Seven more finalists as next generation shine in sun
On the day the Olympic heroes returned from Rio, GB Rowing Team’s next generation showed the future is bright as they reached seven more finals at the World Championships.
The GB U23 men's eight © Peter Spurrier/Intersport Images
All six of the GB crews racing in Tuesday afternoon’s U23 semi-finals went through, four of them recording eye-catching victories, while the morning session saw the senior lightweight men’s quadruple scull progress through their repechage.
Three single scullers – Tom Barras, Sam Mottram and Gemma Hall – also booked semi-final spots on a day blessed by ideal racing conditions.
Pete Sheppard, Chief Coach for U23s and Juniors, said: “It’s been a very good day, one of the best semi-final days we’ve ever had.
“Everyone stepped up and to have seven more crews through to finals is very pleasing.”
Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne and Jess Leyden
The senior lightweight men's quadThe morning session saw the senior lightweight men’s quad of Charles Waite-Roberts, Jamie Copus, Jamie Kirkwood and Zak Lee-Green finish runners-up in a thrilling repechage to book their place in Saturday’s final.
Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne and Jess Leyden then set the tone for a fantastic afternoon of U23 semi-finals by winning their women’s double scull race by clear water, a feat matched by the men’s four of James Johnston, Tom George, James Rudkin and Lewis McCue.
The lightweight men’s quad of Hugo Coussens, Oliver Varley, Matthew Curtis and Gavin Horsburgh led from start to finish before the men’s eight produced a powerful performance to win the last race of the day by a length.
The men’s quad and lightweight men’s four also progressed to take the number of GB U23 finalists up to ten – the women’s four, women’s eight, men’s coxed four and lightweight women’s quad having booked their places earlier in the week.
The U23 lightweight men's quad
The U23 men's fourU23 men’s single scullers Tom Barras and Sam Mottram will be looking to join them after reaching their respective open-weight and lightweight semi-finals, taking place on Wednesday afternoon.
Wednesday also sees the Junior World Championships get under way, with seven GB crews taking to the Willem-Alexander Baan course for their heats.
Click on the expander boxes below for reports, reaction and results in full.
Race Report
SENIOR RACE REPORTS
After the torrential rain of Sunday and gusty wind on Monday, rowers were relieved to be greeted by bright sunshine and flat water for day three of the World Championships.
The senior lightweight men’s quadruple scull of Charles Waite-Roberts, Jamie Copus, Jamie Kirkwood and Zak Lee-Green had caught a crab in the choppy conditions for their heat, finishing fifth, but they were determined to put that right in the repechage.
An exciting race saw three crews battling it out for the two final places on offer, with the Netherlands just ahead of GB and defending champions France at the halfway stage.
It was still anyone’s race with 500m to go but a push from the British quartet took them past the host nation. France also put in a massive sprint in the closing stages to come through from third and take the win, with GB claiming the all-important second spot in a blanket finish.
Kirkwood, racing at his fourth World Championships, said: “It was a very good race and we’re obviously all happy to make it through to the final. We wanted to win but we couldn’t have been much closer.
“Yesterday wasn’t ideal but we felt we were rowing well until our mishap. The aim today was to do the same again but without the mistake. We moved really well and everyone went on every call, down to a tee.
“It’s a tough field – the current World Champions are in there, the current world-best time holders [Greece] are in there – but we have had a really good few weeks together and we want to keep it stepping it up in the final.”
Gemma Hall is making her senior debut at these World Championships and produced a mature performance in her repechage to reach the lightweight women’s single scull semi-finals.
Hall got off to a good start and led for the first 300m before Mary Jones of the United States pushed ahead and continued to move clear, taking the win by a big margin.
With two semi-final places available, Hall stayed focused on her own race and was able to put clear water between herself and the chasing pack to make comfortable progress.
U23 RACE REPORTS
Mathilda Hodgins-Byrne and Jess Leyden had made light work of Sunday’s squally conditions to win their women’s double scull heat by a big margin.
And they were comprehensive winners of their semi-final too, producing a powerful performance on the glass-like water to beat the defending champions from Romania by two lengths.
The talented GB duo, both with senior experience, got their noses in front after 200m and held off a second-quarter push from Romania to maintain their slight lead at halfway.
