GB set for biggest world cup yet

GB Rowing will this weekend participate in the biggest world cup regatta to date with over 800 rowers, in 370 boats from 54 nations due to take part in Munich from tomorrow (Thursday) to Sunday (11th).

GB’s world champion women’s quadruple scull will return to the water on which they won their third world championships title since 2005 last August. The Camelot-backed quartet of Katherine Grainger, Fran Houghton, Debbie Flood and Annie Vernon could find that Germany and China – the latter with two entries here – could be their main contenders.

There are 18 crews vying for honours in the lightweight men’s four event – in which GB also took world championships gold last year. The Siemens-sponsord combination of James Clarke, James Lindsay-Fynn, Paul Mattick and Richard Chambers have drawn Poland, Austria, Spain, Serbia and China in their opening heat tomorrow afternoon.

Britain’s other lightweight 2007 world medallists – Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter in the double scull – face heats, quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals here, should they progress, because there are 29 entries in this hotly-contested event.

Equally, open weight single sculler Alan Campbell has a not inconsiderable task ahead from amongst a field of 37 boats competing in nine opening heats tomorrow. He will be looking to build on last season which saw him win world cup medals and finish fourth in the world championships final. Charles Cousins, a graduate of the ARA’s World Class Start programme, sponsored by Siemens, has moved up from the U23 squad this season to race in this event.

Men’s open weight double scullers Matt Wells and Stephen Rowbotham were also fourth on the Munich water at last year’s world championships but bronze medallists the year before. They take on Italy, Germany and Poland in tomorrow’s heats.

Meanwhile, the GB men’s four – world champions in 2005 and 2006 and fourth in 2007 – have been foiled by injury. Tom James has picked up a slight strain and has been replaced by emerging talent Tom Lucy who last year rowed in the world champs bronze medal-winning men’s eight with James.

Tina Stiller, who moves up from U23 level to the senior squad, will open the Olympic classes programme for GB tomorrow in the women’s open single scull. She should have been joined in the event by Anna Bebington who has been withdrawn on the eve of the regatta because she is not quite 100% race-fit after recent illness.

Elise Laverick and Sarah Winckless renew the partnership here that saw the duo win Olympic bronze for GB in 2004 in the open women’s double scull.

Baz Moffat and Georgina Menheneott race here in the women’s pair – an event in which GB has not yet qualified for the Olympic Games whilst Sam Townsend, Alex Gregory, Simon Fieldhouse and Bill Lucas take on the field in the open men’s quadruple scull. Their aim this season will also be to qualify for Beijing via the final qualifying regatta in June in Poznan, Poland.

GB has two lightweight women’s double scull boats in action in Munich in the afternoon heats session, featuring Helen Casey and Hester Goodsell and Sophie Hosking and Laura Greenhalgh. This sculling group includes single scullers Andrea Dennis and Mathilde Pauls who, somewhat cruelly, have been thrown against each other in lanes one and two of heat two tomorrow morning by this afternoon’s draw.

GB’s two eights, like the women’s quadruple scull, have their opening heats on Friday as do Matt Beechey and Rob Williams in the non-Olympic lightweight men’s pair.

The two GB eights were both bronze medallists here at the world championships in 2007 – after both experiencing roller-coaster seasons. The women’s eight has a last-minute crew change with another talented former U23 athlete, Olivia Whitlam, stepping in to replace the injured Natasha Howard. The men’s eight will be stroked here by Colin Smith who won world world championships bronze in the men’s pair last August with Matt Langridge who has also moved into the eight.

Marcus Bateman and Toby Garbett are GB’s leading men’s pair here in a crew which blends the experience of former world senior medallist Garbett with the youth of Bateman. Tom Parker and Tom Burton are also competing in this event but GB has withdrawn the pairing which was to feature Tom Lucy because of his move up to the men’s four.

Full results: www.worldrowing.com
BBC Coverage: Sunday’s finals will be live on interactive, highlights package from 3-4pm (UK Time) on Sunday.

