British crews win both Championship eights events at Head of the Charles Regatta
Cambridge University and Leander took the big boat prizes, while 11 other British crews claimed coveted gold medals in Boston from 18-20 October
Cambridge University BC - winners of Men's Championships Eights. Photo: AllMarkOne.
Cambridge University’s win in Men’s Championship Eights saw them finish ahead of Harvard. The light blue crew, which was stroked by Douwe De Graaf and coxed by Oliver Boyne, comprised a mix of blues and half blues as well as incoming talent including GB’s early 2024-season single sculler George Bourne, who has just started studying for an MBA at Cambridge.
In Women’s Championship Eights the winning Leander crew, which held off Yale, was almost entirely stacked with Paris 2024 Olympians, and was stroked by Annie Campbell-Orde and coxed by Henry Fieldman, both Olympic bronze medallists in the Women’s Eight. Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls Olympic Champion Imogen Grant stroked a composite crew of international lightweights, racing as Skibbereen BC, which finished fifth in the same event. Imogen also raced in the Women’s Championship Single Sculls.
GB’s Olympic bronze medallists Becky Wilde and Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne won Women’s Championship Doubles, in which Women’s Quadruple Sculls Olympic Champions Lola Anderson and Hannah Scott finished fourth.
Leander Club – winners of Women’s Championships Eights. Photo: AllMarkOne.
With 74 categories available over three days of racing in glorious New England sunshine, this year’s Head of the Charles really demonstrated why it’s such a popular competition. Amongst the large number of British entries that had headed to Boston there was also an impressive collection of podium places.
George Lawton of Northwich RC won Men’s Club Singles. Windsor Boys’ School ‘A’ won Men’s Youth Coxed Quads in which their B crew finished fifth, while St Paul’s won Men’s Youth Eights with KCS Wimbledon third. Mortlake Anglian and Alpha BC won the Club medal for the fastest non-university crew in the Women’s Club Fours.
In the Masters events, the Marlow RC composite of Cath Bishop, Katherine Grainger, Gillian Lindsay and Kate MacKenzie, rowing with Canadian friends, won Women’s Senior Master (50+) Eights. In the next age group up, the Women’s Grand Master (60+) Eights, the Upper Thames composite came third in a highly competitive field.
Crabtree dominated Men’s Senior Master Fours, which they won by a substantial margin of over 23 seconds as well as taking Men’s Alumni Fours by nearly as much. The Alumni crew had three rowers and cox Ed Bracey from Cambridge’s winning blue boat this year plus Robert Harris from Goldie 2021.
Molesey won the Men’s Grand Master Fours, Castle Semple RC’s Father and son combo of Martin and Andrew Holmes won Directors’ Challenge Parent/Child Doubles, and Wimbleball won Directors’ Challenge Mixed Eight ahead of a composite crew largely comprising former GB internationals with Cath Bishop and Katherine Grainger in the stern.
Carina Graf and Jenna Armstrong from the 2024 Cambridge women’s blue boat took the silver medal in Women’s Master Doubles, Crabtree BC’s David Gillard and Guy Pooley were second in Men’s Senior Master Doubles, and Adam Randall of London RC was third in Men’s Master/Senior Master Singles.
Jamie Copus teamed up with the lightweight Belgian Olympian Niels Van Zandweghe to take bronze in Men’s Championship Doubles, as well as second place in Directors’ Challenge Men’s Quads, sculling with Olympic Lightweight Double Sculls champion Fintan McCarthy and his twin brother Jake.
Headington School were third in Women’s Youth Coxed Quads.
