Triggs Hodge inspires East London students
Double Olympic gold medallist Andrew Triggs Hodge visited Newham, East London, last month to inspire a new generation of rowers at an event held at the London Regatta Centre. Andrew presented the medals at the ‘Freshers Fun Races’ to first year students from University of East London (UEL) and Queen Mary’s University.
The mini regatta was organised by the UEL Boat Club and London Youth Rowing. On the day, 37 UEL students and 15 Queen Mary students raced in a series of events in what was for most their first time in a rowing boat. Each participant raced both on land and water, for an action packed day of competitive races. The students first raced side by side over a distance of 250 meters in groups of five, before jumping out of their boats and onto indoor rowing machines for their land races and finally finishing the day by racing again side by side in groups of three.
UEL Boat Club President Maximilian Oertel was delighted with the turnout: “It was great to see 37 new UEL students take part in our first ever ‘Freshers Fun Races’. UELBC is one biggest sports clubs at UEL with members ranging from International Seniors rowers to complete beginners“.
Director of Sport at UEL David Cosford added: “UEL attracts world class rowers from across the globe but we are equally proud of our participation programmes. UEL’s learn to row programme introduces a whole new plethora of students to rowing, and hopefully meeting Andrew will inspire these first years to continue rowing.”
The University of East London Boat Club are currently looking for sponsorship for both their community and high performance programmes. For more information contact [email protected].
