Duisburg Regatta Report

BROOKES|Rowing travelled to Duisburg in Germany this weekend for the 2019 International Wedau Regatta. Following a dominant display at BUCS Regatta the previous weekend, greater challenges awaited with a number of senior international crews racing at their first regatta of the season. This included World Record holders and current World Champions Germany- who headed a strong field in the Men’s Eights event.

Saturday’s racing saw three Brookes crews feature in the final of the Men’s eights- where strong cross-headwind conditions resulted in the lanes being seeded. Brookes finished in 3rd, 4th and 6th place- the 1st 8 six seconds behind Germany and one behind Leander. The women’s eights had a straight final, where both crews finished in close proximity in 4th and 5th. 

On Sunday, despite a larger entry, the same crews qualified for the final- with the 1st 8 being the fastest qualifier from the heat. It was actually the Temple Eight who got out ahead of the other Brookes crews- with Germany two seconds up on the rest of the field at 500m. 

By 1000m, the 1st 8 had edged ahead of the Temple 8 and held Germany at 1 length through the middle part of the race. Strong sprints from both crews resulted in an exciting finish for spectators, with Germany managing to hold their lead by just 1 second- a margin that German 5 seat Christopher Reinhardt said he was “happy to have survived”. The Temple 8 finished a further length back- a full length ahead of the Leander Club crew who had beaten them before. The 3rd 8 overturned their loss to the second ranked German crew, finishing in 5th place.

In addition to this, there were a number of athletes racing as part of the Great Britain Senior and U23 team ahead of the respective World Championships this summer. Jamie Copus raced in the lightweight single, coming from behind on the first day to take the win. He followed this up with another win on Sunday by clear water. This is yet another strong performance for Copus, who finished in second place at the Great Britain Final Trials three weeks ago. 

Esme Booth and Jo Gannon earned their first national team vests racing both days in the women’s coxless fours as part of a small U23 contingent from Great Britain. The crew came in fourth place behind senior crews from Germany and the Netherlands- being the fastest U23 crew both days. They will now look to gain selection for July’s U23 World Championships in Sarasota, Florida. 

Morgan Bolding, making his first appearance for the Great Britain Senior team following numerous appearances at World U23, Junior and Student Championships, raced in the men’s coxlees four- this event fielding one of the most competitive entries of the regatta. On Saturday, despite leading the field at the 1000m mark, they had to settle for 2nd place behind Germany. However on Sunday, their fortunes reversed and a strong middle 1000m saw the crew win by open water over the Netherlands in 2nd place. Morgan has been part of the Olympic Pathway Programme for the last eight months, and following additional support has already made an impact at each set of GBRT trials. For more information about this programme please visit this link. 

With a few weeks before the group heads to the Metropolitan Regatta, the squad will continue training at Cholsey before embarking on training camp in Wimbleball, Somerset next week.