GB men’s eight through to final: Racing continued on Day Three in Racice

The GB men’s eight have continued their unbeaten run this season with a first place heat finish that sees them straight through to the World Rowing Championships final on Sunday

The crew of Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, David Bewicke-Copley, Sholto Carnegie, Charlie Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford and cox Harry Brightmore are the current European Champions and won gold at the two World Cups GB participated in this season.

Racing in black ribbons in memory of HM Queen Elizabeth, David Bewicke-Copley said: “We’re one of the first teams to represent the country after recent events, so it was very important for us to show our respects and to try and make everyone proud.” He added: “This was a good first step. There are plenty of very quick crews in these heats but we’re happy to have got the job done and hope that we can build on that for the final.”

James Rudkin added: “It was nice to get that first race out of the way and get the A final slot. I’m excited to see what we can do on Sunday.”

Benjamin Pritchard got the day underway with a solid second place finish to secure a semi-final spot in the PR1 men’s single sculls (PR1 M1x). He said: “It’s obviously a long Championships and I think prior to this year I would have probably raced that longer than I needed to. It was good to get out there, stick to the race plan and get the job done.”

“The last few days have been a bit hard because obviously, like the rest of the country, we have been mourning Her Majesty’s death and I think that’s been a big part of the atmosphere. It’s a bit sombre at the moment. We have all grouped together though and everyone has been trying to keep their emotions in check because we’ve got a job to do.”

Frankie Allen and Giedre Rakauskaite comfortably won the the PR3 women’s pair (PR3 W2-) preliminary race. “We haven’t done too many full track 2ks together so it was quite good to get out there, see the competition, do a race and prepare for Friday. It’s my first World Champs, so I’m just excited to get out there and race.” Frankie said.

Giedre added: “We’re enjoying doubling up in the pair and the PR3 Mix4+ and I think we’re pacing ourselves quite well. Now the next race is on Friday and then the next one on Saturday. I feel confident, confident in myself and in the team.”

Maddie Arlett was disappointed to finish third in the lightweight women’s single sculls (LW1x) repechage just missing out on an A/B semi final place. She will race again in the C/D semi final. She said: “It’s quite hard racing out there and I just didn’t have the speed coming into this. I was too far down off the start so I couldn’t quite get it back. I’ve had some amazing memories and some of the best results I’ve ever had this season so it’s sad to be ending on a worse note than I had hoped, but I will pick myself up for the C/D final and keep moving forward.”

Results so far

Boat	Crew	Race	Time	Position	Next race
PR2 W2-	Giedre Rakauskaite, Frankie Allen	Prelim	07:59.64	1/3	Final A
PR1 M1x	Benjamin Pritchard	Heat	09:36.89	2/6	Semifinal A/B
LW1x	Maddie Arlett	Repechage	07:52.98	3/4	Semifinal C/D
M8+	Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, David Bewicke-Copley, Sholto Carnegie, Charlie Elwes, Tom Digby James Rudkin, Tom Ford, Harry Brightmore (cox)	Heat	05:31.29	1/6	Final A