Aggar dominates to win in Italy

Paralympic and world champion Tom Aggar took victory in the men’s single scull at the Varese International Regatta, in Italy today, to start his 2010 season in style.

The Londoner fended off his team-mate Andy Houghton to win with Spain in third.

“It’s good to get the first score on the board for the season after a hard winter of training”, said Aggar.  “Conditions were a little bit tricky today but I went out hard and by 500m I’d got a reasonable lead and I just sat on it”.

Both British men will be in action in the same event again tomorrow at the double-header regatta.

Britain, meanwhile, also fielded an experimental mixed adaptive coxed four in which Kelsie Gibson and Ryan Chamberlain both made their international racing debuts.  Chamberlain flew in to replace Dave Smith, of the 2009 world medal crew, who  is out of action on medical grounds.

Whilst the GB Rowing Team quartet of Gibson, Chamberlain, James Roe and Naomi Riches, with cox Rhiannon Jones, narrowly won today’s final from Ireland in second and Italy in third, they are likely to find a repeat harder tomorrow with the Italians likely to strengthen their line-up after fielding two rookies of their own today.

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RESULTS

ADAPTIVE

MEN

Single scull

1. Tom Aggar (GREAT BRITAIN)  4:58.40
2.  Andy Houghton (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:04.00
3.  Edorta Lekuona De Anta (Spain) 5:11.80
4.  Chuvashev (Russia) 5:15.60
5.  Juan Pablo Barcia Alonso (Spain) 5:16.50
6.  Efrem Mauro Morelli (ItalyB) 5:33.10

MIXED

Coxed four

1.  Kelsie Gibson/James Roe/Ryan Chamberlain/Naomi Riches/
     Rhiannon Jones (GREAT BRITAIN) 3:34.70
2.  Ireland 3:36.50
3.  Italy 3:37.00
4.  Germany 3:43.60
5.  Russia 4:02.60
6.  RussiaB 4:03.90