The GB Rowing Team, which is sponsored by Siemens and supported by the National Lottery, has today announced the crews that will compete in the first world cup of the 2012 season in Belgrade, Serbia, from May 4-6th.

“World Cups are important competitions in their own right but this one will be more significant than usual as it gives us the first glimpse of the potential 2012 racing form of our crews”, said GB Rowing Team Performance Director David Tanner.  “We are always ambitious to do well and will want to see a number of crews on the Belgrade podium.  We will take into account performances in Belgrade as we shape the Team for the remainder of the season”.

Two reigning Olympic champions, Andrew Triggs Hodge and Pete Reed, have been named in the men’s four alongside Alex Gregory, the 2009 and 2011 World Champion. They will be joined in Belgrade by either Tom James, who won men’s four gold in Beijing with Reed and Hodge, or Alex Partridge, a three-times World Champion in the four (2005,6 and 9) and 2008 Olympic silver medalist in the men’s eight.

Ric Egington and Matt Langridge, twice World Champions in the four and Beijing men’s eight silver medalists, have been named in the eight for Belgrade. Either James or Partridge will join this crew in due course.

Exciting newcomer Constantine Louloudis, a former World Junior and World U23 Champion, will stroke this boat which includes Moe Sbihi, James Foad and Tom Ransley, all from the 2010 World silver medal crew and Greg Searle, who was Olympic men’s coxed pair champion in 1992.

Unusually, a cox has not been named today as the selection process continues between Phelan Hill, Acer Nethercott and Rowley Douglas.

GB Rowing Team’s first men’s pair will be raced in Belgrade by two World U23 medalists who have stepped up impressively in competition and training over the winter.  George Nash took 2011 World U23 gold in the men’s pair and Will Satch was a bronze medalist in the eight.    The emergence of young rowers like Satch and Nash provides a strong outlook for the squad through to 2016.

A second men’s pair will race of Dan Ritchie and Cameron Nichol, also from last year’s World silver men’s eight.

Changes have been made to the men’s sculling squad.  Sam Townsend and Bill Lucas are in the double scull for Belgrade.  Lucas, a former World U23 Champion, and Townsend, from the 2011 quadruple scull, were both – along with many of the current senior GB team –  identified and developed by the Siemens and lottery-backed Start scheme. They last raced together at a world cup in early 2011 when the duo took silver in a GB one-two in that event.

Alan Campbell, World medalist for the past three seasons, will race the single scull but there will also be a new-look men’s quadruple scull to be named from five rowers including Marcus Bateman, Charles Cousins, Stephen Rowbotham, Tom Solesbury and Matt Wells. Rowbotham and Wells won Olympic bronze together in Beijing in the double scull.

Britain’s top two female crews have been named unchanged today. 

Twice World women’s double scull champions (2010 and 11) Anna Watkins and Katherine Grainger are selected into the women’s double scull.  Helen Glover and Heather Stanning, World silver medalists and 2012 GB Rowing Team trials winners, will contest the women’s pair. Grainger is already a three-times Olympic silver medal winner whilst Watkins won bronze in the double scull in Beijing.

Both crews will have the excitement of defending their international status as the world cup series commences – although neither looks set to race their strongest overseas opposition until Lucerne three weeks later.

The women’s quadruple scull consists of 2004 and 2008 Olympic silver medalist Frances Houghton who will be joined by 2010 World Champion Beth Rodford, World Cup silver medalist Mel Wilson plus Sporting Giant graduate Vick Thornley who won World bronze in the 2011 women’s eight. 

Annabel Vernon and Rachel Gamble-Flint will contest the women’s single sculls event – this is the only boat category, of 14 in total, in which Great Britain has not already qualified for the 2012 Games.  The final qualifying regatta for the Games is in Lucerne, Switzerland, from May 21st-23rd. Vernon is a Beijing silver medalist whilst Gamble-Flint has emerged from previous appearances for GB at World Junior and World U23 level.

Changes have been made to the women’s eight since their World bronze medal of 2011. This boat, coxed by Caroline O’Connor, now includes: Jo Cook, Emily Taylor, Polly Swann, Olivia Whitlam, Louisa Reeve, Jess Eddie, Katie Greves and Lindsey Maguire.  All except Taylor and Swann have experience at senior World Championships or Olympic Games level.

Since 2007 Britain has also emerged as a world force in lightweight rowing in all three Olympic boat categories – the lightweight men’s and women’s doubles and the lightweight men’s four as well as seeing success in the International Class lightweight men’s pair and women’s quadruple scull where GB are reigning world champions.

Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter have been named for Belgrade in the lightweight men’s double scull providing the first step in what could, subject to selection, be a fairytale ending for the East End’s Mark Hunter on his “home” water should he and Purchase successfully defend the Olympic title they won so consummately in 2008.  It is unlikely, though, that their full overseas opposition will be in Belgrade.

