Great Britain enjoys strong start to World Rowing Junior Championships

Great Britain qualified six boats for the latter stages of the World Rowing Junior Championships in Trakai, Lithuania, with three crews winning their heats

Great Britain’s junior team qualified six of their eight boats directly to the next rounds of competition on the first two days of the World Rowing Junior Championships in Trakai, Lithuania.

With action getting underway on Wednesday, three boats won their heats with three more finishing second to seal their places in the hunt for medals later in the week.

Holly Dunford and Zoe Adamson started the regatta in style, as the only GB boat to race the Championships’ opening day on Wednesday. The double scullers beat Germany by over a length in their heat to progress to the quarter-finals, which will take place on Friday.

The men’s four dominated their heat on Thursday, taking the sole qualification spot into the semi-final. Douwe de Graaf, Casper Woods, Calvin Tarczy and Felix Drinkall led by nine seconds at the 1,500m mark, eventually leading the Greek boat over the line by two lengths to take the win.

They will be joined in the semi-finals by the women’s four, who finished second to a quick Croatian crew in Thursday’s first race. Hope Cessford, Flo Donald, Mary Wright and Charlotte Fennell sat comfortably second over the 2,000m, finishing over a length ahead of Greece to take the second qualification spot in the heat.

Lottie Orr, Lucy Edmunds, Phoebe Campbell and Danielle Semple ensured the women’s quadruple scull progressed to the semi-final with a good row in their heat to finish second behind Germany and a length ahead of Italy. The men’s quad followed the girls into the semi-final, pushing Switzerland to the line and leaving clear water to the Russian boat, nearly seven seconds back in third.

The men’s eight rounded off a successful day by winning their heat by over three seconds from Italy to move directly through to Sunday’s final. GB put in the second fastest time of the two heats, with just seven tenths of a second separating Germany and the USA in the first heat.

The men’s coxed four and women’s pair will have to go through the repechage to progress to the next rounds, having both finished fourth in their heats. The pair finished just over a length down on China, who took the third and final qualification spot, while Italy and Switzerland put in the two fastest times in the coxed four heat, with GB finishing behind South Africa.

Racing continues on Friday with three British boats in action. The men’s coxed four and women’s pair will race their repechages, while the women’s double scull will take to the water in their quarter-final.

Results

Heats

Women’s double scull (JW2x)
1. Great Britain (Holly Dunford & Zoe Adamson) 7:08.82
2. Germany 7:12.30
3. Ireland 7:16.58

Women’s four (JW4-)
1. Croatia 6:56.49
2. Great Britain (Hope Cessford, Flo Donald, Mary Wright, Charlotte Fennell) 7:03.64
3. Greece 7:07.22

Men’s coxed four (JM4+)
1. Italy 6:23.66
2. Switzerland 6:24.25
3. South Africa 6:27.48
4. Great Britain (Barnaby Fox, Noah Norman, Archie McChesney, Alex Langstone-Bolt, Rory Cruickshank (cox)) 6:31.48

Women’s pair (JW2-)
1. Greece 7:31.06
2. Italy 7:32.54
3. China 7:34.29
4. Great Britain (Rachel Heap & Celia Matthews) 7:36.77

Men’s four (JM4-)
1. Great Britain (Douwe de Graaf, Casper Woods, Calvin Tarczy, Felix Drinkall) 6:10.55
2. Greece 6:16.67
3. Croatia 6:18.90

Women’s quadruple scull (JW4x)
1. Germany 6:40.80
2. Great Britain (Lottie Orr, Lucy Edmunds, Phoebe Campbell, Danielle Semple) 6:46.12
3. Italy 6:50.74

Men’s quadruple scull (JM4x)
1. Switzerland 6:04.55
2. Great Britain (Ollie Costley, Victor Kleshnev, Tom Smith, Bryn Ellery) 6:06.45
3. Russia 6:13.98

Men’s eight (JM8+)
1. Great Britain (Luke Robinson, Tom Worthington, Henry Blois-Brooke, Tobias Schroder, Patrick Adams, Seb Newman, Henry Jones, Matthew Rowe, Axel de Boissard (cox)) 5:48.56
2. Italy 5:52.09
3. Romania 5:55.64