Gold Rush at British Rowing Championships!

LRC brought back a bumper haul of medals from this year's 2010 British Rowing Championships with a total of 10 medals being made up from 3 bronzes, 1 silver and 6 golds.  The lightweight members of the squad put in a sterling performance to win the Lwt Doubles, Lwt Coxless Four, Bronze in the Lwt single and the performance of the day coming from the Lwt pairs event where LRC picked up all three medals.  This performance means that Steve Salter, Ash Maitland, Colin Magee, Chris Anness, Dom Wilson and Charlie Jarvis have all been selected to represent England in the upcoming Home Countries Regatta.

The heavyweight members of the squad also made the trip North to contribute to the medal tally.  The coxed four certainly had the easiest race of the championships as all of their opposition withdrew, allowing them to row over for the Gold medal.  The same crew then competed in the coxless four final where they led from the first stroke and controlled a comfortable race to win by 5 seconds.  In the open eights the coxless four was joined by some of the lightweight members of the squad and went on to win the final by a length from Nottingham Rowing Club.

This is a great way for LRC to sign off what has been a large step forward in terms of the club's overall performance.  Some of our athletes will now be taking a well earned summer break whilst others will have to wait one more weekend for the Home Countries Regatta.  The club wishes the best of luck to those athletes and looks forward to an even more successful season next year.

The Open VIII celebrate their win

Two LRC Gold Medals at Lucerne World Cup

Rob Williams

LRC wishes best of luck to all of our international athletes as they prepare for the upcoming World Championships in New Zealand.

Henley Royal Regatta

A sunny Henley Regatta saw the LRC squad progress to two Henley finals but fall just short of the winning mark.  In the Wyfold LRC had representation from two crews on the Saturday showing the strength in depth of the club.  On the finals day LRC was just piped to the line by a speedy Nottingham and Union crew who have shown good pace throughout the season.  In the Coxed Four event LRC were up against the hot favourites from the Tideway Scullers Schools.  A spirited row saw them fall short by only half a length but the crew are already redoubling their efforts for next year.  In the Thames Cup event the 2nd eight had a tough draw by seeing the eventual winners in the first round.  The 1st eight suffered a similar fate when drawing the losing finalists on the second day. 

Congratualtions go to Annabel Vernon for winning the Princess Grace Challenge Cup in a composite boat.  It is the first time Annabel has represented the club and we wish her all the best in the upcoming preperations for the New Zealand World Championships.
 

Annabel Vernon on her way to Henley victory

It is a fantastic achievement for the club to have representation in two club event finals but the coaches and squad are now focussing on next year and the goal of bringing home Henley glory.

Marlow Regatta

Marlow Regatta saw the final Henley crews hit out against their main opposition.  The 1st VIII had an off day on the water and did not make the final, again narrowly missing out.  The Senior Coxless Fours had an excellent days racing with a 1st and 2nd place for LRC, allowing both of these crews to be in the running for seeded status at Henley.  Coming into the final through the rep the Senior coxed four displayed good speed in the final to finsh 3rd behind two speedy University crews and, crucially, ahead of all the club competition.  A 2nd place was also achieved by the IM1 8 after a good race with Queen's University Belfast.

Metropolitan Regatta

The Metropolitan Regatta was the club's final opportunity to make alterations to the crews before submitting them for Henley.  The regatta had mixed results for LRC.  In the Senior 8's LRC A narrowly missed out on making the final after a late surge by the University of London.   The B crew did however make it in after a good race against 1829.  They came away with a 2nd place in the final, again to 1829.   The IM2 coxless four continued their run of success beating of opposition from City of Bristol and Vesta to win their final.  On the Sunday a slight change of crews some more wins for LRC.  The Senior Coxless fours final saw a 1st and 4th place for LRC and Natasha Bolsin also picked up a win in Women's Intermediate 2 Singles.

Nottingham City Regatta

Nottingham City Regatta gave the squad their first run out of the season against tougher opposition and a chance for the coaches to try some different seating combinations.  In the elite 8's London was again the sole entry and was left to race for time only against the Senior 8's.  This came down to a three horse race between LRC 1, 2 and a crew from Nottingham and Union.   LRC were able to secure the first two places and spirited row by LRC 2 to defeat the Union crew.  In the Senior coxless 4's London managed to get 4 crews to the final but unfortunately had to settle for 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th thanks to another speedy Union crew.  Victory for LRC was secured by the IM1 4- and the IM2 8+.