There is also a proud family celebrating in Coleraine today as the Chambers brothers Richard, World Champion in 2007 and 2010, and Peter, 2011 World Champion in the lightweight men’s pair, have been selected into the lightweight men’s four to race with Rob Williams and Chris Bartley also 2010 World Champions. Competition has been amongst its fiercest in this lightweight men’s squad in which GB will also race a lightweight men’s pair of Paul Mattick and Adam Freeman-Pask in Belgrade.

If Richard and Peter Chambers are selected eventually for the Olympic Games team they will follow in the footsteps of brothers Pete and Matt Wells and Greg and Jonny Searle who have raced as siblings on the same Olympic team.  They will be the first to race together in the same Olympic boat since the Searles in 1992.

There has been a significant change, too, in the lightweight women’s double scull.  Kat Copeland has stepped on rapidly from her World U23 Championships-winning lightweight women’s single scull performance of last year to win the GB Rowing Team Trials and gain a place in the lightweight women’s double scull where she will race with 2011 World bronze medalist Sophie Hosking.

Three of the 2011 World Champion women’s quadruple scull will also be racing in Belgrade.  Imogen Walsh and Andrea Dennis will be competing there as the second-ranked lightweight women’s double scull and Kathryn Twyman will race a lightweight women’s single sculler.

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SAMSUNG WORLD ROWING CUP I
Belgrade, Serbia, 4-6 May, 2012

GB ROWING TEAM CREWS LIST
(See home-towns, clubs and dates of birth in list below.  Named here in crews bow to stroke unless indicated. Coach in brackets).

OPEN

WOMEN

Pair

Helen Glover/Heather Stanning
(Robin Williams)

Eight

Jo Cook/Emily Taylor/Polly Swann/Olivia Whitlam/Louisa Reeve/Jess Eddie/Katie Greves/Lindsey Maguire/Caroline O’Connor (cox)
(Nick Strange)

Single scull – two boats

Annabel Vernon
(Paul Thompson)

Rachel Gamble Flint
(Jane Hall)

Double scull

Anna Watkins/Katherine Grainger
(Paul Thompson)

Quadruple scull

Beth Rodford/Melanie Wilson/Frances Houghton/Victoria Thornley
(Ade Roberts)

MEN

Pair – two boats

George Nash/Will Satch
(John West & Christian Felkel)

Dan Ritchie/Cameron Nichol
(John West & Christian Felkel)

Four

Alex Gregory/Peter Reed/Andrew Triggs Hodge  & either Alex Partridge or Tom James
(Jurgen Grobler)

Eight

James or Partridge/James Foad/Tom Ransley/Ric Egington/Moe Sbihi/Greg Searle/Matt Langridge/Constantine Louloudis
(John West & Christian Felkel)

Single scull

Alan Campbell
(Bill Barry)

Double scull

Bill Lucas/Sam Townsend
(Mark Earnshaw)

Quadruple scull and 2nd men’s single scull

(To be named from five rowers listed here in alphabetical order)

Marcus Bateman/Charles Cousins/Stephen Rowbotham/Tom Solesbury/Matt Wells
(Mark Banks)

LIGHTWEIGHTS

WOMEN

Single scull

Kathryn Twyman
(Paul Reedy)

Double scull – two boats

Sophie Hosking/Kat Copeland
(Paul Reedy)

Imogen Walsh/Andrea Dennis
(Paul Reedy)

MEN

Pair

Paul Mattick/Adam Freeman-Pask
(Rob Morgan/Darren Whiter)

Four

Peter Chambers/Richard Chambers/Rob Williams/Chris Bartley
(Rob Morgan)

Double scull

Zac Purchase/Mark Hunter
(Darren Whiter)

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HOME TOWN LISTS

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TIMETABLE OF RACING

Friday 4 May
Heats and repechages 09.00 – 18.30

Saturday 5 May
Quarter-finals, semi-finals:
09.00 – 16.30
FINALS (International classes only)
17.00 – 18.00
Sunday 6 May
09.20 – 10.30
B Finals – (Olympic classes)
FINALS – (Olympic classes)

The dates and venues for the other two world cups are:

SAMSUNG ROWING WORLD CUP II
Lucerne, Switzerland, 24-26 May

SAMSUNG ROWING WORLD CUP III
Munich, Germany, 15-17, June

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CONTACT DETAILS

For media enquiries about this event please contact:
Caroline Searle on (01225) 443998 or e-mail us on [email protected]
GB Rowing Team website, including full rower biogs: www.gbrowingteam.org.uk
Follow us on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/gbrowingteam
and Twitter:  @gbrowingteam
Pictures available for media editorial use via:  [email protected]

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The GB Rowing Squad is supported by the National Lottery