GB and German men’s eights line up for Lucerne after rousing GB Henley win

The GB Rowing Team and German men’s eights are both entered for the Lucerne World Cup this weekend (10-12 July) and will race each other once more just days after the British crew won so rousingly in the Henley Royal Regatta final.

This continuing rivalry – between the reigning British World Champions and Germany, the Olympic Champions – could be the main attraction in a men’s eight entry which does not include the Russians or Americans but does include the New Zealanders and Poles who were fourth and fifth at the last world cup in Varese, Italy.

Germany won the European Championships in May before the British crew of Matt Gotrel, Stewart Innes, Pete Reed, Paul Bennett, Mohamed Sbihi, Alex Gregory, George Nash, Will Satch and cox Henry Fieldman won in Varese.

Constantine Louloudis, fresh from University finals and a World and Olympic medallist, was swapped into the crew for Henley in lieu of Innes with Phelan Hill back as cox rather than Henry Fieldman.The GB boat won by a sizeable margin in the match-racing as opposed to six-lane format there.

Alex Gregory, Olympic Champion in the four and 2013 World Champion in the eight, said: “That was certainly a really great step in the right direction.”

As expected the two nations have been separated by the draw with GB facing Italy, France and Poland whilst Germany has New Zealand, Netherlands and the Australian men’s eight who lost to GB in the semi-final at Henley. The top crew from each heat will go through directly to the final on Sunday.

Russia has entered its European Champion men’s quadruple scull but there will be no chance for the British quartet to measure their progress since Poznan in May in this event as the GB boat has been withdrawn because Graeme Thomas is poorly and Charles Cousins is still not quite ready to return fully from a hand injury.

“Graeme has gone down with a bit of a cold and with Charles still unavailable, we decided that this unit needed some time to regroup”, said Sir David Tanner, GB Rowing Team Performance Director.

Other GB Rowing Team crews will travel to Lucerne with renewed confidence. John Collins and Jonny Walton, who were on the wrong side of a very tight semi-final finish in Varese, won at Henley against a zippy South African crew containing two London 2012 lightweight gold medallists.

They are drawn with Italy, the 2014 World Silver Medallists, in a heat which also features Poland and Estonia.

Tom Ransley picked up his sixth Henley title, won across a variety of boats, when the GB four which also featured Nathaniel Reilly O’Donnell, Scott Durant and Alan Sinclair beat the Greek four who had won European silver behind them in Poznan.

In Friday morning’s heats the GB crew have the Belarusians, twice world cup medallists this year, in the lane next door. Three go through to the semis from this four-boat heat which includes France and Spain.

For London 2012 Olympic gold medallists Helen Glover and Heather Stanning, in the women’s pair, as well as Katherine Grainger and Kat Copeland – racing with Vicky Thornley and Charlotte Taylor in the open and lightweight doubles respectively – Lucerne will provide a chance to return to racing after a break during Henley which does not feature their events on the programme.

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning will lead off the GB action tomorrow (at 08.05 UK time). Two crews go through to the semis from this event and GB is drawn in an outside lane. The second GB pair of Karen Bennett and Rebecca Chin will race in the third heat.

Vicky Thornley and Katherine Grainger have Belarus, finalists behind them in the European Championships, to one side and Finland to the other in their opening heat here from which the top two go through to the semis. Poland, the European Champions, are not here competing, nor are the Lithuanians who took European silver ahead of GB in Poznan in May. New Zealand, drawn in heat two, must start favourites here as winners in Varese.

Taylor and Copeland have been drawn in heat four tomorrow morning. One crew only qualifies for Saturday’s semi-finals. A rematch between the New Zealand world champion crew and the British European Champions and world best time holders could be one to relish here in the later stages. Canada and Australia also enter the fray, having sat out Varese because of illness.

Jamie Kirkwood, winner of the last two GB Rowing Team Senior Trials in the lightweight single, has recovered from injury to take a seat in the lightweight men’s four with Mark Aldred and 2012 silver medallists Peter Chambers and Chris Bartley.

Denmark, the reigning World Champions and European bronze medallists, have been drawn in the same heat as the GB crew with only two progressing to the semi-final here.