With a qualification place safely in the bag, Hodgkins-Byrne and Leyden took the chance to lay down a marker ahead of Thursday’s final by accelerating away in the third 500m to secure an impressive victory.
Leyden is a former World Junior champion, while Gavin Horsburgh is a reigning one after winning gold with the men’s quadruple scull in Rio last year.
He has made the step up to U23 level this year and continues to impress, stroking the lightweight men’s quad to dominant victories in both Sunday’s heats and today’s semi-final.
The GB crew of Hugo Coussens, Oliver Varley, Matthew Curtis and Horsburgh quickly took control of proceedings today and were a length-and-a-half up on the field by the 1,000m mark.
Ireland and Sweden tried to apply some pressure but the GB quad were unmoved as they continued to push away at the front.
James Johnston, Tom George, James Rudkin and Lewis McCue are keen to upgrade on the silver won by the men’s four at last year’s World U23 Championships and demonstrated their potential by charging through the field to win their semi-final.
The United States got off to a blistering start in lane one and the GB crew found themselves down in fourth at the 500m mark. They were starting to find their rhythm, though, and by halfway had edged ahead of Romania and were rapidly closing in on the leaders.
Now the fastest crew on the water, GB put in another push in the third quarter to take the lead and continued to surge away to win by nearly two lengths.
Completing a quartet of excellent semi-final wins were the men’s eight, who produced a powerful performance to dominate the last race of the day.
Unphased by a 30-minute delay to their race, the GB eight of Calum Irvine, Oliver Wynne-Griffith, Matthew Benstead, Timothy Livingstone, David Bewicke-Copley, Sholto Carnegie, Robert Hurn, Arthur Doyle and cox Ian Middleton quickly established a rapid tempo.
Ukraine were the only crew to match them in the first 500m but they also fell away in the second quarter as GB increased their stroke rate once again.
Italy began to pressure Ukraine for second place but neither could make up ground on the British crew, who crossed the finish line a length clear.
Ed Fisher, Ben Reeves, Jonathan Jackson and Alistair Douglass, bronze medallists in the lightweight men’s four last year, followed up their heat win with another good performance in the semi-final.
They got off to a strong start and led Japan by a canvas at the halfway mark. Defending champions Italy were down in third but upped their stroke rate to push through and move level at the front.
The British crew responded well to the challenge and matched Italy stroke for stroke before their rivals finally edged ahead in the closing stages to win by a canvas.
The men’s quadruple scull of Harry Leask, Rowan Law, Harry Glenister and Andrew Joel were competing in their third race in as many days, having won their repechage on Monday.
And they will have a fourth later this week after securing third spot and a place in the final after a good performance.
The top three positions were effectively settled in the first half of the race, with Australia, New Zealand and GB well clear of the chasing pack. All kept up a good stroke rate in the second 1,000m to ensure there would be no scares in the closing stages.
The morning session saw men’s single scullers Tom Barras and Sam Mottram successfully negotiate their respective open-weight and lightweight quarter-finals.
Barras’s heat on Sunday had concluded in torrential rain. This time he was greeted with ideal racing conditions and made good use of them to record a dominant clear-water victory.
Sitting second at the 500m mark, Barras accelerated through the second quarter and was a length up at halfway before continuing to power away.
The three qualifiers in Mottram’s lightweight single quarter-final were determined early on as the GB rower and his Brazilian and Mexican counterparts pulled clear of the field.
The lead exchanged hands several times before Mexico’s Alexis Lopez Garcia made a decisive burst in the third quarter. Uncas Batista was also able to break clear but Mottram was safely through in third place.
