Cousins pulls off shock win of GB Rowing Team Trials
Charles Cousins pulled off the shock win of the GB Rowing Team Senior Trials at Caversham today when he beat Olympic bronze medallist and single scull specialist Alan Campbell.
Campbell, of Coleraine, led early and looked set to take a record, ninth successive men’s single title before Cousins, who comes from Cambridge, eased past him in the final 250m.
“Let’s not get carried away, it’s only one race. I’m really happy with the win but it’s a bit of a surprise really”, said Cousins whose landmark win came despite missing a few days training earlier in the week with a cold and cough.
Helen Glover, the Olympic women’s pairs champion from Penzance, was also a shock winner in the unfamiliar discipline of single sculling. She held onto an early lead despite a strong challenge in the final 250m from twice Olympic quadruple scull silver medallist Frances Houghton.
“In that final 100m I just shut my eyes and went for it as I knew that Fran has a good sprint finish”, said Glover whose margin of victory was the narrowest of the day.
By contrast Andrew Triggs Hodge, Olympic men’s four champion, and Moe Sbihi from last year’s Olympic bronze medal eight, were emphatic winners of the men’s pair ahead of their rivals and also Olympic men’s four champions Peter Reed and Alex Gregory.
“We knew in training that everything was going pretty well but you still have to do it on the day”, said Hodge. “What Moe did was superb and we worked really well together”.
Inverness’ Imogen Walsh fulfilled her status as title-favourite in the lightweight women’s single scull. She moved out to a strong lead before halfway. “At that point the ego kicks in and your feel like winning by as much as you can but today I kept telling myself not to be silly, no heroics, let’s just complete the job”.
Coleraine’s Peter Chambers beat last year’s champion Adam Freeman-Pask, who was second, and his older brother Richard Chambers, who came home third, to take the lightweight men’s single title by a comfortable margin. He led throughout.
““I knew it was going to be a tough field today especially with us being the top three in training”, said Chambers.
The results will provide interesting material for the Chief Coaches and Performance Director in the coming weeks as seat-racing and crew formation takes place.
“We have had some great racing today and it is very healthy to see some new blood challenging for top places in the finals”, said Sir David Tanner, GB Rowing Team’s Performance Director.
“We have Rio in our sights but this season will be important to lay down a base for the next three years as well as some experimentation with new boat mixes.
“Over the next few weeks we will be forming our boats for the next world cup on home waters in late June at Dorney”.
For full rower biogs visit: www.gbrowingteam.org.uk
For club, home towns & dates of birth – see entry list below
The next big event for the GB Rowing Team will be the WORLD CUP at Eton Dorney from June 21-23.
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RACE REPORTS
Imogen Walsh came to the GB Rowing Team Senior & U23 Trials this weekend in the unaccustomed role as pre-event favourite, having trained last year alongside eventual Olympic gold medal winners Kat Copeland and Sophie Hosking.
Today she looked determined from early doors to prove her pre-billing. Just beyond the 500m mark she got her bow in front and then gradually eased away from Ruth Walczak, eventually second, and early challenger Eleanor Piggott of Wallingford.
From there she controlled the race and maintained her lead ahead of Walczak with Kathryn Twyman coming through to take third. “Being favourite is a different approach. I wouldn’t say that I felt I should win it but that I could win it if everything went well. You never know what people can produce on the day”, said Walsh.
Walczak, meanwhile, was pleased with her performance and with the way in which the event was organised: “I honed in on my race plan today and wasn’t aware of much else. I’m pleased to have got in my first A final and hopefully that is the start of something and puts me at a good level”.
Peter Chambers had a strong win in the lightweight men’s single scull. Like Walsh he led early in the race and kept the chasing crews at bay through the second half.
Peter’s older brother Richard was in that chasing pack as was last year’s champion Adam Freeman-Pask. At 1400m gone it looked as if the battle between Freeman-Pask and Richard Chambers might assist the duo in closing the gap on the leader only for the younger Chambers sibling to edge out further in front.
Behind the leading trio, Will Fletcher also had a good race to take fourth place with Jamie Kirkwood in fifth and Sam Scrimgeour dropping back to last place having shown well early in the race.
“I found it especially difficult that the event was at Caversham”, said the younger Chambers whose win came in a time of 6:58.12. “It’s where we train everyday. I needed to psyche myself up more. Once I was in the mind-set it became a lot easier”.
Whilst disappointed to have been pipped by Helen Glover to the verdict in the women’s single scull final, Oxford’s Frances Houghton seemed to be pleased with her return to racing form.
