Mohamed Sbihi and Will Satch edge thrilling men’s pair final at GB Rowing Team trials

The GB Rowing Team Senior and U23 Trials end in style with Mohamed Sbihi and Will Satch taking the mens pair honours at Caversham

Moe Sbihi (Molesey) and Will Satch (Leander) edged out Jacob Dawson and Matt Rossiter (both Leander) on the line in the men’s pair to round off the GB Rowing Team Senior and U23 Trials in style.

The Olympic gold medallists held the lead for much of the race, but Mat Tarrant and Stewart Innes were challenging neck and neck with 100 metres to go, until a mechanical problem allowed Sbihi and Satch to move out to take the win.

Karen Bennett and Holly Norton (both Leander) took a comfortable win in the women’s pair, three seconds up on Cambridge University duo Holly Hill and Melissa Wilson. Rebecca Shorten (Imperial) and Josephine Wratten (Leander) pushed the Leander pairing of Fiona Gammond and Katherine Douglas into fourth.

Young Scot Josh Armstrong looked set to cause the biggest upset of the day, leading a strong quintet of Leander scullers through the 1,000m mark of the men’s single final. The experience of Olympians John Collins, Jonny Walton and Jack Beaumont paid off in the second half of the race, pulling through to take the podium positions.

Vicky Thornley (Leander) took the win in the women’s single, leading from near the start and holding off a fightback from Jess Leyden (Leander) to win by a third of a length, with Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne (Reading Univ/Reading BC) in third.

Kat Copeland dominated the lightweight women’s single, winning by eight seconds from fellow Olympian Charlotte Booth (Putney Town), who was pushed close for third by Robyn Harts-Winks (Univ. of London).

Sir David Tanner, British Rowing Performance Director, said: “We’ve had a great weekend of racing, with strong performances from returning Olympians and some younger rowers looking to make an impression. Senior and U23 trials are always a great way to see where we are as a team ahead of the international racing season and the athletes here will have given the coaches plenty of food for thought.”

Results
Women’s single | Men’s single | Lightweight Women | Lightweight Men | Women’s pair | Men’s pair

W1x
THORNLEY, Vicky, Leander Club, 7:35.97
LEYDEN, Jessica, Leander Club, 7:36.68
HODGKINS-BYRNE, Mathilda, Reading Univ/Reading BC, 7:45.38

M1x
COLLINS, John, Leander Club, 6:58.88
WALTON, Jonny, Leander Club, 6:59.87
BEAUMONT, Jack, Leander Club, 7:00.33

LW1x
COPELAND, Katherine, Leander Club, 7:51.97
BOOTH, Charlotte, Putney Town, 7:59.79
HARTS-WINKS, Robyn, Univ. of London, 8:00.54

LM1x
FLETCHER, Will, Leander Club, 7:02.42
MOTTRAM, Samuel, Leander Club, 7:05.27
LEE-GREEN, Zak, Agecroft, 7:07.76

W2-
BENNETT, Karen/NORTON, Holly, Leander Club, 7:19.07
HILL, Holly/WILSON, Melissa, Cambridge Univ., 7:22.45
SHORTEN, Rebecca/WRATTEN, Josephine, Imperial/Leander, 7:26.82

M2-
SATCH, Will/SBIHI, Moe, Leander/Molesey, 6:32.80
DAWSON, Jacob/ROSSITER, Matt, Leander Club, 6:33.07
TARRANT, Mat/INNES, Stewart, Oxford Brookes/Leander, 6:33.86