

The duo missed the latter part of this season鈥檚 world cup racing because of injury but have come through well from two recent good training camps.

Only two crews progress to semi-finals from their heat (14.40 BST). Coach Paul Reedy said:聽 鈥淲e are racing crews that are ranked quite highly so it will be a good first test and we are raring to go鈥�.

Richard Chambers, the elder of the Chambers siblings and a London 2012 lightweight men鈥檚 four medallist, races this Games with Games debutant Will Fletcher from Chester-le-Street in the lightweight men鈥檚 double scull.

In a somewhat ironic twist the combination, coached by Darren Whiter, are drawn in their heat (15.50 BST) alongside John Thompson and John Smith who were half of South African lightweight four who so narrowly pipped GB to gold in London four years ago.聽 The top two crews go on to the semi-finals with the remainder to the repechages.

MONDAY

Britain鈥檚 two eights open their Games on Monday with heats starting at 10.30 local time (14.30 in the UK).

The聽men have drawn Holland, Italy and New Zealand.聽 Germany, the Olympic Champions, are in the other heat.聽 聽Scott Durant (Lancaster), Tom Ransley (Ashford), Andrew T Hodge (Hebden), Matt Gotrel (Chipping Campden), Pete Reed (Nailsworth), Paul Bennett (Leeds), Matt Langridge (Northwich), Will Satch (Henley) and Londoner Phelan Hill feature in this line-up.

Christian Felkel, who coaches the eight with Jurgen Grobler, said:聽 鈥淚t was expected that the Germans would be in the other heat because of the seedings. The Dutch, of course, won in Lucerne at the world cup so that will be interesting but we are not worried and we can鈥檛 wait to get going鈥�.

The GB European Champion women鈥檚 eight are drawn with Canada and New Zealand.

James Harris, coach of the European Champion women鈥檚 eight with Paul Thompson, said:聽 鈥淭he seeding meant that we would always face New Zealand in the heats. We鈥檝e traded results with them this season and the Canadians, of course, are the World bronze medallists from last year聽so it鈥檚 going to be a good three-boat fight鈥�.聽 Only one crew can progress directly to the final, the other two will have a second chance via the repechage.

Katie Greves (Oxford), Melanie Wilson (London) Frances Houghton (Oxford), Polly Swann (Edinburgh), Jess Eddie (Durham), Olivia Carnegie-Brown (Reading), Karen Bennett (Edinburgh), Zoe Lee (Richmond) and cox Zoe de Toledo (London) will race at 10.40 Brazilian time (14.40 in the UK) with the men in action 20 minutes later.

Click here for a full guide to the Games

The post Ready and raring to go in Rio appeared first on 91桃色.

Every crew from every nation had to dig deep in the strong cross-winds which meant winning came ugly rather than with finesse.

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning won the women鈥檚 pair to defend successfully their European title by some margin while the new-look 2016 men鈥檚 four of Alex Gregory, Mohamed Sbihi, George Nash and Constantine Louloudis controlled the conditions better than the opposition as well as having the power to take victory by just over a length.

Sbihi said:聽 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 need to call for a big push at the end. We had the length at the end.聽 They were tough conditions. Every time we got some boat-speed the wind hit us but you have to deal with the conditions on the day鈥�.

Gregory said:聽 鈥淚t was very hard to do what we normally try to in training but it was a real test of our boatmanship. I am really pleased with the start we have made and I am excited to find out what we can do from here鈥�.

Constantine Louloudis, George Nash, Moe Sbihi and Alex Gregory

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning crowned European Champions earlier this month.

Glover said:聽 鈥淭here were waves coming over my back at the start but racing here has up-skilled us.聽 We may have cross-wind conditions in Rio so it was good to race in them鈥�.

Stanning added:聽 鈥淲e may be an experienced crew but we鈥檙e not experienced in these conditions.聽 So we had to concentrate鈥�.

The GB鈥檚 women鈥檚 eight added a fabulous third gold when they smashed through the Dutch leaders with about 10m to go.

鈥淭he speed with which we were able to come through at the end was the special bit.聽 We have a lot of speed in this boat鈥�, said Olympian Katie Greves who is clearly excited about this crew.

鈥淓veryone did their job and stayed calm even though we were a length down鈥�, said Zoe Lee, the stroke of boat. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a privilege to row with these women鈥�.

Joel Cassells and Sam Scrimgeour

Alan Sinclair and Stewart Innes

Sir David Tanner,聽 GB Rowing Team Performance Director, said:聽 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a day of mixed fortunes for the team with some exceptional performances especially our four golds.

鈥淐onditions have bordered on the extreme and have bene a tough challenge for all nations but we are an outdoor sport and have to accept that. It鈥檚 now onto Lucerne for the World Cup in late May where we will hope for calmer water鈥�.

Alan Sinclair and Stewart Innes added silver to the GB tally of four golds, two silvers and a bronze, in the men鈥檚 pair. They beat the Dutch who should have been their main opposition only to lose out on gold to Hungary who surged through at the end.聽 鈥淚鈥檓 disappointed鈥�, said Innes afterwards. 鈥淲e came here to win鈥�.

Sinclair added:聽 鈥淭hose were tough conditions.聽 I still think we have our best rowing to come鈥�.

Chris Bartley, Mark Aldred, Jono Clegg and Peter Chambers were beaten to gold only by the reigning World Champions Switzerland in the light men鈥檚 four.聽 Their silver came in a time of 6:47.73 and was a big step on from their ninth place at last year鈥檚 World Championships.

Bartley said:聽 鈥淎fter last year we are pretty pleased with that start鈥�.聽 Aldred added:聽 鈥淲e have worked hard and made a lot of improvements over the winter鈥�.

Chris Bartley, Jono Clegg, Peter Chambers and Mark Aldred

The men's eight

The men鈥檚 eight, a new line-up in 2016, took bronze in the last race of the day in a race won by Germany with Russia taking silver.

鈥淭hat was an exciting race.聽 In terms of eights racing that鈥檚 about as exciting as it can get with several crews having had the lead at various times鈥�, said World Champion Paul Bennett afterwards.

In the opening race of the day GB鈥檚 Sam Scrimgeour and Joel Cassells were emphatic winners of lightweight men鈥檚 pair gold, in one of the sport鈥檚 International Class events.聽 They got out to an early lead and went on to seal victory with style.聽 The victory meant a European title to add to Scrimgeour鈥檚 2015 World gold and a successful title defence for Casseslls.

