Silver for GB Rowing Team at European Championships
The lightweight women’s double of Kathryn Twyman and Andrea Dennis won an impressive silver medal for the GB Rowing Team at the European Championships today behind the Greek World Champions.
It was the second time in a fortnight that Twyman and Dennis have stepped up onto a podium following their gold medal performance in the lightweight women’s quadruple scull at the World Championships in Slovenia.
And it crowned a day of mixed performances for the GB Rowing Team’s development crews competing in Plovdiv after the men’s four won their B final and the women’s eight finished just outside the medals in fourth.
GB Rowing Team manager for the five British boats at the event, Pete Sheppard, said: “The lightweight women’s double is a very, very good result for them. They have come in and shown their standard against world class opposition.”
The lightweight men’s double finished sixth and the men’s double fifth in their finals, performances which were put in context by Sheppard in light of the strong opposition – with many nations bringing their World Championship crews to the event. “They all fulfilled their potential and all raised their game from yesterday,” he said.
“The one that will hurt most is the women’s eight coming fourth. They found out how brutal women’s eights rowing is.”
Lancaster twins Mason and Scott Durant, with fellow Oxford Brookes University Boat Club member Matthew Tarrant and Fred Gill from Shrewsbury, proved a point in the men’s four by winning their B final just ahead of Poland with clearwater back to Croatia in third. The British crew took a lead of a length in the first half of the race before holding off a strong sprint by the Polish to win.
The men’s double of Londoner Henry Pelly and Graeme Thomas, a product of the Siemens-sponsored World Class START programme in Manchester, had already achieved their target for the championships of reaching the final and produced a strong race to edge Italy to fifth place, with Lithuania taking gold.
Twyman and Dennis then produced their podium performance in the lightweight women’s double scull. The Greek World Champions established an early lead in their successful defence of their European title and the British crew were delighted to beat Italy in the race for second place and add another silver medal to the one they won in Munich at the first world cup of the season behind their GB teammates Hester Goodsell and Sophie Hosking.
Sheppard said: “They were very pleased how close they can get to the Greek World Champions and are setting themselves up for next year challenging for the Olympic team.”
Jono Clegg and Chris Boddy finished sixth in the lightweight men’s double but kept pace with the main field and crossed the line just behind Poland and Hungary before the women’s eight were just off the medal pace in their final.
Leonora Kennedy, Zoe Lee, Erica Bodman, Vicki Meyer-Laker, Ro Bradbury, Emily Taylor, Monica Relph, Polly Swann and cox Zoe de Toledo pleased Sheppard though by beating the Russian crew which had finished ahead of them in Friday’s preliminary race.
“Overall it has been a good team performance,” said Sheppard reflecting on the championships.
The crews now enjoy a short holiday before returning to training, along with the rest of the senior squad, for the start of the 2012 season at the end of September.
For action photos or head shots please email: [email protected]
For biographies please go to www.gbrowingteam.org.uk
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RESULTS
2011 European Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
(GB crews only – for full results go to www.worldrowing.com)
Finals – Sunday 18 September 2011
WOMEN
Eight
1. Romania 6:14.98
2. Bulgaria 6:20.52
3. Ukraine 6:23.82
4. Leonora Kennedy/Zoe Lee/Erica Bodman/Vicki Meyer-Laker/Ro Bradbury/Emily Taylor/Monica Relph/Polly Swann/Zoe de Toledo (cox) (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:26.04
5. Russia 6:26.54
6. Poland 6:43.61
MEN
Double scull
1. Lithuania 6:23.05
2. Serbia 6:24.90
3. Russia 6:25.87
4. Ukraine 6:30.78
5. Henry Pelly/Graeme Thomas (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:41.96
6. Italy 6:42.62
LIGHTWEIGHT
Women
Double scull
1. Greece 7:15.50
2. Kathryn Twyman/Andrea Dennis (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:20.26
3. Italy 7:24.88
4. Russia 7:28.08
5. Austria 7:28.30
6. Poland 7:30.36
Men
Double scull
1. Italy 6:28.83
2. Greece 6:31.84
3. Portugal 6:34.08
4. Poland 6:37.15
5. Hungary 6:38.67
