Battle lines drawn for finals at Olympic Venue
Battle lines have been drawn for tomorrow’s men’s pair final at the GB Rowing Team Winter Assessment with the squad’s top two pairs both winning semi-finals this afternoon.
Andrew Triggs Hodge and Pete Reed, reigning Olympic champion in the men’s four, looked contained in leading their semi-final from the 500m marker onwards ahead of the duo’s Beijing 2008 crew-mate Tom James and his Molesey Club partner, Tom Solesbury.
Alex Partridge and Alex Gregory, current world men’s four champions, were comfortable winners from Ric Egington, from that same men’s four, and Tom Wilkinson who rowed in the 2009 men’s eight.
Alan Campbell in the mainly-white strip of Tideway Scullers was untouchable, despite his recent cycling accident, in his semi-final of the men’s single scull with Matthew Wells taking the honours in the second semi-final.
Greg Searle, former Olympic gold medallist who is making a comeback after almost a decade in retirement, finished fourth and out of tomorrow’s final but laid down a marker of his continuing intent. He dogged the coat-tails of third-placed Reading’s Sam Townsend until 1250m into the race but then dropped back.
Beth Rodford was an early challenger to Olympic medallist Katherine Grainger‘s dominance in the equivalent women’s event but faded back to third as Olivia Whitlam came through the field to take second behind the Scottish winner.
Anna Watkins took the honours in the opposing semi-final, pressed by Louisa Reeve. Debbie Flood, the 2008 Olympic quadruple scull silver medallist, was third despite needing to fit her current training around a full-time job with the Prison Service and has booked a place for tomorrow.
Olympic champion Zac Purchase was yellow-carded for a traffic violation en route to the start of his lightweight men’s single scull semi-final but went on to win ahead of Peter Chambers and Chris Boddy.
Chambers’ elder brother Richard has also qualified for tomorrow’s final after finishing second in his semi-final behind Adam Freeman Pask. Ben Rowe, of Tees RC, held on consistently to third place throughout the course to progress.
Andrea Dennis and Hester Goodsell were semi-final winners in the lightweight women’s single scull with the former’s race the quicker by 10 seconds. Top contender Sophie Hosking withdrew poorly before this afternoon’s racing.
Earlier the winners of the morning’s time trials were Alan Campbell and Katherine Grainger in the open single sculls, Pete Reed and Andrew Triggs Hodge in the men’s pair as well as Zac Purchase and Andrea Dennis in the lightweight single sculls.
Rob Williams, the pre-trials “favourite” in the lightweight men’s single scull, was forced to withdraw on the eve of the event by a slight injury niggle.
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RESULTS
SEMI-FINALS
(Name/club in brackets)
OPEN
WOMEN
Single scull
Semi-final 1
1. Katherine Grainger (St Andrew) 7:51.44
2. Olivia Whitlam (Agecroft) 7:53.11
3. Beth Rodford (Gloucester) 7:55.22
4. Lindsey Maguire (Wallingford) 7:56.73
5. Jessica Eddie (Uni of London) 7:58.17
6. Vicky Thornley (Minerva Bath) 8:00.58
Semi-final 2
1. Anna Watkins (Leander) 7:46.87
2. Louisa Reeve (Leander) 7:52.50
3. Debbie Flood (Leander) 7:55.64
4. Natasha Page (Reading Uni) 7:58.58
5. Ro Bradbury (Jesus College) 8:03.28
6. Kirsty Myles (Leander) 8:06.07
MEN
Pair
Semi-final 1
1. Andy Triggs Hodge/Pete Reed (Molesey/Leander Club) 6:50.80
2. Tom Solesbury/Tom James (Molesey) 6:52.24
3. James Foad/Mo Sbihi (Molesey) 6:53.93
4. Fred Gill/George Nash (Cambridge Uni) 6:54.23
5. Constantine Louloudis/Andy Holmes (Eton College/Molesey) 7:00.44
6. Ben Smith/Charles Burkitt (Molesey/OUBC) 7:16.73
Semi-final 2
1. Alex Gregory/Alex Partridge (Reading Uni/Leander) 6:47.29
2. Ric Egington/Tom Wilkinson (Leander Club) 6:49.64
3. James Clarke/Nathaniel Reilly O’Donnell (London/Uni of London) 6:51.62
4. Scott Durant/Karl Hudspith (Oxford Brookes Uni) 7:01.42
