Olympic Trials 2020: Day Two

The six winners were crowned at the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake today on the final day of the 2020 GB Rowing Team Olympic Trials

Winners crowned in final session

Rory Gibbs (Oxford Brookes Univ. BC) and Matt Rossiter (Leander Club) took the first win of the day in the men’s pairs A final after a close battle with second placed Moe Sbihi (Molesey BC) and Ollie Wynne Griffith (Leander Club). Jacob Dawson (Leander Club) and Tom Ford (Leander Club) battled through to cross the line in third.

“I feel quite speechless, really. I just can’t stop grinning.”

A delighted Gibbs said: “When I came off the water I kind of wanted to shout with joy, but of course you have to keep it down for everyone else. I’m just so chuffed to come away with the win in Olympic year. Hats off to the whole team; everyone has stepped up for the whole weekend and delivered. Now I’m really looking forward to what comes next.” Rossiter added: “I feel quite speechless, really. I just can’t stop grinning.”

The A final for the women’s pairs was another close 1-2, with Rebecca Shorten (Imperial College BC) and Rowan McKellar (Leander Club) battling it out with Emily Ford (Leander Club) and Polly Swann (Edinburgh Univ. BC/Leander Club) to cross the line in first place.

“We’re really happy to finish this part of the season on a high.”

Shorten commented on the weekend’s racing: “The semi-final was OK but we learned a lot from it that we were able to take into the final. In the previous race we were pipped right on the line so today we were focused on staying ahead and staying calm.” McKellar added: “We’re really happy to finish this part of the season on a high.”

Beccy Girling (Molesey BC) and Anastasia Posner (Leander Club) put in another storming performance to take third place, an especially impressive result given the fact that Posner sprained her ankle after the semi-final. She remarked afterwards: “I first took up rowing because I kept spraining my ankle playing other sports and my dad suggested I try rowing instead. Here I am at Olympic rowing trials, still spraining my ankle.”

Imogen Grant (Cambridge Univ Women’s BC) won out in the lightweight women’s single sculls, with Emily Craig (Univ. of London BC) close behind in second. There was a heated battle for the third spot between Maddie Arlett (Edinburgh Univ. BC) and Ellie Piggott (Wallingford RC), with Piggott putting in a strong finish to take the win.

Craig said: “I’m really pleased with the weekend – the time trial was a great result, in side-by-side racing I knew I had some decent raw speed but Imogen’s obviously incredibly talented and experienced when it comes to racing in the single. We had some decent tussles; I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t manage to turn her over, but given that I was having a wrist operation this time last year it’s just great to be back.”

Graeme Thomas (Agecroft RC) continued his fine form from the weekend to take his second ever GB Olympic Trials win in the men’s single sculls, with Leander scullers Harry Leask in second and Jack Beaumont third. Thomas reflected: “This weekend has ended in a win so I’m happy. I have to pay respect to my opposition; it’s a really tough gig in the single scull and everyone out there has a lot of experience. Harry pushed me for a long, long way today and thankfully I just had a good sprint at the end. I’m the first to admit that I’ve not had a great winter by my standards but to do the business today shows I’m on the right track.”

Rio silver medallist Vicky Thornley (Leander Club) continued her domination of the women’s singles, crossing the line in first place ahead of Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne (Reading RC) who pushed her all the way to the line. Kyra Edwards (Nottingham RC), who made the step up to the senior squad from U23s last summer, took the third spot.

“It was job done today and I’m aiming to be at my fastest come July.”

Speaking after the race, Thornley said: “It’s good to get a win again at trials. There’s always big pressure with it being Olympic trials but it’s good to get the job done and we’ve had some decent conditions out here on the water. To qualify the single for the Games last year was amazing – it was job done today and I’m aiming to be at my fastest come July.”

Cambridge Women’s Boat Club alumni Oonagh Cousins (Univ. of London BC) and Holly Hill (Isle of Ely BC) took the win in a fantastic B final for the women’s pairs. Zoë Lee (Imperial College BC) and Caragh McMurtry (Southampton Coalporters ARC) battled hard with Chloe Brew (Leander Club) and Rebecca Edwards (Molesey BC) who put in a strong performance for the whole length of the race; Lee and McMurtry dug deep for a final sprint finish to cross the line in second.

