Summer International Roundup
BROOKES|Rowing athletes saw considerable success when racing internationally this summer, following the culmination of the university rowing calendar at Henley in July.
Six athletes raced at the Senior World Championships, which took place in Linz, Austria. Rory Gibbs, in his first season as part of the GB Rowing senior team, won a bronze medal as part of the coxless four, following a tough battle with Romania throughout. This qualified the boat for next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.
In the men’s eight, Mat Tarrant and Josh Bugajski claimed a bronze medal, also qualifying the boat for the Olympics. Morgan Bolding and pairs partner Tom Jeffrey came agonisingly close- eventually finishing in 12th position. Jamie Copus, racing in the lightweight double, finished 18th in a fiercely competitive field.
Quentin Antognelli, racing for Monaco and also attempting to qualify in the men’s single for Tokyo, finished 4th in the F final and will look to claim his Olympic spot at next year’s European Continental Qualification Regatta.
Earlier in the summer, the Great Britain U23 team travelled to Sarasota for the World Championships, finishing top of the medal table with 6 golds and two silvers.
Matt Rowe and Henry Blois-Brooke, both racing in their second U23 World Championships having finished 5th in the M4+ last year, led from start to finish in the Men’s Eight to crown themselves World Champions for the first time. Jo Gannon, in her first World Championships appearance, stroked the women’s eight to a silver medal.
Incoming women’s coach, Richard Chambers, coached the winning men’s coxless four who had also been victorious in the Visitor’s Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta earlier in the summer.
Scott Cockle, coxing the men’s coxed four, claimed a silver medal- just 0.1 of a second behind the winning Australian crew. Strong performances in their respective pairs events saw James Snowball finish 6th and Esme Booth win the B Final.
The final event of the summer was the U23 European Rowing Championships, which took place in Ioannina, Greece. The men’s eight, featuring Cameron Spurling, James Snowball, Alfie Heath and Dylan Mitchell and coached by assistant coach Ben Murphy, claimed a bronze medal behind Romania and Ukraine.
The BROOKES|Rowing 2020 season is well underway, with the first race at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston fast approaching.