“I’m pleased with my racing even if I came off the wrong side of a close finish today, that’s sport”, said Houghton whose previous two seasons have been somewhat constrained by injury. “I feel good with how it’s been going generally”.
Glover led this race on the inside lane for the majority of its passage. She had over a length on Houghton, in the centre lane, at 1500m gone but constantly glanced across to gauge Houghton’s progress. The contrast in styles was marked with Houghton using her long limbs to row in a smooth, steady rhythm whilst Glover seemed more clipped but powerful.
Behind them Vicky Thornley mounted a challenge with Louisa Reeve in contention, too. Gradually it became a two-horse race at the front. Houghton ate back into Glover’s lead stroke by stroke until the final 100m when Glover seemed determined not to let her back through taking the verdict by just over two tenths of a second in 7:32.82.
Alan Campbell was gracious, too, in defeat to Charles Cousins in the men’s single scull final in which many thought that the seasoned international and Henley winner Peter Lambert might be the main challenger.
Campbell led for three-quarters of the race. He looked well placed in the final quarter to unleash his trademark sprint but had clearly used up more energy than apparent in keeping ahead of Lambert and Matt Langridge who once again had a storming first 900m as in yesterday’s semi-finals.
Campbell, in the centre, was ideally placed to see Lambert and Langridge but was perhaps unaware in the dying stages just how quickly Cousins was coming up on the outside with Graeme Thomas coming into the top four in those closing stages, too.
It looked as if Campbell might hold on until the final 100m when Cousins just kept applying the pressure to come through and win in 6:51.49.
“I’m really pleased for Charles”, said Campbell afterwards. “I felt that I gave a good account of myself especially after a bit of time away and training away from the squad. Tactically, I feel that I went too early and I went with Peter Lambert. It was a question of tactics rather than anything else. I’ll live to fight another day”.
If Cousins sprung a surprise in winning, Moe Shihi and Andrew Triggs Hodge stood out because of the margin of their victory in what had looked set to be a ding-dong battle to close out the racing programme for the day in the men’s pair final.
In training they and the pairing of Alex Gregory and Peter Reed had been trading blows at the top of the squad. Today Sbihi and Hodge blasted out to a first half lead that they did not relinquish and lengthened in the second half to win in 6:20.37 from Reed and Gregory’s 6:23.17.
Tom Ransley and Dan Ritchie looked set to take third place until the final 150m when Nathaniel Reilly O’Donnell and Alan Sinclair found the pace to overhaul them with a few strokes to go.
“The Trials are a stand-out event” said Andrew Triggs Hodge after the race. “In the early years of coming to them, you use the crews around you as a marker of your progress. Now it’s about coming here and being the best athlete you can be, it’s not about getting one over on any other crew. Yes, it gives me some pride to win for my club Molesey but that’s only one aspect of it”.
Triggs Hodge and Sbihi, like every other rower will turn up tomorrow for training with the future wide-open. “Who knows what we will be doing next . A pair, a four, an eight? We can arrive and be wide-eyed and optimistic. We have seat racing and then some other work to do before we know what boat we will be in for the future”.
There were also a set of strongly-contested B Finals today. The winners of these were: Phil Congdon and Colin Williamson in the men’s pair; Bill Lucas in the men’s single; Katie Greves in the women’s single; Chris Boddy in the lightweight men’s single; Brianna Stubbs in the lightweight women’s single.
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RESULTS
A Finals only.
