Two golds and a bronze for GB Rowing Team on final day at World U23s

The GB Rowing Team won two golds in world best times and a bronze at the World U23 Championships in Amsterdam today.

Katherine Copeland took victory in the lightweight women’s single scull in the opening final of the day in 7:30.19 from Belarus.

George Nash and Constantine Louloudis, both former world junior men’s four gold medallists, followed suit two races later in 6:20.43 ahead of South Africa.

The men’s eight, stroked by Patrick Lapage, added a bronze with a storming second half performance this afternoon, bringing GB’s overall total to three golds and a bronze from the event.

“Of course I’m very pleased with the golds today and yesterday and with the men’s eight race this afternoon”, said GB Rowing Team Performance Director, David Tanner, “but this team also contains a group of rowers who finished between fourth and eighth here, who are all young and who have a bright future.  There is no doubt that we have talent for the future across all disciplines”.

Copeland led through the halfway mark, racing in lane 6 in today’s windy and difficult conditions, with the Elena Kryvasheyenka of Belarus on her inside.  Copeland went into the final having raced and beaten all bar the Belarussian in either the heats or semi-finals on the Bosbaan course.

Three-quarters into the race the British sculler, from Tees RC and part of a growing number of top rowers who are emerging from clubs and Universities in the North-East, was still leading but was being pressured by Kryvasheyenka.

Copleand had enough to hold on at the finish to win a new world best time of 7:30.19 to the Belarussian’s 7:32.65. Canada were third.

“I went out to dominate the race from the start and I just had a fantastic race”, said Copeland.

James Harris, her coach, said:  “I’m really pleased with how Kat led out from the start and showed what huge progress she’s made as a sculler and in her confidence since the beginning of the season”.

Britain’s emerging men’s pair of Constantine Louloudis and George Nash were led to the first official timing point at 500m by pre-race favourites South Africans David Hunt and Lawrence Brittain.

At 800m gone the British duo made their move and by the halfway were leading by just over a second with Romania in third.

By the 1500m point the British crew, both former world junior champions who own silver in the men’s four at U23 level last year, were three seconds up on the chasing pack and, from there, were never likely to be caught to win in 6:20.43 – another world’s best time for GB. Germany emerged behind South Africa to take the bronze.

George Nash said:  “It’s the best 2k that we’ve ever raced.  We felt really confident in the first quarter and then pushed away after halfway and I really felt we dominated the South Africans”.

Louloudis added:  “It just felt great. I’m really pleased with the race today. We’ve finished last year’s business today”.

The pair will now wait to see if they are called up as reserves to the senior team travelling to the World Championships in Bled in August (28 – September 4) which double as the Olympic qualifying regatta.

The British men’s eight overcame the weather and the Germans to take bronze in today’s final.  They were in fourth at the halfway mark in a race which was won by the USA and in which the  Czechs took silver, but found enough pace in the final 500m to overhaul Germany and take bronze.

As the crews completed the first 300m in a tightly-packed field in today’s junior men’s eight final, Great Britain were
fully in contention. The Czech Republic held a marginal lead followed by the USA and Germany. Britain, coxed by Max Gander and stroked by Lapage, were fourth – down just four tenths on Germany

The Czechs had ceded the lead to the Americans at halfway with Germany still holding third just ahead of the British boat.

The
British closed on the Germans in the final 500m and squeezed ahead to
take bronze in 5:29.15 to Germany’s 5:30.93.  Gold went to the
Americans and the Czechs took silver.

Germany led out the women’s double scull final in Amsterdam today.  The British duo of Rachel Gamble-Flint and Sarah Cowburn, who in 2009 was in the GB Rowing Team’s world senior championships quad scull, were in third place throughout the first half, battling in an un-favoured lane.  Romania were in second with Magdalena Lobnig and Lisa Farthofer of Austria challenging GB for third.

With 500m to go it looked as if the British, coached by many times lightweight rowing world medallist Jane Hall, might over-turn the form book and take bronze only to be overhauled in the final surge by the Austrians.  Germany took gold with Romania in silver.

“These two young women have put in a very creditable performance from not the best lane today and in a very strong field”, said Performance Director, Tanner.

The USA, Canada and New Zealand showed good form early in the final of the women’s eight which also featured Britain. Canada emerged after halfway to take the lead followed by New Zealand, the USA and Germany in fourth – positions that remained unchanged to the line with Canada’s win coming in a time of 6:03.23. Britain, neck and neck with the Germans earlier in the race, finished in fifth in a time of 6:19.62.

Earlier in the day the British lightweight men’s four won and Jonathan Walton, in the open single scull, and the lightweight men’s double scull were both second  in the B finals.

