Battle for places hots up

The battle for places in the lead men’s open-weight boat will hot up this weekend when the GB Rowing Senior Trials take place in Hazewinkel, Belgium, on March 9 and 10th.

Andy Hodge (pictured) and Peter Reed defend their men’s pair title and will face challenges from their Camelot-sponsored men’s four colleagues Steve Williams, racing with Matt Langridge, and Alex Partridge, racing with Rick Egington.

Colin Smith, winner of a world bronze with Matt Langridge last year, and Tom James, a world finalist with Smith in 2006, will also be a pair to watch. They are fabled "boat-movers" and came second to Hodge and Reed at the last Winter Assessment Trials over 5km in Boston.

Similar and intense rivalry is also expected at the top of the lightweight men’s single scull event with only six Olympic places available. Siemens-backed world lightweight men’s four champions – from the sweep oar squad –  James Clarke, James Lindsay-Fynn, Paul Mattick and Richard Chambers are all competing. It will be interesting to see if any can push sculler Mark Hunter, winner of a bronze in the lightweight double scull at last year’s worlds.  Only Zac Purchase, the former U23 world single scull champion, is missing as he is still recovering from a winter training injury.

The top open-weight women will compete in Belgium in single sculls.  Katherine Grainger is the defending champion and with Sarah Winckless returning to the sport after a year-long absence through injury there are now five world champions – Grainger, Winckless, Fran Houghton, Debbie Flood and Annie Vernon –  amongst those vying for places in headline boats this season. Olympic medalist Elise Laverick is also in the frame. Only Anna Bebington, from the top sculling group, is missing through injury in Belgium.

Alan Campbell, winner of world cup medals last year in the men’s single scull will start favourite to win the open-weight men’s single scull title. Victory would bring up his hat-trick. Stephen Rowbotham, 2006 world double scull medallist, could be his main challenger after Matt Wells withdrew with an injury.

Helen Casey, Hester Goodsell, Jane Hall, Sophie Hosking and Andrea Dennis should be among the leading contenders for the women’s lightweight single scull.

GB’s selectors will take results at these trials into account when selecting their squad for the forthcoming season.

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*CAMELOT is the lead sponsor of GB Rowing
(as such they currently sponsor the men’s four and the women’s quadruple scull)

*SIEMENS is the high performance partner of the GB Rowing Team
(as such they currently sponsor the men’s and women’s single and double sculls, pair and eight as well as the lightweight men’s and women’s double sculls, the lightweight men’s four and all the adaptive boats)

*GB Rowing  is LOTTERY FUNDED  through UK Sport

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ENTRY LIST

OPEN

WOMEN

Pair

Alice Freeman (Wallingford RC)/Carla Ashford (Ox Brookes)
Rachel Loveridge (Leander Club)/Jo Cook (Leander Club)
Baz Moffat (Thames RC)/Louisa Reeve (Leander Club)
Vicky Myers (Leander Club)/Emma Windham (Leander Club)
Lindsay Maguire (Wallingford RC)/Briony Cavell (Wallingford RC)

Single scull

Vicky Etiebet (Uni of London)
Debbie Flood (Leander Club)
Katherine Grainger (St Andrew BC)
Frances Houghton (Uni of London BC)
Elise Laverick (Thames RC)
Beth Rodford (Thames RC)
Louisa Rowbotham (Leander Club)
Florence Temple (Thames RC)
Annie Vernon (Marlow)
Sarah Winckless (Walbrook CC)
Olivia Whitlam (Agecroft RC)
Sarah Cowburn (Worcester RC)
Atlanta St John (Wallingford RC)
Tina Stiller (Wallingford RC)
Ruth Walczak (Uni or London BC)

MEN

Single scull

Alan Campbell (Tideway Scullers)
Brendan Crean (Agecroft)
Simon Fieldhouse (Molesey BC)
Toby Garbett (Leander Club)
Alex Gregory (Reading Uni)
Oli Moore (Oxford Uni)
Steve Rowbotham (Leander Club)
Sam Townsend (Reading Uni)
Kieran West (Molesey BC)
Bill Lucas (Reading Uni)

Pair

Peter Reed  (Leander Club)/Andy Hodge (Molesey)
Colin Smith (Leander Club)/Tom James (Molesey)
Steve Williams (Leander Club)/Matt Langridge (Leander Club)
Alex Partridge (Leander Club)/Rick Egington (Leander Club)
Alastair Heathcote (Army RC)/Josh West (Leander Club)
Robin Bourne-Taylor (Army BC) / Tom Stallard (Leander Club)
Tom Solesbury (Molesey)/Tom Parker (Ox Brookes)
Marcus Bateman (Leander Club)/Tom Lucy (Ox Brookes)
James Orme (Leander Club)/Ian Lawson (Leander Club)
Dan Ritchie (Reading Uni)/Mohamed Sbihi (Molesey)
Will Laughton (Imperial)/Cameron Nichol (Uni of London)
Tom Broadway (Leander Club)/Tom Burton (Leander Club)
George Laughton (Leander Club)/Henry Palmer (Leander Club)
Tom Wilkinson (Leander Club)/Colin Williamson (Leander Club)

LIGHTWEIGHTS

WOMEN

Single scull

Helen Casey (Wallingford)
Andrea Dennis (Wallingford)
Hester Goodsell (Reading Uni)
Laura Greenhalgh (Reading Uni)
Jane Hall (Leander Club)
Sophie Hosking (London RC)
Elaine Johnstone (Tideway Scullers)
Deborah Mallinson (Mortlake Anglian & Alpha)
Anna Townsend (Mortlake Anglian & Alpha)
Frances Fletcher (Durham Uni)
Emma Steel (Durham Uni)

MEN

Single scull

Matt Beechey (Leander Club)
Richard Chambers (Ox Brookes)
James Clarke (London)
Andrew Dax (Leander Club)
Stephen Feeney (London)
Adam Freeman-Pask (Imperial)
Danny Harte (London)
Mark Hunter (Leander Club)
Ross Hunter (Leander Club)
Simon Jones (Leander Club)
Paul Keane (Walton RC)
Alasdair Leighton-Crawford (Tideway Scullers)
James Lindsay-Fynn (London)
Oli Mahony (London)
Paul Mattick (Wallingford)
Rob Williams (London)
Alex Woods (Wallingford)
 
Coxes

Acer Nethercott (Bosporous BC)
Phelan Hill (Leander Club)
Caroline O’Connor (Oxford Brookes)
Seb Tjornelund (Bristol Uni)
Zoe De Toledo (Leander Club)