GB had 13 crews in today鈥檚 finals and took four golds, two silvers and a bronze. The next big event for the GB Rowing Team will be the world cup in Lucerne from May 27-29.

For reaction to this report and interview requests please contact the GB Rowing Team press office on site:聽 comms@gbrowingteam.org.uk or 07831 755351 or 07765 071683.

Click on the expander boxes below for more information.

The post Four gold European haul in bouncy Brandenburg appeared first on 91桃色.

Their perfectly-paced race on Brandenburg鈥檚 breezy Beetzee made them one of six GB Rowing Team crews to make tomorrow鈥檚 finals and join the seven crews that had already qualified from yesterday鈥檚 racing.

Innes said:聽 鈥淲e had a good start and then the middle bit got a bit bouncy but we came through it well 鈥� job done and we鈥檙e looking forward to the final鈥�.

John Collins and Jonny Walton came through strongly in the second half of their open men鈥檚 double semi today to take a third place and move through in a strong field.

Collins said:聽 鈥淲e looked at both semi-finals and thought we had the toughest one but we know we have to race the best at some point. We had quite a strong first half in yesterday鈥檚 heats but needed to be a bit calmer in these conditions and I felt we pitched it a lot better today鈥�.

Imogen Walsh

Jamie Kirkwood

Jonny Walton and John Collins

Both GB open quads went through – the men in second place and the women in third in their repechages.聽 As an inexperienced crew the women did well in the worsening wind and the men were closing on Estonia, who won, in the closing stages.

Jamie Kirkwood grabbed third in a dramatically close finish to his lightweight men鈥檚 single semi and Imogen Walsh was second in her repechage to book a place tomorrow.

Meanwhile, It was a difficult day for two 2012 medallists.聽 Olympic champion Kat Copeland and her partner Charlotte Taylor missed out on a finals spot coming fourth in their light double semi.聽 Alan Campbell looked out of sorts and finished fifth in his open men鈥檚 single.

Conversely fourth place was a significant achievement for 21 year-old emerging talent Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne in the open women鈥檚 single at her first regatta at this level in this boat.

End of the Rio Road for W4x. Copyright Intersport Images

The men's quad

The 2016 GB men鈥檚 four of Alex Gregory, George Nash, Mohamed Sbihi and Constantine Louloudis, after an eye-catching heats win,聽 are amongst the seven already-qualified crews.聽 Despite their comfortable qualification all four feel there is more to be done.

Gregory said:聽 鈥淔or me it feels like it鈥檚 been a long winter of training.聽 There has been a lot riding on trials and getting selected.聽 So, to finally get a run-out competitively in the heats here was exciting.聽 It felt great.

鈥淏ut we have a few things to adjust in our race place and we are looking forward to putting them right tomorrow.聽 The conditions here are not easy so it鈥檚 a test of boatmanship was well as our first international races as a crew鈥�.

Sbihi added:聽 鈥淟ooking ahead to the final, we are not looking at who we are racing but how we are going to improve from yesterday鈥�.

The men鈥檚 eight were pleased with their heats win ahead of Poland but are not resting on their laurels.

Scott Durant said:聽 鈥淲e obviously want to win tomorrow but this is the first regatta of the season, so it鈥檚 about building on what we have done so far and working towards the goal of Rio. It鈥檚 all part of the learning curve鈥�.

The lightweight men鈥檚 four also impressed in qualifying yesterday聽and聽Peter Chambers said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 been going well for us over the last few weeks, we鈥檝e got our act together and have been moving the four along nicely. We鈥檝e been setting a good high standard and hopefully we can show that tomorrow鈥�.

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning will kick off the Olympic boat class action tomorrow for GB as favourites to win the women鈥檚 pair after a blistering heat.聽 They race at 09.18 UK time in a finals session which has been brought forward by one hour due to predicted strengthening wind conditions later in the day.聽 The session starts at 07.00 with the B finals. A Finals start at 08.33 and finish at 12.33.

Follow live updates on Twitter – @GBRowingTeam.

GB ROWERS TO RACE EURO FINALS WEARING BLACK RIBBONS

In tomorrow鈥檚 European Championships finals, members of the GB Rowing Team will race wearing black ribbons on their vests in memory of the late Ron Needs who sadly died a few days ago.

Ron had been a GB coach since the 1970s, coaching many medal boats and he continued to work with the team until a couple of years ago.

He coached the current GB women鈥檚 pair coach Robin Williams to a lightweight world medal in the 1970s and coached alongside current GB Rowing Team Performance Director Sir David Tanner in his days as an international coach.

Ron also coached the first GB crew to win a world gold since the 1940s when they won lightweight eight won in Amsterdam in 1977.

Katherine Grainger said:聽 鈥淩on was my first GB Rowing coach and remained a wise counsel and friend to me for 20 years. 聽His passion for rowing was infectious and his knowledge and understanding of the sport immense鈥�.

For reaction to this report and interview requests on the day please contact the GB Rowing Team press office on site:聽 comms@gbrowingteam.org.uk or 07831 755351 or 07765 071683.

The post Six more GB crews through to European finals appeared first on 91桃色.

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning were announced in the women鈥檚 pair in which they are the reigning Olympic, World and European Champions.

Glover said:聽 “It’s always fantastic to be selected to represent Great Britain, and never more so than in Olympic year. The European Championships are our first opportunity to test our early season speed against international competition.鈥�

And one of the strongest open men鈥檚 sweep* rowing squads in the world has been deployed across the men鈥檚 eight and four, as well as a new-look men鈥檚 pair, for the event which takes place in Brandenburg, Germany from May 6-8.

Sir David Tanner, GB Rowing Team Performance Director, said: 鈥淲e are clearly ambitious to do well in Rio and will race and then review the Europeans combinations announced today. We will also enter six crews for the Varese World Cup regatta in ten days鈥� time.鈥�

Double Olympic men鈥檚 four champions Pete Reed and Andrew T Hodge have been selected into the men鈥檚 eight in a line-up which includes Scott Durant and 2012 men鈥檚 eight medallist Matt Langridge alongside multiple World Champions Paul Bennett, Matt Gotrel, Tom Ransley, stroke Will Satch and cox Phelan Hill. Ransley, Satch and Hill are also 2012 medallists.

