GB Rowing Team Trials: Day one report and results

Day one of the GB Rowing Team Senior, U23 and FISU Trials saw the time trials and semi-finals ahead of the finals showdowns on Sunday


Felix Drinkall and Ollie Cook at the 2018 GB Rowing Team Senior, U23 & FISU Trials (Naomi Baker)

Rowers from across the United Kingdom gathered at the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake in Caversham for the 2018 GB Rowing Team Senior, U23 & FISU Trials. Saturday’s racing comprised of a 1,900m time trial in the morning to determine the seedings for the afternoon’s semi-finals, which took the form of 2,000m side-by-side racing.

1,900m time trial
After a minor delay to racing to allow the mist on the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake to clear, the time trials started in rapid fashion.

Alan Sinclair and Mat Tarrant set the fastest time (6:15.01) in the men’s pair, finishing just three tenths of a second ahead of Felix Drinkall and Ollie Cook. Tom Ford and James Johnston rounded out the top three, crossing the line three seconds slower in a time of 6:18.27.

Anastasia Chitty and Rebecca Girling followed up their strong showing at the 3rd Assessment in Boston by setting the fastest time in the women’s pair (7:03.03), edging out Katherine Douglas and Fiona Gammond by less than a second.

World Championships single scull medallists Vicky Thornley and Tom Barras lit up their respective classifications; Thornley leading by over seven seconds (7:19.54) and Barras by nearly three (6:37.93) over their nearest challengers Zoe Lee and John Collins.

Edinburgh University duo James Temple (6:53.78) and Gavin Horsburgh (6:53.80) were separated by just two hundredths of a second in the lightweight men’s single, while Emily Craig (7:34.57) led Ellie Lewis by nearly two seconds in the lightweight women’s classification.

The top 12 in each classification qualified for the A/B semi-finals.

Sinclair and Tarrant continued their good start by winning their semi-final to guarantee themselves a place in Sunday’s final. They edged Leander duo Harry Glenister and George Rossiter, with James Rudkin and Josh Bugajski taking third.

Drinkall and Cook also continued strongly, leading Tim Clarke and Ross Jarvis by half a length, with Ford and Johnston taking the third qualifying place.

Winning the time trial also set Chitty and Girling in good stead as they won their semi ahead of the pairings of Jo Wratten and Holly Norton, and Rowan McKellar and Becca Chin.

Karen Bennett and Rebecca Shorten finished half a length ahead of Douglas and Gammond in the other semi, with Caragh McMurtry and Sara Parfett completing the A final lineup.

Two stacked semi-finals in the men’s singles scull meant that places in the A final were at a premium, with Barras and Collins taking the wins in each race. Jonny Walton, Graeme Thomas, Angus Groom and Harry Leask also sealed their places in Sunday’s final.

Lee and Thornley rowed to victory in the women’s single scull semis to set up a fascinating Sunday showdown. Lucy Glover, GB Rowing Team’s development rower of the year in 2017, finished second to Thornley, with Alice Baatz, Melissa Wilson and Georgina Brayshaw all going through to the final.

Emily Craig had clear water between her and Gemma Hall in the second lightweight women’s semi-final, laying a marker down for Sunday’s final. Tideway Scullers’ Fran Rawlins crossed the line a second ahead of Cambridge University’s Imogen Grant in the first semi, with Ellie Lewis and Maddie Arlett rounding out the final.

World Championships lightweight double scull pairing Sam Mottram and Jamie Copus won a semi-final each. Zak Lee-Green and Gavin Horsburgh, who won silver in the lightweight quad in Sarasota-Bradenton finished second, with Jonathan Jackson and Temple taking third.

Sunday’s racing gets underway at 9am. Follow British Rowing on social media to get all the results first.


Time Trial

M2- | W2- | M1x | W1x | LM1x | LW1x

A/B semi-finals

M2- (full results)

Semi-final 1
1. Felix Drinkall (Oxford Univ BC) / Oliver Cook (Univ of London BC), 6:40.15
2. Ross Jarvis (Leander Club) / Tim Clarke (Leander Club), 6:41.59
3. Thomas Ford (Leander Club) / James Johnston (Leander), 6:44.04

Semi-final 2
1. Alan Sinclair (Leander Club) / Mat Tarrant (Oxford Brookes Univ BC), 6:38.21
2. Harry Glenister (Leander Club) / George Rossiter (Leander Club), 6:39.78
3. James Rudkin (Newcastle Univ BC) / Joshua Bugajski (Oxford Univ BC), 6:39.97

W2- (full results)

Semi-final 1
1. Karen Bennett (Leander Club) / Rebecca Shorten (Imperial Coll BC), 7:25.89
2. Katherine Douglas (Leander Club) / Fiona Gammond (Leander Club), 7:27.04
3. Caragh McMurtry (Southampton Coalporters ARC) / Sara Parfett (Univ London BC), 7:28.61

Semi-final 2
1. Anastasia Chitty (Leander Club) / Rebecca Girling (Molesey BC), 7:27.70
2. Holly Norton (Leander Club) / Josephine Wratten (Leander Club), 7:33.67
3. Rowan McKellar (Leander Club) / Rebecca Chin (Agecroft), 7:37.78

M1x (full results)

Semi-final 1
1. John Collins (Leander Club), 6:55.61
2. Jonny Walton (Leander Club), 6:57.47
3. Harry Leask (Leander Club), 6:58.41

Semi-final 2
1. Tom Barras (Leander Club), 6:51.44
2. Graeme Thomas (Agecroft RC), 6:52.75
3. Angus Groom (Leander Club), 6:53.31

W1x (full results)

Semi-final 1
1. Zoe Lee (Imperial Coll BC), 7:47.02
2. Alice Baatz (Agecroft RC), 7:50.59
3. Melissa Wilson (Cambridge Univ Women’s BC), 7:55.55

Semi-final 2
1. Vicky Thornley (Leander Club), 7:45.41
2. Lucy Glover (Edinburgh Univ BC), 7:47.76
3. Georgina Brayshaw (Leander Club), 7:48.36

LM1x (full results)

Semi-final 1
1. Samuel Mottram (Leander Club), 7:10.02
2. Gavin Horsburgh (Edinburgh Univ BC), 7:13.08
3. Jonathan Jackson (Leander Club), 7:13.82

Semi-final 2
1. Jamie Copus (Oxford Brookes Univ BC), 7:08.88
2. Zak Lee-Green (Agecroft RC), 7:12.02
3. James Temple (Edinburgh Univ BC), 7:14.80

LW1x (full results)

Semi-final 1
1. Fran Rawlins (Tideway Scullers School), 7:52.20
2. Imogen Grant (Cambridge Univ Women’s BC), 7:53.17
3. Ellie Lewis (Wallingford RC), 7:55.68

Semi-final 2
1. Emily Craig (Univ of London BC), 7:44.97
2. Gemma Hall (Wallingford RC), 7:49.72
3. Maddie Arlett (Edinburgh Univ BC), 7:52.34


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