GB Rowing 1st Assessment
This weekend saw the first step towards the 2019 Senior and U23 World Championships with the GB Rowing Team 1st Assessment in Boston, Lincolnshire. On Saturday, athletes performed a 2k ergo test with minimum standards required to proceed through to Sunday’s racing. Brookes had 48 athletes racing across the weekend which included returners from this year’s Senior, U23 and University World Championships. The men’s pair of Rory Gibbs and Morgan Bolding had the highest place finish with 2nd overall, with the scratch pair of Matthew Aldridge and Mikey Dalton finishing in an impressive 5th place. With a number of Brookes crews close behind, the strength in depth of this year’s
British National Championships
The Men’s 1st VIII claimed the national title at the British Rowing Senior Championships- held this weekend at Holme Pierrepont. They won the final with three seconds to spare over local rivals Leander. Molesey finished in third place, with an unprecedented three further Brookes crews rounding off the top 6. Despite this being the national championships, this is the first race for most clubs this season, and the result demonstrated the strength in depth built over the last few years by Head Coach Henry Bailhache-Webb. The 3rd VIII, the highest ranked all-student crew, claimed the university pennant over the 4th VIII- the only two crews in this category to make the
FISU World University Championships Report
It was a successful weekend for BROOKES|Rowing athletes, where 10 athletes raced at the World University Championships (FISU) which took place in Shanghai, China. The Men’s Eight, consisting of Harry Brightmore, Henry Swarbrick, Michael Glover and Matt Hnatiw faced competition from the USA, Poland, Italy, China and the Netherlands. They won the race for lanes and replicated that race in the final, leading from start to finish in a time of 5:38 to win the gold medal. The Men’s Four included Rory Gibbs and Morgan Bolding. They were joined by Matt Benstead and Oli Wilkes, the latter of whom raced in the Ladies Plate as part of a Brookes/Edinburgh composite
U23 World Championships Report
There were a number of notable performances by BROOKES|Rowing athletes at last week’s U23 World Championships, held in Poznan, Poland. Of the 8 medals won by GB crews, 3 involved current athletes, with a further 4 athletes racing in A finals. In the Men’s coxless fours, Sam Nunn raced in the 2 seat partnered by David Ambler, Charlie Elwes and Felix Drinkall. The crew finished in a time of 5:52.74, pipping New Zealand to a silver medal by just 0.07 seconds. Matthew Aldridge, racing at his third and final U23 Championships, improved on his bronze medal in the eight at last years championships with a thrilling finish to claim a
17 Athletes Selected to Represent Great Britain
With the domestic season over, and the majority of the squad away on their summer break, a number of athletes will be representing Great Britain at the upcoming Senior European, World University and World U23 Championships. Below are those who have been selected: U23 World Championships (25-29 July) Matt Aldridge M8+ Sophia Heath W8+ Sam Nunn M4- Matt Rowe M4+ Henry Bloise-Brooke M4+ Gavin McWilliams M4+ Senior European Championships (2-5 August) Mat Tarrant M8+ Jamie Copus LM2x FISU World University Championships (10-12 August) Alex Styles LW2x Susie Dear W2- Matt Hnatiw M8+ Henry Swarbrick M8+ Michael Glover M8+ Harry Brightmore M8+ Morgan Bolding M4- Rory Gibbs M4- Ben
Brookes defend the Ladies Plate
In what was a remarkable performance at last week’s Henley Regatta, BROOKES|Rowing won the Ladies’ Plate a day early. They beat crews from Leander Club and a German senior international crew to qualify both crews for Sunday’s final- therefore securing the title for a second year running. Last year’s winners Harry Brightmore, Morgan Bolding, Henry Swarbrick, Matt Aldridge and Rory Gibbs returned to the crew for a second year, and were joined by Temple Cup winners Matt Hnatiw, Sam Nunn and Ed Grisedale, with the crew being rounded off with senior international Quentin Antognelli. However, the final was no relaxed affair. With records falling throughout the day, the 1st VIII battled
Women win Academic Eights at Henley Women’s Regatta
The women’s squad have just returned from one of the best club performances to date at Henley Women’s Regatta, where 23 athletes reached finals day. The highlight of the weekend was claiming a win in the Academic Eights, which saw two Brookes eights in the semi finals of the event. In the final against close rivals Newcastle University, Brookes got off to a fantastic start which gave them an unassailable lead by the time they reached the enclosures, and pushed out to a 1.5 length win by the finish, and crowned them Academic Eights Champions for the first time in the club’s history. In the Championship Fours event, Brookes got
Success at Ratzeburg Regatta
BROOKES|Rowing returned to Ratzeburg Regatta for the first time since 2014, and did so in style- putting three men’s eights ahead of the German and Polish U23 crews on both days. On Saturday, the 1st VIII finished in a new club record time of 5:29.06. The Temple Eight finished second in 5:33 with the third placed eight finishing in 5:35. They repeated this order on Sunday, though conditions were slower. The men’s coxed four also faced competition from German U23 crews. On Saturday they won in a time of 6:20.48, and on Sunday finished third. The women’s quad beat crews from Poland and Germany to second place behind a composite
Fastest Four Times in Club History
On the Saturday of Ghent Regatta Henry Swarbrick, Morgan Bolding, Rory Gibbs and Oliver Wilkes won the men’s coxless fours by 0.32 seconds. On Sunday, the new combination of Ed Grisedale, Quentin Antognelli, Henry Swarbrick and Oliver Wilkes rowed a sensational race to cross the line 2.49 seconds in front in a time of 5:53.31. This is believed to be the fastest time ever rowed by a British coxless four outside of the national team, also breaking the Ghent course record by 11 seconds. The men’s eights finished with a 1-2 on both days. On Sunday, the 1st 8 set a new all time club record and broke the Ghent
Women win first ever VL at BUCS Regatta
The squad returned this week from a packed weekend of racing at BUCS Regatta in Nottingham, where the women’s squad were victorious for the first time ever in the Victor Ludorum, sharing the honours with Newcastle University. The weekend started off strong, where the men defended the BUCS Championship Eights title despite having 10 athletes away in Seattle, USA racing in the Windermere Cup. To top this off, a dominant performance secured the Intermediate Eights category- the fifth time in a row that BROOKES|Rowing has won both titles. Highlights of Day 1 for the women included winning the intermediate women’s pairs, and finishing fourth in a close sprint for the