Alex Gregory, 2012 gold medallist in the four, returns to that boat and races with his Trials winning partner, Mohamed Sbihi, plus George Nash and stroke Constantine Louloudis. The quartet are all reigning World Champions in the men鈥檚 eight.

Gregory said:聽 鈥淓verything we do aims towards the Olympics and now finally we are starting to form the crews that will make up the Olympic team. With the European Championships as the first test, I can’t wait聽to get the 2016 racing season underway. It’s a privilege to race for our country and the feeling of pride and excitement never diminishes.鈥�

Having laid down a strong marker with a top-four finish at the recent GB Trials, Alan Sinclair and Stewart Innes are named as the men鈥檚 pair.

It is the first major step conquered on the way to fulfilling my dream of competing in my fifth Olympic Games – Frances Houghton

Relative rookie Angus Groom has forced his way into the open men鈥檚 quadruple scull* in the absence of the injured Charles Cousins, to join 2013 and 2014 World medallists Sam Townsend, Graeme Thomas and Peter Lambert.

Lambert said:聽 鈥淚 am extremely happy with my selection for the Europeans. This regatta is an exciting start to our Olympic season. The men’s quad at the Europeans is an extremely high competition. Out of the eight crews that qualified last year for the Olympics, seven of them are European countries. We are looking forward to it.鈥�

2012 bronze medallist Alan Campbell, whose Trials鈥� win showed that he is back on form, races the single scull and Jonny Walton and John Collins, contest the double scull – they qualified that boat for Rio at last year鈥檚 World Championships.

Four-times Olympic medallist Katherine Grainger is named in the open women鈥檚 double scull with Trials winner Vicky Thornley in a reprise of their 2015 partnership which finished its debut season with a place in the World final.

Like Grainger, Frances Houghton, will race a fifth Olympic Games if selected later this summer for Rio.聽 She has switched from sculling to sweep rowing and has won a seat in the women鈥檚 eight that came so close to winning a medal at last year鈥檚 World Championships.

Grainger said:聽 鈥淭he idea of ever competing at the Olympic Games was once just a dream and so it was incredible when I made the team in 2000. Now 16 years on and looking to my fifth Games I still have the same excitement I did back then, it’s the most amazing event to be part of and that doesn’t change whether it’s the first time or the fifth.鈥�

Houghton said:聽 “I feel almost overwhelmed to be selected for the European Championships in the women’s eight. It is the first major step conquered on the way to fulfilling my dream of competing in my fifth Olympic Games.

“It has at times seemed like an insurmountable mountain to climb and now it is just sinking in that all the hard work and deep belief in the darkest of times of illness and injury has paid off.”

Olympians Jess Eddie, Katie Greves and Melanie Wilson as well as 2013 World pair champion Polly Swann, back after a year out with injury, will be joined in the line-up by Zoe Lee, Karen Bennett, Olivia Carnegie-Brown and cox Zoe de Toledo.

It’s a privilege to race for our country and the feeling of pride and excitement never diminishes – Alex Gregory

World silver medallists Kat Copeland and Charlotte Taylor will once more race the lightweight women鈥檚 double scull having taken the top two spots at the Trials from a strongly contested lightweight sculling group. Imogen Walsh, therefore, races the single in which she won World silver in 2015.

Richard Chambers is on his way back after a recent hand injury and will race the lightweight men鈥檚 double, if fully fit, with Will Fletcher. Just like Olympic Champion Copeland and Taylor, they won World silver last year in their debut season together.

Further post-Trials testing was needed to establish the crews for the lightweight men鈥檚 sweep boats.聽 2012 silver medallists Peter Chambers and Chris Bartley have made the cut and will be joined by Mark Aldred and Jono Clegg, both now experienced internationals.聽 Sam Scrimgeour and Joel Cassells are GB鈥檚 choice in the pair. They won World gold last year.

Jamie Kirkwood, a World finalist last year, takes up the GB slot in the lightweight men鈥檚 single once more.

91桃色 will also race six crews at the Varese World Cup from April 15-17, including the women鈥檚 quadruple scull, announced in the European squad today as Holly Nixon, Jess Leyden, Tina Stiller and Rosamund Bradbury as the campaign begins to qualify this boat for Rio.

Click the expander ‘Crew List’ box below to see the squad in full.

*Sweep = one rower, one oar / Scull = one rower, two sculls

RACING TIMETABLE 鈥� 2016 European Championships, Brandenburg, Germany

• Friday 6 May 鈥� all heats a.m.; some repechages p.m.
• Saturday 7 May 鈥� All further repechages and semi-finals.
• Sunday 8 May 鈥� All finals (09.33 鈥� 13.33 UK Time).

GB ROWING TEAM MEDALISTS聽–聽2015 European Championships, Poznan, Poland

Gold:

• Women鈥檚 pair 鈥� Helen Glover, Heather Stanning.
• Men鈥檚 pair 鈥� James Foad, Matt Langridge.
• Men鈥檚 four 鈥� Nathaniel Reilly-O鈥橠onnell, Alan Sinclair, Tom Ransley, Scott Durant.
• Lightweight women鈥檚 single scull 鈥� Imogen Walsh.
• Lightweight women鈥檚 double scull 鈥� Charlotte Taylor, Kat Copeland.
• Lightweight men鈥檚 pair 鈥� Joel Cassells, Peter Chambers.

Silver:

• Men鈥檚 eight 鈥� Matt Gotrel, Stewart Innes, Pete Reed, Paul Bennett, Moe Sbihi, Alex Gregory, George Nash, Will Satch, Phelan Hill (cox).
• Lightweight men鈥檚 double scull 鈥� Richard Chambers, Will Fletcher.

Bronze:

• Women鈥檚 double scull 鈥� Vicky Thornley, Katherine Grainger.
• Men鈥檚 quadruple scull 鈥� Jack Beaumont, Sam Townsend, Graeme Thomas, Peter Lambert.

The post European selections point to aiming high at Rio Olympics appeared first on 91桃色.

鈥淭here are some very big calls to come in the next few weeks and I try not to think about it,鈥� said Paul Bennett, World Champion in the men鈥檚 eight, of this week鈥檚 GB Rowing Team Olympic-season trials.

鈥淓veryone here does the same training, we have all worked hard to support each other but some people will not make it.聽 That鈥檚 horrible to think about so I try not to think about it.鈥�

With 115 rowers in action and only 48 Rio seats available later this year and European Championships places at stake in early May, these Trials will be demanding.

