GB Rowers back to training before Rio visit

September 23, 2014

The GB Rowing Team has returned to training today at its base in Caversham, near Reading, for the first time since winning 10 medals at last month’s World Championships in Amsterdam.

20 of the squad return as recently-crowned World Champions. They include rowers in the men’s eight and four as well as the women’s pair and para-rowing mixed coxed four.

The stand out performances of the Championships came from the men’s four and women’s pair. Alex Gregory, Mohamed Sbihi, George Nash and Andrew Triggs Hodge dominated their final in Amsterdam to take gold whilst Heather Stanning and Helen Glover did the same and set a new world best time in the process.

Perhaps the performance which overturned the form books the most, however, came from the men’s eight of Nathaniel Reilly O’Donnell, Matthew Tarrant, Will Satch, Matt Gotrel, Peter Reed, Paul Bennett, Tom Ransley, Constantine Louloudis and cox Phelan Hill. They took gold ahead of the favourites, Germany, and Poland in a compelling race.

The men’s quadruple scull of Graeme Thomas, Sam Townsend, Charles Cousins and Peter Lambert lost out on gold by a mere 0.09 of a second in an equally thrilling encounter.

Tom Aggar also brought home silver in the arms-shoulders men’s single scull in a performance which underlined his return to top form.

James Foad and Matt Langridge in the men’s pair and Alan Sinclair, Scott Durant and Henry Fieldman took a further brace of silvers for GB.

Britain’s two bronzes came from the lightweight men’s four of Mark Aldred, Peter and Richard Chambers and Chris Bartley and the lightweight men’s pair of Jono Clegg and Sam Scrimgeour.

The squad will train for a week in the UK before heading on a significant visit to Brazil. They will travel to Rio for a pre-Olympic orientation and training camp which will kick off the season in which Olympic qualification takes place.

Alan Campbell, Frances Houghton and Adam Freeman-Pask all missed out on Amsterdam but are all now back. Campbell returns to training whilst Houghton and Freeman-Pask are well on the road to recovery.

Another familiar face appeared for the first time in a while in training this week – Katherine Grainger, the Olympic women’s double scull champion.

“I’m back in training. It’s early days yet”, said Grainger. “I certainly don’t under-estimate the scale of the challenge ahead but i know I am in the best hands to have the best chance of success and I am looking forward to being back in a successful, motivated and inspiring team”.

Sir David Tanner, GB Rowing Team Performance Director Sir David Tanner said: “It’s an important season for us as the World Championships in France in early September will double as the Olympic and Paralympic qualifying regatta”, said Sir David Tanner, GB Rowing Team Performance Director.

“Next week’s camp in Rio will be a great way to kick off the new year”, he added.

Before the Rio departure, the GB Rowing Team will visit the home of their Official Analytics Partner, SAS Analytics, tomorrow in Marlow to hear about the kind of cutting-edge data analysis that is supporting and enhancing their training.

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THE SEASON AHEAD

KEY DATES

SEPTEMBER

Start of Senior Squad training for 2015 season (Men, Women & Lightweights)

GBRT visit SAS Analytics in Marlow to see how “big data” can help the boats go faster.

29 Sept – 7 Oct

Olympic Orientation Camp, Rio de Janeiro, BRA

October

18 – 19

British Rowing Championships, NWSC, Nottingham, GBR (M, W, Lwts, U23s)

November

First assessment (water), Caversham, GBR (Para-rowers)

15 – 16

First assessment, Boston, GBR (M, W, Lwts, U23s – WRC 2014 rowers exempt)

December

Second assessment, Boston, GBR (M, W, Lwts, U23s)

Second assessment (Land), Caversham, GBR (Para-rowers)

January 2015

10-11

First training assessment, Caversham, GBR (Para-rowers)

17 – 18

Second training assessment, Caversham, GBR (Para-rowers)

February

Third assessment, Boston, GBR (M, W, Lwts, U23s)

28 Feb – 1 Mar

Third assessment (Water), Caversham, GBR (Para-rowers)

March

Women’s Head of the River Race (9:30 prov)

Head of the River Race (11:30 prov)

April

4-5

GB Rowing Team Para Trials, Caversham, GBR

17 – 19

GB Rowing Team Senior Trials, Caversham, GBR

GB Rowing Team Junior Trials, NWSC, Nottingham, GBR

May

8-10

Rowing World Cup 1 – Bled Slovenia

13 – 26

Varese International Regatta & Training Camp, Varese, ITA (Para-rowers)

23-24

European Junior champs

29 – 31

European Rowing Championships, Poznan, POL (M, W, Lwts)

JUNE

19 – 21

Rowing World Cup II, Varese, ITA

JULY

1 – 5

Henley Royal Regatta

10 – 12

World Cup III, Lucerne, SUI

15 or 16

PROVISIONAL DATE: ANNOUNCEMENT of crews for World Championships

19 – 26

World Rowing U23 Championships, Plovdiv, BUL

30 Jul – 9 Aug

World Rowing Junior Championships, Rio de Janeiro, BRA – NB Olympic test event

31 Jul – 2 Aug

Coupe de la Jeunesse, Hungary (Jnr)

August

30 Aug – 6 Sept

World Rowing Championships & Olympic/Paralympic Qualification Regatta, Aiguebelette, FRA (M, W, Lwts, Para-rowers)

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CONTACT DETAILS

For media enquiries about the GB Rowing Team please contact:

The GB Rowing Team Press office at Matchtight Ltd on (01225) 384211 or [email protected] or [email protected]

For pictures please e-mail [email protected]

GB Rowing Team website, including full rower biogs: www.gbrowingteam.org.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/gbrowingteam
Twitter: www.twitter.com/gbrowingteam
Youtube: www.youtube.com/gbrowingteam

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THE GB ROWING TEAM is supported by the Lottery through UK Sport and has Science in Sport as a supplier. SAS Analytics is the Official Analytics Partner of British Rowing and the GB Rowing Team