For the fifth time in history, Team GB are Olympic Champions in the Men’s eight (M8+).

Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Charlie Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford, and cox, Harry Brightmore, who are also reigning World and European Champions, had to pour everything they had into the race, crossing the line ahead of the Netherlands and USA. This was a fairytale outcome for the crew’s coach, Steve Trapmore, who had won gold himself in the Men’s eight at Sydney 2000.

Morgan said: “It was an absolute blur. Our cox was screaming at the top of his voice, we committed, put ourselves into the gold medal position as soon as we could and after that it was survival of the fittest. Everyone came with us. We held on and I think we must’ve clawed something out in the third 500m. It’s been a fantastic 10 man team with Stevie; every decision we’ve made over the past three years has been about this and no decision has been the wrong one.”

Sholto said: “You dream about this, you work so hard for it every day but you can’t let the thoughts of what it means to you cross your mind, you’ve just got to do what you can on the day and that’s what we did. It’s overwhelming how many people are here to support us.”

Photo credit: Steve McArthur / Row360

The Team GB Women’s eight (W8+) won a brave and brilliant bronze, which is only the second ever GB medal in this event. The crew were also coached by an Olympic medallist, Richard Chambers, who won silver in London 2012.

Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Holly Dunford, Emily Ford, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart, Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde, and cox, Henry Fieldman put in a superb performance. Rowing with the strong rhythm that has been the hallmark of all of the GB crews at this regatta, they held third place behind Romania and Canada through each timing point, despite being pressed very hard by the USA during the first 1500m, and then by the fast-finishing Australians.

Heidi said: “I can’t remember any of the race. I was zoned in from the first stroke, just focusing on Henry, our cox, to try to do exactly what he said on every stroke, one stroke at a time.

Rowan said: “We attacked the whole way. I didn’t ever feel complacent with bronze. We were going for silver and we never came off the gas. If we had, we wouldn’t have got the bronze. So I feel really proud of us, absolutely going right until the last stroke.”

She  added: “The entire women’s squad is strong as a whole. The depth is getting stronger and I think with the programme we’re on, we’re going from strength to strength, so I can see GB moving further up the podium in the coming years.”

Today’s medals are a double cause for celebration for the family of brother and sister Tom and Emily Ford. Emily said: “I tried rowing after watching London 2012, but I didn’t start as a natural. Mum and Dad didn’t push us into anything but they encouraged us – we tried all sports.” Tom added: “They encouraged us to follow our dreams and do what we enjoy. That happened to be rowing, and they’ve supported us ever since we decided that we wanted to do it full time and throughout university. Ultimately they’re the reason we were on that podium today.”

The eight rowing medals won at Paris 2024 is one of the best performances seen by Team GB’s rowers. Impressively, 36 of the 42 competing athletes are returning home with a medal.

GB Rowing Team Director of Performance, Louise Kingsley, Rowing Team Leader in Paris, said: “The Women’s quad gold was just sensational, and to do it in that style, winning by the last stroke, definitely gets the message through that it’s not over until it’s over! That got us off to a great start, set morale in the team high and set expectations high.

“We’ve had some cracking races, some great finishes – some we’ve been on the right side of, some we’ve been narrowly on the wrong side of, but you can’t fault any crew. Every crew has gone out there and given absolutely all they have to give, and then for us to finish on that Men’s eight – wow! This is right up at the top end of where our expectations were – it’s been an incredible regatta.”

Team GB rowing squad medal summary

Catch up on all the results from the eight-day Olympic Rowing Regatta at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in Paris here:

2024 Olympic Rowing Regatta Hub

The post Team GB’s rowers celebrate best ever overseas Games with eight medal haul appeared first on British Rowing.

They join the men’s and women’s fours and the men’s and women’s quads who have also qualified directly for A finals.

The Women’s pair have also today progressed through to the A/B semi-final joining the Lightweight women’s double sculls, the Men’s pair and Women’s double sculls, who all qualified over the weekend. This means that all 10 Team GB crews have progressed positively through their heats.

Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Holly Dunford, Emily Ford, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart, Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde, and cox, Henry Fieldman put in a confident performance to win their Women’s Eight (W8+) heat.

Hattie said: “It’s really good to get going. With the eights there is always a bit of a wait – initially, we were grateful to have a few more days than the rest of the team but by Saturday we wanted to get on with it and it’s great to have one race done.”