European Champions James Foad and Matt Langridge are also back in the fray as the lead men’s pair, having sat out Varese but who won at Henley against Stewart Innes and Oli Cook, their team-mates in the final there.

Innes and Cook will race in an adjacent lane to the World Champions, Hamish Bond and Eric Murray, tomorrow. Foad and Langridge, drawn in an outside lane, are in a heat which includes the Varese world cup bronze medallists, Jack Hargreaves and Nicholas Wheatley of Australia.

Coaches Paul Thompson and James Harris will race an unchanged women’s eight that won bronze in Varese and reached the final at Henley only to lose to the Canadian World silver medallists.

In Varese, this boat showed that it has come on leaps and bounds since its European performance. In a twist of irony, the GB crew is drawn in the same heat as the Canadians and alongside them. Only one crew can go through to the final from this heat.

From this women’s sweep training group, Karen Bennett will once more race in a pair with Rebecca Chin after Lucinda Gooderham, who was due to join Chin in Lucerne, was withdrawn for medical reasons.

Frances Houghton was off-colour in the lead up to Varese but stepped into the women’s quadruple scull at Henley where the crew won. She joined Melanie Wilson, Tina Stiller and Jess Leyden. The four-times Olympian and twice Olympic silver medallist competes instead of Beth Rodford who now moves to the single scull. The women’s quad here will be a straight final. Rodford is drawn in the same heat as Genevra Stone of the USA, a silver medallist in Varese and Belarussian Tatsiana Kukhta who won bronze in Varese.

Richard Chambers and Will Fletcher have won European silver and world cup bronze so far this season. In Lucerne they are drawn in a heat with Indonesia, Turkey and Switzerland. With three crews from the initial four due to progress to quarter-finals.

“I’m really proud to be representing GB in this boat”, said Chambers who after the Varese final had indicated the forward plan: “There was more fight in our performance today than in the semis. We had the aggression now we just need to work on the speed”.

The lightweight men’s pair remains unchanged with Jono Clegg and Sam Scrimgeour picking up where they left off on the Varese podium. Both raced in the four at the Europeans. Their heat tomorrow includes Italy, Denmark and Turkey.

Alan Campbell is the open weight GB single sculler. On his return to top racing for the first time since July 2104, and after an injury lay-off, he made the final in Varese – a good and positive first performance this season on the world stage.

Campbell’s heat in Lucerne includes European Champion Damir Martin of Croatia and former Olympic Champion Olaf Tufte of Norway. Only one crew can progress to the semi-finals with the remainder contesting a repechage.

Imogen Walsh, finalist in the lightweight women’s double scull with Ellie Piggott in Italy, now moves back to lightweight women’s single in which she won European gold in late May. Judith Anlauf of Germany, bronze medallist behind Walsh in Poznan, is in the same heat as Walsh. Only one crew progresses from this heat direct to the final, all others will race a repechage.

There are no para-rowing events in Lucerne so the GB mixed para-rowing coxed four, who set a world best time in Varese as they took gold, are back in full training alongside bronze medallist Tom Aggar and finalist Rachel Morris as well as potential members of a new mixed trunk-arms double scull.

The para-rowing crews for the World Championships will be announced alongside the Olympic and International class crews on July 21 as the whole GB Rowing Team squad moves towards the Olympic and Paralympic Games qualifying regatta from August 30 -September 6 in Aiguebelette, France.

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CREW LISTS (Includes club, home town, date of birth)
GB Rowing Team for World Cup III
Lucerne, Switzerland, July 10-12.