Race Results
(Events featuring GB Rowing Team crews only. For full results – www.worldrowing.com)
SENIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
REPECHAGE
LIGHTWEIGHT
WOMEN
Single scull
1. Mary Jones (USA) 7:45.54
2. Gemma Hall (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:51.97
3. Tereza Kocianova (Czech Republic) 7:55.19
4. Guilia Pollini (Italy) 7:56.21
5. Shoko Ueno (Japan) 8:01.52
MEN
Quadruple scull
1. Francois Teroin/Damien Piquefras/Maxime Demontfaucon/Morgan Maunoir (France) 5:52.04
2. Jamie Kirkwood/Charles Waite-Roberts/Jamie Copus/Zak Lee-Green (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:52.44
3. Ward Van Zeijl/Sander Van Dijk/Berend Mortier/Just Van Der Endt (Netherlands) 5:53.07
4. Francesco Rigon/Andrea Fois/Michele Quaranta/Catello Amarante II (Italy) 5:57.30
U23 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
SEMI-FINALS
OPEN
WOMEN
Double scull – SF1
1. Mathilda Hodgkins-Bryne/Jess Leyden (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:58.39
2. Elena Logofatu/Ioana Vrinceanu (Romania) 7:02.59
3. Emma Kiehn/Astrid Steensberg (Denmark) 7:09.41
4. Kitti Horvath/Kitti Bertus (Hungary) 7:16.72
5. Rebekka Wiberg-Bugge/Jenny Roervik (Norway) 7:19.92
6. Jelisaveta Simaceva/Anna Karasa (Latvia) 7:23.53
MEN
Four – SF2
1. James Johnston/Thomas George/James Rudkin/Lewis McCue (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:03.58
2. Michael Colella/Cuyler Hamilton/Brooks Reavill/Avery Reavill (USA) 6:07.38
3. Dumitru Mariuc/Neculai Aniculesei/Danut-Viorel Rusu/Alexandru-Cosmin Macovei (Romania) 6:09.82
4. Bruno Salinas/Jose Moreschi/Axel Haack/Ignacio Gonzalez (Argentina) 6:12.04
5. Lucas Degelder/Martin Barakso/Daniel De Groot/Mackenzie Copp (Canada) 6:17.94
6. Federico Garibaldi/Alessandro Laino/Luca Lovisolo/Raffele Giulivo (Italy) 6:19.69
Eight
1. Calum Irvine/Oliver Wynne-Griffith/Matthew Benstead/Timothy Livingstone/David Bewicke-Copley/Sholto Carnegie/Robert Hurn/Arthur Doyle/Ian Middleton (cox) (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:37.17
2. Ukraine 5:39.63
3. Italy 5:39.69
4. USA 5:44.76
5. Russia 5:45.57
6. Australia 5:45.87
Quadruple scull – SF2
1. Robert Black/Caleb Antill/Luke Letcher/Thomas Schramko (Australia) 5:54.34
2. Jordan Parry/Oliver Stephens/Cameron Crampton/Jack O’Leary (New Zealand) 5:56.53
3. Harry Leask/Rowan Law/Harry Glenister/Andrew Joel (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:56.93
4. Bastien Quiqueret/Hugo Quemener/Lucas Brunelle/Maxime Ducret (France) 5:58.53
5. Daniel Buckley/Jack Casey/Patrick Boomer/Charles McKeown (Ireland) 6:12.94
6. Mykola Mazur/Heorhii Verteletskyi/Roman Matviychuk/Denis Kryvulia (Ukraine) 6:14.18
LIGHTWEIGHT
MEN
Four – SF2
1. Alberto Di Seyssel/Giovanni Ficarra/Piero Sfiligoi/Paolo Di Girolamo (Italy) 6:10.15
2. Edward Fisher/Benjamin Reeves/ Jonathan Jackson/Alistair Douglass (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:10.85
3. Takumi Shiga/Yasushi Fukui/Ryuta Arakawa/Kakeru Saton (Japan) 6:12.28
4. Mads Petersen/Malthe Puro/Sebastian Bache/Peter Holmqvist (Denmark) 6:13.02
5. Alvaro Romero Garcia/Ramon Gomez Cotilla/Marcelo Garcia/Roger Folque Fucho (Spain) 6:24.82
6. Julian Schoeberl/Lukas Sinzinger/Johannes Hofmayr/Rainer Kepplinger (Austria) 6:26.83
Quadruple scull – SF2
