Super-sub Bowyer helps GB into final

When Marcus Bowyer went to bed last night he thought he would be racing in today’s B final of the men’s four at the World U23 Championships in Linz, Austria.

By the end of this morning’s semi-final session he was into an A Final of a completely different boat, the men’s quadruple scull, having been substituted for a poorly Stewart Innes.

A graduate of the GB Rowing Team Start programme, Bowyer joined Jack Beaumont, Barnaby Stentiford, and Angus Groom on the start line. Remarkably, they were leading their semi-final with 500m to go before relinquishing the lead to New Zealand.

In the final 500m they were challenged strongly by France but held on to second by just under two tenths of a second to reach tomorrow’s final.

Brianna Stubbs and Eleanor Piggott, close rivals at the GB Rowing Team Senior Trials earlier this year, have teamed up to great effect in the lightweight women’s double since then.

Today they led their semi-final at the World U23s in Linz, Austria, with panache, opening up a gap of three seconds on the chasing pack by halfway and holding off a fast-finishing Australian duo to win in 7:18.20. Switzerland took the third qualifying slot.

Zak Lee-Green is through to the final of the lightweight men’s single scull. He took third place in today’s semi-final to qualify in a time of 7:14.26. After a winter of training disrupted by illness, reaching the final is a big measure of success.

Today he moved up through the field steadily to overhaul Australia at 1500m and book his finals place in a race won by the USA with Ireland second.

“I am very pleased with the way our rowers have stepped up to get eight A final qualifications. The World U23s is a very, very high standard event and it’s a great grounding for our young rowers to be challenged and that’s why I’m pleased”, said Sir David Tanner, GB Rowing Team Performance Director.

Of the eight finalists, two – the lightweight men’s pair and the light women’s quad – race later today. The other six will be on tomorrow’s start list with all the A finals in the morning session.

Stuart Sykes and Jamie Copus, whose brother Rory is cox to the GB men’s eight in Linz, will race a B final of the lightweight men’s double scull after their fifth-placed finish in today’s semi-final. A scratch combination who were brought together late in the day because of injury in the squad, they have done well to finish in the top twelve.

Later in the morning session today the GB men’s coxed four won their B Final whilst the men’s four was withdrawn from its B final to allow Bowyer to transfer to the men’s quad.

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RESULTS

Semi-finals

OPEN

MEN

Quadruple scull

1. New Zealand 5:54.80
2. Jack Beaumont/Barnaby Stentiford/Marcus Bowyer/Angus Groom (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:56.73
3. France 5:56.90
4. Poland 5:59.99
5. Estonia 6:03.06
6. Belarus 6:09.59

LIGHTWEIGHT

WOMEN

Double scull

1. Brianna Stubbs/Eleanor Piggott (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:18.20
2. Australia 7:19.66
3. Switzerland 7:22.07
4. Hungary 7:27.26
5. Italy 7:35.58
6. Norway 7:39.53

MEN

Single scull

1. USA 7:11.15
2. Ireland 7:12.58
3. Zak Lee Green (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:14.26
4. Australia 7:22.67
5. Italy 7:24.34
6. Germany 7:28.69

Double scull

1. France 6:30.88
2. Hungary 6:32.96
3. Netherlands 6:33.59
4. Denmark 6:58.33
5. Jamie Copus/Stuart Sykes (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:58.33
6. Lithuania 7:30.09

B FINAL

OPEN

MEN

Coxed Four

1. James Martyn Smith/Callum McBrierty/Edward Williams/Lewis McCue/William Hakim (cox) (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:22.76
2. USA 6:28.89
3. Ukraine 6:40.03

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GB ROWING TEAM
CREW LISTS: World U23 Championships, Linz, Austria

OPEN

WOMEN

Eight

Fiona Gammond (Headington School BC/Bicester/19.10.92)/
Rebecca Chin (Agecroft RC/Salford/11.12.91)/
Josephine Wratten (Tees RC/Yarm/23.03.92)/
Iona Riley (Robert Gordon Uni BC/Aberdeen/17.04.92)/
Yasmin Tredell (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Evesham/18.11.92)/
Fiona Schlesinger (Molesey BC/New Malden/01.04.91)/
Bethany Bryan (Tees RC/Stockton-on-tees/23.04.93)/
Nicole Lamb (Newcastle Uni BC/Hexham/20.01.93)/
Morgan Baynham-Williams (cox)(Ross RC/Ross-on-Wye/28.06.94)
Coach: James Harris

Spare

Katie Bartlett (Nottingham RC/Nottingham/02.02.94)

MEN

Four

Francis Highton (Durham Uni BC/Weybridge/10.04.91)/
Ertan Hazine (Uni of London BC/Maidenhead/01.08.91)/
Marcus Bowyer (Exeter RC/West Hill, Devon/02.08.93)/
Andy Holmes (Leander Club/Lochwinnoch/04.10.91)
Coach: Mark Earnshaw

Coxed four

James Martyn Smith (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Newnham Bridge/26.07.91)/
Callum McBrierty (Durham Uni BC/Edinburgh/13.08.92)/
Edward Williams (Molesey BC/Wylye/13.03.91)/
Lewis McCue (Robert Gordon Uni BC/Aberdeen/26.12.94)/
William Hakim (cox) (Leander Club/25.07.91)
Coach: Angelo Savarino

Quadruple scull

Jack Beaumont (Leander Club/Maidenhead/21.11.93)/
Barnaby Stentiford (Durham Uni BC/Newton Abbot/06.02.91)/
Stewart Innes (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/20.05.91)/
Angus Groom (Durham Uni BC/Wanborough/16.06.92)
Coach: Matt Beechey

Eight

James Cook (Uni of London BC/Windsor/02.07.92)/
Thomas Ford (Newcastle Uni BC/Holmes Chapel/03.10.92)/
Sam Arnot (Newcastle Uni BC/Newcastle-upon-Tyne/09.07.91)/
Timothy Grant (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Otford/02.07.93)/
Cameron Buchan (Leander Club/03.12.92)/
James Edwards (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/26.09.91)/
Timothy Clarke (Newcastle Uni BC/Reading/07.04.91)/
George Rossiter (Newcastle Uni BC/Newbury/09.03.92)/
Rory Copus (cox) (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Wallingford/27.03.91)
Coach: Steve Trapmore

LIGHTWEIGHT

WOMEN

Double scull

Eleanor Piggott (Wallingford RC/Olney/16.05.91)/
Brianna Stubbs (Wallingford RC/Headington/13.07.91)
Coach: Pete Sheppard

Quadruple scull

Rosa Atkinson (Sport Imperial BC/Frodsham/16.11.92)/
Gemma Hall (Newcastle Uni BC/Wargrave/10.04.92)/
Ellie Lewis (Sir William Borlase BC/Marlow/14/04/94)
Emily Craig (Uni of London BC/East Sussex/30.11.92)
Coach: Phil Gray

MEN

Pair

Matthew Bedford (Uni of London BC/Maidenhead/21.01.91)/
Wilf Kimberley (Imperial College BC/London/15.07.92)
Coach: Brian Young

Four

Charles Waite-Roberts (W. of England Uni BC/Bristol/06.11.92)/
Tom Marshall (Leander Club/Chester/12.03.94)/
Timothy Richards (Imperial College BC/London/17.05.92)/
Joel Cassells (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Coleraine/15.06.94)
Coach: Mark Earnshaw

Single Scull

Zak Lee-Green (Agecroft RC/Cardiff/05.02.91)
Coach: Hamish Burrell

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