OPEN
WOMEN
Single scull
FINAL
1. Helen Glover (Minerva Bath) 7:32.82
2. Frances Houghton (Leander) 7:33.03
3. Victoria Thornley (Leander) 7:36.19
4. Louisa Reeve (Leander) 7:39.37
5. Melanie Wilson (Imperial College) 7:40.86
6. Victoria Meyer-Laker (Leander) 7:49.42
MEN
Pair
1. Moe Sbihi/Andrew Triggs Hodge (Molesey) 6:20.37
2. Alex Gregory/Pete Reed (Leander) 6:23.17
3. Nathaniel Reilly O’Donnell/Alan Sinclair (Leander/Uni of London) 6:26.93
4. Tom Ransley/Dan Ritchie (Leander) 6:27.50
5. Mat Tarrant/Scott Durant (Oxford Brookes) 6:35.92
6. Paul Bennett/Karl Hudspith (Oxford Uni) 6:43.23
Single scull
1. Charles Cousins (Leander) 6:51.49
2. Alan Campbell (Tideway Scullers) 6:53.44
3. Peter Lambert (Leander) 6:53.52
4. Graeme Thomas (Agecroft) 6:54.32
5. Sam Townsend (Reading Uni) 6:59.58
6. Matt Langridge (Leander) 7:02.85
LIGHTWEIGHT
WOMEN
Single scull
1. Imogen Walsh (London RC) 7:42.11
2. Ruth Walczak (Molesey) 7:47.19
3. Kathryn Twyman (Wallingford) 7:54.08
4. Eleanor Piggott (Wallingford) 7:54.96
5. Charlotte Taylor (Putney Town) 8:04.59
6. Elizabeth Polgreen (Isle of Ely) 8:08.86
MEN
Single scull
1. Peter Chambers (Oxford Brookes) 6:58.12
2. Adam Freeman-Pask (Reading Uni) 7:01.18
3. Richard Chambers (Leander) 7:02.37
4. William Fletcher (Leander) 7:04.39
5. Jamie Kirkwood (Leander) 7:08.10
6. Sam Scrimgeour (Imperial College) 7;09.01
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2011 and 2012 WINNERS
2011 Winners
OPEN
Women’s pair: Helen Glover/Heather Stanning
Women’s single: Anna Watkins
Men’s pair: Peter Reed/Andrew Triggs Hodge
Single scull: Alan Campbell
LIGHTWEIGHT
Women’s single: Sophie Hosking
Men’s single: Zac Purchase
2012 Winners
OPEN
Women’s pair: Helen Glover/Heather Stanning
Women’s single: Katherine Grainger
Men’s pair: Peter Reed/Andrew Triggs Hodge
Single scull: Alan Campbell
LIGHTWEIGHT
Women’s single: Kat Copeland
Men’s single: Adam Freeman-Pask
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ENTRY LISTS
Senior Trials 20 – 21 April 2013
Caversham, UK
(Name – Club/Home Town/Date of Birth)
OPEN WOMEN
Single scull
Clio Aubugeau-Williams (Imperial College BC/Woodbridge/17.02.93)*
Katie Bartlett (Nottingham RC/Nottingham/02.02.94)*
Erica Bodman (Leander Club/Guernsey/24.01.88)
Ro Bradbury (Leander Club/Banstead/17.12.88)
Bethany Bryan (Tees RC/Stockton-on-tees/23.04.93)*
Olivia Carnegie-Brown (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Oxford/28.13.91)*
Helena Castle-Smith (Molesey BC/Alton/20.04.93)*
Rebecca Chin (Agecroft RC/Salford/11.12.91)*
Anastasia Chitty (Osiris/London/07.12.93)*
Stella D’Arch Smith (Agecroft RC/13.06.90/Uttoxeter)
Katherine Douglas (Leander Club/Midlothian/03.08.89)
Jessica Eddie (London RC/Durham/07.10.84)
Emily Ford (Grange School BC/Holmes Chapel/08.11.94)*
Holly Game (Cambridge Uni Women’s BC/Woodbridge/09.03.92)*
Helen Glover (Minerva Bath/Penzance/17.06.86)
Lucinda Gooderham (Imperial College BC/Norfolk/09.06.84)
Katie Greves (Leander Club/Oxford/02.09.82)
Frances Houghton (Leander Club/Oxford/19.09.80)
Leonora Kennedy (Imperial College BC/Enniskillen/12.01.87)
Nicole Lamb (Newcastle Uni BC/Hexham/20.01.93)*
Zoe Lee (Sport Imperial BC/Richmond/15.12.85)
Claire McKeown (Clydesdale ARC/Glasgow/16.07.90)
Caragh McMurtry (Reading Uni BC/Southampton/22.08.91)*
Vicki Meyer-Laker (Leander Club/Premnay/18.03.88)
Louisa Reeve (Leander Club/London/16.05.84)
Monica Relph (Leander Club/Cambridge/15.01.88)
Iona Riley (Robert Gordon Uni BC/Aberdeen/17.04.92)*
Fay Sandford (Cambridge Uni Women’s BC/Sutton/29/03/91*
Kristina Stiller (Tees RC/Yarm/23.06.87)
Polly Swann (Leander Club/Edinburgh/15.06.88)