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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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GB CREW LISTS (with clubs/home towns/dates of birth)
Munich World Cup 2008

OPEN

WOMEN

Pair

Baz Moffat (Thames RC/Bradford/08.04.78)/Georgina Menheneott
(Mortlake, Anglian & Alpha RC/North Bradley, Wilts/18.12.78)

Eight

Alice Freeman (Wallingford RC/Oxford/06.09.78)/Carla Ashford (Oxford
Brookes BC/Northallerton/13.03.79)/Olivia Whitlam /Louisa Reeve (Leander/London/16.05.84)/
Beth Rodford (Thames RC/Burton-on-Trent/ 28.12.82)/Natasha Page
(Reading Uni/Hartpury/30.04.85)/Katie Greves (Leander Club/Oxford/
02.09.82)/Jess Eddie (Uni of London/Durham/07.10.84)/
Caroline O’Connor (Oxford Brookes/Ealing/25.04.83) (cox)

Coach: John Keogh

Single scull

Tina Stiller (Wallingford RC/Yarm, N.Yorks/23.6.87)

Coach: Miles Forbes-Thomas

Double scull

Elise Laverick (Thames RC/Poling, W.Sussex/27.07.75)/Sarah
Winckless (Walbrook & Royal/Henley/18.10.73)

Coach: Miles Forbes Thomas

Quadruple scull

Annie Vernon (Marlow RC/Wadebridge/01.09.82)/Debbie Flood
(Leander Club/Leeds/27.02.80)/Frances Houghton
(Tyrian Club (Uni of London)/Oxford/19.09.80)/Katherine Grainger
(St Andrews BC/Aberdeen/12.11.75)

Coach: Paul Thompson

MEN

Pair (two boats)

Toby Garbett (Leander Club/Woking, Surrey/14.11.76)/Marcus Bateman (Leander Club/Torquay/16.09.82)

Tom Parker (Oxford Brookes/Winchester/24.10.82)/Tom Burton

Spare: Oli Moore (OUBC/Burford/22.12.85)

Coach: Jonny Singfield

Four

Tom Lucy (Oxford Brookes/Monmouth/01.05.88)/Steve Williams (Leander
Club/Cheltenham/15.04.76)/Peter Reed (Leander Club/Nailsworth,
Glos/27.07.81)/Andy Triggs Hodge (Molesey BC/Hebden,
N.Yorks/03.03.79)

Coach: Jurgen Grobler

Eight

Alex Partridge (Leander Club/Alton, Hants/25.01.81)/
Tom Stallard (Leander/Welwyn, Herts/11.09.78)/
Matt Langridge(Leander Club/Northwich/20.05.83)/
Tom Solesbury (Molesey BC/Petts Wood, Kent/23.09.80)/
Josh West (Leander/Santa Fe, USA/25.03.77)/
Richard Egington (Leander/Knutsford/26.02.79)/
Robin Bourne-Taylor (Army RC/Oxford/22.07.81)/
Colin Smith (Leander/Henley on Thames/23.09.83)/
Acer Nethercott (University College Oxford BC/Harlow/28.11.77)
(cox)

Coaches: Mark Banks, John West

Single Scull (two boats)

Alan Campbell (Tideway Scullers/Coleraine/09.05.83)

Charles Cousins (Reading Uni/Cambridge/13.12.88)

Coach: Bill Barry

Double Scull

Matt Wells (Leander Club/Hexham, Northumberland/19.04.79)/
Stephen Rowbotham (Leander Club/Winscombe, Somerset/11.11.81)

Coach: Mark Earnshaw

Quadruple scull

Simon Fieldhouse (Molesey/Thames Ditton/04.09.76)/Sam Townsend
(Reading Uni/Reading/26.11.85)/Alex Gregory (Reading Uni/
Wormington/11.03.84)/Bill Lucas (Reading Uni/Dartmouth/13.09.87)

Coach: Adrian Cassidy

LIGHTWEIGHT

WOMEN

Single scull (two boats)

Andrea Dennis (Wallingford RC/Oxford/03.01.82)

Mathilde Pauls (Imperial College BC/Berlin & Putney/26.09.83)

Coach: Karl Offord

Double scull (two boats)

Helen Casey (Wallingford RC/Oxford/06.02.74)/
Hester Goodsell (Reading Uni/Cambridge/27.06.84)

Sophie Hosking (London RC/Wimbledon/25.01.86)/Laura
Greenhalgh (Reading Uni/Oxford/02.09.85)

Coach: Rob Morgan

MEN

Pair

Matt Beechey (Leander/Worcester/4.3.77)/Rob Williams (London
RC/Maidenhead/21.01.85)

Coach: Paul Reedy

Four

Richard Chambers (Oxford Brookes/Coleraine/10.06.85)/
James Lindsay-Fynn (London/Trim/29.09.75)/Paul Mattick
(Wallingford/Oxford/25.04.78)/James Clarke (London RC/
London/31.12.84)

Coach: Robin Williams

Double scull

Zac Purchase (Marlow RC/Tewkesbury, Glos/02.05.86)/
Mark Hunter (Leander Club/Romford, Essex/01.07.78)

Coach: Darren Whiter