Cold venue for some potentially hot GB Rowing Team contests
Boston in Lincolnshire looks set to be the somewhat frigid venue for a number of hotly-contested races this Saturday (19 December) between returning Olympians and current or former world medallists when the GB Rowing Team Winter Assessment starts there at 10.30am.
Mark Hunter, winner of 2008 Olympic gold in the lightweight men’s double scull, tops the bill in the lightweight men’s list as he returns after a year of coaching in California to test himself against rowers such as Rob Williams and Paul Mattick, who raced that double scull in 2009.
Hunter will also face 2007 world lightweight men’s four champion, Richard Chambers, who missed last season through injury. Chambers’ brother Peter also races on a day when temperatures could remain below or close to freezing according to weather reports.
Many of the leading open-weight men race the trials in men’s pairs, thus pitting the 2009 Siemens-backed world champion men’s four of Alex Partridge, Alex Gregory, Ric Egington and Matt Langridge in two crews against the world men’s pair silver medallists and Olympic gold medallists Pete Reed and Andrew Triggs Hodge.
Debbie Flood and Fran Houghton, winners of women’s quadruple scull silver in Beijing in 2008, also return to the sport after a year’s break this weekend. They will compete against not only their 2008 crew-mates Katherine Grainger and Annabel Vernon but also Olympic bronze medallist and 2009 world silver medallist Anna Watkins (nee Bebington) in the women’s open-weight single scull.
This weekend’s men’s single scull event also features Sam Townsend, Bill Lucas and Charles Cousins who made such a dramatic impression with their performances as part of the men’s quadruple scull last season.
Greg Searle, winner of Olympic medals in 1992 and 1996, is attracting attention ahead of Saturday’s open weight men’s single scull race for which Alan Campbell, the 2009 World silver medallist, starts as favourite with Stephen Rowbotham, Olympic double scull bronze medallist, also a contender.
Searle, the 1992 Olympic champion, who will be 40 in 2012, is staging a come-back. He said: “I didn’t want to row in Beijing but the Olympics in London has a huge pull. At the weekend, I just want to get in the mix and maybe even get ahead of some of the current squad”
In the lightweight women’s single event, competition is likely to be fierce between a leading group including Sophie Hosking from last season’s medal-winning lightweight women’s double scull. She might well be chased by Andrea Dennis, Laura Greenhalgh, Jane Hall and Steph Cullen from the 2009 lightweight women’s quadruple scull. Hester Goodsell, who partnered Hosking in the lightweight women’s double scull has withdrawn on medical grounds.
For some of the female athletes from the Siemens-sponsored and lottery-funded Start (talent development) programme the Assessment will be a chance to prove the progress they have made in the women’s open-weight category. This group includes the Bath-based contingent of Vicky Thornley, Lucy Ryvar, Gemma Akers, Erica Bodman and Heather Stanning who have begun to make an impact in the past couple of seasons.
Tom James, Olympic champion in the four, misses the event on medical grounds as does Zac Purchase, the Olympic champion in the lightweight mens’ double scull.
RACING STARTS AT 10.30AM FOR THE OPEN-WEIGHT
BOATS AND AT 13.30 FOR THE LIGHTWEIGHT CLASSES.
SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE
=============================== ===============================
ENTRY LISTS (as at 17 December)
ENTRY LISTS
(Name/club in brackets)
OPEN
MEN
Pair
Andrew Triggs Hodge/Peter Reed (Molesey/Leander)