17 Olympic medallists and 10 World Champions will be amongst those racing tomorrow and Wednesday.

Sir David Tanner, 91桃色鈥檚 Performance Director, said: 鈥淭his is the event when we test the rowers under pressure in pairs and singles to see who has got what it takes to win.聽 The tension is never greater than in Olympic year.鈥�

Bennett will be racing with Matt Gotrel in a 鈥渟tacked鈥� men鈥檚 pair field.聽 GB has won the men鈥檚 eight at the World Championships three times since 2013 and 12 of the rowers involved in those wins will be on Tuesday鈥檚 start line in the men鈥檚 pair.

Olympic Champion Alex Gregory and Mohamed Sbihi are tipped to take a hat-trick of titles since 2014 and聽victory聽for Sbihi would be his聽fourth consecutive win聽at this event.

Gregory said:聽 鈥淚 would definitely like to keep hold of the title but the racing has got closer and closer over the years and the standard has increased. It鈥檚 going to be tough to protect that record.

鈥淲e know there or thereabouts where we are in the squad but, from our point of view as athletes, this week can be make or break and the pressure is on.鈥�

Other top pairings include double Olympic Champion Pete Reed and 2012 bronze medallist Constantine Louloudis as well as George Nash and Will Satch who were bronze medallists in the pair at the 2012 Games.

Louloudis said:聽 鈥淚 feel pretty good. We鈥檝e just been on a good training camp and I think the whole team is well prepared but Pete and I have been going pretty well in our pair and I think we鈥檒l do well at the Trials.

鈥淲e are conscious, coming into the Trials, that it is more individual now. We are all assessing our own chances looking ahead to selection.鈥�

Double Olympic Champion Andrew T Hodge and Matt Langridge could also be a pair to watch. World silver medallist Langridge is more used to racing with James Foad, who is out recovering from back surgery, whilst Hodge is on the way back after illness.

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning are stand-out favourites to win the women鈥檚 pair event. The duo hold the Olympic, World and European titles although Jess Eddie and Polly Swann 鈥� the latter a World Champion with Glover in 2013 鈥� could run them close as they did in 2014.

Singular 鈥渟ingle鈥� and women鈥檚 sweep battles in store

Perhaps more intriguing could be the battle for top honours in the open men鈥檚 single scull.

Angus Groom won the December assessment. The young Scot is making his mark after joining the senior squad from the ranks of the U23 World medallists. John Collins, from the 2015 double scull, has also been in good form in recent training.

With Charles Cousins absent through injury, 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Alan Campbell should feel he has a chance to extend his remarkable trials record to nine overall wins.聽 He won eight titles consecutively from 2005-2012 before Cousins took over the mantle.

Campbell said:聽 鈥淔or myself, this would be my fourth Olympics and I would say every one has been tougher than before. This is definitely the toughest group I have been in and I鈥檓 having to race and push myself very hard to come up to the standard required to get into this Olympic team.鈥�

2013 and 2014 World quadruple scull medallists Pete Lambert, Sam Townsend, Graeme Thomas as well as Groom鈥檚 erstwhile World U23 medal team-mate Jack Beaumont, who is back on track after last summer鈥檚 serious injury, and 2015 double-sculler Jonny Walton are聽also in the mix and the whole group has everything to play for.

Collins said:聽 鈥淭he trials feel very early. In a way, it鈥檚 another box to be ticked but it is the biggest box of all. It鈥檚 so important. When the time comes to perform, you have to do the business. You have to step up when it really matters, that鈥檚 something you can鈥檛 assess on a day-to-day basis.”

At these trials only 2012 Olympic gold medallist Andrew T Hodge can equal the 10 titles won to date by Katherine Grainger, who sits out this聽week as she is recovering from a minor niggle, leaving Vicky Thornley the favourite to win the open women鈥檚 single.

Thornley聽said:聽 鈥淚t will be good to get racing again. Trials are always a bit nerve-wracking but I am looking forward to getting out there.”

Frances Houghton, a 2008 Olympic silver medallist and multiple winner of these trials in the single, has swapped into a competitive 鈥渟weep鈥� group seeking seats in the Rio-qualified women鈥檚 eight.

She will race with Olivia Carnegie Brown, who came into the national squad through GB Rowing Team Start 鈥� a talent identification and fast-track development programme which identified up to 33% of all London 2012 medallists and provided 49% of the team at those Games.

Houghton said:聽 鈥淚鈥檓 just trying to get through the Trials, if I鈥檓 at the Europeans and Olympics afterwards that would be great. I鈥檓 not thinking about anything else at the moment. Getting selected is the most important thing and I鈥檒l think about Rio if and when it comes.

“I鈥檝e changed from sculling to sweep, so it鈥檚 a really big challenge but it鈥檚 exciting. It鈥檚 going to be very close at the Trials.鈥�

The women鈥檚 sweep field includes, amongst other contenders, Olympian Eddie and former World Champion Polly Swann, Louisa Reeve and Ro Bradbury, Melanie Wilson and Karen Bennett as well as Donna Etiebet and Vicki Meyer-Laker. Zoe Lee has today been withdrawn on medical grounds, which means that her pairs partner Katie Greves now transfers to the single.

Etiebet said: “It鈥檚 exciting. There are lots of pairs, much more than last year, which makes the competition that much fiercer but ultimately that is really good for the sweep crew, it鈥檚 getting more out of everybody.”

Eddie also summed up the mood in the squad when she said recently:聽 鈥淭he focus right now is purely on selection, that is the big thing weighing on people鈥檚 minds.聽 It鈥檚 pretty intense but it鈥檚 in our own hands.聽 If we鈥檙e good enough we鈥檒l be in the boat, if we鈥檙e not we鈥檒l, miss out.鈥�

Seriously heavy competition for the lightweight titles

Last season鈥檚 finals session was marked by a sizzling finale to the lightweight women鈥檚 single scull when Olympic Champion Kat Copeland was eased out in a three-boat photo-finish by Imogen Walsh and, then rookie, Charlotte Taylor.

Taylor and Copeland went on to race in the lightweight double for GB in the ensuing season and won World silver in Aiguebelette, France, and Walsh won World silver in the single.

Outside of this triumvirate a new wave of talented lightweights continues to emerge including previous World U23 medallists Brianna Stubbs and Ellie Piggott.

