Indoor rowing records smashed at the 2012 BIRC
Start Programme graduate Phil Turnham and the Czech Republic’s Pavlina Zizkova took the openweight crowns at the British Indoor Rowing Championships (BIRC) in Nottingham on Sunday, smashing the six and seven-minute barriers respectively.
30-year-old Turnham, who holds the British Indoor Rowing record over 2,000m in the 19-29 age category (5 minutes and 42.5 seconds), finished with a time of 5:55.3 – 15 seconds clear of silver-medallist Domenico Cioffi.
Nottingham Rowing Club’s Pete Muhley and Leamington’s Richard Gozdecki shared the bronze medal, finishing the 2,000m race in 6:11.8.
In the women’s openweight championship, Czech National Team rower Zizkova powered to an 11-second victory with a tremendous time of 6:55.1.
Local rowers Lindsday Marshall and Catherine Lineker (both of Nottingham RC) both put in strong performances on their way to silver and bronze, with times of 7:09.6 and 7:20.2 respectively.
This year’s BIRC was the first to be held in Nottingham in the event’s 21-year history, and also formed part of the 2012 Euro Open.
The event attracted indoor rowers from across Europe in a vast range of ages and abilities, with 17 British and Championship records being broken throughout the day – including Sir Steve Redgrave’s long-standing Championships record in the Men’s 35-39 Heavyweight category falling to 38-year-old Graham Benton.
There was a special performance from 75-year-old Roger Bangay, who set a new World Record time of 7:24.1 in the Men’s 75-79 Lightweight category, and new British Adaptive Rowing Records in the Men’s LTA (Guildford’s Mark Sinclair) and Women’s AS (Tees RC’s Caroline MacDonald).
To see the full list of results from the 2012 BIRC, visit www.concept2.co.uk.
