Five BROOKES|Rowing athletes selected for European Championships

Five athletes have been selected for the upcoming European Rowing Championships, which takes place from 31st May to 2nd June in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Matthew Tarrant, a long time member of the Great Britain Senior team, will race in the Men’s Eight- a crew which took bronze at las year’s World Rowing Championships. Matt raced in the crew which won this year’s Head of the River Race, and rowed at Brookes from 2008-2012. Following a gold medal in the pair at the U23 World Championships, coached by Henry Bailhache-Webb, he was invited into the senior team for the Rio Olympiad. He raced in the spare pair at the Rio Olympics having won a gold medal at the 2014 World Championships in Amsterdam.

Also in the Men’s Eight is final trials winner Josh Bugajski. Josh raced with Brookes in the Ladies’ Plate at Henley Royal Regatta in 2017 and last year made his debut with the Great Britain Senior squad, having represented GB at U23 level in 2013. Last year he was spare for the European and World Championships, and won a silver medal at World Cup I. 

Jamie Copus, a member of the lightweight double at last year’s World Rowing Championships, has been selected in the lightweight men’s single following an impressive victory at Duisburg Regatta last weekend. He joined Brookes in 2013 and helped the club to success in the Temple Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta- an event that Brookes have now won three times in the last five years. 

The pairing of Rory Gibbs and Morgan Bolding, who came 4th at April’s GB Rowing Final Trials, will make their first appearance in a senior vest at the European Championships, having won a gold at last year’s World University Championships. Rory has been selected in the Men’s Four, and Morgan in the spare pair. Both athletes are the first graduates of BROOKES|Rowing’s Olympic Pathway Programme- and this is a great indication that after only eight months, the programme is already having considerable success.

If you are looking to make the next step into the GB senior team for the Tokyo Olympics and beyond, please take a look at our Olympic Pathway Programme page, and fill in the recruitment form here.

📸 All images courtesy of AllMarkOne