Stubbs talked of the strength in depth of the lightweight women鈥檚 squad when she said:聽 鈥淓veryone knows roughly how well everyone else is doing in training but you just have to leave that behind you when you sit on the start line.

鈥淚 have so much respect for everyone I train with, I see how hard they have all been working and the standard of the group is probably the best and deepest of any lightweight women鈥檚 squad in the world. Seven of us won silver medals at the last World Championships and it is a privilege to be part of that. All I can do is my best on the day and see where that puts me鈥�.

This聽week鈥檚 trials will feature both a single and a pairs event for the lightweight men as selection is honed down to the two Olympic boats 鈥� the light four and double.

Richard Chambers and Will Fletcher won World silver in the double last September. Fletcher remains a strong contender for this聽week鈥檚 light single title alongside twice previous winner Jamie Kirkwood and Zak Lee-Green but Chambers has a hand injury which will keep him on the sidelines.

Fletcher said:聽 鈥淭his is it, the final test to show our winter鈥檚 work and to prove ourselves. There are only a handful of seats in the Olympic boats and you want to make sure you are in one.

鈥淚t is pretty stressful. We are all mates and we are about to race against each other for a place at the Olympics.鈥�

Kirkwood said:聽 鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to it, there should be some good, fierce racing. I鈥檓 hoping to defend my title in the single. No doubt it will be very tough but I will give it my best shot.鈥�

In the pairs event Joel Cassells聽–聽from the same town, Coleraine, as 2012 Olympic medallists Alan Campbell, Peter and Richard Chambers 鈥� will seek to impress in his continuing rise from recent student rowing days.

He races with Peter Chambers in what looks likely to be a small but tight event with World lightweight men鈥檚 pair Champions Sam Scrimgeour and Jonno Clegg as well as previous World medallists Mark Aldred and Chris Bartley racing against relative newcomers like Jamie Copus, Sam Mottram and Charles Waite Roberts.

Four coxes are also amongst those attending the invitation-only event. They are Phelan Hill, Henry Fieldman, Zoe de Toledo and Matilda Horn.

路 The GB Rowing Team is supported by the Lottery through UK Sport and has Science in Sport as a supplier.聽 SAS Analytics is the Official Analytics Partner of 91桃色 and the GB Rowing Team. Follow Britain鈥檚 rowers on the Road to Rio via Twitter 鈥� @GBRowingTeam 鈥� and at www.facebook.com/GBRowingTeam.

===========================================

RACING TIMETABLE

Racing will take place as follows:

Time-trials (heats) – 09.45 – 11.00 on Tuesday 22 March

Semi-finals – 15.00 – 16.25 on Tuesday 22 March (first A/B semi at 15.22)

Finals – 10.00 – 12.00 Wednesday 23 March

All times of racing are subject to the weather and members of the media should check with the press officer on 07831 755351 before travelling to the event, particularly if there are high winds.

Any updates to schedules will be posted on twitter:聽 @GBRowingTeam and on Facebook:聽 www.facebook.com/gbrowingteam

===========================================

ENTRY LIST

(As at Monday 21 March) Pairs listed from bow to stroke,

* denotes U23

OPEN

MEN

Single

Tom Barras (Leander Club/Staines/07.01.94)*聽MED – withdrawn

Jack Beaumont (Leander Club/Maidenhead/21.11.93)

Alan Campbell (Tideway Scullers School/Coleraine/09.05.83)

Frazier Christie (Leander Club/Bath/11.01.93)

John Collins (Leander Club/Whitton/24.01.89)

Angus Groom (Leander Club/Glasgow/16.06.92)

Peter Lambert (Leander Club/Maidenhead/03.12.86)

Rowan Law (Leander Club/Nottingham/01.12.96)*

Harry Leask (Leander Club/Edinburgh/16.10.95)*

Nick Middleton (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/12.08.88)

George Stewart (Molesey BC/Esher/14.04.95)*

Jon Stimpson (Nottingham RC/Gex, France/18.07.90)

Graeme Thomas (Agecroft RC/Preston/08.11.88)

Sam Townsend (Reading Univ BC/Reading/26.11.85)

Sam Twine (Reading Univ BC/Tavistock/06.01.94)*

Jonny Walton (Leander Club/Leicester/06.10.90)

Pair

Chris Boddy (Leander Club/Thornaby-on-Tees/16.11.87)/Thomas Ford (Leander Club/Holmes Chapel/03.10.92)

Timothy Clarke (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/07.04.91)/Phil Congdon (Leander Club/Bury St Edmunds/06.06.89)

Oliver Cook (Univ of London BC/Windsor/05.06.90)/Callum McBrierty (Leander Club/Edinburgh/13.08.92)

Rory Gibbs (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Lane End/03.04.94)*/Matthew Aldridge (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Christchurch/11.03.96)*

Alex Gregory (Leander Club/Wormington/11.03.84)/Mohamed Sbihi (Molesey BC/Surbiton/27.03.88)

Michael Glover (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Burnham/03.06.95)* /Morgan Bolding (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Withiel/13.05.95)*

Matt Gotrel (Leander Club/Chipping Campden/01.03.89)/Paul Bennett (Univ of London BC/Leeds/16.12.88)

Matt Langridge (Leander Club/Northwich/20.05.83)/Andrew T Hodge (Molesey BC/Hebden/03.03.79)

Luke Moon (Molesey BC/Deal/25.03.93)/Chris Heywood (Molesey BC/Ascot/29.05.94)*

George Nash (Molesey BC/Guildford/02.10.89)/Will Satch (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/09.06.89)

Adam Neill (Leander Club/Peterborough/29.05.90)/Cameron Buchan (Leander Club/Dunipace/03.12.92)

Tom Ransley (Leander Club/Ashford/06.09.85)/Scott Durant (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Lancaster/12.02.88)

Pete Reed (Leander Club/Nailsworth/27.07.81)/Constantine Louloudis (Oxford Univ BC/London/15.09.91)

Nathaniel Reilly-O’Donnell (Univ of London BC/Durham/13.04.88)/Matthew Tarrant (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Shepperton/11.07.90)

George Rossiter (Leander Club/Newbury/09.03.92)/Barnaby Stentiford (Leander Club/Ippleden/06.02.91)

James Rudkin (Newcastle Univ BC/Northampton/07.07.94)*/Lewis McCue (Robert Gordon Uni/Aberdeen/26.12.94)*

Alan Sinclair (Leander Club/Inverness/16.10.85)/Stewart Innes (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/20.05.91)

