Medal haul for GB rowers in International double-header

The weather might have forced multiple finals in one day but GB’s para-rowers still shone on Lake Varese.

GB’s para-rowers won six medals in Paralympic class A finals at the Gavirate International Regatta on Lake Varese, Italy, on Saturday after predicted bad weather for Sunday forced two finals sessions in one day.

Para-cycling champion turned rower Rachel Morris, from Farnham, clocked up a double silver across her two finals of the arms-shoulders single scull (ASW1x), beaten both times by Birgit Skarstein of Norway in a reversal of the finishing positions at last year’s World Championships.

Their first encounter of Saturday was one of the paciest of the day with times not far outside world bests provoking GB’s lead para-rowing coach Tom Dyson to say: ““That was a really quick race, that was good”.

Londoner Tom Aggar, a World silver medallist last year and Paralympic Champion in 2008, battled to a silver and bronze in what could be billed GB v Ukraine especially in the evening’s final of the arms-shoulders single scull (ASM1x) in which the Ukraine took gold, silver and fourth.

Bromsgrove’s Lauren Rowles, juggling A-level revision with racing in Italy, and Northallerton’s Laurence Whiteley were also medallists twice over in the trunk-arms double scull (TAMix2x) as well as winning the non-Games category race in the TA single scull.

In the morning they won bronze behind the Netherlands and France.  By evening time they had stepped up to silver in a riveting race which was won by the French duo of Perle Bouge and Stephanie Tardieu by just two hundredths of a second.

Britain also shone in the other para-rowing class events in Gavirate, those that are not part of the Games programme currently.  Cumbernauld’s Scott Meenagh, the injured serviceman and double above the knee amputee who is a regular part of the GB Rowing Team squad, won silver twice in the trunk-arms single scull – the first behind team-mate Whiteley and the second behind Brazilian Michel Pessanha.

A spotlight also shone on another Scott, newcomer Scott Jones who took silver last night in the second-tier ASM1x final and fifth in the morning’s main ASM1x final. The recent recruit to rowing and an international debutant this weekend now has a classification for rowing and he has a pedigree as a winner.

As a 15 year-old the Cheltenham track and field athlete became World Champion in the F34 shot put and threw a world record distance.  Now 18, he is at school at Hartpury and being coached there as part of coach Tom Pattichis’ group.

The Ukraine won a close mixed coxed four final from South Africa in the morning and Australia were winners in the evening. GB’s World Champion crew did not race in Gavirate.

For media information and pictures: please contact the GB Rowing Team press office:  [email protected] or 07831 755351

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RESULTS

Gavirate International, Italy, Saturday 23 April

Saturday Finals – MORNING SESSION

MEN

Arms-shoulders single scull (ASM1x)

1.  Roman Polianskyi (Ukraine) 4:41.42

2.  Tom Aggar (GREAT BRITAIN) 4:49.55

3.  Sergiy Khyzhnyak (Ukraine)  4:54.52

4.  Rene Pereira (Brazil) 5:00.99

5.  Scott Jones (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:08.31

6.  Marco del Bene (Italy) 5:23.02

Trunk-arms single scull (TAM1x)

1.  Laurence Whiteley (GREAT BRITAIN) 4:23.04

2.  Scott Meenagh (GREAT BRITAIN) 4:26.31

3.  Spolon Massimo (Italy) 4:52.19

Trunk-arms single scull (TAW1x)

1.  Lauren Rowles (GREAT BRITAIN)  4:58.68

2.  Zamora Alejandrina (Mexico) 6:31.23

3.  Annika van der Meer (Netherlands C)

WOMEN

Arms-shoulders single scull (ASW1x)

1.  Birgit Skarstein (Norway) 5:21.23

2.  Rachel Morris (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:22.09

3.  Claudia Santos (Brazil) 5:33.02

4.  Eleonora de Paolis (Italy) 5:50.19

5.  Lian Deijkeri (Netherlands) 5:58.61

6.  Tuerhong Dilare (China 2) 6:10.69

MIXED

Double scull (TAMix2x)

