The College’s rowing success didn’t end at Henley Royal Regatta. Thirteen pupils represented the College, England or Great Britain at different rowing events throughout the summer. Past pupils have also seen victory, with an Old Viking becoming an U23 World Champion.
Starting the summer achievements off was R Humphris, who was selected as a spare for the GB v France match in Nottingham. Humphris raced in the spare’s single race, where a quick start enabled him to lead the pack, which secured a win by 7 lengths!
After only learning to row in January, this year’s J14s have had a very successful season, placing second in the country at the National Schools’ Regatta. Five members of that crew, E Floyd, R Logan, F Middleton, L Swinburne-Johnson and C Keena, decided to compete in the British Junior Championships in a coxed quad. After placing third in the time trial, only one second behind the crew in second, they secured their place in the A final. With a chance of a medal in sight, the boys knew they would need to dig deep to achieve a high position. The crew fought hard throughout the race and achieved an incredible silver medal, climbing a medal position from their result in the time trial.
Saturday 27 July saw the annual Home International Regatta take place in Strathclyde, where England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales raced against one another. 1st VIII cox, J Kirby, was selected to cox the Junior Men’s 8+ and 4+ at the event. Kirby secured gold in the 4+ before joining other members of the England squad to take bronze in the 8+. Recent leaver, E Nolson, also competed at the event but under Henley Rowing Club. Nolson won gold in both her events, the Junior Women’s 8+ and 4+.
This year Shiplake had three pupils representing Great Britain at the Coupe de la Jeunesse in Italy: R Ash in the 8+; S Hjortland-Marks in the 4-; and B Brockway in the 4+. On the Saturday, both Ash and Brockway had a clear lead from the start of the finals, and both came away with gold medals. Hjortland-Marks fought hard throughout his final but the Italians just pipped his boat to first place, resulting in a strong silver.
The second day saw all the boys race again in the same crews, with S Hjortland-Marks up first. They were determined to come away with a win, which is exactly what they did, beating the Czechs by a second to take home the gold medal. After some nail-biting finishes, Ash and Brockway both came away with silver medals on day two.
Headmaster, Gregg Davies, who was lucky enough to go to Corgeno to watch the weekend's racing, commented, “This has been some of the best racing I have ever seen. With the tightest finishes I’ve witnessed, many results having to be judged by the big screen. I am incredibly proud of these three athletes who each bring home a gold and silver medal. They now deserve a well-earned summer break!”
The last rowing event of the summer was the Junior World Championships. After a long selection process, Shiplake was proud to announce that two of our recent Year 13s would be racing in Tokyo for Great Britain. O Morgan, who became the first girl to win Henley Women’s Regatta under Shiplake, would race in the Junior Women’s double scull. Recent Captain of Boats, D Brown, would also be representing GB in the Junior Men’s eight.
Morgan and her doubles partner drew a tough semi-final where they placed 4th, meaning they would race in the B final. A great performance in this race, meant that O Morgan finished 10th in the world.
D Brown and his crew were strong contenders for a medal, especially after winning their heat and progressing to the A final, and he achieved a well-deserved bronze medal.
Director of Rowing, David Currie, was also part of the Junior World Championships as the coach of the GB Junior Men’s 4-. Mr Currie's crew achieved an incredible silver medal. He commented on Shiplake's GB athletes, “Both pupils should be extremely proud of their achievements. It has been a great end to their time at Shiplake and as part of the Boat Club. We look forward to seeing more from these two.”
Old Viking and recent Henley Royal Regatta winner, Henry Blois-Brooke (17S), raced for Great Britain in the Men’s 8+ at the U23 World Championships in Florida. Henry and his crew controlled the race from start to finish, beating the USA by 2 seconds to gain the gold medal.
As if becoming an U23 World Champion wasn’t enough, Henry also undertook the gruelling challenge of the 192-mile Coast-to-Coast run in 6 days. Congratulations Henry!