Heidi added: “It’s been really exciting watching the rest of our squad race. We are a really close team and we can get confidence from the other cews. Watching the quad, the four, the lightweight doubles earlier just walk away in the third 500m gave us confidence in our legs that we could do the same. So there are pros and cons to racing last but great to get our first race under our belts. We’re happy with our performance today.”

Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Charlie Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford and cox, Harry Brightmore were once again dominant, winning the Men’s eight (M8+) heat five seconds ahead of Australia.

“It was a good race”, Jacob said, adding: “We knew we had to execute a strong performance to get through to the final. It was about keeping to our processes – simple is better. There’s so much time between now and the final, so you could have a flat out race today and still be able to perform. It wouldn’t have changed anything for us – if we’d had to fight to the line we are fully prepared to do that. It just so happened that we executed our first 1,500m well enough that we were able to enjoy the last 500m a little more. The expectation for us is to be on the hunt and execute the best race that we can. There’s no more to it.”

Sholto said: “Stevie (Steve Trapmore, coach) always has a plan for us so we follow his lead. There is always expectation but ultimately we’ve got to keep the focus in the crew and do the simple things right. That’s what we’ve done all the way through this Olympiad and we’re going to keep going, searching for more, keep it as simple as possible.”

The Women’s pair (W2-) of Chloe Brew and Rebecca Edwards were third in their repechage and now progress to the A/B semi-final. Rebecca said: “You want to beat everybody but today our goal was to get to the A/B semi finals. Nobody is getting a medal today. That race was high pressure because either our Olympics would finish or we could keep going. We’d love to beat everyone but the most important thing is to take the steps.

“I think yesterday was interesting because the results from the heat didn’t follow the patterns at all. Everyone has gone away and worked hard and brought their best – and you want to compete against the best. For us we’ve learnt that small boat racing is tactical and physical – you can go as hard as you want but you have to be able to row in a way that is sustainable and play the race plan. It’s been a really big learning curve. No matter what the result is it’s always important to Chloe and I that we can show our best and that we’ve left no stone unturned. You can take great satisfaction in putting your best out there. That’s all you can do. The worst thing to be is ruled by the fear of going home and not showing what you can do. That pressure is there and I’m proud of how we handled it.”

Chloe concluded: “We know what to do if we’re in that situation again. I was confident that we could do it this morning. I didn’t think about a scenario where we wouldn’t be here and I think that came through in our race. We definitely improved on yesterday. “

Olympic Rowing Regatta Hub Page

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Of the 23 women and 19 men, 50% are making their Olympic debut and 50% are returning Olympians. These include double Olympic Champion Helen Glover, Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Tom Barras and Team GB’s only brother and sister, Tom and Emily Ford.

“Team GB has an impressive Olympic tradition in rowing, and I am delighted to welcome the 42 athletes that have been selected today for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” commented Team GB Chef de Mission, Mark England.

“The Olympic experience in this squad is huge, and I have no doubt it will be an asset to the 21 athletes who will make their Olympic debut in Paris this summer. Team GB is also set to include more women than men in the team for a second successive Games and it is fantastic to see two mothers, Helen Glover and Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne, named as part of the team today.

“Our rowers have posted some outstanding results this season and I am sure the crews will relish the opportunity to showcase their talent in front of their friends, family, and Team GB fans as they race the Olympic course at the National Olympic Nautical Stadium of Île-de-France in Paris this July.”

Commenting on the team selection, British Rowing Director of Performance Louise Kingsley, who will be Rowing Team Leader in Paris, said: “This Olympic cycle has come with a few challenges along the way, but the athletes, support staff and coaches have really pulled together to create a fantastic atmosphere, culture and training environment that has lead to impressive results on the water. We qualified nine boats at the 2023 World Rowing Championships and added a tenth most recently at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. Now, we have selected a very strong team of athletes with a good mix of returning and first-time Olympians who I know are relishing the opportunity to go out there and write a unique chapter in the legacy of the GB Rowing Team.”

Olympic Regatta Results and more

Meet the crews:

Women’s four (W4-)

Photo: Team GB

Double Olympic champion and mum of three, Helen Glover is joined by returning Olympian Rebecca Shorten alongside Esme Booth and Sam Redgrave who are both making their Olympic debuts. This crew formed at the start of the 2024 season and are unbeaten this year having won gold at World Rowing Cup I, World Rowing Cup II and the European Rowing Championships.

