GB Rowing Team to field two adaptive fours for first time at world cup level
The GB Rowing Team will enter two mixed adaptive coxed four boats at a world cup for the first time after exhaustive trials at the National Training Centre concluded earlier this week.
The Paralympic-class events at the Munich leg of the Rowing World Cup series from May 27-29 will see previous world medallists James Roe, Naomi Riches and Dave Smith team up with newcomer Pam Relph and cox Lily van der Broecke in the top British boat.
They will joined by a trio of 2010 world silver medal rowers, Ryan Chamberlain, Kate Jones and Kelsie Gibson with newcomer Luke Almond in the second British line-up to be coxed by 2010 world silver medalist Rhiannon Jones.
“We saw some really focussed and tight racing at the Trials”, said the GB Rowing Team’s lead adaptive coach Tom Dyson.
“There were some very close calls and I’m delighted that we can field two boats for Munich – the second of which will have three world silver medallists in it, showing the kind of strength of depth in this part of our squad that we’ve never enjoyed before.
“With the new combinations, Munich will prove challenging but will give us a good chance to see how these rowers perform on a big stage”.
The line-ups at this stage show that Naomi Riches, world champion in 2009, has won back the seat she lost in the top boat to Kate Jones last season whilst teenager Kelsie Gibson and Ryan Chamberlain narrowly lost out to Relph and Smith respectively.
Chamberlain is coming back from surgery as did Smith in 2010. The battle between these two was particularly close over the weekend.
Each mixed adaptive coxed four can have up to two rowers with a visual impairment, who row in blacked-out goggles, and two with a physical disability and each must have two females and two males. The cox is able-bodied. The visually-impaired athletes are Riches, Jones, Almond and Roe.
Britain will aim to use Munich as preparation for the World Championships in late August and early September at which the GB Rowing Team will need to qualify its boats for the 2012 Paralympic Games.
Tom Aggar‘s performance against the clock at the weekend’s trials showed that his winter training has gone to plan. The Londoner is the reigning Paralympic and World Champion in the arms-only single scull.
Britain will also field a mixed adaptive double scull in Munich after speed tests.
This means that Sam Scowen, world finalist in 2009, will contest the event in Munich with new squad recruit from the Army, Captain Nick Beighton, of the Royal Engineers, who was introduced to the sport by Guildford Rowing Club and through a ParalympicsGB Talent Day.
Scowen had been training in a single scull until recently after previous double scull partner James Roberts was classified out of the event by a change in the rules.
Scowen, who learnt to row for the first time on the Paralympic course at Dorney, now has a chance to continue towards the World Championships and potential qualification for the Games.
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ROWER DATA
Rower name followed by (club/home town/date of birth)
AS Men’s Single scull
Tom Aggar (Royal Docks RC/London/24.05.84)
Coach: Tom Dyson
LTA Mixed Coxed four
GBR 1
James Roe (Reading Uni BC/Stratford-upon-Avon/28.03.88)/
Naomi Riches (Leander/Harrow/15.6.83)/
Pam Relph (Birmingham University/14.11.89)/
Dave Smith (Reading Uni/Dunfermline/21.4.78)/
Lily van den Broecke (cox) (Oxford/8.1.92)
GBR 2
Ryan Chamberlain (King’s College London BC/Wandsworth, London/03.04.86)/
Kate Jones (Aberdeen BC/Eskdale Green, Cumbria/28.02.86)
Kelsie Gibson (Maidstone Invicta RC)/
Luke Almond (Worcester Club/14.5.90)
Rhiannon Jones (cox) (Reading Uni BC/Hereford/16.09.87)
Coach: Mary McLachlan
Mixed Adaptive Double Scull
Nick Beighton (Guildford RC/29.9.81)/
Sam Scowen (Dorney BC/Wokingham/29.10.87)
Coach: Tom Dyson
PICTURES OF THE GB ROWING TEAM SQUAD IN ACTION AND
AS HEAD AND SHOULDERS ARE AVAILABLE BY E-MAIL: [email protected]
*SIEMENS is the high performance partner of the GB Rowing Team
(as such they sponsor all the Olympic and Paralympic Class
boats in the senior squad and add value to the GB Rowing
Teams’ Start and High Performance Programme in Clubs Schemes)
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CONTACT DETAILS
For media enquiries about The GB Rowing Teams please contact:
Caroline Searle or Miranda Edwards on:
T: (01225) 443998
M: (07831) 755351
GB Rowing Team website www.gbrowingteam.org.uk – full biogs available
here.
