Seven medal tally is best yet for GB Rowing Team

David Jones, Jono Clegg, Will Fletcher and Jamie Kirkwood are World U23 Champions after taking lightweight men’s four gold in Brest, Belarus, this afternoon in a time of 6:22.62

The GB Rowing Team finished the day with six medals in total – a gold, three silvers and two bronzes to add to yesterday’s bronze in the men’s coxed four.

The seven-boat medal tally means that 29 medallists will return to the UK tonight in an overall team performance described by GB Rowing Team Performance Director, David Tanner, as the “best yet”.

All the men’s open sweep and lightweight boats won a medal. “The step up this year is that we have been contending for the top medals in six boats”, said Tanner.

“I’m really pleased indeed”, he added. “It augurs well for the future.  This event is in its fourth year as an official world championships and, in my opinion, the standard has risen every year”.

The GB Rowing Team’s men’s four found exactly that in taking silver in their event today. They held off Australia by mere hundredths at the line with  three of the Antipodeans having won senior world cup gold last month in Munich.  Italy were the winners.

Britain added another silver in the afternoon from Kieren Emery – racing at this regatta for the first time as a lightweight – and Ben Rowe in the lightweight men’s double scull.

And the men’s eight rounded off the day’s programme by taking a bronze behind Germany and the USA.

In the morning session the first medal of the day, a silver, went to Peter Chambers in the lightweight men’s single scull after a tough battle at the head of the field with the reigning champion from Iran.

The lightweight men’s quadruple scull added a bronze with the lightweight women’s double scull finishing sixth.

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RACE REPORTS

The GB Rowing Team’s lightweight men’s four timed their final to perfection today. They were third behind Italy and the USA in the first quarter and moved up behind Italy to second pace at halfway. With 500m to go they had hit the front and stayed their to win in 6:22.62.

Their victory was amongst a foursome of lightweight men’s podium finishes.

Peter Chambers knew that Iran’s Mohsen Shadi Naghadeh, the reigning world U23 champion, would be the toughest opposition to his hopes of gold today in the lightweight men’s single scull final. 

The Iraqi was first to the 500m timing point and never relinquished the lead. By halfway Chambers – whose brother Richard was 2007 world champion in the lightweight men’s four – was a second and a half down. The margin at the finish was the same with Brazil’s Allson Silva taking bronze.

Earlier the lightweight men’s double scull took a strong silver when they came second to  Greece but beat Denmark.  Kieren Emery
has gone down to lightweight this season and raced with Ben Rowe in Brest.  The duo were third at 500m but moved up to second for the remainder of the race.

The GB Rowing Team’s lightweight men’s quadruple scull also made the podium in Belarus,  taking bronze behind Germany and Ireland.

The British quartet of Zak Lee-Green, Sam Scrimgeour, Jamie Watson and Carl Delaney were fifth in the early part of the race and gradually made their way back up the field to overhaul Italy by just under a second.

Kat Copeland, a former world junior single scull finalist, has teamed up in Belarus with Charlotte Burgess.  They reached the final of the lightweight women’s double scull with a third place in the semi-finals. As such, today’s final was predicted to be tough for the duo who eventually finished sixth after tussling for a while with Sweden in the early part of the race.  Greece took gold in a tight race with  New Zealand in silver with Germany some way behind to take bronze.

The British men’s four knew that their final today would be a close call with opposition likely to come from Australia – whose quartet were world cup winners in Munich earlier this year – Italy and the Czech Republic.

In the end, Italy got a good start, established a lead and held onto win in 6:06.80.

Nathaniel Reilly-O’Donnell, Constantine Louloudis Matthew Rossiter and George Nash pulled themselves past Australia at 1500m and had enough to hold the Antipodeans off in a very close fight to the line.

In the last race of the Championships, the British men’s eight made a good start. They were up with  the leaders by 250m gone and were third by mere hundredths at the 500m to Germany, the leaders, and the USA in second.

As the race moved to the halfway point, Great Britain were still third but the USA had taken the lead.  Holland were fourth – two seconds behind GB.

With 500m to go, the British were still holding third but Poland were coming up on the inside to take over fourth from Holland and Germany had taken the lead again.

At the line the British had enough to hold off Poland and take bronze in 5:49.75.Germany took gold and the USA silver. 

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RESULTS
(Events featuring GB crews only.  Full results
at www.worldrowing.com)

A FINALS

OPEN

MEN

Four

1.  Italy 6:06.80
2.  Nathaniel Reilly-O’Donnell/Matthew Rossiter/George Nash/Constantine
     Louloudis (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:08.48
3.  Australia 6:08.55
4.  Czech Republic 6:09.80
5.  Spain 6:15.86
6.  Germany 6:19.40

Eight

1. Germany 5:44.78
2.  USA 5:47.48
3. Karl Hudspith/Will Satch/Matt Tarrant/Calum Wright/Frazer Brent/
     Scott Durant/Anthony Locke/Michael Evans/Henry Fieldman
     (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:5:49.75
4.  Poland 5:55.76
5.  Czech Republic 5:57.53
6.  Netherlands 5:58.53

LIGHTWEIGHT

WOMEN

Double scull

1.  Greece 7:28.71
2.  New Zealand 7:30.95
3.  Germany 7:36.90
4.  Sweden 7:41.33
5.  Canada 7:43.23
6.  Kat Copeland/Charlotte Burgess (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:47.81

MEN

Four

1.  David Jones/Jono Clegg/Will Fletcher/Jamie Kirkwood (GREAT
     BRITAIN) 6:22.62
2.  Italy 6:23.86
3.  USA 6:24.70
4.  Denmark 6:28.57
5.  Germany 6:33.44
6.  New Zealand 6:36.30