5. Wil Satch/Alan Sinclair (Leander) 7:04.04
6. Christopher Abraham/Matt Tarrant (Oxford Brookes Uni) 7:06.87
Single scull
Semi-final 1
1. Alan Campbell (Tideway Scullers School) 7:10.98
2. Charles Cousins (Reading Uni) 7:12.77
3. Matt Langridge (Leander) 7:16.55
4. Brendan Crean (Agecroft) 7:21.89
5. David Read (Leander) 7:22.49
6. Dave Marshall (Reading Uni) 7:31.25
Semi-final 2
1. Matt Wells (Leander) 7:10.03
2. Marcus Bateman (Leander) 7:13.86
3. Sam Townsend (Reading Uni) 7:17.55
4. Greg Searle (Molesey) 7:22.84
5. Henry Pelly (Cambridge Uni) 7:27.88
6. Jonathan Walton (Loughborough Students) 7:33.92
LIGHTWEIGHT
WOMEN
Single scull
Semi-final1
1. Andrea Dennis (Reading Uni) 7:58.91
2. Kelly Limond (Strathclyde Park) 8:08.46
3. Elaine Johnstone (Tideway Scullers) 8:10.32
4. Ruth Sander (Mortlake Anglian & Alpha) 8;10.41
5. Imogen Walsh (Clyde) 8:12.16
6. Jane Hall (Leander) 8:18.23
Semi-final 2
1. Hester Goodsell (Reading Uni) 8:08.45
2. Steph Cullen (London) 8:10.28
3. Katherine Copeland 8:12.50
4. Chloe Aitken (Mortlake Anglian & Alpha) 8:15.10
5. Kathryn Twyman (OUBC) DNF
MEN
Single scull
Semi-final 1
1. Zac Purchase (Marlow) 7:13.89
2. Peter Chambers (Oxford Brookes) 7:16.01
3. Chris Boddy (Leander) 7:18.76
4. Bob Hewitt (Leander) 7:21.97
5. William Fletcher (Durham Uni) 7:23.21
6. Jonathan Clegg (Leander) 7:24.52
Semi-final 2
1. Adam Freeman-Pask (Imperial College) 7:15.18
2. Richard Chambers (Leander) 7:16.90
3. Ben Rowe (Tees) 7:20.17
4. Jamie Watson (Durham Uni) 7:23.90
5. Sam Scimgeour (Glasgow RC/Strathclyde Uni) 7:27.69
6. Carl Delaney (Nottingham Uni) 7:30.91
TIME TRIALS
(Name/club in brackets)
Top ten only -full results to appear on gbrowingteam.org.uk in the trials section.
OPEN
WOMEN
Single scull
1. Katherine Grainger (St Andrew) 7:21.21
2. Louisa Reeve (Leander) 7:29.01
3. Beth Rodford (Gloucester) 7:29.84
4. Olivia Whitlam (Agecroft) 7:32.57
5. Debbie Flood (Leander) 7:33.25
6. Natasha Page (Reading Uni) 7:35.75
7. Lindsey Maguire (Wallingford RC) 7:36.99
8. Jessica Eddie (Uni of London) 7:37.29
9. Anna Watkins (nee Bebington) (Leander) 7:38.43
10. Ro Bradbury (Jesus College) 7:38.92
MEN
Pair
1. Andrew Triggs Hodge/Peter Reed (Molesey/Leander) 6:14.82
2. Alex Gregory/Alex Partridge (Reading Uni/Leander) 6;20.37
3. James Clarke/Nathaniel Reilly O’Donnell (London/Uni of London) 6:25.34
4. Frederick GIll/George Nash (Cambridge Uni) 6:25.40
5. Tom James/Tom Solesbury (Molesey) 6:27.62
6. Richard Egington/Tom Wilkinson (Leander) 6:28.17
7. Scott Durant/Karl Hudspith (Oxford Brookes Uni) 6:30.46
8. Ben Smith/Charles Burkitt (Molesey/OUBC) 6:31.27
9. James Foad/Mo Sbihi (Molesey) 6:31.45
10. Christopher Abraham/Matt Tarrant (Oxford Brookes Uni) 6:31.94
Single scull
1. Alan Campbell (Tideway Scullers) 6:41.42
2. Marcus Bateman (Leander) 6:43.28
3. Matt Wells (Leander) 6:44.56
4. Charles Cousins (Reading Uni) 6:45.79
5. Matt Langridge (Leander) 6:50.63
6. Greg Searle (Molesey) 6:52.74
7. Sam Townsend (Reading Uni) 6:53.18
8. Brendan Crean (Agecroft) 6:55.08
9. David Read (Leander) 6:55.75
10. Henry Pell (Cambridge Uni) 7:00.27
LIGHTWEIGHT
WOMEN
Single scull
1. Andrea Dennis (Reading Uni) 7:34.72
2. Hester Goodsell (Reading Uni) 7:35.68
3. Sophie Hosking (London) 7:39.01
4. Jane Hall (Leander) 7:47.25
5. Elaine Johnstone (Tideway Scullers) 7:49.94
6. Steph Cullen (London) 7:51.63
7. Chloe Aitken (Mortlake Anglian & Alpha) 7:51.96
8. Ruth Sander (Mortlake Anglian & Alpha) 7:53.74
9. Kelly Limond (Strathclyde Park) 7:53.93
10.Katherine Copeland (Oxford Uni) 7:58.27
MEN
Single scull
1. Zac Purchase (Marlow) 6;55.91
2. Adam Freeman-Pask (Imperial College) 6:57.63
3. Richard Chambers (Leander) 6:58.34
4. Chris Boddy (Leander) 6:58.34
5. Bob Hewitt (Leander) 6:59.91
6. Jamie Watson (Durham Uni) 7:00.87
7. Ben Rowe (Tees) 7:01.46
8. William Fletcher (Durham Uni) 7:01.71
9. Peter Chambers (Oxford Brookes) 7:01.93
10.Sam Scrimgeour (Glasgow/Strathclyde Uni) 7:02.75