6. Jono Clegg/Chris Boddy (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:39.44
B Final
MEN
Four
1. Mason Durant/Fred Gill/Matthew Tarrant/Scott Durant (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:15.05
2. Poland 6:16.95
3. Croatia 6:22.17
4. Ukraine 6:24.07
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GB ROWING TEAM CREW-LIST (Name/Club/Home town/Date of birth)
2011 European Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
September 16-18, 2011
(Listed bow to stroke)
WOMEN
Eight
Leonora Kennedy (Sport Imperial/Putney/12.01.1987)/
Zoe Lee (Sport Imperial/London/15.12.1985)/
Erica Bodman (Reading Uni BC/St Martins, Guernsey/24.01.1988)/
Vicki Meyer-Laker (Nottingham RC/Nottingham/18.03.1988)/
Ro Bradbury (Leander Club/Banstead, Surrey/17.12.1988)/
Emily Taylor (Leander Club/Lincoln/28.06.1987)/
Monica Relph (Reading Uni BC/Henley on Thames/15.01.1988)/
Polly Swann (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/05.06.1988)/
Zoe de Toledo (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/17.07.1987)
Coach: Eira Parry
Spare
Lucinda Gooderham (Upper Thames RC/Diss, Norfolk/09.06.1984)
MEN
Four
Mason Durant (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Lancaster/12.02.1988)/
Fred Gill (Molesey BC/Shrewsbury/09.01.1986)/
Matthew Tarrant (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Shepperton, Surrey/11.07.1990)
Scott Durant (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Lancaster/12.02.1988)
Coach: Henry Balihache-Webb
Double Scull
Henry Pelly (Molesey BC/London/30.07.1983)/
Graeme Thomas (Agecroft RC/Preston/08.11.1988)
LIGHTWEIGHT
Women
Double Scull
Kathryn Twyman (Wallingford RC/Oxford/29.03.1987)/
Andrea Dennis (Imperial College BC/Oxford/03.01.1982)
Coach: Pete Sheppard
Men
Double Scull
Jono Clegg (Leander Club/Henley-on-Thames/14.07.1989)/
Chris Boddy (Leander Club/Stockton-on-Tees/16.11.1987)
SUPPORT STAFF
Team manager and lead coach: Pete Sheppard
Coach: Eira Parry
Coach: Henry Balihache-Webb, Oxford Brookes
Physio: Katherine Vials
Lead driver: Phil Gray
Second driver: Karl Offord
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PROVISIONAL ERC SCHEDULE
(for full timetable go to www.worldrowing.com)
Opening Ceremony – Thursday, September 15
Heats & Repechages – Friday, September 16
Repechages, Semi-finals and Finals A, B, C – Saturday, September 17
Finals A and B – Sunday, September 18
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MORE INFORMATION
For a full timetable and results go to the FISA website: www.worldrowing.com
For more information on the GB Rowing Team go to: www.gbrowingteam.org.uk
*SIEMENS is the high performance partner of the GB Rowing Team
(as such they sponsor all the Olympic and Paralympic Class
boats in the senior squad and add value to the GB Rowing
Teams’ Start and High Performance Programme in Clubs Schemes)
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KEY DATES FOR 2011/2012
The 2012 season is about to begin for the nation’s top rowers
culminating in the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.
SEPTEMBER 2011
16-18
European Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
27-28
Start of training for the 2012 season – senior and adaptive members of the GB
Rowing Team
MARCH 2012
8-11
GB Rowing Team senior trials, Eton/Dorney
MAY
2-6
Rowing world cup I and final Paralympic Qualification Regatta, Belgrade, Serbia
20-27
Rowing world cup II and final Olympic Qualification Regatta, Lucerne, Switzerland
JUNE
13-17
Rowing world cup III, Munich, Germany
JULY
9-15
World Rowing U23 Championships, Trakai, Lithuania
July 24 – August 5
OLYMPIC GAMES REGATTA, Eton/Dorney
AUGUST
12-19
World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
August 25 – September 3
PARALYMPIC GAMES REGATTA, Eton/Dorney
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CONTACT DETAILS
For media enquiries about The GB Rowing Team please contact:
Caroline Searle, Andy Sloan or Miranda Edwards on:
T: (01225) 443998
M: CAROLINE (07831) 755351
M: ANDY (07714) 168391
For European Championship enquiries contact Andy Sloan
GB Rowing Team website www.gbrowingteam.org.uk – full biogs available here.
Follow us on facebook: www.facebook.com/gbrowingteam
Follow us on twitter @gbrowingteam: www.twitter.com/gbrowingteam
Follow us on YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/GBRowingTeam
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The GB Rowing Squad is supported by the National Lottery
Sports Fund as part of UK Sport’s Podium Programme.
GB Rowing Team News bulletins are issued by the GB Rowing Team office
ENDS