Tom Jeffery (Leander Club) and Morgan Bolding (Oxford Brookes Univ BC) won their B final for the men’s pairs, closely followed by George Rossiter (Leander Club) and Alan Sinclair (Leander Club) in second with Stewart Innes (Leander Club) and Harry Glenister (Leander Club) in third.

Sam Meijer (Elizabethan BC/Tideway Scullers School) brought out his trademark final sprint in the B final for the men’s and lightweight men’s single sculls, moving past Angus Groom (Leander Club) in the final 500m to take the win. Sam Mottram claimed third place to win the lightweight men’s category, while Georgie Brayshaw won the B final of the women’s single sculls after Saskia Budgett caught a crab in the final stretches. Jack Burns took the win over Matt Brigham in the C final for the men’s single sculls.

Photo finishes in the semi-finals

Siblings Emily Ford (Leander Club) and Tom Ford (Leander Club) both won out in their races with pairs partners Polly Swann (Edinburgh Univ. BC) and Jacob Dawson (Leander Club). Ford and Dawson, both members of last season’s men’s eight, were the winners at the first GB Rowing Team assessment back in November.

Dawson reflected on the weekend so far: “It’s been a while since the first assessment in Boston, but it’s good to see we have the ability to lay down a good 2km performance as well as a 5km time trial. Tom and I can go into the final this afternoon with confidence, try to have a good row and what will be will be.”

Beccy Girling (Molesey BC) and Anastasia Posner (Leander Club) won their semi-final in the women’s pairs in spectacular fashion, coming back from 5th place at the 1km mark to cross the line in first place. Girling said of the pair’s performance: “Today was quite a race! I could feel Rowan (McKellar) and Rebecca (Shorten) next to me and I knew they would be fast and consistent. I thought if I could keep them next to me and be patient over the full 2000m we’d be fine and come through.”

Rio silver medallist Vicky Thornley (Leander Club) won her semi-final in a ferocious race that saw a photo finish between second, third and fourth placed scullers Melissa Wilson (Cambridge Univ. Women’s BC), Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne (Reading RC) and Saskia Budgett (Tideway Scullers School). Thornley’s fellow World Class Start graduate Kyra Edwards (Nottingham RC), who made the move up to the senior squad from the U23s last season, also took the win in her semi-final.

Another graduate of the World Class Start system, Graeme Thomas (Agecroft RC) took the top spot alongside Harry Leask (Leander Club) in the men’s singles. Thomas said: “This weekend has gone pretty well so far; time trials aren’t usually my thing so I was really pleased to get second place behind Tom Barras who’s so strong in the singles. I knew the semi-final was going to be really tough so I was very methodical with my recovery and my strategy which seems to have paid off.”

Double Olympic medallist Moe Sbihi (Molesey BC) and his pairs partner Ollie Wynne-Griffith (Leander Club), both members of last year’s World Cup series-winning men’s eight, put the foot down in their semi-final to take the win.

2019 World bronze medallists Imogen Grant (Cambridge Univ. Women’s BC), Emily Craig (Univ. of London BC) and Maddie Arlett (Edinburgh Univ. BC) took the top spots in the lightweight women’s race for lanes, with Ellie Piggott (Wallingford RC) and Laura Macro (Bath Univ. BC) close behind, with Jamie Copus (Oxford Brookes Univ. BC) taking the lead over Sam Mottram (Leander Club) in the battle of the lightweight men.

Tom Barras (Leander Club) and John Collins (Leander Club) had to withdraw from racing overnight on medical grounds.

Racing will continue at 4:45pm with the C final for the men’s and lightweight men’s single sculls, followed by A and B finals in all boat classes. Full results are available on the British Rowing website.

How to follow the action

Given the current situation with coronavirus (COVID-19), we have regrettably had to take the decision to restrict any external visitors (including media outlets) to Caversham for the Olympic Trials.

We will be working hard to provide live updates, photos and videos across British Rowing social media channels to bring you all the results and reactions from the squad:

• On Saturday evening we’ll be bringing you an exclusive highlights video of the day’s action – sign up to our mailing list to make sure you’ll receive it hot off the press.
• Follow us on Twitter for the latest updates including results as they happen
• Our Instagram profile and our story for the day will help you get a feel of what it’s like down at Caversham
• Check out our Facebook galleries during the day for photos from our photographer
• Come back to this page later on for the race report and results