Wallingford Head 2022

Brookes retain Headship on home water at Wallingford Head

Brookes competed in the first race of the season in eights at the weekend. Unfortunately, racing was restricted to one division after the river changed to red boards during the first division. In the first division, Brookes entered seven men’s VIIIs, a M4+, two women’s U23 VIIIs, three women’s coxed & two coxless fours.

Racing against strong competition from Leander and Thames, the Brookes 1^st VIII, expertly steered by Harry Brightmore came out on top on their home water by a margin of 4 seconds. The 2^nd Brookes VIII claimed third place after a penalty for the Leander 2^nd eight. The men also came away with a 1,2,3 in Band 1 eights and the Brookes 7^th VIII claimed a 30 second win in Band 2 eights.

On the women’s side, the first division included U23 eights and Open fours. Brookes were dominant in each of these events, placing 1^st and 2^nd in each. The fastest Brookes women’s eight was 56 seconds faster than the next university women’s eight. The standout result was the Women’s Coxed Four whose time would have placed 3^rd in the U23 eight’s category.

Some great results by the whole team who look to build upon the success from last season. A special thanks should go to Wallingford RC who made every effort to hold the event in difficult circumstances. We look forward to pressing on towards the Christmas break and some final racing at the GBRT December trial.

📸 Courtesy of AllMarkOne