Olympic medallists Will Satch and Polly Swann return as part of strong GB Rowing Team for World Cup II
Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist Will Satch MBE and silver medallist Polly Swann will make their return to the GB Rowing Team as part of a strong World Cup II squad next weekend in Poznan, Poland (21-23 June)
Satch won Olympic gold in 2016 in the men’s eight but has been injured since December 2018 when he ruptured a tendon in his shoulder. He will make his return to international competition in Poznan alongside Tom Jeffery, Alan Sinclair and Adam Neill in the GBR2 men’s four.
On his return to racing Satch said: “I’m really looking forward to racing and testing the waters. It’s been a long six months but just to get there is a big step for me. If I can get amongst the field I’ll be very happy.”
Swann returns to international competition for the first time since 2016 after taking time off following the Rio Olympics to finish her medical degree. She will be joined in the GBR2 women’s four by Holly Hill who makes her return to international competition for the first time this season, as well as Sam Courty and Annie Withers who raced as a pair at the European Championships in Lucerne earlier this season.
“I’m so excited to be heading out to Poznan,” Swann said. “I really didn’t think I’d be doing much racing this year. I thought I’d be lucky if I got to go to one of the World Cups as a spare and support the team, so I do feel very lucky that I’m racing.
“I’m a little bit nervous because this is my first international race since 2016 but hopefully my past experiences with the GB Rowing Team will get me over the line as well as the other brilliant girls alongside me in the four.”
The GBR1 men’s four will see Ollie Cook, Matt Rossiter, Rory Gibbs and Sholto Carnegie join forces again after being crowned European champions earlier this month.
On being selected in the men’s four again, Carnegie commented: “We’re feeling really positive about the boat. It’s still a new crew which is really exciting, because it means whenever we go out rowing there’s more to improve on and more speed to find. We’re keeping it fun the whole time and looking forward to racing more.”
The GB Para-rowing squad is also competing at World Cup II after scooping six medals in their season opener at the Gavirate International Regatta in May.
Gavirate was the first time that Paralympic champions Lauren Rowles and Laurence Whiteley had raced together since 2017; the two will join forces again in the PR2 mixed double sculls next weekend in Poznan.
Rowles said: “I’m so excited to be selected for my second World Cup with the team. Poznan was the last place that Laurence and I raced together back in 2017 so I’m really looking forward to being back”.
The men’s eight of Tom Ford, James Rudkin, Tom George, Mohamed Sbihi, Jacob Dawson, Ollie Wynne-Griffith, Mat Tarrant, Josh Bugajski and cox Henry Fieldman and the men’s quad of Jack Beaumont, Jonny Walton, Angus Groom and Pete Lambert are both unchanged after winning silver and bronze respectively at the European Championships earlier this month.
The silver medal-winning women’s eight has one change, with alternate cox Morgan Bayham-Williams replacing Matilda Horn.
Leander Club athletes Ruth Siddorn and Georgina Brayshaw will make their senior debuts for Great Britain as they compete in the women’s double.
Brayshaw commented: “I’m really excited to be going to my first World Cup and feel very privileged. I started on the World Class Start programme in 2015 and I’m so proud to be representing Great Britain less than four years later.”
Looking ahead to Poznan next weekend, British Rowing Director of Performance Brendan Purcell said: “We had some fantastic performances at the European Championships in Lucerne and it’s great to have more of the team racing at World Cup II.
“Our priority this year remains qualifying as many boats as possible for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, so this World Cup is another opportunity for us to assess where we’re at and test ourselves against the rest of the world.”
World Cup II will be broadcast on BBC online and on the red button on Sunday, 23 June from 10:00 to 13:50.
