Look back on Day 1 of BRIC Online
Whether you watched every minute of today’s livestream or need to catch up, we’ve got you covered below. Fergus Mainland breaks down the stand-out performances and highlights from today, and you can watch back the racing right now along with our live commentary and competitor interviews!
Across the world, fly wheels will be winding down as the sun sets on Day 1 of BRIC Online. Records have tumbled throughout – provisionally, we’ve seen five World Records and nine British Records dismantled during today’s racing!
The morning’s events saw some of Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls compete on the virtual stage for the world to see. The adaptive racing provided some of the most hotly contested events with a number of records being smashed. In the Women’s PR2 category, World and Paralympic Champion Lauren Rowles set a new age group World Record of 8:02.9, a record she herself held previously. Not to be outdone, fellow squad member, Giedre Rakauskaite, also set a new British record in the PR3-PD&VI 2000m. In the Open Lightweight Women’s event the podium was adorned with red, white and blue as Imogen Grant, Emily Craig and Maddie Arlett finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively.
In contrast, the Open Men’s event saw all three medals heading overseas. The gold medal and the fastest time of the day went to Belgium’s Ward Lemmelijn. BRIC Online also welcomed back some familiar faces on the international circuit, with Olympic Gold Medallist, Tim Grohmann taking gold in the Masters 30-39 2000m, while Jess Eddie, Olympic silver medallist placed second in the Women’s race.
As the rest of the day unfolded it was the adaptive athletes who continued to excel. Former World Champion and Paralympic Bronze Medallist, Moran Samuel from the Israeli National Paralympic Team set a provisional World Record in the Women’s PR1 2000m. On the domestic scene, both Caroline Buckle and Ben Gallagher set provisional British Records in the Women’s PR2 40-49 2000m and the Open AR3 2000m.
Success came across the board from the young to the more experienced athletes. While Graham Spittle and Mike Hurley set a provisional British record in the 70-74 2000m and a World record in the 85-89 2000m respectively, the next great Obholzer, Gabriel was sending a message to the world. He smashed his own British record which he set back in June, finishing in a time of 5:54.7 in the Sixth Form Boys 2000m. The juniors continued to sweep the records as Victoria Lyon and Morgan Fice-Noyes set provisional World and British records in their respective PR3 events.
Whoa – that is seriously impressive. https://t.co/OSDofAH5L1
— Matthew Pinsent (@matthewcpinsent) December 5, 2020
During the thick of tomorrow’s action, keep an eye on the Junior races as well as the ever-exciting team relays. All the action can be found right here on the British Rowing website and be sure to follow our social media channels during the day for results, highlights, interviews and more!
If you’re racing in BRIC Online, head here for all the information you need ahead of racing.