Alex Gregory/Alex Partridge (Reading Uni/Leander)
Richard Egington/Matt Langridge (Leander)
James Orme/Tom Solesbury (Leander/Molesey)
Tom Broadway/James Clarke (Leander/London)
Tom Burton/Cameron Nichol (Leander/Molesey)
Tom Ransley/Dan Ritchie (York City/Herne Bay)
James Foad/Nathaniel Reilly O’Donnell (Molesey/Uni of London)
Frederick GIll/George Nash (Cambridge Uni)
Ben Smith/Charles Burkitt (Molesey/OUBC)
Simon Hislop/George Whittaker (Imperial)
Alexander Holden-Smith/Pete Robinson (Molesey)
Christopher Abraham/Matt Tarrant (Oxford Brookes Uni)
Mark Roberts/Philip Williams (Tideway Scullers/Molesey)
Scott Durant/Karl Hudspith (Oxford Brookes Uni)
Constantine Louloudis/Andy Holmes (Eton College/Molesey)
Henry Goodier/Jonathan Rankin (Imperial College)
Nicholas Baker/Lewis Knollman (Oxford Brookes Uni)
Simon Steele/Rory Sullivan (Imperial College)
Frazer Brent/Daniel Cadoux-Hudson (Molesey)
Ben Bathurst/Sam Hayes (Uni of Bristol/West of England Uni)
Danny Bellion/Leo Carrington (Imperial College)
Erlan Hazine/Oliver Staite (Wallingford/Oxford Brookes Uni)
James Crumpton/Fearghus Raffery (Oxford Brookes Uni)
Miles Leavold/Thomas Plowman (Southampton Uni)
Geoffrey Reading/Alex Torbica (Uni of London)
Single scull
Alan Campbell (Tideway Scullers)
Steve Rowbotham (Leander)
Greg Searle (Molesey)
Sam Townsend (Reading Uni)
Bill Lucas (Reading Uni)
Charles Cousins (Reading Uni)
Brendan Crean (Agecroft)
Stuart Honor (Agecroft)
Alan Sinclair (Leander)
Andrew Corrigan (Newcastle Uni)
Dave Marshall (Reading Uni)
Mason Durant (Newcastle Uni)
Ian Weighell (Rhwyfo Cymru)
Matt Rossiter (Durham Uni)
Ed Ford (Newcastle Uni)
Ray Poulter (Leander)
Nick Middleton (Leander)
Henry Pelly (Cambridge Uni)
Graham Hall (Leander)
Thomas Clark (Leander)
Ben Hicks (Rob Roy)
John Collins (Reading Uni)
Jonathan Walton (Loughborough Students)
Richard Dyer (Uni of London)
Murray Wilkojc (Newcastle Uni)
Phil Turnham (Leander)
Bradley Topps (Agecroft)
William Tew (Oxford Brookes Uni)
Jack Hockley (Leander)
John Clay (Leander)
Charles Herbert (Leander)
Tom Youd (Tideway Scullers)
Christopher Rae (Clydesdale)
Ross Irvine (Clydesdale)
David Dearlove (Furnival Sculling)
John Ford (Durham Uni)
Barnaby Stentiford (Durham Uni)
Thomas Miller (Oxford Brookes Uni)
Samuel Allen (Rob Roy)
Stuart McCluskey (Durham Uni)
Pete Wells (Bryanston School)
Lee Fisher (Durham Uni)
Josh Tonnar (Isle of Ely)
Alex Tarrant (Loughborough Students)
Neil Barton (Uni of London)
Ben McCall (Durham Uni)
Daniel Ouseley (Imperial College)
Philip Congdon (Durham Uni)
Lance Tredell (Oxford Brookes Uni)
Ben McSweeney (Uni of Bristol)
James Mansfield (Uni of Birmingham)
Matthew Ballam (Reading Uni)
Mark Bowers (Newcastle Uni)
Phil Clapp (Reading Uni)
Robin Dowell (Leander)
James Dunley (Tideway Scullers)
Nathan Hillyer (Leander)
Stewart Innes (Durham Uni)
Sebastian Kouba (Leander)
Alexander Leigh (Leander)
Rory Macleod (Durham Uni)
David Read (Leander)
Tom Springbett (Leander)
Tom Wright (Newcastle Uni)
WOMEN
Single scull
Katherine Grainger (St Andrew)
Anna Watkins (nee Bebington) (Leander)
Annabel Vernon (London)
Frances Houghton (Leander)
Debbie Flood (Leander)
Beth Rodford (Gloucester)
Katie Greves (Leander)
Olivia Whitlam (Agecroft)
Louisa Reeve (Leander)
Jess Eddie (Uni of London)
Lindsey Maguire (Wallingford)
Mel Wilson (Imperial College)
Natasha Page (Reading Uni)
Alison Knowles (Thames)
Michelle Vezie (Molesey)
Francesca Sanjana (Mortlake, Anglian & Alpha)
Vicky Thornley (Minerva Bath)
Kirsty Myles (Leander)
Erica Bodman (Minerva Bath)
Lucinda Gooderham (Upper Thames)
Jenny Arnold (Durham Uni)
Emma Windham (Upper Thames)
Zoe Lee (Sport Imperial)
Anna Railton (Cambridge Uni)
Jessica Budgett (Durham Uni)
Caragh McMurtry (Coalporters)
