World and British records obliterated at the British Rowing Indoor Championships 2025

A World Record smashed, and British records fall at day 1 of the largest indoor rowing competition in the world

All sports have their grand arenas for heroes to showcase their talents. Stadiums, fields, and courses around the world are backdrops for masterpieces to be created, and the British Rowing Indoor Championships’ pantheon of performance anointed a new generation of champions.

Carving his name into the history books is Jeremy Martin. Racing in the Masters Open 75-79 2000m, he stormed into a lead that he held as he crossed the finish line. His time, 7:07.3 broke the previous World Record by 0.6s, a performance worthy of the gods. In the process, he also broke the previous British Record, held by Durham ARC’s Roger Stainforth.

This year, Stainforth was racing in the Masters Open 80-84 2000m, and much like previous outings at BRIC, he left with the gold medal.

In front of a raucous crowd, the 500m efforts saw noise levels tick up and up on the decibel meter. One of the standout performances came from Lakeland RC’s Samantha Ayers. The Brit set a new national record with a time of 1:43.5, 1.4s better than the previous best.

“It’s somewhat of a surprise, but it’s lovely to be able to do it in this atmosphere, and I’d love to thank everybody behind the scenes who put on all the hard work. A couple of weeks ago, I went slightly faster, but I’m now in an older age group so I’d like to beat my own record in a few months’ time,” said Ayers.

The Open 500m was a special showdown. Featuring some of the finest sprinters across the globe, this year’s crop was one of the finest vintages we’ve seen. World Record holder Phil Clapp clocked 1:12.2 to win, one second quicker than last year’s winning time. Anders Edquist also went below 1:13 to take silver, while 100m World Record holder Loïc Schalbetter took bronze in a time of 1:13.2.

For the Women’s event, Vár Guriardóttir Hansen proved why she is one of the queens of sprinting. After conquering BRIC 12 months ago, the 100m World Record holder went four seconds better than last year to lift the crown once more. Alexia Palmer won silver while Eva Barrellon-Kendall, who was second last year, was third.

This year’s BRIC allowed spectators to peek through the looking glass into life as a member of the GB Rowing Team. 21 men and 13 women made the pilgrimage north for their all-important December 2000m tests alongside some of the greats of indoor rowing.

Olympic Champion Lauren Henry won the Women’s 2000m for the second year in a row, breaking her own Championship Record in the process and sneaking under the 6:40 barrier with a time of 6:39.8. Her team mate from the silver medal winning Women’s Quadruple Scull in Shanghai, Becky Wilde, took silver, while Olympic bronze medallist Lauren Irwin was third.

Speaking after the event, Henry said, “It probably gives me bragging rights, but beyond Monday, not so much! I didn’t actually realise it was a Championship Record until I was told afterwards, so I’m really pleased with that. It’s a big marker going through 6:40, and to that after five weeks of training back, I’m really pleased about that.”

In the Open 2000m, 16 athletes went below the six-minute wall. Leading the pack and winning in a time of 5:47.9 was Tobias Schröder, 1.4s ahead of Archie Drummond, with Callum Dixon rounding off the podium.

Across the Sixth Form races, Thomas Pakulis won the Boys 2000m, clocking 6:09.6, while Canford School BC’s Freya Coupe won the Girls 2000m in 7:09.7

“It’s really special. BRIC is a unique event for us, and it’s not every day you get to do an erg test in front of this kind of crowd. It felt very similar to being out on the water and doing a good race. I’ve never really had that feeling on the erg where you can see you’re ahead and moving through the middle. It gave me a lift and a bit of confidence through the middle,” said Schröder, who raced at his first Senior World Championships back in September.

The Adaptive racing provided some of the most memorable moments of the event. After winning the PR1 Open 2000m, just outside of his World Record time, Paralympic Champion Benjamin Pritchard galvanised the crowd as he roared on his fellow competitors in the PR2 Women’s 2000m.

In the IAR7 Open 2000m, Aidan Leverage won in a Championship Record time. This was the first of two 2000m events within an hour for Aidan, as he looks to raise money and awareness for Epilepsy Action UK.

“It’s amazing, and it’s so accessible, that’s what’s great about our sport,” said Pritchard.

“The indoor sport is super accessible, and BRIC shows you can row from a very young age to a much older age with any impairment. It was really important for me to get amongst the community of adaptive rowing and race with them. BRIC has had adaptive racing for a very long time, and it’s great to see it grow from strength to strength.”

More British Records have also been rewritten throughout the day. In the fifth race of the morning, Doncaster RC’s Val Jones set a new British Record in the Masters 75-79 Women 2000m, knocking more than 11s off the previous best, held since 2016.

In the Masters 65-69 Lwt Women 2000, Fiona Jamie can also say she is the best there ever has been in Britain after beating the previous record by upwards of five seconds.

Racing commenced with Toby Clay, current British Record holder in the half-marathon and 60 minutes, winning the Masters 50-54 Open 2000m. In the process, he beat last year’s winner Freid Eggum, into second place. Ulf Herzog, racing at his first ever BRIC, placed 11th in a field of 33 rowers.

Just one race later, the result was decided by the closest of margins. American Joey Wurtz showed his unbreakable spirit coming from more than five seconds down with 500m to go to win by 0.1s ahead of Team Oarsome’s Adrian Peel.

Those in the grandstand for the first wave of races were treated to a third peach of race on the bounce. Southampton Coalporters RC ‘s Kirsty Joisce went back-to-back in the Masters 50-54 Women 2000m, winning by four seconds. Following her was Helen Pearce, who won the Masters 60-64 Women 2000m on her first outing at BRIC.

During today’s racing, a medical emergency took place on the race floor. This resulted in a delay in racing. Our thoughts are with the competitor and their family. Thank you to our medical team, the emergency services and paramedics for their quick response and expert attention.