Flying start as two GB Rowing Team crews qualify for World U23 Finals

The U23 men’s coxed four of Sybren Hoogland, Timothy Grant, William Warr, Callum McBrierty and cox Harry Brightmore got the GB Rowing Team off to a flying start at the World U23 Championships in Varese this afternoon by winning their heat in a time of 6:30.88 to qualify directly for Saturday’s finals.

This was a very tight race in which the lead changed hands several times before the British quartet shrugged off Italy in the final few strokes of the race. France were third and Russia fourth.

The GB women’s quadruple scull of Mathilda Hodgkins-Brynes, Holly Nixon, Jo Wratten and Lucy Burgess, coached by GB lead U23 coach Peter Sheppard, will also race a final on Saturday. Today they were in impressive form, leading from start to finish to win in a time of 6:31.60 from New Zealand who challenged them briefly in the mid-part of the race and again at the end. Wratten comes from the same club, Tees RC, as Olympic champion Kat Copeland and is part of the GB Rowing Team’s Start programme based at the club.

Great Britain’s men’s four of Jamie Cook, brother of GB senior international Oliver Cook, George Rossiter, James Rudkin and Lewis McCue were second in their heat to qualify for a semi-final on Friday.

The British boat led for the first half of the race, with McCue of Robert Gordon University doing a fine job at stroke, but Spain had a bit more in the tank at the end. Rossiter, from Newcastle University, was a bronze medallist at this level in the eight in 2011.

Earlier the lightweight men’s pair of Wilf Kimberley and Charles Waite-Roberts led through the 500m marker today, chased by Italy in close contention with Canada still in touch. At the 1500m marker the duo looked as if they had it in the bag only to be chased down by Canada, whose sprint finish gave them the win on the line. Kimberley and Waite-Roberts still qualified for Friday’s semi-finals in a time of 6:55.60.

Ellie Lewis, Jess Elkington, Gemma Hall and Lucy Cruxton will now race a repechage tomorrow to see if they can reach Saturday’s final of the lightweight women’s quadruple scull event. The quartet were third in today’s heat which was won, to the delight of the home supporters, by Italy. Lewis is also part of the GB Rowing Team’s Start, talent identification and development programme, based at Agecroft Rowing Club in Manchester.

Sam Mottram was the early leader in the lightweight men’s single heat today, closely followed by the Irish and Japanese contestants. Paul O’Donovan of Ireland squeezed through to take the lead away at the 1500m mark but by then Mottram, whose brother Mike raced the same event for GB a couple of years ago, had done enough to qualify for Friday’s quarter-finals in second place in 7:11.14.

The predicted thunderstorms gave Varese a miss today, permitting almost perfect racing conditions. However, one boat that made waves was the New Zealand women’s pair of Grace Prendergast and Kerri Gowler. The Kiwis arrived in Varese fresh from taking senior world cup silver in Lucerne and won their heat of the women’s pair today to qualify direct for Saturday’s final by the astonishing margin of 16 seconds.

Racing continues tomorrow, starting at 08.30 UK time with more heats and some repechages.

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

HEATS

JUNIOR

OPEN

WOMEN

Quadruple scull – Heat 1

1. Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne/Holly Nixon/Josephine Wratten/Lucy Burgess (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:31.60
2. New Zealand 6:32.15
3. Romania 6:36.29
4. Italy 6:40.64
5. Australia 6:41.45

JUNIOR

OPEN

MEN

Four – Heat 2

1. Spain 5:58.36
2. James Cook/George Rossiter/James Rudkin/Lewis McCue (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:00.30
3. France 6:04.70
4. Serbia 6:06.04

Coxed Four – Heat 2

1. Sybren Hoogland/Timothy Grant/William Warr/Callum McBrierty/Harry Brightmore (cox) (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:30.88
2. Italy 6:31.07
3. France 6:41.89
4. Russia 7:15.38

JUNIOR

LIGHTWEIGHT

WOMEN

Quadruple scull – Heat 1

1. Italy 7:01.66
2. Switzerland 7:03.98
3. Elisha Lewis/Jessica Elkington/Gemma Hall/Lucy Cruxton (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:06.72
4. USA 7:16.28
5. Austria 7:25.39

JUNIOR

LIGHTWEIGHT

MEN

Pair – Heat 2

1. Grayson Gray/James Myers (Canada) 6:54.97
2. Wilf Kimberley/Charles Waite-Roberts (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:55.60
3. Piero Sfiligoi/Leone Barbaro (Italy) 6:59.10
4. Sten Sture/Petter Svingen (Norway) 7:08.99
5. Bernhard Bruner/Gerald Pollak (Austria) 7:13.35