William Warr (Leander Club/Tunbridge Wells/12.03.92)/Matt Rossiter (Leander Club/Newbury/25.09.89)

WOMEN

Single

Emily Carmichael (Leander Club/Cheltenham/29.05.92)

Sam Courty (Reading RC/Alnwick/07.01.93)

Debbie Flood (Leander Club/Guiseley/27.02.80)聽MED – withdrawn

Georgia Francis (Imperial College BC/Newbury/18.08.94)*

Katherine Grainger (St Andrew BC/Glasgow/12.11.75) (injured) MED 聽– withdrawn

Lucinda Gooderham (Leander Club/Garboldisham/09.06.84)

Katie Greves (Leander Club/Oxford/02.09.82)

Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne (Reading Univ BC/Hereford/01.10.94)*

Jessica Leyden (Leander Club/Todmorden/22.02.95)

Holly Nixon (Leander Club/Enniskillen/07.12.93

Tina Stiller (Tees RC/Yarm/23.06.87)

Victoria Thornley (Leander Club/Wrexham/30.11.87)

Melissa Wilson (Cambridge Univ BC/Edinburgh/10.06.93) MED – withdrawn.

Pair

Karen Bennett (Leander Club/Edinburgh/05.02.89)/ Melanie Wilson (Imperial College BC/London/25.06.84)

Rosamund Bradbury (Leander Club/Banstead/17.12.88)/Louisa Reeve (Leander Club/London/16.05.84)

Beth Bryan (Tees RC/Stockton-on-Tees/23.04.93)/Jo Wratten (Tees RC/Middlesbrough/23.03.92)

Rebecca Chin (Agecroft RC/Deganwy/11.12.91)/Caragh McMurtry (Southampton Coalporters/Southampton/22.08.91)

Jess Eddie (London RC/Durham/07.10.84)/Polly Swann (Leander Club/Edinburgh/05.06.88)

Fiona Gammond (Leander Club/Bicester/19.10.92)/Holly Norton (Leander Club/Johannesburg, SA/01.01.93)

Helen Glover (Minerva Bath RC/Penzance/17.06.86)/聽Heather Stanning (Army RC/Lossiemouth/26.01.85)

Zoe Lee (Imperial College BC/Richmond/15.12.85) MED – Withdrawn

Frances Houghton (Univ of London Tyrian Club/Oxford/19.09.80)/Olivia Carnegie-Brown (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Henley-on-Thames/28.03.91)

Vicki Meyer-Laker (Leander Club/Premnay/18.03.88)/Donna Etiebet (Imperial College BC/London/29.04.86)

LIGHTWEIGHT

MEN

Single

Richard Chambers (Leander Club/Coleraine/10.06.85) (injured) MED – Withdrawn

Will Fletcher (Leander Club/Chester-le-Street/24.12.89)

John Hale (Imperial College BC/Cambridge/28.02.88)

Jonathan Jackson (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/02.06.95)*

Jamie Kirkwood (Leander Club/Newcastle/30.08.89)

Zak Lee-Green (Agecroft RC/Cardiff/06.02.91)

Samuel Mottram (Leander Club/Stoke Mandeville/14.11.94)*

Sam Tuck (Molesey BC/Peterborough/26.07.93)

Pair

Chris Bartley (Leander Club/Wrexham/02.02.84)/Mark Aldred (London RC/Birmingham/18/04.87)

Joel Cassells (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Coleraine/15.06.94)*/Peter Chambers (Oxford Brookes Univ/Coleraine/14.03.90)

Sam Scrimgeour (Imperial College BC/Kirriemuir/28.01.88)/Jonathan Clegg (Leander Club/Maidenhead/14.07.89)

Charles Waite-Roberts (Leander Club/Basingstoke/06.11.92)/Jamie Copus (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Oxford/30.01.93)

WOMEN

Single

Maddie Arlett (Edinburgh Univ BC/Selkirk/07.06.94)*

Kat Copeland (Tees RC/Stockton-on-Tees/01.12.90)

Emily Craig (Univ of London BC/Mark Cross/30.11.92)

Gemma Hall (Wallingford RC/Wargrave/10.04.92)聽MED – withdrawn

Robyn Hart-Winks (Edinburgh Univ BC/Kirriemuir/07.10.93)

Ellie Lewis (Agecroft RC/Marlow/14.04.94)

Eleanor Piggott (Wallingford RC/Bedford/16.05.91)

Fran Rawlins (Leander Club/Uckfield/08.07.86)

Brianna Stubbs (Wallingford RC/Poole/13.07.91)

Charlotte Taylor (Putney Town RC/Bedford/14.08.85)

Imogen Walsh (London RC/Inverness/17.01.84)

COXES

MEN

Henry Fieldman (Molesey BC/Barnes/25.11.88)

Phelan Hill (Leander Club/Bedford/21.07.79)

WOMEN

Zoe De Toledo (Leander Club/London/17.07.87)

Matilda Horn (Univ of London BC/Windsor/16.

路聽聽聽聽聽 The GB Rowing Team is supported by the Lottery through UK Sport and has Science in Sport as a supplier.聽 SAS Analytics is the Official Analytics Partner of 91桃色 and the GB Rowing Team. Follow Britain鈥檚 rowers on the Road to Rio via Twitter 鈥� @GBRowingTeam 鈥� and at www.facebook.com/GBRowingTeam.

The post Some “big calls” to come at Trials appeared first on 91桃色.

115 rowers are set to go to the start line of next week鈥檚 Olympic-season GB Rowing Team trials with just 48 Rio places on offer later this summer and earlier seats to be won at the European Championships.

The announcement of the crews for the European Championships will take place on April 6.

Sir David Tanner, 91桃色鈥檚 Performance Director said: 鈥淭his is the event when we test the rowers under pressure in pairs and singles to see who has got what it takes to win.聽 The tension is never greater than in Olympic year.鈥�

The field for next week鈥檚 (Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23) men鈥檚 pair event will be headed by names like Alex Gregory, Mohamed Sbihi, George Nash, Will Satch, Pete Reed, Andrew T Hodge and Constantine Louloudis who are all Olympic medallists, three of them Olympic Champions.

Gregory and Sbihi are tipped to take a hat-trick of titles since 2014 and, for Sbihi, victory would mean a fourth consecutive victory at this event.

World men鈥檚 eight Champions Paul Bennett and Matt Gotrel will also have eyes on the prize of a top seat for 2016.

