Belgrade stars headline Great Britain’s European Championship team

All four of the gold medal-winning boats from the World Cup in Belgrade are retained in the fifty-athlete European Championships team

Fifty athletes have been named in the Great Britain team for the European Rowing Championships in Racice, between 26-28 May.

Many of the medallists from last weekend’s World Rowing Cup in Belgrade return to the same boats as GB look to take on the challenge of racing the best in Europe as the new Olympiad gets underway in earnest.

The team got their 2017 season off to a good start in Belgrade, winning 11 medals in mainly torrid conditions and will head to the Czech Republic confident of further international success.

All four gold medal-winning crews from the World Cup remain the same, with the men’s four, men’s and women’s pair and the lightweight men’s double sculls retaining their places.

Callum McBrierty, who was a late replacement for the injured Stewart Innes ahead of Belgrade, continues in the men’s four with Olympic champions Will Satch and Moe Sbihi, and their fellow Olympian Matthew Tarrant.

Olympic silver medallist Karen Bennett and Holly Norton team up again in the women’s pair following their gold at the weekend. The duo will face a stiffer challenge in Racice, having beaten two Dutch crews to the win in Belgrade.

Jacob Dawson and Matt Rossiter return in the men’s pair after impressing in their win at the World Cup. They led from the halfway mark and held off home favourites Serbia to claim their first senior golds.

Peter Chambers and Will Fletcher will look to build on their strong showing in Belgrade, where they won by half a length in a strong field. They race again in the lightweight men’s double.

There is just one change to the silver medal-winning men’s eight, with Tom Jeffery coming in to the two seat and Tim Clarke travelling as a reserve. The new-look women’s eight will make its debut in Racice, with many of the athletes making their first senior international appearance.

Vicky Thornley, silver medallist in Belgrade, continues in the women’s single. John Collins was a late withdrawal from the men’s quadruple sculls, with Tom Barras coming back into the boat. Reserve Zak Lee-Green has now travelled and will partner Frazier Christie in the men’s double.

Emily Craig replaces Charlotte Booth in the lightweight women’s double. Craig, who won bronze with Maddie Arlett in Belgrade, rows with Katherine Copeland.

Sir David Tanner, British Rowing’s Performance Director, said: “After the success in Belgrade we’re excited to be moving on to challenge the best crews in Europe in just over two weeks’ time. We have a good record in recent European Rowing Championships and I’m confident that the athletes selected to compete in Racice will continue this tradition.”

Crews selected

Open women
Pair
Karen Bennett (Club: Leander Club/home town: Edinburgh)
Holly Norton (Leander Club/Johannesburg)
Coach: Paul Thompson/James Harris

Eight
Caragh McMurtry (Coalporters ARC/Southampton)
Rebecca Chin (Agecroft RC/Deganwy)
Annie Withers (Oxford Brookes Univ./Kingston)
Sara Parfett (University of London BC/Rochester)
Rebecca Shorten (Imperial College BC/Belfast)
Jo Wratten (Leander Club/Middlesborough)
Fiona Gammond (Leander Club/Bicester)
Katherine Douglas (Leander Club/Edinburgh)
Cox: Erin Wysocki-Jones (Leander Club/Wantage)
Coach: James Harris/Jane Hall

Single scull
Victoria Thornley (Leander Club/Wrexham)
Coach: Paul Reedy

Double scull
Georgia Francis (Imperial College/Newbury)
Emily Carmichael (Leander Club/Cheltenham)
Coach: Paul Reedy

Quadruple scull
Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne (Reading RC/Hereford)
Beth Bryan (Leander Club/Stockton-on-Tees)
Holly Nixon (Leander Club/Enniskillen)
Jessica Leyden (Leander Club/Todmordon)
Coach: Paul Thompson

Women’s reserves
Alice Baatz (Agecroft RC/Winchester)
Rebecca Girling (Molesey/Fareham)
Anastasia Chitty (Leander Club/Oxford)

Lightweight women
Double Scull
Emily Craig (Univ. of London/Mark Cross)
Katherine Copeland (Leander Club/Ingleby Barwick)
Coach: Darren Whiter

Open men
Pair
Jacob Dawson (Leander Club/Plymouth)
Matt Rossiter (Leander Club/Newbury)
Coaches: Rob Dauncey/Christian Felkel

Four
Callum McBrierty (Leander Club/Edinburgh)
Matthew Tarrant (Oxford Brookes Univ. BC/Shepperton)
Mohamed Sbihi (Molesey BC/Surbiton)
Will Satch (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames)
Coach: Jurgen Grobler

Eight
Lance Tredell (Cambridge Univ. BC/Altrincham)
Thomas Jeffery (Leander Club/Plymouth)
Sam Arnot (Leander Club/Chester)
Cameron Buchan (Leander Club/Dunipace)
Tom Ransley (Leander Club/Ashford, Kent)
Adam Neill (Leander Club/Peterborough)
James Rudkin (Newcastle Univ. BC/Litchborough)
Tom Ford (Leander Club/Holmes Chapel)
Cox: Henry Fieldman (Molesey BC/London)
Coaches: Rob Dauncey/Christian Felkel

Double scull
Zak Lee-Green (Agecroft RC/Cardiff)
Frazier Christie (Bath Univ. BC/Bath)
Coach: Paul Stannard

Quadruple scull
Jack Beaumont (Leander Club/Maidenhead)
Tom Barras (Leander Club/Staines)
Peter Lambert (Leander Club/Maidenhead)
Jonny Walton (Leander Club/Leicester)
Coach: Paul Stannard

Men’s reserve
Tim Clarke (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames)

Lightweight men
Double scull
Peter Chambers (Oxford Brookes Univ. BC/Coleraine)
Will Fletcher (Leander Club/Chester-le-Street)
Coach: Hamish Burrell

Pair
Joel Cassells (Oxford Brookes Univ. BC/Coleraine)
Sam Scrimgeour (Molesey BC/Kirriemuir)
Coaches: Rob Dauncey/Christian Felkel