Next generation mixes with seasoned internationals at top of GB trials
Over 160 athletes took part in the latest open GB Rowing Team Senior, Under 23 and FISU trials in Boston on 8 February
Sarah McKay (Photo: AllMarkOne).
71 women seeking selection raced in single sculls and pairs, while 92 men competed in pairs and double sculls, with one in single sculls.
The 5k trial was compulsory for all athletes seeking selection this year, although some contenders were absent due to illness or injury.
Women’s single sculls
Sarah McKay (Leander Club/Grosvenor RC) led the field of 35 in the Women’s single sculls, ahead of 2024 Olympic quadruple sculls champion Lola Anderson (Leander Club) and 2024 Under 19 silver medalist Olivia Cheesmur (Molesey BC), who was the fastest Under 23.
Women’s pairs
The Women’s pairs trial was won by Megan Slabbert (Molesey BC) and Eleanor Brinkhoff (Leander Club). Slabbert last represented GB in 2019, when she won silver at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships. Brinkhoff competed in the Women’s four at World Cup III in 2024.
Megan Slabbert and
Eve Stewart (Leander Club) and Lauren Irwin (Leander Club/Durham University BC/Chester-le-Street ARC), who both won bronze at Paris 2024 in the Women’s eight, were second, with Juliette Perry (Leander Club/Oxford University BC) and Elizabeth Witt (Leander Club/Imperial College BC) third.
The University of London BC combo of Jessica Martin and Daisy Faithfull were the fastest Under 23 crew.
Men’s pairs
George Bourne (Cambridge University BC) and Douwe de Graaf (Cambridge University BC/ Leander Club) took victory in light blue colours. Bourne first competed for GB at senior level in 2021 and raced in the single sculls at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in 2024, while de Graaf won bronze at World Cup III in 2024 in the Men’s four.
De Graaf and Bourne (Photo: AllMarkOne).
James Robson ( Cambridge University BC / Leander Club) and Will Stewart (Leander Club/Newcastle University BC) were second with Matt Rowe (Leander Club/Oxford Brookes University BC) and David Bewicke-Copley (Oxford Brookes University BC) third.
William Morgan-Jones (Durham University BC/Hereford RC) and Charles Warren (Durham University BC/Windsorian RC) were the fastest Under 23 crew.
Men’s double sculls
Cedol Dafydd (Leander Club) and Callum Dixon (Twickenham RC) came out on top in the Men’s double sculls. Dafydd represented GB for the first time in 2024 when he raced in World Cup III, while Dixon is an established member of the GB Rowing Team, finishing fourth at Paris 2024 in the Men’s quadruple sculls.
Dixon and Dafydd (Photo: AllMarkOne).
Jamie Gare (Leander Club/City of Cambridge RC) and Tobias Schroder (Leander Club/Oxford University BC) were second, with Dixon’s 2024 crewmate Matt Haywood (Nottingham RC/Burton Leander RC) and Aidan Thompson (Twickenham RC/University of Surrey BC) third.
The fastest Under 23 was Matt Long (Reading University BC/Kingston RC), sculling with 2024 Paralympic champion Ed Fuller (Reading University BC), who was a facilitator.
Successful athletes will be invited to the next GB Rowing Team Trials, taking place in Caversham from 11-13 April.
