Highlight 4# of the decade: Record crowds at Dorney for 2013 Samsung World Cup

A full house roared the GB Rowing Team on to more golden performances in 2013 on the Olympic Regatta course at Eton Dorney

Our fourth highlight of the decade spotlights the 2013 Samsung World Cup at Eton Dorney where the ‘Dorney Roar’ – a legacy of the 2012 Games – returned with record crowds cheering on every GB Rowing Team performance.  

Ben Hunt-Davis, Chair of the Organising Committee for the World Rowing Cup Eton Dorney 2013, recalls: “The 2013 World Rowing Cup at Dorney was pretty challenging for a number of reasons, including the spectator bank being a sea of mud and the fact that we wanted to have the medal ceremonies in front of the grandstand rather than on the island.

“Thanks to outstanding volunteers from the rowing world and the 2012 volunteers movement it was a great event. My abiding memory is of the thousands of spectators cheering as the ninth GB medallist crew of the event, the men’s eight, crossed the line and then, in horrendous weather they stayed to watch the medal ceremony in front of the packed spectator area.”

Read on to see how the British Rowing website reported the dramatic golden moments from the London Olympic Regatta course below.

A full house at the Eton Dorney course witnessed medals coming from experienced stars and some new, younger athletes, tasting senior international competition for the first time.

Olympic champion Helen Glover, with new partner Polly Swann, brought the house down with the first home gold in the women’s pair, following on from their debut win together at the Sydney World Cup in March.

In another repeat performance from the Games, GB won the women’s double scull, the event dominated for so long by Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins.

This time a new partnership of Beijing silver medallist, Frances Houghton and “rookie” Victoria Meyer-Laker were cheered onto the podium.

Several of our boats stepped up, backed by the now traditional Dorney Roar from the crowd

In a fitting finale to the UK Sport Gold Series Event, the GB men’s eight completed the racing with a nail biting finish against Poland. With double Olympic champions Peter Reed and Andy Triggs-Hodge part of the heartbeat of the crew they snatched the win in the final few metres.

The eight’s gold bookended a medal tally which was opened with a GB one-two in the lightweight men’s pair, one of the non-Olympic classes.

In between GB rowers also added four further silvers – from the lightweight men’s and women’s doubles, the lightweight men’s pair, the men’s single sculler Alan Campbell and the men’s four – and two bronzes from the lightweight men’s four and the men’s double scull of Matt Langridge and Bill Lucas. The final tally stood at four golds, five silvers and two bronzes.

GB Rowing Team Performance Director Sir David Tanner was clearly delighted with the performances, particularly from some of the young, new rowers.

“I am pleased with our rowers today. Several of our boats stepped up from the heats and the semis, backed by the now traditional Dorney Roar from the crowd.

“But we need to keep our feet on the ground. After Henley we have the World Cup at Lucerne which will be tougher than this with more nations.

“This event has given us a good base to go there and it has shown the spirit that is in our team as well as its ambition. So it has been a good day in the office”.

The results today came after two Para-rowing golds were secured yesterday by Tom Aggar in the arms-shoulders single scull and the mixed coxed four.

 

Read more of our highlights of the decade in our #1-#5 Summary and #6-#10 Summary