1. Hugo Coussens/Oliver Varley/Matthew Curtis/Gavin Horsburgh (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:06.10
2. Fintan McCarthy/Shane O’Connell/Stephen O’Connor/Colm Hennessy (Ireland) 6:07.18
3. Oskar Svensson/Filip Nilsson/Bo Axel Ekros/Martin Johansson (Sweden) 6:07.28
4. Harrison Somerville/Jared Van Vianen/Bryce Abernethy/Benjamin Van Dalen (New Zealand) 6:11.33
5. Peter Svingen/Didrik Wie-Soltvedt/Jens Holm/Sten Sture (Norway) 6:11.54
6. Sebastian Kabas/Maximilian Lex/Philipp Kellner/Iurii Suchak (Austria) 6:15.52
QUARTER-FINALS
OPEN
MEN
Single scull – QF4
1. Tom Barras (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:01.27
2. Quentin Antognelli (Monaco) 7:05.90
3. Miha Aljancic (Slovenia) 7:06.15
4. Bieliauskas Giedrius (Lithuania) 7:07.00
5. Nick Larsen (Denmark) 7:11.08
6. Marko Laius (Estonia) 7:29.57
LIGHTWEIGHT
MEN
Single scull – QF4
1. Alexis Lopez Garcia (Mexico) 7:03.18
2. Uncas Batista (Brazil) 7:05.85
3. Sam Mottram (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:13.72
4. Sergei Oboianschii (Moldova) 7:20.35
5. Lennart Van Lierop (Netherlands) 7:23.22
6. Takamoto Furumai (Japan) 7:28.26
Crew List
World Rowing Championships, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, August 21-28, 2016
(Listed bow to stroke; club, hometown, date of birth)
OPEN
WOMEN
Four
Fiona Gammond (Leander Club/Bicester/19.10.92)
Donna Etiebet (Imperial College BC/London/29.04.86)
Holly Nixon (Leander Club/Enniskillen/07.12.93)
Holly Norton (Leander Club/Johannesburg, SA/01.01.93)
Coach: Jane Hall
MEN
Coxed pair
Oliver Cook (Univ of London BC/Windsor/05.06.90)
Callum McBrierty (Leander Club/Edinburgh/13.08.92)
Henry Fieldman (cox) (Molesey BC/Barnes/25.11.88)
LIGHTWEIGHT
WOMEN
Single scull
Gemma Hall (Wallingford RC/Wargrave/10.04.92)
Quadruple scull
Brianna Stubbs (Wallingford RC/Poole/13.07.91)
Emily Craig (Univ of London BC/Mark Cross/30.11.92)
Imogen Walsh (London RC/Inverness/17.01.84)
Ellie Piggott (Wallingford RC/Bedford/16.05.91)
Coach: Ben Reed
MEN
Pair
Joel Cassells (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Coleraine/15.06.94)
Sam Scrimgeour (Imperial College BC/Kirriemuir/28.01.88)
Quadruple scull
Charles Waite-Roberts (Leander Club/Basingstoke/06.11.92)
Jamie Copus (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Watlington/30.01.93)
Jamie Kirkwood (Leander Club/Newcastle/30.08.89)
Zak Lee-Green (Agecroft RC/Cardiff/06.02.91)
Coach: Ross Hunter
U23 World Rowing Championships, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, August 21-28, 2016
(Listed bow to stroke; club, hometown, date of birth)
OPEN
WOMEN
Four
Lauren Kedar (Oxford Univ Women’s BC/Reading/13.08.95)
Saska Budgett (Tideway Scullers’ School/Acton/21.09.96)
Hattie Taylor (Sport Imperial BC/Sunningdale/14.02.94)
Rowan McKellar (Broxbourne RC/Glasgow/24.05.94)
Coaches: Lauren Fisher & Mathilda Horne
Eight
Charlotte Hodgkins-Byrne (Univ of London BC/Hereford/08.10.96)
Alice Bowyer (Reading RC/Hilldale/26.02.97)
Emily Ford (Newcastle Univ BC/Holmes Chapel/08.11.94)
Chloe Brew (Plymouth ARC/Plymouth/14.09.95)
Holly Hill (Isle of Ely RC/Gossington/23.01.94)
Maddy Badcott (Oxford Univ Women’s BC/London/15.06.95)
Anna Thornton (Nottingham RC/Nottingham/19.07.97)
Heidi Long (Marlow RC/Chalfont St Peter/29.11.96)