“The lightweight men’s four have been through a bit of a torrid patch. Today they put in a very quick time and were  dominant in winning. They have just taken too long to find their form here. Sometimes that happens in sport”, said Tanner.  “Our two “rookies” in the lightweight men’s double and our men’s single sculler have both put in very good performances, too.  This all fits in with our strategy of exposing young rowers to this level of competition”.

In yesterday’s B finals the lightweight men’s quadruple scull were also winners in a time of 5:55.87.

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

OPEN

WOMEN

Eight

1.  Canada 6:03.23
2.  New Zealand 6:06.02
3.  USA 6:07.37
4.  Germany 6:12.97
5.  Lottie Howard-Merrill/Brianna Stubbs/Caragh McMurtry/
     Olivia Oakes/Michelle Vezie/Katherine Douglas/ Karen Bennett/
     Olivia Carnegie-Brown/Charlotte Jackson (cox)  (GREAT BRITAIN)
     6:19.62

Double scull

1.  Germany 6:51.58
2.  Romania 6:54.92
3.  Austria 7:05.66
4.  Rachel Gamble-Flint/Sarah Cowburn (GREAT BRTAIN) 7:09.78
5.  Norway 7:11.28
6.  Belarus 7:12.11

MEN

Pair

1.  George Nash/Constantine Louloudis (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:20.43
2.  South Africa 6:25.58
3.  Germany 6:29.76
4.  Romania 6:35.96
5.  Argentina 6:47.36
6.  Poland 7:00.45

Eight

1. USA 5:24.31
2.  Czech Republic 5:26.21
3.  Oliver Staite/Thomas Clark/Matthew Tarrant/William Satch/
     Patrick Lapage/Michael Evans/Andrew Holmes/George Rossiter/
     Maximilian Gander (cox) (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:29.15
4.  Germany 5:30.923
5.  Poland 5:40.70
6.  Netherlands 5:45.42

LIGHTWEIGHT

WOMEN

Singe scull

1.  Katherine Copeland (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:30.19
2.  Belarus 7:32.65
3.  Canada 7:38.29
4.  Sweden 7:42.75
5.  Netherlands 7:47.98
6.  Belgium 7:49.09

B FINALS

OPEN

MEN

Single scull

1.  Azerbajan  6:54.58
2.  Jonathan Walton (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:59.76
3.  Italy 7:30.58
4.  Hungary 7:04.81
5.  USA 7:05.44
6.  Slovenia 7:35.49

LIGHTWEIGHT

MEN

Four

1.  Jonathan Clegg/John Preston/William Fletcher/Jamie Kirkwood
     (GREAT BRITAIN)  5:58.44
2.  Australia 6:04.94
3.  USA 6:06.20
4.  Canada 6:08.67
5.  Chile 6:11.50
6.  Netherlands 6:13.66

Double scull

1.  Hungary 6:24.86
2.  James Coombes/Gavin Murty (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:25.06
3.  Czech Republic 6:29.03
4.  Belgium 6:33.65
5.  Switzerland 6:33.70
6.  Portugal 6:39.68

Quadruple scull

1.  Wilf Kimberley/Zak Lee-Green/Michael Mottram/Joshua Butler
     (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:55.87
2.  Ireland 5:55.94
3.  Spain 5:59.67
4.  Netherlands 6:01.04
5.  Austria 6:02.97
6.  Turkey 6:20.13

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U23 GB ROWING TEAM CREW-LISTS
2011 World Rowing U23 Championships, Amsterdam
July 20-24, 2011

(listed bow to stroke plus cox)

(CLUB/HOME TOWN/DATE OF BIRTH)

OPEN

WOMEN    

Eight           

Lottie Howard-Merrill (Imperial College BC/Oxford/15.11.1989)/
Brianna Stubbs (Oxford Uni Women’s BC/Poole/13.07.1991)/
Caragh McMurtry (Reading Uni BC/Southampton/22.08.1991)/
Olivia Oakes (Uni of London BC/Warrington/21.04.1990)/
Michelle Vezie (Molesey BC & Stanford Uni/London/10.07.1989)/
Katherine Douglas (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Edinburgh/03.08.1989)/
Karen Bennett (Molesey BC/Edinburgh/05.02.1989)/
Olivia Carnegie-Brown (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Reading/28.03.1991)/
Charlotte Jackson (cox) (Durham Uni BC/West Byfleet/27.01.1991)

Coach: Neasa Folan           
           
Double Scull            

Rachel Gamble-Flint (Leander Club/Darlington/13.09.1991)
Sarah Cowburn (Durham University BC/Redditch/01.02.1989)

Coach: Jane Hall           
           
MEN              

Pair              

George Nash (Cambridge Uni BC/Guildford/02.10.1989)/
Constantine Louloudis (Oxford Uni BC/Bayswater, London/15.09.1991)