Victoria Thornley (Leander Club/Wrexham/30.11.87)
Laura Wheeler (Nottingham RC/Burton-on-Trent/16.02.85)
Mel Wilson (Imperial College BC/London/25.06.84)
Helen Wood (Imperial College BC/Maidenhead/16.03.87)
Josephine Wratten (Tees RC/Yarm/23.03.92)*
OPEN MEN
Pair
Frazier Christie (Bath Uni BC/Watchfield/11.01.93)*
Ollie Wynne-Griffith (Molesey BC/29.05.94)*
Timothy Clarke (Newcastle Uni BC/Reading/07.04.91)*
Thomas Ford (Newcastle Uni BC/Holmes Chapel/03.10.92)*
James Cook (Uni of London BC/Windsor/02.07.92*
Ertan Hazine (Uni of London BC/Maidenhead/01.08.91)*
Oliver Cook (Uni of London BC/Windsor/05.06.90)
Tom Clark (Leander Club/Worcester/28.01.89)
Matt Gotrel (Leander Club/Chipping Camden/01.03.89)
Lance Tredell (Leander Club/Hale/25.10.88)
Edward Grisedale (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Congleton/09.12.93)*
Oliver Holt (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Chester/11.01.92)*
Joseph Guppy (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Eastbourne/27.03.93)*
Michael Lawrence (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Wiltshire/31.08.93)*
Francis Highton (Durham Uni BC/Weybridge/10.04.91)*
Callum McBrierty (Durham Uni BC/Edinburgh/13.08.93)*
Karl Hudspith (Oxford Uni BC/Twickenham/31.03.88)
Paul Bennett (Oxford Uni BC/Leeds/16.12.88)
James Martyn Smith (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Altrincham/27.07.91)*
Timothy Grant (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Otford/02.07.93)*
Tom Ransley (Leander Club/Cambridge/16.09.85)
Dan Ritchie (Leander Club/Herne Bay/16.01.87)
Peter Reed (Leander Club/Nailsworth/27.07.81)
Alex Gregory (Leander Club/Wormington/11.03.84)
Moe Sbihi (Molesey BC/Surbiton/27.03.88)
Andy Triggs Hodge (Molesey BC/Hebden/03.03.79)
Alan Sinclair (Leander Club/Inverness/16.10.85)
Nathaniel Reilly-O’Donnell (Uni of London BC/Durham/13.04.88)
Oliver Staite (Oxford Brookes Uni BC)*
Rowan Lawson (Cambridge Uni BC)*
Mat Tarrant (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Shepperton/11.07.90)
Scott Durant (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Lancaster/12.02.88)
Matthew Tatlock (Molesey BC/East Horsley/03.06.91)*
Ed Ford (Molesey BC/Holmes Chapel/22.10.89)
Colin Williamson (Molesey BC/Henley-on-Thames/03.04.83)
Phil Congdon (Molesey BC/East Molesey/06.06.89)
Gary Wilson (Aberdeen BC/Aberdeen/23.09.91)*
Lewis McCue (Robert Gordon Uni BC/Aberdeen/26.12.94)*
Single scull
Tom Barras (Cardiff Uni BC/Staines/07/01/94) TBC
Jack Beaumont (Leander Club/Maidenhead/21.11.93)*
Josh Bugajski (Cardiff Uni BC/Cardiff/05.10.90)
Alan Campbell (Tideway Scullers School/Coleraine/09.05.83)
Dan Clift (Isle of Ely RC/Torpoint/15.06.88)
John Collins (Leander Club/Twickenham/24.01.89)
Charles Cousins (Leander Club/Willingham/13.12.88)
Mason Durant (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Lancaster/12.02.88)
James Foad (Molesey BC/Southampton/20.03.87) TBC
Angus Groom (Durham Uni BC/Wanborough/16.06.92)*
Charles Herbert (Leander ClubBedford/29.05.91)*
Stewart Innes (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/20.05.91)*
Pete Lambert (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/03.12.86)
Matt Langridge (Leander Club/Northwich/20.05.83)
Oliver Lee (Agecroft RC/Stockport/07.03.91)*
Bill Lucas (London RC/Kingswear/13.09.87)
William Mace (Durham Uni BC/Great Broughton/01.07.92)*
Nick Middleton (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/12.08.88)
Luke Moon (Tideway Scullers School/Deal/25.03.93)*
James Rudkin (Newcastle Uni BC/Litchborough/07.07.94)*