Helen said: “Selection for my fourth Games feels different because the first time I still had this disbelief that I was becoming an Olympian! A huge reason for aiming for Paris was thinking how great it will be to have my family there to watch and support me and being able to share all of this with them is so special.

“Our four has a very good mix of Rebecca’s experience and the new energy of Esme and Sam and I do really feel more emotional for them than myself, seeing them enjoy this for the first time and getting their first Olympic vest. I love celebrating other people, so seeing them have this experience today and witnessing them enjoying this for the first time is amazing. I’m so fortunate that I’ve rowed with the most phenomenal people throughout my career… It’s exactly the same here in our four and I’m really enjoying working with them.”

Men’s four (M4-)

Photo: Team GB

The four has medalled at every event this Olympiad (nine gold, one silver, one bronze). Identified as part of the ‘Project Paris’ group in 2020, Oli Wilkes, Matt Aldridge and old school friends, David Ambler and Freddie Davidson will all be making their Olympic debuts in Paris.

Oli said: “It’s very surreal to be selected for our first Games. I never really thought this would be a possibility and it feels so special. It’s been a lot of hard work but it’s a brilliant opportunity. There’s a lot more to a Games, but we want to keep thinking about it as another race, to not get overwhelmed by the occasion and to focus on the job at hand!”

Lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x)

Photo: Team GB

Emily Craig and Imogen Grant are reuniting for Paris after missing the podium in Tokyo by just 0.01 seconds and only 0.5 seconds off gold. Since then, Emily has kept a print out of that photo finish on her living room wall. Stepping on this cycle, the double are one of only two crews in the World to remain unbeaten this Olympiad. They have the chance to make history by becoming the last ever Olympic medallists in this event.

Emily said: “Double Olympian sounds crazy! Being an Olympian the first time round was something I had dreamt of since I was 12 years old, so going to two Olympics is even more out there! I thought I would be one and done, and here I am back for Paris!”

Men’s pair (M2-)

Photo: Team GB

Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George won bronze at the Tokyo games in the Men’s eight. They switched to the Men’s pair after taking a year out to study at Cambridge and compete in the Boat Race. They have been on the podium at every race this cycle (seven gold, three silver, one bronze), won their first championship title at the 2024 European Rowing Championships, and are unbeaten in 2024.

Ollie said: “Last time GB won gold in the pair was Redgrave and Pinsent in 1996 and that was the only gold for Team GB at that Games. That’s when Lottery funding started and that makes it even more special to be in this boat class and to try to emulate what those guys did. It’s nice to have the opportunity to put our little piece of history in the much bigger puzzle that is Team GB.

“For me, having friends and family in Paris will be amazing as it gives them the opportunity to watch and support us in something that will seem almost like a home Games. To share that with them, whatever the result, is something really special.”

Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x)

Photo: Team GB

Hannah Scott returns after racing the quad in Tokyo. She is joined by first time Olympians, Lola Anderson, Georgie Brayshaw, and Lauren Henry. The quad were crowned World and European champions in 2023 and 2024 respectively.

Lauren, the youngest athlete in the squad said: “It’s amazing and a dream come true to be selected. I want to thank everyone who has helped to get me to this point, my parents, coaches and teammates. It’s incredible being the youngest in the team. I remember being on a junior training camp and the coach said ‘one of you could still make the Paris team’ and I thought ‘I want that to be me!’, so to actually do it is amazing. I might be the youngest but I know I’m surrounded by a great group of experienced people and am confident in my performance and results. Ultimately, we still have a job to do and want to get a result in Paris that we can be proud of.”

Men’s eight (M8+)

Photo: Team GB

Tokyo bronze medallists Jacob Dawson, Charlie Elwes, James Rudkin and Tom Ford are joined in the eight by returning Olympians Sholto Carnegie and Rory Gibbs. Morgan Bolding was a reserve in Tokyo and will therefore make his Olympic debut along with Tom Digby, and cox, Harry Brightmore. The eight are double European and double World Champions this cycle. They are coached by Men’s eight Sydney 2000 gold medallist, Steve Trapmore.