OPEN

WOMEN

Pair – two boats

Helen Glover (Minerva Bath RC/Penzance/17.06.86)
Heather Stanning (Army RC/Lossiemouth/26.01.85)
Coach: Robin Williams

Karen Bennett (Leander Club/Edinburgh/05.02.89)
Rebecca Chin (Agecroft RC/Deganwy/11.12.91)/
Coach: Robin Williams

Eight

Katie Greves (Leander Club/Oxford/02.09.82)
Louise Reeve (Leander Club/London/16.05.84)
Jessica Eddie (London RC/Durham/07.10.84)
Donna Etiebet (Sport Imperial/London/29.04.86)
Victoria Meyer-Laker (Leander Club/Premnay/18.03.88)
Olivia Carnegie-Brown (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Oxford/28.03.91)
Rosamund Bradbury (Leander Club/Banstead/17.12.88)
Zoe Lee (Imperial College BC/Richmond/15.12.85)
Zoe de Toledo (Cox) (Leander Club/London/17.07.87)
Coach: James Harris

Double Scull

Katherine Grainger (St Andrew BC/Glasgow/12.11.75)
Victoria Thornley (Leander Club/Wrexham/30.11.87)
Coach: Paul Thompson

Single scull

Beth Rodford (Gloucester RC/Gloucester/28.12.82)
Coach: Nick Strange

Quadruple Scull

Melanie Wilson (Imperial College BC/London/25.06.84)
Kristina Stiller (Tees RC/Yarm/23.06.87)
Frances Houghton (Univ of London Tyrian Club/Oxford/19.9.80)
Jessica Leyden (Leander Club/Todmorden/22.02.95)
Coach: Nick Strange

OPEN

MEN

Pair – two boats

James Foad (Molesey BC/Southampton/20.03.87)
Matt Langridge (Leander Club/Northwich/20.05.83)
Coach: Rob Dauncey

Oliver Cook (Univ of London BC/Windsor/05.06.0)
Stewart Innes (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/20.05.91)
Coach: Rob Dauncey

Coxed Pair

Callum McBrierty (Leander Club/Edinburgh/13.08.92)
Mat Tarrant (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Shepperton/11.07.90)
Henry Fieldman (cox) (Molesey BC/Barnes/25.11.88)
Coach: John West

Four

Alan Sinclair (Leander Club/Munlochy/16.10.85)
Scott Durant (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Lancaster/12.02.88)
Tom Ransley (Leander Club/Ashford/06.09.85)
Nathaniel Reilly-O’Donnell (Univ of London BC/Durham/13.04.88)
Coach: Christian Felkel

Eight

Matt Gotrel (Leander Club/Chipping Campden/01.03.89)
Constantine Louloudis (OUBC/London/15.09.91)
Pete Reed (Leander Club/Nailsworth/27.07.81)
Paul Bennett (Univ of London BC/Leeds/16.12.88)
Mohamed Sbihi (Molesey BC/Surbiton/27.03.88)
Alex Gregory (Leander Club/Wormington/11.03.84)
George Nash (Molesey BC/Guildford/02.10.89)
Will Satch (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/09.06.89)
Phelan Hill (cox) (Leander Club/Bedford/21.07.79)
Coach: Jurgen Grobler

Single Scull

Alan Campbell (Tideway Scullers School/Coleraine/09.05.83)
Coach: John West

Double Scull

John Collins (Leander Club/Twickenham/24.01.89)
Jonny Walton (Leander Club/Leicester/06.10.90)
Coach: Mark Banks

LIGHTWEIGHT

WOMEN

Single scull

Imogen Walsh (London RC/Inverness/17.01.84)
Coach: Paul Reedy

Double Scull

Charlotte Taylor (Putney Town RC/Bedford/14.08.85)
Kat Copeland (Tees RC/Ingleby Barwick/01.12.90)
Coach: Paul Reedy

LIGHTWEIGHT

MEN

Pair

Jonathan Clegg (Leander Club/Maidenhead/14.07.89)
Sam Scrimgeour (Imperial College BC/Kirriemuir/28.01.88)
Coach: Rob Morgan

Four

Jamie Kirkwood (Leander Club/Cresswell, N’bland/30.08.89)
Peter Chambers (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Coleraine/14.03.90)
Chris Bartley (Leander Club/Chester/02.02.84)
Mark Aldred (London RC/Birmingham/18.04.87)

Coach: Rob Morgan

Double Scull

Will Fletcher (Leander Club/Chester-le-Street/24.12.89)
Richard Chambers (Leander Club/Coleraine/10.06.85)
Coach: Darren Whiter

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