Three wins for Great Britain Para-rowers at Gavirate International Regatta

Great Britain rowers were in the medals at the Gavirate International Regatta this weekend, with Paralympic champions among those taking wins

Rio 2016 gold medallists Grace Clough, James Fox and Laurence Whiteley were among the winners for Great Britain at the Gavirate International Para-rowing Regatta this weekend.

Whiteley, racing in a single scull in the PR2 classification (formerly TA), took an impressive win in Saturday’s finals, having also won the race for lanes on Friday. He beat Ukraine’s Iaroslav Koiuda by ten seconds in the final, with the event being the first time Para-rowing has been contested over 2,000m.

Also winning on Saturday were the PR3 (formerly LTA) mixed coxed four, comprising of Emma Tod, Grace Clough, James Fox, Oliver Stanhope and Anna Corderoy. They finished 17 seconds ahead of the Ukrainian boat in the first final of the day.

The quintet also won again on Sunday, with Rob Sargent replacing Stanhope’s in the lineup; with an equally convincing margin to Ukraine in second place.

Andy Houghton, in his first international event since 2013, picked up two second-place finishes over the weekend, finishing behind Paralympic champion in the PR1 (formerly AS) classification Roman Polianskyi in both finals.

Whiteley also picked up a third-place finish in Sunday’s PR2 final, having won Saturday afternoon’s race for lanes but leaving too little in the tank for the final on Sunday in what was a tough weekend’s racing.