Tom said: “It’s always amazing to be told you are selected for Team GB. For me, knowing that my sister Emily has also been selected for her second Games (in the Women’s eight) is huge. It’s a really proud moment for our family. Sharing this experience with Emily is just brilliant.”

Women’s eight (W8+)

Photo: Team GB

Heidi Long, Holly Dunford, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart and Annie Campbell-Orde are all making their Olympic debuts. Hattie Taylor and Rowan McKellar have switched from the four in Tokyo while Emily Ford is the only returning athlete from the eight in 2020. Cox Henry Fieldman won bronze in the Tokyo GB men’s eight and will make history as the first male to cox a female boat for GB at the Olympic Games.

On making her Olympic debut, Heidi said: “It’s something that myself, my family and friends have been working towards for a very long time, so the fact that it’s here still feels surreal. Everyday I’m trying to keep focussed on rowing and what we are trying to achieve but I also want to enjoy and feel the excitement of all these special moments like being here today and going to kitting out. It takes a village to get to this point and knowing that my friends and family will be in Paris to support the whole team will hopefully inspire and encourage us to have the best time of our lives.”

Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x)

Photo: Team GB

Tokyo silver medallist Tom Barras is joined by Olympic debutants Callum Dixon and Matt Haywood. Completing the quad is Graeme Thomas, who raced in the double in Tokyo and was selected for Rio 2016, where he was heartbreakingly taken ill before having a chance to take to the water.

Second-time Olympian, Tom said: “Olympic selection is awesome. It’s a huge moment in an athlete’s life. It’s the build up of so many years of training, hard work and effort. All the miles we put in at training camps, the frustration and the enjoyment, it all culminates in this… selection for the greatest show on earth! Winning the silver in Tokyo was a brilliant, magical experience and I hope we can continue to build on that.”

Women’s pair (W2-)

Photo: Team GB

Switching from the Women’s eight in Tokyo to the pair in Paris are Chloe Brew and Rebecca Edwards. Chloe’s father, Paul, swam for Team GB at Seoul 1988, while Rebecca’s proudest moment was winning World Cup gold in the Women’s eight in Lucerne in 2023.

Rebecca said: “Selection for a second Olympics is incredible. I always believed I could do it and I’m proud of myself for sticking through the hard times and for enjoying the good times and it’s so rewarding to feel I’ve got to this point. Chloe is my best friend in rowing, we live together, we row together so sharing this with her is pretty special and we are ready for it!”

Women’s double sculls (W2x)

Photo: Team GB

Becky Wilde and Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne qualified the double for the Games just two weeks ago. Becky joined the senior team this season and has only raced internationally at the 2024 European Championships and the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. Mathilda returns from Tokyo having taken time away from the team to have her son, Freddie. Now two, Freddie is enjoying supporting his mother on her Olympic journey.

Mathilda said: “The reality of us qualifying is starting to sink in! I’ve enjoyed the journey this time around and it’s great that my family and son Freddie can come out to Paris to support us. Becky is great to race with because she is fearless and energetic and I feel like we are really bringing out the best in each other.”

Team GB Rowing team

Women’s eight (W8+)

Heidi Long (Leander Club/Marlow RC)
Rowan McKellar (Leander Club/Broxbourne RC)
Holly Dunford (Molesey BC)
Emily Ford (Leander Club)
Lauren Irwin (Leander Club/Durham University/Chester-le-Street ARC)
Eve Stewart (Leander Club)
Hattie Taylor (Leander Club/Sir William Perkins’s School)
Annie Campbell-Orde (Nottingham RC/Leander Club)
Henry Fieldman (cox) (Leander Club)
Coach: Richard Chambers 

Men’s eight (M8+)

Sholto Carnegie (Leander Club/Marlow RC)
Rory Gibbs (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Morgan Bolding (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Jacob Dawson (Leander Club/Plymouth ARC)
Charlie Elwes (Leander Club)
Tom Digby (Oxford Brookes University BC/Griffen BC)
James Rudkin (Newcastle University BC/Hollowell Scullers)
Tom Ford (Leander Club)
Harry Brightmore (cox) (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Coach: Steve Trapmore

Women’s four (W4-)

Helen Glover (Marlow RC)
Esme Booth (Leander Club/Stratford upon Avon BC)
Sam Redgrave (Leander Club/Norwich RC)
Rebecca Shorten (Imperial College BC)
Coach: James Harris

