New club record – 5:35 – at Ghent International
It was another record-setting weekend for the men, this time switching from Nottingham to the Watersportlaan in Ghent, Belgium. The first few early rounds saw all the Brookes boat progress through to their respective finals in the Senior 4+, 4x and 8+ categories.
In the 8+ event, Brookes put on a show for the spectators, putting the top 3 crews all under 5:39, and ahead of crews from Leander and Thames. The winning crew clocked in at an impressive 5:35 – a new OBUBC record for men’s 8’s, and breaking the Ghent course record that had stood since 1990 with not one, but two crews. This is also the first time the club has swept all three medals in the men’s 8+ category, and was fantastic to have the entire podium lined with burgundy lycras – an impressive set of results, and the club’s best ever showing at Ghent in eights.
The 4x came away with a creditable silver on both days, clocking a 6:09 on the final day’s racing – the fastest a Brookes quad has ever gone down a 2km course. The Taurus 4+ won their event both days, closely followed by a student 4+ getting silver and bronze on respective days. Dan Wilkinson also came away with a bronze medal in Lightweight 1x.
8+ Final
Gold – 5:35.34
Silver – 5:37.39
Bronze – 5:38.31