1.  Esther Van der Loos/Corna De Konig (Netherlands) 04:01.90

2.   Perle Bouge/Stephane Tardieu (France) 04:02.27

3.  Laurence Whiteley/Lauren Rowles (GREAT BRITAIN) 04:03.04

4.  Svitlana Bohuslavska/Dmytro Ivanov (Ukraine) 04:05.11

5.  Jolanta Majka/Michal Gadowski (Poland) 04:11.25

6.  Lima Josiane/Michel Pessanha (Brazil)

 

Saturday finals – EVENING SESSION

 

MEN

Arms-shoulders single scull (ASM1x)

1.  Roman Polianskyi (Ukraine) 4:42.63

2.  Igor Bondar (Ukraine) 4:45.47

3.  Tom Aggar (GREAT BRITAIN) 4:57.41

4.  Sergiy Khyzhnyak (Ukraine)  5:05.39

5.  Rene Pereira (Brazil) 5:07.13

6.  Alexander van Holk (Netherlands) 5:08.41

 

Arms-shoulders single scull (ASM1x)

1.  Fabrizio Caselli (Italy) 5:09.62

2.  Scott Jones (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:17.62

3.  Marco Del Bene (Italy 2) 5:31.82

4.  Leszek Niewiarowski (Poland) 5:59.21

5.  Magno Alejandro Vera (Argentina) 6:21.26

6.  Enrico Schildberg (Germany ) DNS

 

Trunk-arms single scull (TAM1x)

1.  Michel Pessanha (Brazil) 4:27.89

2.  Scott Meenagh (GREAT BRITAIN) 4:30.72

3.  Nir Mayo (Israel) 4:43.38

4.  Massimo Spolon (Italy) 4:59.58

WOMEN

Arms-shoulders single scull (ASW1x)

1.  Birgit Skarstein (Norway) 5:27.87

2.  Rachel Morris (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:34.26

3.  Claudia Santos (Brazil) 5:43.86

4.  Eleonora de Paolis (Italy) 5:55.10

5.  Sandra Khumalo (South Africa) 6:19.13

 

MIXED

Double scull (TAMix2x)

1.  Perle Bouge/Stephane Tardieu (France) 4:06.61

2.  Laurence Whiteley/Lauren Rowles (GREAT BRITAIN) 4:06.63

3.  Esther Van der Loos/Corna De Konig (Netherlands) 4:06.79

4.  Svitlana Bohuslavska/Dmytro Ivanov (Ukraine) 4:13.51

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CREW LISTS

Gavirate International Regatta, Italy, April 22-24

 

*(Crews listed from bow to stroke with cox and with club, home town and date of birth).

PARA-ROWING

Days 1 and 2 (Fri/Sat)

 

ASW1x – Rachel Morris (Guildford RC/Farnham/25.04.79)

 

ASM1x – Tom Aggar (Marlow RC/Maidenhead/24.05.84)

 

ASM1x – Scott Jones

 

TAM1x – Laurence Whiteley (Tees RC/Northallerton/29.08.91)

 

TAM1x – Scott Meenagh (Army RC/Cumbernauld/16.09.89)

 

TAW1x – Lauren Rowles (Marlow RC/Birmingham/ 24.04.98)

TA2x – Laurence Whiteley/Lauren Rowles

(Tees RC/Northallerton/29.08.91)/ (Marlow RC/Birmingham/ 24.04.98)

Days 2 and 3 (Both raced on Saturday due to weather conditions)

ASW1x – Rachel Morris (Guildford RC/Farnham/25.04.79)

ASM1x – Tom Aggar (Marlow RC/Maidenhead/24.05.84)

ASM1x – Scott Jones

TAM1x – Scott Meenagh  (Army RC/Cumbernauld/16.09.89)

TA2x – Lauren Rowles/Laurence Whiteley

(Tees RC/Northallerton/29.08.91)/ (Marlow RC/Birmingham/ 24.04.98)