Men’s four (M4-)

Oli Wilkes (Oxford Brookes University BC)
David Ambler (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Matt Aldridge (Oxford Brookes University BC/Christchurch RC)
Freddie Davidson (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Coaches: Christian Felkel/Dan Moore

Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x)

Lauren Henry (Leicester RC)
Hannah Scott (Bann RC/Leander Club)
Lola Anderson (Leander Club/Newcastle University BC)
Georgie Brayshaw (Leander Club)
Coach: Andrew Randell

Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x)

Tom Barras (Burway RC/Leander Club)
Callum Dixon (Twickenham RC)
Matt Haywood (Nottingham RC/Burton Leander RC)
Graeme Thomas (Agecroft RC)
Coach: Paul Stannard

Lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x)

Emily Craig (University of London BC)
Imogen Grant (Cambridge University BC)
Coach: Darren Whiter

Women’s double sculls (W2x)

Becky Wilde (Leander Club/Bath University BC)
Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne (Upper Thames RC)
Coach: Tom Pattichis

Men’s pair (M2-)

Ollie Wynne-Griffith (Leander Club/Cambridge University BC)
Tom George (Leander Club/Cambridge University BC)
Coaches: Christian Felkel/Dan Moore

Women’s pair (W2-)

Chloe Brew (Leander Club/Plymouth ARC)
Rebecca Edwards (Leander Club)
Coach: Tom Pattichis

Reserves

Photo: Team GB

Olivia Bates (Nottinghamshire County RA/University of Nottingham BC)
Lucy Glover (Edinburgh University BC/Warrington RC)
James Robson (Leander Club/Newcastle University BC)
Will Stewart (Leander Club)

Team Management, Coaching and Support staff

Louise Kingsley, Team Leader
Tom Dyson, Deputy Team Leader
Jo Bates, Team Manager
Maurice Hayes, Resources Manager
Andrew Randell, Head Coach – Women
James Harris, Women’s Coach
Darren Whiter, Women’s Coach
Richard Chambers, Women’s Coach
Tom Pattichis, Women’s Coach
Paul Stannard, Head Coach – Men
Dan Moore, Men’s Coach
Steve Trapmore, Men’s Coach
Christian Felkel, Men’s Coach
Ann Redgrave, Team Doctor
Penny Stern, Team Physiotherapist
Emma Stewart, Team Physiotherapist
Gareth Turner, Sports Scientist
Molly Lloyd-Jones, Sports Scientist
Shelley Wyatt, Team GB Press Officer
Paul Cobbett, Regatta Support
John Gearing, Regatta Support
Dan Lockey, Regatta Support

Crew photos: Team GB

The post Team GB rowing squad selected for Paris 2024 appeared first on British Rowing.

Added to the bronze won on Saturday, the eight medal haul saw GB finish second on the medal table, tied on the number of golds with the Netherlands.

The Women’s four (W4-) of Helen Glover, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten won gold 2.5 seconds ahead of the Dutch World Champions, to maintain their winning streak in 2024. Esme said: “The result here is important, it’s a beautiful event, the scenery is amazing and it’s a great place to come. I think after the Europeans we sat down and put down a few things we wanted to work on, today was a really good chance to put those building blocks into place and have a good run down the track. Winning emotions are amazing, my parents are here and it’s so special to have everyone out here supporting us.”

Helen added: “Lucerne is an amazing regatta in its own right…. This race is just such a special event for our sport. So to be out here, to be racing, to be winning in a nice, more controlled style, is great. We know where we want to get to and to see the pieces falling into place this early in the season is really encouraging, because we do feel like there’s more to come.”

Only two crews in the world remain unbeaten this Olympiad, and one of those is Emily Craig and Imogen Grant in the Lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x). The double led their final throughout, despite some initial pressure from New Zealand, and crossed the line with clear water. “We relish the competition,” Emily said, “It’s always great to come down the track – from the first World Cup, the Europeans when I was absent and now we’ve raced everyone who is likely to be in that A Final at the Olympics in two months time, so it’s nice to put a post in the ground. Getting back in the boat is a real testament to the bond that Imo and I have and between us and Darren, our coach. To get through the last few weeks and put out a performance like that. It was not only back to where we were but frankly a step on to where we have been. It feels very special and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve done.”