Will Satch (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/09.06.89) TBC
Ben Spencer Jones (Imperial College BC/Putney/06.02.92)*
Barnaby Stentiford (Durham Uni BC/Newton Abbot/06.02.91*
Graeme Thomas (Agecroft RC/Preston/08.11.88)
Sam Townsend (Reading Uni BC/Reading/26.11.85)
Jonathan Walton (Leander Club/Leicester/06.10.90)
William Warr (Durham Uni BC/Durham/12.03.92)*
LIGHTWEIGHT WOMEN
Single scull
Rosa Atkinson (Imperial College BC/Frodsham/16.11.92)*
Emily Craig (Uni of London BC/East Sussex/30.11.92)*
Lucy Cruxton (Reading Uni BC/Stoke-on-Trent/22.12.93)*
Charlotte Dexter (Exeter Uni BC/Roxston/06/07/91)
Gemma Hall (Newcastle Uni BC/Wargrave/10.04.92)*
Rebecca Humphreys (London RC/London/22.03.89)
Ellie Lewis (Sir William Borlase/Marlow/14/04/94)
Kate Parrish (Bristol Uni BC/Bedford/20.02.92)*
Eleanor Piggott (Wallingford RC/Olney/16.05.91)*
Elizabeth Polgreen (Isle of Ely RC/Cambridge/19.10.88)
Francesca Rawlins (Mortlake A&A RC/08.07.86)
Maxie Scheske (Osiris/St Margarets/05.11.93)*
Nicola Spencer (Nottingham RC/Nottingham/04/12/86)
Brianna Stubbs (Wallingford RC/Headington/13.07.91)*
Charlotte Taylor (Putney Town RC/London/14.08.85)
Kathryn Twyman (Wallingford RC/Oxford/29.03.87)
Ruth Walczak (Molesey BC/Rochdale/15.09.88)
Imogen Walsh (London RC/Inverness/17.01.84)
LIGHTWEIGHT MEN
Single scull
Mark Aldred (London RC/London/18.04.87)
Inigo Atkin (Uni of London BC/Chester/21.06.92)*
Jonathan Bale (London RC/London/22.02.83)
Chris Bartley (Leander Club/Chester/02.02.84)
Matthew Bedford (Uni of London BC/Maidenhead/21.01.91*
Benjamin Board (Leander Club/West Sussex/09.03.93)*
Chris Boddy (Leander Club/Thornaby-on-Tees/16.11.87)
Nicholas Buckle (Newcastle Uni BC/Newcastle-Upon-Tyne/24.05.92)*
Joel Cassells (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Coleraine/15/06/94)
Peter Chambers (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Coleraine/14.03.90)
Richard Chambers (Leander Club/Coleraine/10.06.85)
Jono Clegg (Leander Club/Maidenhead/14.07.89)
Jamie Copus (Leander Club/Wallingford/30.01.93)*
Andrew Dowty (Reading Uni BC/Reading/26.02.93)*
James Ellison (Exeter Uni BC/Malmesbury/25.11.90)
Alexander Evangelidis (Loughborough Students BC/Loughborough/11/11/91)
Donald Evans (Queens Uni Belfast RC/Aryshire/28.09.88)
William Fletcher (Leander Club/Chester-le-Street/24.12.89)
Adam Freeman-Pask (Reading Uni BC/Windsor/19.06.85)
Christopher Goldsack (Uni of London BC/Wincanton/13.09.91)*
John Hale (Isle of Ely RC/Girton/28.02.88)
Stuart Heap (London RC/Marlow/10.04.87)
Myles Holbrough (Imperial College BC/London/23.02.93*
Wilf Kimberley (Imperial College BC/London/15.07.92)*
Jamie Kirkwood (Leander Club/Cresswell/30.08.89)
Tom Marshall (Leander Club/Chester/12.03.94)*
Mike Mottram (Leander Club/Stoke Mandeville/08.06.90)
Timothy Richards (Imperial College BC/London/12/05/92)
Alex Robertson (Leander Club/Bedford/29.03.92)*
Sam Scrimgeour (Imperial College BC/Fofar/28.01.88)
Lewis Sloan (Leander Club/Old Windsor/25.06.93)*
Stuart Sykes (Nottingham Uni BC/Rochdale/14.03.91)*
Charles Waite-Roberts (W. of England Uni BC/Bristol/06.11.92)*
Jasper Warner (Nephthys/Oxford/15.10.90)
Felix Wood (Leander Club/Watlington/09.03.91)*
Timothy Woodman (Durham Uni BC/Thornaby/28.02.92)*
* denotes eligible for World U23s
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CONTACT DETAILS
For media enquiries about this event please contact:
At the event: Caroline Searle on 07831 755351
From Monday 22 April onwards:
Miranda Edwards or Caroline Searle: [email protected] or 01225 384 211 – PLEASE NOTE NEW NUMBER
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