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning are stand-out favourites to win the women鈥檚 pair event. The duo hold the Olympic, World and European titles although Jess Eddie and Polly Swann 鈥� the latter a World Champion with Glover in 2013 鈥� could run them close as they did in 2014.

Singular 鈥渟ingle鈥� and women鈥檚 sweep battles in store

Perhaps more intriguing could be the battle for top honours in the open men鈥檚 single scull.

Angus Groom won the December assessment. The young Scot is making his mark after joining the senior squad from the ranks of the U23 World medallists.

With Charles Cousins absent through injury, 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Alan Campbell should feel he has a chance to extend his remarkable trials record to nine overall wins.聽 He won eight titles consecutively from 2005-2012 before Cousins took over the mantle.

2013 and 2014 World quadruple scull medallists Pete Lambert, Sam Townsend, Graeme Thomas as well as Groom鈥檚 erstwhile World U23 medal team-mate Jack Beaumont, who is back on track after last summer鈥檚 serious injury, and 2015 double-scullers Jonny Walton and John Collins are also in the mix.

At these trials only 2012 Olympic gold medallist Andrew T Hodge, racing next week in the men鈥檚 pair with reigning World pairs silver medallist Matt Langridge, can equal the 10 titles won to date by Katherine Grainger who sits out next week as she is recovering from a minor niggle, leaving Vicky Thornley the favourite to win the open women鈥檚 single.

Frances Houghton, a 2008 Olympic silver medallist and previous, multiple winner of these trials in the single, has swapped into a competitive 鈥渟weep鈥� group seeking seats in the Rio-qualified women鈥檚 eight.

This includes, amongst other contenders, Olympians Eddie and Swann, Katie Greves, Louisa Reeve and Melanie Wilson as well as Donna Etiebet, Ro Bradbury, Olivia Carnegie-Brown and Zoe Lee.

Eddie summed up the mood in the squad when she said recently:聽 鈥淭he focus right now is purely on selection, that is the big thing weighing on people鈥檚 minds.聽 It鈥檚 pretty intense but it鈥檚 in our own hands.聽 If we鈥檙e good enough we鈥檒l be in the boat, if we鈥檙e not we鈥檒l, miss out.鈥�

Seriously heavy competition for the lightweight titles

Last season鈥檚 finals session was marked by a sizzling finale to the lightweight women鈥檚 single scull when Olympic Champion Kat Copeland was eased out in a three-boat photo-finish by Imogen Walsh and, then rookie, Charlotte Taylor.

Taylor and Copeland went on to race in the lightweight double for GB in the ensuing season and won World silver in Aiguebelette, France, and Walsh won World silver in the single.

Outside of this triumvirate a new wave of talented lightweights continues to emerge including previous World U23 medallists Brianna Stubbs and Ellie Piggott.

Next week鈥檚 trials will feature both a single and a pairs event for the lightweight men as selection is honed down to the two Olympic boats 鈥� the light four and double.

Richard Chambers and Will Fletcher won World silver in the double last September.聽 Fletcher remains a strong contender for next week鈥檚 light single title alongside twice previous winner Jamie Kirkwood and Zak Lee Green but Chambers has a hand injury which will keep him on the sidelines.

In the pairs event Joel Cassells, from the same town 鈥� Coleraine –聽 as 2012 Olympic medallists Alan Campbell, Peter and Richard Chambers 鈥� will seek to impress in his continuing rise from recent student rowing days.

This will be a small but tight event with Peter Chambers, Mark Aldred, Chris Bartley, Jonno Clegg and Sam Scrimgeour all with senior medal experience racing against relative newcomers like Jamie Copus and Sam Mottram.

Four coxes are also amongst those attending the invitation only event. They are Phelan Hill, Henry Fieldman, Zoe de Toledo and Matilda Horn.

==================================================

RACING TIMETABLE

Racing will take place as follows:

Time-trials (heats) – 09.45 – 11.00 on Tuesday 22 March

Semi-finals – 15.00 – 16.25 on Tuesday 22 March

Finals – 10.00 – 12.30 Wednesday 23 March

All times of racing are subject to the weather and members of the media who are attending the event should check with the press officer on 07831 755351 or comms@gbrowingteam.org.uk before travelling to the event, particularly if there are high winds.

Any updates to schedules will be posted on twitter:聽 @GBRowingTeam and on Facebook:聽 www.facebook.com/gbrowingteam

ENTRY LIST

(As at Thursday 17 March)

* denotes U23

OPEN

MEN

SINGLE

Tom Barras (Leander Club/Staines/07.01.94)*

Jack Beaumont (Leander Club/Maidenhead/21.11.93)

Alan Campbell (Tideway Scullers School/Coleraine/09.05.83)

Frazier Christie (Leander Club/Bath/11.01.93)

John Collins (Leander Club/Whitton/24.01.89)

Angus Groom (Leander Club/Glasgow/16.06.92)

Peter Lambert (Leander Club/Maidenhead/03.12.86)

Rowan Law (Leander Club/Nottingham/01.12.96)*

Harry Leask (Leander Club/Edinburgh/16.10.95)*

Nick Middleton (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/12.08.88)

George Stewart (Molesey BC/Esher/14.04.95)*

Jon Stimpson (Nottingham RC/Gex, France/18.07.90)

Graeme Thomas (Agecroft RC/Preston/08.11.88)

Sam Townsend (Reading Univ BC/Reading/26.11.85)

Sam Twine (Reading Univ BC/Tavistock/06.01.94)*

Jonny Walton (Leander Club/Leicester/06.10.90)

PAIR

Bowside

Chris Boddy (Leander Club/Thornaby-on-Tees/16.11.87)

Cameron Buchan (Leander Club/Dunipace/03.12.92)

Timothy Clarke (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/07.04.91)

Oliver Cook (Univ of London BC/Windsor/05.06.90)

Rory Gibbs (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Lane End/03.04.94)*

Michael Glover (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Burnham/03.06.95)*

Matt Gotrel (Leander Club/Chipping Campden/01.03.89)

Matt Langridge (Leander Club/Northwich/20.05.83)

Luke Moon (Molesey BC/Deal/25.03.93)

George Nash (Molesey BC/Guildford/02.10.89)

Tom Ransley (Leander Club/Ashford/06.09.85)

Pete Reed (Leander Club/Nailsworth/27.07.81)

