World Coastal silver for Upper Thames women
A women’s quad from Upper Thames Rowing Club has claimed a silver medal at the World Rowing Coastal Championships in Bari, Italy.
The British crew – consisting of Louise Wymer, Ali Gill, Marie-Jose de Groot, Miriam Luke, and cox Sarah Dunn – completed the six-kilometre course in 29 minutes and 26.9 seconds, just over a minute behind the winning crew from France.
Rowing Club de Marseille’s crew had crossed the finish line ahead of the Upper Thames women, but penalties along the way saw the French crew slip out of the podium places.
Two other British crews – both from Exmouth Rowing Club – also took to the water for the A final of the women’s quads, finishing ninth and 11th after a combative afternoon’s racing.
The silver for Upper Thames proved to be the only medal for British crews at the 2011 Championships, with French and Italian crews in imperious form.
Fiamegialle claimed gold in the A final of the men’s quads, finishing the course in 24 minutes and 34 seconds to finish atop an Italian one-two-three on Saturday morning.
‘I was not expecting to feel such joy and emotion,’ Fiamegialle’s Domenico Montrone told World Rowing after the final. ‘It was such a good feeling. It was fantastic, we were not expecting to win in that way.’
Jersey Rowing Club’s quad produced a brave performance in the B final of the men’s quads, with the crew of Christopher Hobbs, James Salkeld, Michael Johnson, Paul Countanche, and Charlotte Smith (cox) finishing 10th out of 16 in a time of 25 minutes and nine seconds.
Three British clubs reached the B final of the men’s doubles, with Guernsey, Exmouth, and Westminster School crews finishing ninth, 12th, and 17th respectively, out of 18 boats.
There was also a fifth-placed finish in the A final of the women’s double for Upper Thames – with Naomi Ashcroft and Rhona O’Leary completing a successful weekend for the club.
Finally, Paul Montague of Guernsey Rowing Club finished 15th out of 16 in the A final of the men’s singles, with Italy once again taking top spot thanks to CUS Pavia single sculler Giuseppe Alberti.
In all, Italy claimed three gold medals on their home water, with French crews also picking up three.