Charlotte Thompson (Agecroft/Manchester Uni)
Karen Bennett (Clydesdale)
Sophie Theodorou (Thames)
Chloe Willis (Oxford Brookes Uni)
Lucy Walczak (Molesey)
Claire McKeown (Clydesdale)
Rebecca Chin (Royal Chester)
Joanna Fitzsimmons (Durham Uni)
Samantha Fowler (Clydesdale)
Rosie Young (Stratchclyde Park)
Ruth Carpenter (Uni of London)
Cassie Donovan (Uni of Birmingham)
Isabella Drummond (Durham Uni)
Sally Petran (Southampton Uni)
Gemma Akers (Minerva Bath)
Vicky Bryant (Leander)
Imogen Evans (Rhwyfo Cymru)
Helen Glover (Minerva Bath)
Rachael Jefferies (Leander)
Francesca Jus-Burke (Barnes Bridge Ladies)
Catherine Lineker (Nottingham)
Phoebe Lucas (Leander)
Vicky Meyer-Laker (Nottingham)
Lindsay Morton (Nottingham)
Fran Nicholl (Leander)
Monica Relph (Nottingham)
Jacqui Round (Leander)
Rebecca Sparling (Newcastle Uni)
Heather Stanning (Army/Minerva Bath)
Polly Swann (Glasgow/Edinburgh Uni)
Florence Temple (Molesey)
Ruth Walczak (Molesey)
Pippa Whittaker (Leander)
Rachel Gamble Flint (Yarm School)
Emma Young (Uni of London)
LIGHTWEIGHT
MEN
Single scull
Rob Williams (London)
Paul Mattick (Leander)
Mark Hunter (Leander)
Richard Chambers (Leander)
Stephen Feeney (London)
Adam Freeman-Pask (Imperial)
Peter Chambers (Oxford Brookes Uni)
Simon Barr (Leander)
David Jones (Leander)
John Preston (Reading Uni)
Kieren Emery (Leander)
Jonathan Clegg (Leander)
Jamie Kirkwood (Imperial/Roehampton Inst)
Charles Pittford (Granta)
Ross Hunter (Leander)
Oliver Mahony (London)
Thomas Harvey (Leander)
Joshua Butler (London RC)
Paul Keane (Furnivall Sculling)
Andrew Davies (Rhwyfo Cymru)
Harry Bond (London)
Paul Hamblett (Sudbury)
Sam Scrimgeour (Glasgow/Strathcylde Uni)
Iain Docwra (Heriot-Watt Uni)
Michael Mottram (Reading Uni)
Andrew Berridge (London)
Tom Hope (Maidenhead)
James Dodd (Durham Uni)
Alex Gillies (Imperial College)
Peter Stuart (London)
Dominic Wilson (London)
John Halsall (Upper Thames)
Alexander Woods (Wallingford)
John Hale (Granta/Cambridge Uni)
Christopher Kerr (Granta/Cambridge Uni)
Laurence Birdsey (Cardiff City/UWIC)
Ben Griffiths-Harrop (Nephthys/Oxford Uni)
Wesley Gromniak (BTC Southampton/Solent Uni)
Matthew Wright (Uni of London)
Sam Tyrrell (Windsor Boys School)
Jonathan Bale (London)
Daniel Harvey (Nephthys/Oxford Uni)
Craig Turner (Loughborough Students)
Iain Rist (Granta/Cambridge Uni)
Chris Anness (London)
George Turner (Uni of London)
Gareth Brown (Imperial College)
Alistair Chappelle (Granta/Cambridge Uni)
Guy Davis (Southampton Uni)
Jasper Warner (Rhwyfo Cymru)
Richard Watton (Nottingham Uni)
Josef Sadowski (Nephthys/Oxford Uni)
George McKirdy (Nottingham Uni)
Benjamin Gourlay (Newcastle Uni)
George Caines (Nottingham/Loughborough Uni)
Alex Cawthorne (London)
Carl Delaney (Nottingham Uni)
Richard Dunley (London)
Andy Gordon (Imperial)
Mark Jinks (Uni of Birmingham)
David Lambourn (Leander)
David Loveday (Reading Uni)
James Loveday (Reading Uni)
Thomas Pearson (Imperial College)
Thomas Pocock (West of England Uni)
Jack Thompson (West of England Uni)
Jamie Watson (Durham Uni)
David Manfield (Uni of Birmingham)
WOMEN
Single scull
Sophie Hosking (London)
Andrea Dennis (London)
Laura Greenhalgh (London)
Jane Hall (Leander)
Steph Cullen (London)
Kelly Limond (Strathclyde Park)
Anna Townsend (Mortlake Anglian & Alpha)
Nicola Spencer (Nottingham/Nottingham Trent Uni)
Chloe Aitken (Mortlake Anglian & Alpha)
Helen Ralston (Mortlake Anglian & Alpha)
Katherine Copeland (London)_
Ruth Sander (Mortlake Anglian & Alpha)
Eleanor Piggott (Osiris/Oxford Uni)
Kathryn Twyman (Oxford Uni)
Caroline Greves (Wallingford)
Beth Pascall (Nottingham Uni)
Athalie Redwood-Brown (Nottingham/Nottingham Trent Uni)
Imogen Walsh (Clyde)
Kara Wirt (Mortlake Anglian & Alpha)