Coach: Paul Stannard               
           
Eight
              
Oliver Staite (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Malvern/09.02.1991)/
Thomas Clark  (Leander Club/Worcester/28.01.1989)/
Matthew Tarrant (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Shepperton/11.07.1990)/
William Satch (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/09.06.1989)/
Patrick Lapage (Harvard Uni BC/Shrewsbury/16.07.1990)/
Michael Evans (Princeton Uni/Ramsbury, Wiltshire/23.08.1990)/
Andrew Holmes (Harvard Uni BC/Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire/04.10.1991)/
George Rossiter (Newcastle Uni BC/Newbury)    /
Maximilian Gander (cox) (Uni of London BC/Oxford)

Coach: Henry Bailhache-Webb       

Coxed Four       
   
Henry Goodier (Imperial College BC/Putney/01.10.1989)/
Philip Congdon (Durham Uni BC/Bury St Edmunds/06.06.1989)/
James Scott (UC Berkeley/Burwell, Cambridgeshire/26.09.1991)/
Ertan Hazine (Uni of London/Maidenhead/01.08.1991)/
Franz Imfeld (cox) (Durham Uni BC/Chester/24.02.1991)

Coach: Chris Collerton       
           
Single Scull
              
Jonathan Walton (Loughborough Students RC/Leicester/06.10.1990)

Coach: Howard Marsh           
           
Quadruple Scull
            
Oliver Lee (Agecroft RC/Stockport/07.03.1991)/
Stewart Innes  (Durham Uni BC/Henley/20.05.1991)/
John Collins (Leander Club/Whitton, Middlesex/24.01.1989)/
Jack Hockley (Leander Club/Marlow/05.10.1989)

Coach: Hamish Burrell           
           
LIGHTWEIGHT

WOMEN           

Single Scull            

Katherine Copeland (Tees RC/Ingleby Barwick, Stockton-on-Tees/01.12.1990)

Coach: James Harris           
           
Quadruple Scull    
       
Rebecca Humphreys (Uni of London BC/Lisbellaw, Eniskillen/22.03.1989)/
Christina Thomas (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Staines/19.05.1991)/
Eleanor Piggott (Wallingford RC/Olney, Bucks/16.05.1991)/
Charlotte Burgess (Reading Uni BC/Swineshead, Bedford/25.06.1990)

Coach: Miles Forbes-Thomas           
           
LIGHTWEIGHT

MEN              

Pair        
     
Peter Chambers (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Coleraine/14.03.90)/
Kieren Emery (Leander Club/Newcastle-upon-Tyne/01.06.1990)

Coach: Peter Sheppard           
           
Four              

Jonathan Clegg (Leander Club/Maidenhead/14.07.1989)/
John Preston (Leander Club/Durham/16.04.1989)/
William Fletcher (Durham Uni BC/ Chester-le-Street/24.12.1989)/
Jamie Kirkwood (Imperial College BC/Newcastle-upon-Tyne/30.08.1989)

Coach: Rob Dauncey           
           
Double Scull     
         
James Coombes (Hereford RC/Hereford/22.06.1990)/
Gavin Murty (Clydesdale ARC/Glasgow/17.04.1992)

Coach: Sean Leyland           
           
Quadruple Scull              

Wilf Kimberley (Imperial College BC/London/15.07.1992)/
Zak Lee-Green (Agecroft RC/Cardiff/05.02.1991)/
Michael Mottram (Reading Uni BC/Stoke Mandeville/08.06.1990)/
Joshua Butler (Imperial College BC/Riseley, Bedford/11.03.1989)

Coach: Don McLachlan

MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT STAFF               
Team Manager: Steve Gunn           
Chief Coach: Peter Sheppard           
Equipment Manager: Andy Knee-Robinson
Doctor: Michelle Earby   
Physio: Abbie Turner

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KEY DATES FOR 2011

This important season for the nation’s top rowers
culminates in the  World Championships and
Olympic qualifying regatta:

BLED, SLOVENIA, FROM AUGUST 28 – SEPTEMBER 4, 2011

Britain will seek to qualify boats into as many Olympic
and Paralympic classes as possible here rather than
through the last-chance final qualifying regatta in Lucerne
from May 20-23, 2012.

Meanwhile, here are some additional dates of note for the
GB squad for the remainder of 2011:

KEY DATES FOR YOUR 2011 DIARY

29-31
Coupe de la Jeunesse, Linz, Austria

AUGUST

4-7
World Rowing Junior Championships, Dorney Lake, Eton
(this is also the Olympic test event)

28 – 4 September

WORLD ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS, Bled, Slovenia

SEPTEMBER

16-18
European Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

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CONTACT DETAILS
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Caroline Searle, Andy Sloan or Miranda Edwards on:

T:  (01225) 443998
M:  CAROLINE (07831) 755351
M:  ANDY (07714) 168391

e:  [email protected]

GB Rowing Team website www.gbrowingteam.org.uk – full biogs available
here.

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See our season’s preview on YouTube
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