Hodge and Reed Win Men’s Pairs Trial – Grainger, Wells and Casey Win Singles Tests

Andy Hodge and Peter Reed won the third GB Winter Assessment trials on a 5km course at Boston, Lincolnshire, yesterday in a time of 17:35.19.

The duo – half of last year’s Camelot-backed world champion men’s four – were 13 seconds ahead of their nearest challengers, Tom Stallard and Josh West, in the men’s pair event.

Tom Parker and Colin Smith of Oxford University’s current Boat Race squad were third in 17:58.72.

Leander’s Steve Williams and Alex Partridge, also part of the world champion men’s four last season, did not have the best of days. They came home sixth in 18:10.37.

Katherine Grainger was again dominant in the women’s single scull trial. The twice World Champion won in a time of 20:19.72. Debbie Flood, Olympic silver medallist in Athens, signalled her good winter of training so far to finish second in 20:22.04 – ten seconds ahead of Frances Houghton, also an Olympic silver medallist and world champion.

Anna Bebington produced the headline performance of the day, though.  The emerging rower who is a graduate of Sport England’s lottery funded world class start programme was fourth, just over a second behind Houghton.

The lightweight men’s single scull title fell once again to Mark Hunter.  He was pushed close by veteran Tim Male, though, with less than a second splitting the two.

Helen Casey overturned the previous trial result to beat Hester Goodsell, the world U23 champion in 20:50.53 in the lightweight women’s scull.

Matt Wells won the men’s single scull title in an event from which Alan Campbell and Stephen Rowbotham were forced to withdraw at short notice due to illness.

"Andy Hodge and Peter Reed produced a good result and the trials were generally a success. They were raced in good conditions and in fine weather", said GB Performance Director David Tanner afterwards of an event which had to be abandoned this time last year because of high winds.

Full results can be found on the Boston Rowing Club website which is: www.bostonrowingclub.btinternet.co.uk