Single scull

1.  Iran 7:17.93
2.  Peter Chambers (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:19.59
3.  Brazil 7:23.38
4.  France 7:23.78
5.  Germany 7:25.65
6.  Belgium 7:26.17

Double scull

1.  Greece 6:42.78
2.  Ben Rowe/Kieren Emery (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:42.78
3.  Denmark 6:45.21
4.  Germany 6:45.85
5.  Spain 6:52.94
6.  Azerbajan 6:57.44

Quadruple scull

1.  Germany 6:14.07
2.  Ireland 6:15.86
3.  Zak Lee-Green/Sam Scrimgeour/Jamie Watson/Carl Delaney
     (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:20.06
4.  Italy 6:20.74
5.  France 6:23.26
6.  Greece 6:24.45

B Finals

OPEN

WOMEN

Single scull

1.  Serbia 8:15.26
2.  Netherlands 8:15.58
3.  Ireland 8:16.60
4.  Czech Republic 8:21.18
5.  Ro Bradbury (GREAT BRITAIN) 8:22.56
6.  Spain 8:33.38

MEN

Quadruple scull

1.  Italy 6:08.22
2.  Austria 6:10.09
3.  John Collins/Jonathan Walton/Nicholas Middleton/Jack
     Hockley (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:11.21
4.  USA 6:13.52
5.  Germany 6:13.99
6.  Slovenia 6:19.69

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GB ROWING TEAM ENTRIES
World U23 Championships, Brest, Belarus
22-25 July, 2009
(listed from bow to stroke with club/home town/d.o.b.)

OPEN

WOMEN

Four

Jenny Arnold (Durham University/Wargrave/6.2.90)/
Monica Relph(Nottingham RC/Cambridge/15.1.88)/
Lottie Howard-Merrill (Sport Imperial/Oxford/15.11.89)/
Polly Swann (Glasgow RC/Edinburgh/6.5.88)

Coach:  Neasa Folan

Single scull

Rosamund Bradbury (Jesus College/Banstead/17.12.88)

Quadruple scull

Ruth Walczak (Molesey BC/Rochdale/15.9.88)/
Georgie Hazell (Reading Uni/Hook, Hants/2.12.88)/
Vicki Meyer-Laker (Nottingham RC/Insch, Aberdeenshire/18.3.88)/
Rachel Gamble-Flint (Yarm School/Darlington/13.9.91)

Coach: Nick Strange

MEN

Four

Nathaniel Reilly-O’Donnell (Uni of London/Durham/13.4.88)/
Matthew Rossiter (Durham Uni/Newbury/25.9.89)/
George Nash (Cambridge Uni/Guildford/2.10.89)/
Constantine Louloudis (Eton College/London/15.9.91)

Coach: Chris Collerton

Eight

Karl Hudspith (Oxford Brookes Uni/Twickenham/31.3.88)/
Will Satch (Leander/Henley-on-Thames/9.6.89)/
Matthew Tarrant (Oxford Brookes Uni/Shepperton/11.7.90)/
Calum Wright (Molesey BC/Esher, Surrey/10.2.89)/
Frazer Brent (Molesey BC/Cobham, Surrey/23.12.88)/
Scott Durant (Oxford Brookes Uni/Lancaster/12.2.98)/
Anthony Locke (Leander & Harvard/Newbridge, I.O.W/30.10.88)/
Mike Evans (Princeton &Leander/23.8.90)/
Henry Fieldman (cox) (Imperial College/Barnes, London/25.11.88)

Coach: Henry Baillhache-Webb

Coxed four

Andrew Holmes (Molesey BC/Lochwinnoch/4.10.91)/
Tom Clark (Leander/Worcester/28.1.89)/
Ertan Hazine (Wallingford/Maidenhead/1.8.91)/
Patrick Lapage (Harvard/16.7.90)/
Max Gander (cox) (Uni of London/Oxford/26.1.90)

Coach:  Ben Lewis

Quadruple scull

John Collins (Reading Uni/24.1.89)/
Jonny Walton (Loughborough Uni/Leicester/6.10.90)/
Nick Middleton (Leander/12.8.88)/
Jack Hockley(Leander/High Wycombe/5.10.89)

Coach: Paul Stannard

LIGHTWEIGHT

WOMEN

Double scull

Katherine Copeland (Uni of London/Stockton-on-Tees/1.12.90)/
Charlotte Burgess (Reading Uni/Bedford/25.6.90)

Coach: Eira Parry

MEN

Single scull

Peter Chambers (Oxford Brookes/Coleraine/14.3.90)

Coach:  Pete Sheppard

Double scull

Ben Rowe (Tees RC/Middlesbrough/5.11.88)/
Kieren Emery (Leander/Newcastle-upon-Tyne/1.6.90)

Coach:  James Harris

Four

David Jones (Leander/Maidenhead/8.7.88)/
Jono Clegg (Leander/Maidenhead/14.7.89)/
Will Fletcher (Durham Uni/Chester-le-Street/24.12.89)/
Jamie Kirkwood (Imperial College/Northumberland/30.8.89)

Coach: Rob Dauncey

Quadruple scull

Zak Lee-Green (Agecroft RC/Cardiff/5.2.91)/
Sam Scrimgeour (Glasgow RC/Forfar, Angus/28.1.88)/
Jamie Watson (Durham Uni/Windsor/18.7.88)/
Carl Delaney (Nottingham RC/Wallingford/7.3.88)

Coach: Steve Trapmore

Support Team

Steve Gunn, Team Manager
Peter Sheppard, Chief Coach U23 & Juniors
Michelle Earby, Doctor
Abbie Turner, Physio
Andy Knee-Robinson, Equipment manager
Dez Atkins, Driver