GBRT February Trials + Henley 4s & 8s
Over the weekend Brookes had a large day of racing at the Great Britain Senior and U23 trials in Boston, Lincolnshire and Henley Fours and Eights. In Boston, some great results were produced by both members of senior national team, as well as current athletes in the Brookes program. After a fantastic result in November, Matt Heywood and Jack Prior backed up their performance with a 5th place against some of the best athletes in the country. David Bewicke-Copley and Morgan Bolding were 2nd and Tom Digby and David Ambler were 4th. Grace Richards and Rhianna Sumpter were the fastest U23 W2- and Olivia White was the 3rd fastest U23
Wallingford Head 2022
Brookes retain Headship on home water at Wallingford Head Brookes competed in the first race of the season in eights at the weekend. Unfortunately, racing was restricted to one division after the river changed to red boards during the first division. In the first division, Brookes entered seven men’s VIIIs, a M4+, two women’s U23 VIIIs, three women’s coxed & two coxless fours. Racing against strong competition from Leander and Thames, the Brookes 1st VIII, expertly steered by Harry Brightmore came out on top on their home water by a margin of 4 seconds. The 2nd Brookes VIII claimed third place after a penalty for the Leander 2nd eight. The
GBRT November Trials 2022
The 2022/23 season kicked off in style with racing held at the first GB trial in Boston, Lincolnshire this weekend. With all members of the hugely successful Senior Worlds team excluded from the trial, it provided an opportunity for the younger members of the Brookes squad to make an early statement in small boats. With the men racing first, the pair of Matt Heywood and Jack Prior, refreshed from their win in the GB U23 Men’s Eight earlier in the year, put in a fantastic performance to finish 2nd place overall. A huge achievement for both athletes who have now made a huge step on from their Temple and Prince
Senior World Championships 2022
In one of the most successful Senior World Championships in many years, there were several Brookes athletes leading the charge for the British team. There was huge success for Brookes athletes racing in Racice, Czech Republic. The British Men’s Eight completed an unbeaten season, claiming victory at World Cup I, World Cup III, the European Championships and Henley Royal Regatta. Harry Brightmore, Morgan Bolding, Rory Gibbs, Tom Digby and David Bewicke-Copley became the first World Champions GB have had in the event since 2015. In their final, they led from start to finish despite a late charge from the Dutch, in a race showcasing their pure dominance over the rest
World U23 Championships
Brookes athletes claim Gold and set World Best Time’s on the International stage In a hugely exciting week of racing, seven Brookes athletes represented Great Britain in multiple crews at the U23 World Championships being held in Varese, Italy. After a great build up to finals, several British crews looked to be in contention for fighting alongside the world’s best competition for medals. Having narrowly won their Heat, the Men’s Coxed Four progressed straight to the A-Final. Ben Hinves and Will Denegri, recently having claimed glory in the Temple Challenge Cup earlier in July made a fast start in their Final and started to extend their lead through halfway. With
Henley Royal Regatta 2022
Brookes qualified 66 athletes across 10 crews into the regatta, this was bolstered by another 8 members of British National team racing in The Grand Challenge Cup, Stewards and Goblets. The week culminated in a whitewash of the Student Men’s Sweep events. This is a first for the regatta. Brookes claimed their 5th Temple Challenge Cup in 8 years and regained the Prince Albert Challenge Cup for the first time since 2009. With one of the largest entries ever and challenged by the most competitive rowing teams globally, this is one of the standout achievements in the boats club’s history. After missing out last year, a large group of student
Another record breaking weekend for BROOKES|Rowing
This weekend saw the Brookes Women get their first taste of the racing stretch at Henley Women’s Regatta. With a total of 26 women racing across the three day event, Brookes had a number of athletes competing with hopes of success after an excellent summer of racing. A large amount of preparation has gone towards regaining the Academic VIIIs trophy this season. With some prolific performances throughout the weekend, Brookes drew Durham in the Final. Having broken the course record in the Semi-Final, Brookes powered out of the blocks and continued to build their lead to take a great victory. This result emerging from a hugely talented 2nd VIII, ultimately
BROOKES|Rowing success at Ratzeburg and Metropolitan Regatta’s
On a busy weekend for the entire group, Oxford Brookes students returned to Ratzeburg, Germany for the first time since 2018. The Brookes Men’s Eight took on top competition from several German U23 crews. Showing more promising speed Brookes convincingly won by over 10 seconds on both Saturday and Sunday despite challenging conditions making for tough racing. The Men’s Coxed Fours took home Gold and Silver on both days also taking victories over international competitors. The Men’s Coxless Four took Silver on the first day of racing behind the top U23 competition – they were victorious on Sunday after some changes to the German line ups. In perhaps one of
World Cup I: Belgrade, Serbia
Last weekend saw the first World Cup Regatta of the new Olympiad held in Belgrade, Serbia. Brookes were proudly represented by several athletes across the regatta. In the Coxless Fours, Morgan Bolding was a last-minute spare for the weekend; subbing in for Oli Wilkes who unfortunately tested positive for COVID. He joined Freddy Davidson to win Gold in a tight race with the Netherlands. With little time between races, Morgan jumped straight into Men’s Eight for their Final. Harry Brightmore coxed the Eight to a sizeable victory alongside Rory Gibbs, David Bewicke-Copley, Tom Digby. Josh Bugajski and Matt Aldridge also placed 6th in the Men’s Pair. Quentin Antognelli came 5thin the C-Final and
Ghent Regatta 2022 Report
After a hugely successful BUCs weekend, the athletes took to the Watersportbaan against some very strong competition from around Europe on a beautiful weekend in Belgium. Both Saturday and Sunday saw immense performances by the Women’s Squad. The highlight of the weekend was the 1st VIII setting a Ghent International Regatta course record against a strong Tideway Scullers crew. Despite bouncy conditions, the Brookes Women stormed down the track to set a time of 6:23.6. On Sunday, they managed to repeat their win against strong opposition – the second and third crews also put in strong performances, with both eights having great battles with two VIIIs from Nereus of the Netherlands, providing very