When asked about their Tokyo result, Imogen said: “I feel like at this point we’ve done the result in Tokyo justice. We came back with a point to prove and we’ve proven it over the last few seasons. The chance at having another crack at the Olympics is very exciting. But in honesty, we just want to be proud of how we row and race and so far that’s come every time we’ve raced together this season. I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved over the last few years, it’s such a privilege getting to do this together and regardless of the results in a couple of months time I know I’m going to cross the line in floods of tears because we’ll never get to do it again.”

It was a second World Cup gold in 2024 for Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George in the Men’s pair (M2-), also maintaining their winning streak this season. Ollie said: “It’s nice to be unbeaten. Great.  But we don’t want to dwell on that, we don’t want to stop. We have learnings to take away and there are parts that we know can be better. But we are happy with today and it’s good to get a win on a beautiful lake.”

Tom added: “We were in control and we are happy with that, but we’re never going to stop and be happy with where we’re at. We’ll keep pushing. People keep asking us about expectations and telling us we’re favourites now, it doesn’t really matter. We have a lot of training to do and we want to keep pushing to find more speed.”

GB stormed to victory in the Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x) with an emphatic win. The World and European Champion crew of Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Georgie Brayshaw led from the off to finish around 2.5 seconds ahead of Netherlands. Lola said: “You never really want to feel like you’re in control when you’re racing. It’s a process-orientated sport for us and the minute you start feeling relaxed, for us that’s a minute where someone could slip through your fingers. We try to stay internal and by that logic we don’t really notice what’s going on around us. But it’s spicy inside the boat. We never feel sleepy.”

Hannah added: “We’ve started to hear more about the Olympic gold medal that people have been chasing for years, but there’s plenty of people who are just as talented as us and haven’t won it. So it’s definitely about things going right on the day. That’s what’s important for us – we have to keep it focussed out there, the biggest thing for us is progress, that’s what we’ve been doing every day and that’s why we’ve been building through every race. Hopefully we can keep continuing on and building the speed.”

The Men’s eight (M8+) was fast and frantic with the GB crew of Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Charlie Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford and cox, Harry Brightmore taking the upper hand, finishing just 0.20 ahead of the USA who had won the earlier preliminary round. Speaking after the medal ceremony, James said: “I feel pretty tired but that was a really good race for us. Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face and the USA really punched us in the face on Friday. We had our backs against the wall there and turned it around to pull out a race like that today. You train hard to race, we relish racing, we love it, it’s why we do the sport.”

It was silver for Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Holly Dunford, Emily Ford, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart, Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde, and cox, Henry Fieldman in the Women’s eight (W8+). It was an epic race, which saw the GB crew lead from the start, only to be pipped in the final strokes by Canada. Heidi said: “ I think we’ve stepped on a lot in the last few days. What we did really well was we executed what we wanted to do, so if we have a plan for the next eight weeks I think we can really build and be in the mix at the Games.”

The Men’s four (M4-) of Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson won bronze behind USA and New Zealand. In a stacked field, Oli said: “Everyone’s come in hungry looking for the big one in Paris.” Freddie added, “We thought that was a good step on from the heat, we’re not over the moon but we’re happy with how we’re progressing and have to keep that going. The next few months will be tough. We’ll come away from this and go up the mountain to training camp, slogging out long miles on the machines and on the water. It’s tough but we are all looking forward to it. It feels like we’re on the up, we need to keep that rolling and not give ourselves a hard time for this result today.”

It was fourth for the Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x) of John Collins, Callum Dixon, Tom Barras and Graeme Thomas and fifth for the GBR2 Men’s pair (M2-) of Will Stewart and James Robson. Chloe Brew and Rebecca Edwards placed ninth overall in the Women’s pair (W2-) B final.

Catch up on full results on our hub page here

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Topping the medal table, Sunday saw four gold medals and a silver added to the four gold and bronze from Saturday. Highlights include a ‘clean sweep’ of golds across the men’s sweep boats, medals for all 10 Para rowing athletes, and gold for both the Women’s four and Women’s quad.

Louise Kingsley, Director of Performance at British Rowing said: “It’s been a great weekend and it’s promising to see us top the medal table once again. We are still learning and building through this season, but performances this weekend have put us in a good place as we look towards the Olympic and Paralympic Games later this year.”

Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George were sublime in the Men’s pair (M2-) finishing the race to win their first championship title since they moved into the pair. “Obviously it’s nice.” Tom said: “It’s a good marker and a checking point. We talk about it all the time but the big one is the Olympics. It’s good to learn how to win and win in different ways and different conditions. Today was a good example of that. It’s amazing – we’re European Champions and that’s really cool.”

Credit: Benedict Tufnell / British Rowing

The Men’s four (M4-) of Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson took the gold despite windy conditions on the lake. Freddie said: “We’ve done quite a lot of stuff in some windy conditions in training camp so I think that helped us, but it’s obviously a different beast in six-lane racing versus just doing pieces on our own. I think it took quite a lot of commitment through the middle of the race to get ourselves back into it and lead it and to build our rhythm from there. We said after our heat we didn’t just want to sit or be satisfied, so we had a real focus of just doing our own piece and to be happy with where we were. I think that helped us during the long race because we had quite a simple plan. Obviously there’s still a bit to improve but it worked well for us.”

David added: “Obviously we want to get the win so we’re happy with that, because we’ve only had a week and a half to turn around and improve after falling short in Varese. There’s now three weeks until the next race and we can work on quite a lot of things in that time. There’s a lot of positives to take away, but we know there are a lot of really good crews to come in and the Italians are always going to be a force to be reckoned with. We worked hard and focused after World Cup I, if anything, having a slightly disappointing second place at the World Cup galvanised us into getting our eyes on the prize, sometimes you need a kick up the backside to do it.”

Credit: Benedict Tufnell / British Rowing

Another dominant crew were Lauren Rowles and Gregg Stevenson in the PR2 Mixed double sculls (PR2 Mix2x), winning back to back European titles. Gregg said: “This is my first double medal. We won the Europeans last year so to come here and do it again is pretty special. This is a springboard now, we’ve worked hard over the winter and we know what we have to do.

Lauren dedicated the win to her partner and five week old baby, “Five weeks ago my partner Jude gave birth to our son and so today was for Noah and Jude – I was thinking about our little boy in the last 500m. I was getting emotional being away from him so I definitely did it for them. To be out here and to be able to execute this is amazing. And to have Gregg supporting me through that – he’s trusted me the whole way and trust is a key part of this partnership.”

Credit: Benedict Tufnell / British Rowing

Frankie Allen, Josh O’Brien, Giedre Rakauskaite, Ed Fuller and cox Erin Kennedy continued the unbeaten run in the PR3 Mixed coxed four (PR3 Mix4+), dominating the race and finishing thirteen seconds ahead of France. Ed said: “It was our first race in this combination and the first race of the Paralympic cycle, so this crew is constantly learning and this race was another step in this journey. We’re racing three times this year including the Paralympic Games, so we’re going to keep building, keep progressing, keep our noses to the grindstone and keep pushing on for the one race that matters at the start of September which is the Paralympics.”

Credit: Benedict Tufnell / British Rowing

Newcomer Josh, making his international debut, added: “European champion sounds pretty good. It’s very exciting going out there for my first final today. We executed the race plan really well and I’m just so pleased. We had a big block of winter training at Caversham in pretty tough conditions, and we went out there today and executed our race plan brilliantly. It’s great.”

It was a solid silver for the Women’s eight (W8+) of Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Holly Dunford, Eve Stewart, Lauren Irwin, Emily Ford, Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde, and cox Henry Fieldman. Eve said: “The race was good, we got off to a really good start and a good rhythm. It was disappointing that we couldn’t hold off the Romanians, but we’re learning every race and moving on. We’re in front of Italy in this race who pipped us at the end of the last race, so we’re happy with what we’ve done but hungry for more.”

George Bourne continued to build his experience in the Men’s single sculls (M1x) final, placing sixth. Rebecca Edwards and Chloe Brew were fifth in the Women’s pair (W2-). Earlier in the day, the Women’s and Men’s double sculls (M2x and W2x) B finals saw Becky Wilde and Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne finish seventh and Seb Devereux and John Collins finish ninth respectively.

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The racing came thick and fast, with crews adding eight medals to the gold won by Olivia Bates in the lightweight women’s single on Saturday. The golds came in the Men’s pair, Lightweight Women’s double, Women’s four and Men’s eight.

