Men’s Quad and both Women’s Fours reach A finals
Great Britain also qualify for seven semi finals at World Rowing Cup – Lucerne
Friday 27 June 2025 – After a day of thunderstorms on Thursday, the sun was shining on the Rotsee as three Great Britain crews progressed through to A finals and another seven made semi-finals in a busy day of heats at World Rowing Cup Lucerne.
Callum Dixon returned to the Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x) after missing out on the World Rowing Cup final in Varese on medical grounds. Joined by his European Champion crew-mates Cedol Dafydd, Matt Haywood and Rory Harris, they were dominant in their heat, leading from the start and taking the win ahead of USA, to book a place in the A final.
After the race, Callum said: “Obviously I was gutted to miss the final in Varese, so it’s very nice to be back in the boat, back in the crew and to have got a good result today. We treat every race the same, every race is new and we don’t go into it with any expectations. We’re very happy with the way we’re rowing, but we’re always looking to get quicker. Hopefully the final can bring more of the same… same rhythm, same pattern.”
Straight through to Sunday’s A final are both GB Women’s four (W4-) crews who raced in the same heat. The race saw Australia win with the GBR1 crew of Daisy Bellamy, Lauren Irwin, Heidi Long and Eve Stewart, closely behind in second to take the direct A final qualification spot. The GBR2 crew of Lizzie Witt, Martha Birtles, Juliette Perry, and Amelia Standing, continued to build their experience and confidence, and their third place finish was enough to also progress to the A final as the second fastest non-qualifier.
Heidi said: “I love Lucerne. It’s an absolutely beautiful lake to row on, so to get out there and race was really fun. I was a little nervous this morning but then I actually felt clear minded and very focussed on what we wanted to go out and execute. We’ve learnt loads and this isn’t the final product, we’ve got another two days to build on this and we’ll be back out on Sunday.”
Amelia said: “We’ve gained some speed in the last couple of weeks and learnt a lot since World Cup Varese. We’ve really come together, we’re finding our rhythm. A big shout out to cox of the eight, Jack Tottem, who is making his coaching debut with us and doing a great job! It’s exciting that both crews have made the A final and let’s see what we can do at the weekend!”
Talking about both boats reaching the A final, Heidi added: “It’s an awesome women’s squad for the start of an Olympiad. I think getting to row together in the eight earlier on in the season has brought us even closer together. It’s hard racing against your teammates, but to have two of us in the A final shows the strength that we’ve got. We’ve decided to call it the coxless eight… We’re two fours out here racing against each other, but ultimately we’re here together as a unit, to see what Great Britain can do!”
It was another dominant win for Lauren Henry in the women’s single sculls (W1x). She recorded the fastest time across the heats and will race again in the semi final on Saturday.
“It was a solid first run out, just getting the job done, business as usual” she said, adding, “I’m pleased with how it’s going at the moment. Racing the single has always been the dream for me, so for it to be coming true and going so well is amazing.” Talking about having her family in Lucerne supporting her, she commented: “My parents get really really stressed before the race. My mum and dad are always pacing up and down and I wish they would just relax and think I’ve got it in the bag but it’s always been like this – whether i’m racing at Peterborough Regatta, Leicester Regatta or the World Rowing Cup. I do have the best entourage with me!”
The Women’s Double Sculls (W2x) heats saw both GB crews progress to semi finals. European Champions Sarah McKay and Lola Anderson (GBR1) racing the double for the first time, finished just 0.76 behind a charging Greek crew, while Cam Nyland and Vwairé Obukohwo were confident to lead and win their heat ahead of the USA. Eleanor Brinkhoff and Megan Slabbert were second in a close finish behind the USA in the Women’s Pair (W2-) heat and also progress to the semi final.
Tobias Schröder and Jamie Gare were third in their Men’s double sculls (M2x) heat in a time of 6:23.66 which saw them qualify for the semi final. Also through to the semi final are Jake Wincomb, Dan Graham, James Vogel and Joshua Bowesman-Jones in the Men’s four (M4-), who finished third in their heat.
Racing twice in the day, both Men’s single sculls (M1x) progressed through their heats into the afternoon quarter finals. Varese and Plovdiv’s ‘super sub’ Tom Barras (GBR2) pushed through in the final few hundred to take third place and book his place in the semi final. Aidan Thompson (GBR1) was in a fast race and pipped on the line by Hungary, to finish fourth, narrowly missing out on the semi final. He’ll race again in the C final.
You can follow the action live at worldrowing.com
