GB Performance Development Academy athletes race at November Open Trials: Report
GB Performance Development Academies recruit and develop individuals with no rowing experience into Olympic Champions – here’s how our athletes performed at the first test of the season
Credit: AllMarkOne
Over 170 athletes took to the water at GB Rowing Team Open Trials in Boston this last weekend. Amongst them were athletes from the seven GB Performance Development Academies, with 37 current or former Academy athletes racing. Many achieved top ten results both on the water and ergos, and for some it was their first GB Rowing Team trial, less than a year after getting in a boat for the first time.
Poppy Baker of the East Midlands GB Performance Development Academy, representing Nottingham RC, finished in fourth place out of 61 in the 5,000m water assessment on the River Witham – less than a second off podium position. Poppy raced to gold this summer at the World Rowing U23 Championships, becoming World Champion alongside crewmate Finnola Stratton of Reading University BC, who finished first in Boston.
Last month Poppy graduated to Group A on GB Performance Development Academy camp, becoming the first athlete in three years to reach the milestone.
Rebekah Court of the South West GB Performance Development Academy represented GB three times this summer, once alongside Poppy at the Schleswig-Holstein Netz Cup where they finished in third place, once at the World University Games where she placed fourth and once at the European University Rowing Championships, where she won gold. She represented Bath University BC at Trials and finished 9th on the water.
South West teammate Ella Fullman, who won gold for England at this year’s Home International Rowing Regatta in the Women’s Double Sculls, finished 25th overall, with Ellie Dash of Hartpury University and College BC in 23rd. British Championship record holder Louise Brookes of the Yorkshire GB Performance Development Academy broke the all time record for the Women’s Rate 24 1000m and 250m Max Power erg tests on camp last month – she finished 41st overall, representing Leeds University BC.
Louise won gold for England earlier this summer in the U23 Women’s Single Sculls, as well as winning the Aspirational Quadruple Sculls at Henley Women’s Regatta this summer alongside the Scottish GB Performance Development Academy’s Polly Swaile, who placed 36th overall on the water last weekend.
Fellow Scots Scott MacCallum and Nathaniel Fishburn finished 40th and 44th respectively in the Men’s Single Sculls trial, both representing Strathclyde Park RC.
Less than a year after picking up a blade for the first time, Toluwani Adelaja and Tom Poulton of the South West GB Performance Development Academy and Jess Symonds of the Yorkshire GB Performance Development Academy raced their first GB Rowing Team trials. Tolu finished 42nd overall in the Women’s Single Sculls and third out of the under 21s, whilst Tom placed 39th out of 52 in the Men’s Single Sculls. He was closely followed by Will Stradling placing 41st, also representing Bath University BC. Jess placed 59th in the Women’s trial.
Representing the Yorkshire Academy, Leeds RC and York City RC, Isaac Morris placed 19th overall. British Champion in the Club Quadruple Sculls Adrian Biddle of the East Midlands Academy and Nottingham RC saw success in the trial’s 2,000m erg test – he placed 26th on the water. Harvey Lunn of the University of Plymouth RC and Nottingham RC placed 46th.
Trials in a pair was Luka Halozan Bayley of the South West Academy, alongside crewmate Joe Sobbs of Molesey BC / Thames BC. They placed an incredible 5th overall, both hitting personal bests as part of the erg test.
Senior Performance Development Coach Dan Harris was pleased with this first step in the season’s tests. “Having representation from so many of our GB Performance Development Academies at Trials is brilliant, and it’s great to see so many of our athletes getting to experience this first glimpse into rowing for the GB Rowing Team. All of these athletes are achieving great results for their clubs domestically throughout the season – whether they’re less than a year into the Programme, or near graduation, we’re excited to watch them continue to develop and deliver.”
The Academies were well represented in senior international racing this summer, with last year’s senior team exempt from trialling. Alumni brought home two World Rowing Championship silver medals and two European Rowing Championship gold medals.