Poplar Regatta

Head of the River Results

London produced some good results at the 2010 Head of the River with 3 crews making it into the top 21 finishing places overall.  The 1st VIII produced a convincing display finishing 7th overall and retaining the Vernon Trophy for the club (awarded to the fastest Tideway Crew).  They were closely followed by the 2nd and 3rd VIII's which were made up of almost entirely of athletes eligble for the club events at Henley Royal Regatta.  The club's remaining VIII's also produced good speed on the day to be in the mix with the competition over the summer.  The Head of the River is the peak of a long winter's training and the squad will now depart for a weeks training camp in Portugal in preperation for the summer season. 

Head of the River Results (Overall Placing / Placing in Category)

LRC 1 Elite - 7th / 5th
LRC 2 Lwt Sen - 17th / 3rd
LRC 3 Sen - 21st / 2nd
LRC 4 Int 1 - 72nd / 10th
LRC 5 Int 1 - 140th / 19th
LRC 6 Elite - 167th / 50th

Jack Ormiston

2nd place Overall and 3 Pennants at Vesta Scullers' Head 

London enjoyed strong representation at this years Vesta Scullers Head with a total of 34 members taking part.  Top of the pile was Richard Dunley finishing 2nd overall and winning the Elite Lwt pennant.  Pennants were also won by Andy Berridge (IM2 Lwt) and Stuart Heap (IM1 Lwt).  The squad now continues it's winter training with the annual Head of the River Race being the main focus.

Full results can be found here:

http://www.vestarowing.co.uk/events/vesta-scullers-head/vesta-scullers-head-2009-results

Safety Prize for London Rowing Club

London Rowing Club has been awarded the runners-up prize for Implementation of the Rowing Code by the Thames Regional Rowing Council and Port of London Authority.  The prize is in recognition of the hard work by every member of the club obeying the navigation rules and keeping our sport as safe as possible.  The club will receive a cheque for £500 with the winners, Auriol Kensington, receiving £1000.  You can read the full letter here.

London wins Veteran Fours Head

After the disappointment of the cancelled Fours Head, three of the main squad took to the water the following day on Sunday 15th November to compete in the Veteran Fours Head.  The crew made up of Andy Murray, James Young, Alex Fothergill and Peter Halford went on to win the event overall in their coxless four by a winning margin of 4 seconds from a Vesta/Auriol Kensington Vet B 4x. This is believed to be the first time that London have won the event.

London winning the Veteran Fours Head

Wingfield Sculls Win for Sophie

Sophie Hosking secured a comfortable win against Jess Eddie in the 2009 Wingfield Sculls on 5th November, to hold on to the title she won last year.  The competitors were greeted with wintry Tideway conditions but Sophie led from the start and moved to a convincing lead before Hammersmith Bridge.  She maintained her lead to win by a final margin of 29 seconds in  23m. 05 secs. 

The Men's race between Alan Campbell, Mahe Drysdale and Graham Coleman tested the competitors boatmanship with deteriorating conditions.  Campbell went on to win from Drysdale by 10 seconds.
 

Sophie on her way to winning the WIngfields

Four 1st Places for London at the Pairs Head

LRC kicked off its 2009/10 season at the Pairs Head on Saturday, 17th October.  The club was well represented with a total of 12 entries, listed below (please note the first position is the finish position in the division, the second is the overall position).

IM2 2x - Dunley/ Cawthorne - 1st/ 2nd.
MX E 2x - Hosking/ Lindsay-Fynn - 1st/ 6th.
MX E 2x - Goodsell/ Williams - 2nd/ 10th
IM2 2x  - Maitland/ Anness - 3rd/ 15th
IM3 2x - Young/ Calvert- Ansari - 3rd/ 19th
IM1 2- - Jorgensen/ McGow - 2nd/ 49th
IM 2 2- - O'Connor/ Thomas - 1st/ 55th
W E 2x - Greenhalgh/ Dennis (RUBC) - 2nd/ 76th
W E 2x - Cullen/ Johnstone (TSS) - 4th/ 80th
Vet B 2- J Brown/ Brown (Bradford) - 1st/ 84th
IM1 2- - Mason/ Lucani - 11th/ 183rd
VetG+ 2x - Hulf/ Porter - 2nd/ 335th

Particular note should be taken of Richard Dunley's and Alex Cawthorne's 2nd overall which is officially recorded as 1st place due to a time-only entry from The Tideway Scullers School.

6th overall from Sophie Hosking and James Lindsay-Fynn in the MX E 2x is also a great result, followed home by Rob Williams and Hester Goodsell in 10th. 
 
Along with wins and a close miss for new boys Chris Thomas and Robbie McGow the above is a positive start everyone should use to build on.