GB Rowing Team crews
Men’s pair (M2-)
GBR 1
Harry Glenister (Club: Leander Club / Hometown: Princes Risborough)
George Rossiter (Leander Club / Newbury)
Coach: Steve Trapmore
GBR 2
Morgan Bolding (Oxford Brookes University /Withiel)
James Johnston (Leander Club / Henley-on-Thames)
Coach: Steve Trapmore
Men’s four (M4-)
GBR 1
Ollie Cook (Univ. of London BC / Windsor)
Matt Rossiter (Leander Club/ Newbury)
Rory Gibbs (Oxford Brookes University / Marlow)
Sholto Carnegie (Leander Club / Oxford)
GBR 2
Will Satch (Leander Club / Henley-on-Thames)
Tom Jeffery (Leander Club / Plymouth)
Alan Sinclair (Leander Club / Inverness)
Adam Neill (Leander Club / Peterborough)
Men’s eight (M8+)
Tom Ford (Leander Club / Holmes Chapel)
James Rudkin (Newcastle Univ. BC / Litchborough)
Tom George (Leander Club / Cheltenham)
Mohamed Sbihi (Molesey BC / Surbiton)
Jacob Dawson (Leander Club / Plymouth)
Ollie Wynne-Griffith (Leander Club / Guildford)
Mat Tarrant (Oxford Brookes Univ BC / Shepperton)
Josh Bugajski (Oxford Brookes Univ. BC / Stockport)
Henry Fieldman (cox) (Leander Club / London)
Coaches: Jürgen Grobler/Steve Trapmore
Men’s single (M1x)
GBR 1
Tom Barras (Leander Club / Staines)
GBR 2
Harry Leask (Leander Club / Edinburgh)
Coach: Dan Moore
Men’s double (M2x)
John Collins (Leander Club / Twickenham)
Graeme Thomas (Agecroft RC / Preston)
Coach: Dan Moore
Lightweight men’s double (LM2x)
GBR 1
Zak Lee-Green (Agecroft RC / Cardiff)
Will Fletcher (Leander Club / Chester-le-Street)
Coach: Hamish Burrell
GBR 2
Jamie Copus (Oxford Brookes Univ BC / Oxford)
Sam Mottram (Leander Club / Stoke Mandeville)
Coach: Hamish Burrell
Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x)
Jack Beaumont (Leander Club / Maidenhead)
Jonny Walton (Leander Club / Leicester)
Angus Groom (Leander Club / Glasgow)
Pete Lambert (Leander Club / Maidenhead)
Women’s pair (W2-)
Anastasia Posner (Leander Club / Oxford)
Oonagh Cousins (University of London BC / Farnham)
Coach: James Harris
Women’s four (W4-)
GBR 1
Sara Parfett (University of London BC / Rochester)
Caragh McMurtry (Southampton Coalporters ARC / Southampton)
Rebecca Girling (Molesey BC / Fareham)
Emily Ford (Leander Club / Holmes Chapel)
Coach: Tom Pattichis
GBR 2
Sam Courty (Univ. of Bath BC / Alnwick)
Holly Hill (Cambridge Univ. Women’s BC / Isle of Ely RC / Gossington)
Polly Swann (Univ. of Edinburgh / Edinburgh)
Annie Withers (Leander Club / Kingston)
Coach: Tom Pattichis
Women’s eight (W8-)
Karen Bennett (Leander Club / Edinburgh)
Hattie Taylor (Leander Club / Sunningdale)
Fiona Gammond (Leander Club / Bicester)
Zoë Lee (Imperial College BC / Richmond, N. Yorks)
Jo Wratten (Leander Club / Middlesbrough)
Rebecca Shorten (Imperial College BC / Belfast)
Rowan McKellar (Leander Club / Glasgow)
Holly Norton (Leander Club / Johannesburg, RSA)
Morgan Baynham-Williams (cox) (Leander Club / Ross-on-Wye)
Coach: James Harris
Women’s single (W1x)
Vicky Thornley (Leander Club / Wrexham)
Coach: Paul Reedy
Women’s double (W2x)
Ruth Siddorn (Leander Club / Chester)
Georgina Brayshaw (Leander Club / Leeds)
Coach: Paul Reedy
Lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x)
GBR 1
Eleanor Piggott (Wallingford RC / Bedford)
Imogen Grant (Cambridge Univ. Women’s BC / Cambridge)
Coach: Darren Whiter
GBR 2
Maddie Arlett (Edinburgh Univ. BC / Selkirk)
Emily Craig (University of London BC / Mark Cross)
Coach: Darren Whiter
PR1 Men’s single sculls (PR1 M1x)
GBR 1
Andy Houghton (Maidenhead RC / Newbury)
Coach: Tom Dyson
GBR 2
Ben Pritchard (City of Swansea RC / Swansea)
Coach: Tom Dyson
PR2 mixed double sculls (PR2 Mix 2x)
Lauren Rowles (Worcester RC / Bromsgrove)
Laurence Whiteley (Tees RC / Northallerton)
Coach: Tom Dyson
PR3 men’s pair (PR3 M2-)
Oliver Stanhope (Molesey BC / London)
James Fox (Leander Club / Peterborough)
Coach: Nick Baker