Sasha Adwani (cox) (Newcastle Univ BC/Oxford/27.06.96)
Coach: Lauren Fisher & Mathilda Horne
Double scull
Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne (Reading Univ BC/Hereford/01.10.94)
Jessica Leyden (Leander Club/Todmorden/22.02.95)
Coach: Dan Moore
Quadruple scull
Flo Pickles (Gloucester Hartpury/Cheltenham/02.11.96)
Kyra Edwards (Nottingham RC/Nottingham/12.08.97)
Georgia Francis (Imperial College BC/Newbury/18.08.94)
Lucy Burgess (Agecroft RC/Swindon/27.04.94)
Coach: Peter Lee
MEN
Pair
Oliver Hines (Imperial College BC/Kingston-upon-Thames/18.01.94)
Graham Ord (Edinburgh Univ BC/Hamilton/23.02.95)
Coach: Stuart Whitelaw
Four
James Johnston (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/26.08.94)
Tom George (Leander Club/Cheltenham/22.09.94)
James Rudkin (Newcastle Univ BC/Litchborough/07.07.94)
Lewis McCue (Robert Gordon Univ BC/Aberdeen/26.12.94)
Coach: Brian Young
Coxed four
Rory Gibbs (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/High Wycombe/03.04.94)
Matt Aldridge (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Christchurch/11.03.96)
Michael Glover (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Burnham/03.06.95)
Chris Heywood (Molesey BC/Ascot/29.05.94)
Harry Brightmore (cox) (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Chester/01.07.94)
Coach: Colin Williamson
Eight
Calum Irvine (Edinburgh Univ BC/Aviemore/07.05.94)
Oliver Wynne-Griffith (Leander Club/Guildford/29.05.94)
Matthew Benstead (Molesey BC/Twickenham/06.05.95)
Tim Livingstone (London RC/Putney/06.12.95)
David Bewicke-Copley (Eton College BC/Lutterworth/21.09.97)
Sholto Carnegie (Leander Club/Oxford/28.02.95)
Robert Hurn (Leander Club/Glasgow/26.01.95)
Arthur Doyle (Univ of London BC/London/07.12.96)
Ian Middleton (cox) (Cambridge Univ BC/Oxford/27.06.95)
Coach: Pete Sheppard
Single scull
Tom Barras (Leander Club/Staines/07.01.94)
Coach: Clive Cooper
Quadruple scull
Harry Leask (Leander Club/Edinburgh/16.10.95)
Rowan Law (Leander Club/Nottingham/01.12.96)
Harry Glenister (Leander Club/Princes Risborough/02.07.95)
Andrew Joel (Leander Club/Windsor/08.06.95)
Coach: Ross Hunter
LIGHTWEIGHT
WOMEN
Quadruple scull
Mary Wilson (Wallingford RC/Nottingham/08.04.94)
Susannah Duncan (Exeter Univ BC/Aiguebelette, France/13.05.97)
Maddie Arlett (Edinburgh Univ BC/Selkirk/07.06.94)
Ellie Lewis (Agecroft RC/Marlow/14.04.94)
Coach: Richard Tinkler
MEN
Four
Ed Fisher (Leander Club/Nottingham/16.04.94)
Ben Reeves (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Wilmslow/10.05.94)
Alastair Douglass (Molesey BC/Shepperton/22.06.95)
Jonathan Jackson (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/02.06.95)
Coach: Franz lmfeld
Single scull
Sam Mottram (Leander Club/Stoke Mandeville/14.11.94)
Coach: Clive Cooper
Quadruple scull
Hugo Coussens (Durham Univ BC/Henley-on-Thames/07.07.96)
Ollie Varley (Newcastle Univ BC/Durham/06.12.95)
Matthew Curtis (Edinburgh Univ BC/Durham/14.10.95)
Gavin Horsburgh (Edinburgh Univ BC/Lochwinnoh/26.08.97)
Coach: Colin Williamson
Contact Info
For background information about the The GB Rowing Team contact the Press office via comms@gbrowingteam.org.uk or 07831 755351
For picture requests please contact: GBRTpressoffice@gbrowingteam.org.uk
GB Rowing Team website, including full rower biogs: www.gbrowingteam.org.uk
Follow us on