It was a one, two in the Women’s four (W4-) with the GBR1 crew of Helen Glover, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten taking gold and the GBR2 crew of Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Holly Dunford and Emily Ford taking the silver. The GBR3 crew of Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde, Lauren Irwin and Eve Stewart were sixth.

Talking about the GB crews doubling up, Rebecca said: “It’s weird to be racing our teammates at this level, but we do so many pieces side by side that it feels like being back home – with a few extra crews! This regatta has been a good stepping stone, each race we’ve learned that we’ve still got so much more to come!”

Sam added: “I think we’ve been doing well in training and today was a good row. I think we have got that little bit of magic together which is really nice to have this early on. There’s more to come I’m sure!” Helen said: “A gold medal is the best way to start the season!”

Racing just 59 minutes after the Women’s four final, the Women’s eight (W8+) of Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart, Holly Dunford, Emily Ford, Hattie Taylor, Annie Campbell-Orde, and cox, Henry Fieldman battled through to win silver.

Holly said: “Having two races today was good fun and a good experience. I could definitely feel the first race in the legs in that second race, but it was good to race under those conditions. We had a turnaround of 59 minutes between the women’s four and the women’s eight races, but it’s good to get those races in the legs and still come away with two silver medals! We’ll regroup with the eight and figure out areas of improvement, but it’s definitely a good starting point and we’ll look to build on that as the season progresses.”

It was another World Cup gold medal for the GBR1 Men’s pair (M2-) Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George (GBR1) who haven’t lost a senior race at Lago di Varese. “We’re feeling good.” Tom said, adding: “Obviously it’s the first race in a long time, so we’re happy to get out there, get side by side and race these boys again because it’s a really strong field.” Ollie described the race as “a stepping stone”, saying: “The Europeans is the next big one for us ahead of the next World Rowing Cup and then the Olympics. So we will keep learning and continue to trust ourselves.”

Emily Craig and Imogen Grant were not phased by the drama going on around them in the lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x) final. The Canadian crew caught a crab right off the blocks, but the GB crew won by almost 7 seconds, continuing their winning streak in this Olympiad.

Imogen said: “We saw something at the start but didn’t let it shake our rhythm and just did what we needed to do. Emily added: “I’m glad we’ve sunk our teeth into racing. We’ve been chomping at the bit to get going, it’s nice to come back in with a bang. I feel like we’ve moved on and shown the world a little bit of what we’ve been doing behind the scenes for the last six months.”

The final race of the day saw the Men’s eight (M8+) of Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Charlie Elwes, Tom Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford and cox, Harry Brightmore win gold. Morgan said: “I think through the winter it’s tough to keep positive about what you’ve done in the past and believe you’ll still be good when you get to your next race. We don’t assume anything but this win gives us a lot of confidence. One good performance is nice to have on the board and there’s certainly more to come!”

The Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x) of Callum Dixon, Tom Barras, Matt Haywood and Graeme Thomas won silver. Callum said; “That was our best row to date so we’re really happy to come away with a silver medal.”

Graeme said: “For me, 2022 could have been my last race and there were definitely moments in that period that I thought it could be, but here I am. I was a bit emotional on Friday getting the first race under my belt. Once I got over that hurdle we were back to business and I slotted back into the groove. These boys did a great job of facilitating all the little things I needed as I went through rehab, so I’m grateful to them and they did a great job today. Right now we’re taking it one day at a time and just focusing on what we need to do as a crew to improve.”

Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson in the Men’s four (M4-) were pipped on the finish line by Italy to take the silver in a very close finish. David said: “We started well but we felt Italy coming up in the last 500 and they put on an awesome sprint to come through in the last 100. It was great from them and full credit to them for that. I think it’ll be good for us to get onto Europeans quickly. We haven’t had too much racing this season, this is our first side-by-side match up, so it’ll be nice to give ourselves a week to work things out and come back and see where that puts us. I’m looking forward to it.”

George Bourne attacked the Men’s single sculls (M1x) final in a packed field that included the world champion and narrowly missed out on the podium finishing in fourth. Also finishing fourth were Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Georgie Brayshaw in the Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x) and Rebecca Edwards and Chloe Brew in the Women’s pair (W2-). The GBR2 Men’s pair (M2-) of Will Stewart and James Robson finished fifth.

Earlier in the day, John Collins and Seb Devereux won the Men’s Double sculls (M2x) B final, placing seventh overall.

Results from Sunday at World Rowing Cup I

Full results

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