2 gold and 3 silver at FISU World University Rowing Championships

Great Britain won 2 gold and 3 silver medals in the finals at the FISU World University Rowing Championships in Szeged, Hungary in a thrilling day of finals on 15 August which put them in 2nd place in the medal table behind a strong squad from Italy (3 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze).

The first medal was achieved in the first race of the day by Lottie Burgess from Reading University. Burgess, who also competed at the recent World Rowing U23 Championships in Belarus sculled comfortably to a silver medal, just behind Elaine Waser from Switzerland who reached finals at all 3 Senior World Cup Regattas this year, but ahead of the sculler from France who competed at the World Rowing Championships in 2006.

The women’s four raced next. The crew were first off the start and maintained their lead to win by four seconds over Romania.

In the lightweight women’s double the experienced duo of Laura Greenhalgh and Andrea Dennis left the blocks third, but then in a very close race, sculled through the Germans and finished just a second behind the Polish winners to take silver.

Erica Bodman competed in the women’s single sculls and despite a strong start, holding second place beyond the first quarter of the race, was unable to sustain the pace and finished in 5th place.

The lightweight men’s four provided a good battle for the bronze medal. The British four were fifth for the first 500m of the race, but then pushed on and were fighting with the Hungarians who eventually pipped them at the line.

Ben Rowe from Teeside University moved to the lightweight men’s single scull having won a silver medal in the double at the recent World Rowing U23 Championships.  Ben was a strong hope for the British team. Holding third place for the first 500m, Rowe then sculled through the Italian opposition to take the silver medal.

The last race of the day, was the men’s eight. The British crew, which had a wealth of experience including rowers from the winning Cambridge Blue Boat and also World U23 medallists, took the lead from the start and continued to extend the lead, finishing a length ahead of Estonia, with Ireland in third place.

Full results are available at: http://www.hunrowing.hu/hirek/world-rowing-university-championships-results

A FINAL RESULTS FROM GREAT BRITAIN BOATS

Lightweight Women’s Single Scull
1. Switzerland 9:02.63
2. Lottie Burgess (GREAT BRITAIN) 9:09.91
3. France 9:15.44

Women’s Four
1. Emily Taylor, Monica Relph, Leonora Kennedy, Zoe Lee (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:40.54
2. Romania 7:44.75
3. Italy 7:46.60

Lightweight Women’s Double Scull
1. Poland 8:14.46
2. Laura Greenhalgh, Andrea Dennis (GREAT BRITAIN) 8:15.51
3. Canada 8:19.49

Women’s Single Scull
1. Czech Republic 9:08.84
2. Poland 9:10.90
3. Italy 9:17.05
5. Erica Bodman (GREAT BRITAIN) 9:32.56

Lightweight Men’s Four
1. Italy 7:00.57
2. France 7:03.40
3. Hungary 7:07.83
4. John Hale, Alex Gillies, Charlie Pitt-Ford, Simon Barr (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:10.02

Lightweight Men’s Single Scull
1. Slovakia 7:53.20
2. Ben Rowe (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:54.92
3. Poland 8:04.45

Men’s Eight
1. Stephen Feeney, Henry Pelly, George Nash, Fred Gill,
    Karl Hudspith, Matthew Rossiter, Matthew Tarrant, Scott Durant,
    Max Gander (cox) (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:57.96
2. Estonia 6:01.26
3. Ireland 6:06.71

TEAM LIST

Open Women

Four
Emily Taylor, Durham Univ
Monica Relph, Nottingham RC (Loughborough Univ)
Leonora Kennedy, Imperial College
Zoe Lee, Imperial College

Single Scull
Erica Bodman, Bath Minerva/Cambridge Univ

Open Men

Pair
Murray Wilkojc, Newcastle Univ
Phil Congdon, Durham Univ

Four
Alex Holden Smith, Oxford Brookes
John Clay, Cambridge
Dave Bell, Hertfordshire
Ben Bathurst, Bristol

Eight
Stephen Feeney, London RC/St Marys Twickenham
Henry Pelly, Cambridge Univ
George Nash, Cambridge Univ
Fred Gill, Cambridge Univ
Karl Hudspith, Oxford Brookes
Matthew Rossiter, Durham Univ
Matthew Tarrant, Oxford Brookes
Scott Durant, Oxford Brookes
Max Gander, UCL (cox)

Double Scull
Andrew Corrigan, Newcastle Univ
Mason Durant, Newcastle Univ

Lightweight Women

Single Scull
Lottie  Burgess, Reading Univ

Double Scull 
Laura Greenhalgh, Imperial College
Andrea Dennis, Wallingford (Oxford Brookes)
  
Lightweight Men

Four
John Hale, Cambridge
Alex Gillies, Imperial College
Charlie Pitt-Ford, Cambridge
Simon Barr, Oxford Brookes
 
Single Scull                             
Ben Rowe, Teeside Univ

Double Scull
Jamie Kirkwood, Roehampton Univ
Sam Scrimgeour, Strathclyde Univ

Coaches & Support Team
James Lee, Team Manager
Peter Sheppard, Lead Coach
Angelo Savarino, Coach (Newcastle Univ)
Eira Parry, Coach (Start Programme, Reading Univ)
Steve Trapmore, Coach (Imperial College)
Stuart Whitelaw, Coach (Imperial College)
Lee Boucher, Logistics/Driver (Heriot-Watt)
Graeme Cunningham, Driver (Heriot-Watt)
Geoff Twinning, Physio