James Rudkin (Newcastle Univ BC/Northampton/07.07.94)*

Mohamed Sbihi (Molesey BC/Surbiton/27.03.88)

Alan Sinclair (Leander Club/Inverness/16.10.85)

Barnaby Stentiford (Leander Club/Ippleden/06.02.91)

Matthew Tarrant (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Shepperton/11.07.90)

William Warr (Leander Club/Tunbridge Wells/12.03.92)

Strokeside

Matthew Aldridge (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Christchurch/11.03.96)*

Paul Bennett (Univ of London BC/Leeds/16.12.88)

Morgan Bolding (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Withiel/13.05.95)*

Phil Congdon (Leander Club/Bury St Edmunds/06.06.89)

Scott Durant (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Lancaster/12.02.88)

Thomas Ford (Leander Club/Holmes Chapel/03.10.92)

Alex Gregory (Leander Club/Wormington/11.03.84)

Chris Heywood (Molesey BC/Ascot/29.05.94)*

Andrew T Hodge (Molesey BC/Hebden/03.03.79)

Stewart Innes (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/20.05.91)

Constantine Louloudis (Oxford Univ BC/London/15.09.91)

Callum McBrierty (Leander Club/Edinburgh/13.08.92)

Lewis McCue (Robert Gordon Uni/Aberdeen/26.12.94)*

Adam Neill (Leander Club/Peterborough/29.05.90)

Nathaniel Reilly-O’Donnell (Univ of London BC/Durham/13.04.88)

George Rossiter (Leander Club/Newbury/09.03.92)

Matt Rossiter (Leander Club/Newbury/25.09.89)

Will Satch (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/09.06.89)

OPEN

WOMEN

SINGLE

Emily Carmichael (Leander Club/Cheltenham/29.05.92)

Sam Courty (Reading RC/Alnwick/07.01.93)

Debbie Flood (Leander Club/Guiseley/27.02.80)

Georgia Francis (Imperial College BC/Newbury/18.08.94)*

Katherine Grainger (St Andrew BC/Glasgow/12.11.75) (injured)

Lucinda Gooderham (Leander Club/Garboldisham/09.06.84)

Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne (Reading Univ BC/Hereford/01.10.94)*

Jessica Leyden (Leander Club/Todmorden/22.02.95)

Holly Nixon (Leander Club/Enniskillen/07.12.93

Tina Stiller (Tees RC/Yarm/23.06.87)

Victoria Thornley (Leander Club/Wrexham/30.11.87)

Melissa Wilson (Cambridge Univ BC/Edinburgh/10.06.93)

PAIR

Bowside

Karen Bennett (Leander Club/Edinburgh/05.02.89)

Rosamund Bradbury (Leander Club/Banstead/17.12.88)

Beth Bryan (Tees RC/Stockton-on-Tees/23.04.93)

Jess Eddie (London RC/Durham/07.10.84)

Fiona Gammond (Leander Club/Bicester/19.10.92)

Helen Glover (Minerva Bath RC/Penzance/17.06.86)

Katie Greves (Leander Club/Oxford/02.09.82)

Frances Houghton (Univ of London Tyrian Club/Oxford/19.09.80)

Caragh McMurtry (Southampton Coalporters/Southampton/22.08.91)

Vicki Meyer-Laker (Leander Club/Premnay/18.03.88)

Strokeside

Olivia Carnegie-Brown (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Henley-on-Thames/28.03.91)

Rebecca Chin (Agecroft RC/Deganwy/11.12.91)

Donna Etiebet (Imperial College BC/London/29.04.86)

Zoe Lee (Imperial College BC/Richmond/15.12.85)

Holly Norton (Leander Club/Johannesburg, SA/01.01.93)

Louisa Reeve (Leander Club/London/16.05.84)

Heather Stanning (Army RC/Lossiemouth/26.01.85)

Polly Swann (Leander Club/Edinburgh/05.06.88)

Melanie Wilson (Imperial College BC/London/25.06.84)

Jo Wratten (Tees RC/Middlesbrough/23.03.92)

LIGHTWEIGHT

MEN

SINGLE

Richard Chambers (Leander Club/Coleraine/10.06.85) (injured)

Will Fletcher (Leander Club/Chester-le-Street/24.12.89)

John Hale (Imperial College BC/Cambridge/28.02.88)

Jonathan Jackson (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/02.06.95)*

Jamie Kirkwood (Leander Club/Newcastle/30.08.89)

Zak Lee-Green (Agecroft RC/Cardiff/06.02.91)

Samuel Mottram (Leander Club/Stoke Mandeville/14.11.94)*

Sam Tuck (Molesey BC/Peterborough/26.07.93)

PAIR

Bowside

Chris Bartley (Leander Club/Wrexham/02.02.84)

Peter Chambers (Oxford Brookes Univ/Coleraine/14.03.90)

Sam Scrimgeour (Imperial College BC/Kirriemuir/28.01.88)

Charles Waite-Roberts (Leander Club/Basingstoke/06.11.92)

Strokeside

Mark Aldred (London RC/Birmingham/18/04.87)

Joel Cassells (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Coleraine/15.06.94)*

Jonathan Clegg (Leander Club/Maidenhead/14.07.89)

Jamie Copus (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Oxford/30.01.93)

WOMEN

SINGLE

Maddie Arlett (Edinburgh Univ BC/Selkirk/07.06.94)*

Kat Copeland (Tees RC/Stockton-on-Tees/01.12.90)

Emily Craig (Univ of London BC/Mark Cross/30.11.92)

Gemma Hall (Wallingford RC/Wargrave/10.04.92)

Robyn Hart-Winks (Edinburgh Univ BC/Kirriemuir/07.10.93)

Ellie Lewis (Agecroft RC/Marlow/14.04.94)

Eleanor Piggott (Wallingford RC/Bedford/16.05.91)

Fran Rawlins (Leander Club/Uckfield/08.07.86)

Brianna Stubbs (Wallingford RC/Poole/13.07.91)

Charlotte Taylor (Putney Town RC/Bedford/14.08.85)

Imogen Walsh (London RC/Inverness/17.01.84)

COXES

MEN

Henry Fieldman (Molesey BC/Barnes/25.11.88)

Phelan Hill (Leander Club/Bedford/21.07.79)

WOMEN

Zoe De Toledo (Leander Club/London/17.07.87)

Matilda Horn (Univ of London BC/Windsor/16.

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