Single scull – Heat 1

1. Paul O’Donovan (Ireland) 7:08.58
2. Samuel Mottram (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:11.14
3. Uncas Batista (Brazil) 7:19.02
4. Takatomo Furumai (Japan) 7:20.05
5. Carlos Cruz (Portugal) 7:22.59

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GB SQUAD FOR WORLD U23 ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS, VARESE, ITALY

OPEN

WOMEN

Eight

Katie Bartlett (Nottingham RC/Nottingham/02.02.1994)
Anastasia Chitty (Oxford Univ Women’s BC/London/07.12.1993)
Melissa Wilson (Cambridge Univ Women’s BC/Edinburgh/10.06.1993)
Georgia Francis (Imperial College BC/Newbury/18.08.1994)
Sam Courty (Bath Univ BC/Alnwick/07.01.1993)
Ruth Whyman (Gloucester RC/Tewkesbury/07.03.1992)
Fiona Gammond (Headington School Oxford BC/Bicester/19.10.1992)
Nicole Lamb (Newcastle Univ BC/Hexham/20.01.1993)
Morgan Baynham-Williams (cox) (Leander Club/Ross-On-Wye/28.06.1994)
Coach: Jesse Burgoine

Single Scull

Jess Leyden (Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club/Burnley/22.02.1995)
Coach: Ian John

Quadruple scull

Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne (Gloucester Hartpury/Hereford/01.10.1994)
Holly Nixon (Leander Club/Enniskillen/07.12.1993)
Jo Wratten (Tees RC/Middlesbrough/23.03.1992)
Lucy Burgess (Northwich RC/Northwich/27.04.1994)
Coach: Pete Sheppard

OPEN

MEN

Four

Jamie Cook (Univ of London BC/Windsor/02.07.1992)
George Rossiter (Leander Club/Newbury/09.03.1992)
James Rudkin (Newcastle Univ BC/Litchborough/07.07.1994)
Lewis McCue (Robert Gordon Univ BC/Aberdeen/26.12.1994)
Coach: Brian Young

Eight

James Johnston (Leander/Henley-On-Thames/26.08.1994)
Tom Ford (Newcastle Univ BC/Holmes Chapel/03.10.1992)
Cameron Buchan (Leander/Dunipace/03.12.1992)
Tom Pagel (Griffen BC/Oxford/28.05.1994)
Morgan Hellen (Molesey BC/Maidstone/19.10.1992)
Tom George (Leander/Oxford/22.09.1994)
Ed Grisedale (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Congleton/09.12.1993)
Ollie Wynne-Griffiths (Molesey BC/Guildford/29.05.1994)
Ian Middleton (cox) (Cambridge Univ BC/Oxford/27.06.1995)
Coach: Steve Trapmore

Double scull

Angus Groom (Leander Club/Glasgow/16.06.1992)
Jack Beaumont (Leander Club/Maidenhead/21.11.1993)
Coach: Matt Beechey

Quadruple scull
Tom Barras (Cardiff Univ BC/Staines/07.01.1994)
Seb Devereux (Leander Club/Chalfont Saint Giles/15.02.1995)
Robbie Massey (Cardiff Univ BC /Shrewsbury/14.12.1992)
Sholto Carnegie (Leander Club/Oxford/28.02.1995)
Coach: Ian Shore

Coxed Four

Sybren Hoogland (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Norwich/03.11.93)
Tim Grant (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Sevenoaks/02.07.1993)
Will Warr (Leander Club/Tunbridge Wells/12.03.1992)
Callum McBrierty (Leander Club/Edinburgh/13.08.1992)
Harry Brightmore (cox) (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Chester/01.07.1994)
Coach: Angelo Savarino

LIGHTWEIGHT

WOMEN

Single scull

Emily Craig (Univ of London BC/Mark Cross/30.11.1992)
Coach: Phil Gray

Quadruple scull

Ellie Lewis (Agecroft RC/Marlow/14.04.1994)
Jess Elkington (Exeter Univ BC/Exeter/29.08.1992)
Gemma Hall (Newcastle Univ BC/Wargrave/10.04.1992)
Lucy Cruxton (Reading Univ BC/Stoke-On-Trent/22.12.1993)
Coach: Phil Gray

LIGHTWEIGHT

MEN

Pair

Wilf Kimberley (Imperial College BC/London/15.07.1992)
Charles Waite-Roberts (Univ of West England BC/Basingstoke/06.11.1992)
Coach: Stuart Whitelaw

Four

Jamie Copus (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Chicago/30.01.1993)
Iain Mandale (Isis BC/Surbiton/27.01.1993)
Tim Richards (Imperial College BC/Goring-On-Thames/17.05.1992)
Joel Cassells (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Coleraine/15.06.1994)
Coach: Henry Bailhache-Webb

Single Scull

Sam Mottram (Leander Club/Stoke Mandeville/14.11.1994)
Coach: Clive Cooper

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