Great Britain ended the third day of racing with three silver medals at the U19 World Rowing Championships. There was a silver streak to racing as three races in a row saw Great Britain win silver.
The Men’s Double Scull kicked off the medal rush. Quinn Mosley and Alfie Webb were involved in a barnstorming final that saw the lead change hands numerous times from start to finish. The Individual Neutral Athletes took an early lead over Türkiye. By halfway, there was less than three seconds between all six crews, as Great Britain barged their way into second place. Come the red boys, there was a frantic race for the line that saw AIN drop out of the medals; the British duo held firm in second while Estonia roared from fourth to first and won by 0.6 seconds.
Next down the course was the Women’s Four. Yesterday’s semi-final proved to be the perfect foreshadowing of today’s race for medals as Romania took the early lead with Great Britain and Australia following suit. The British quartet consolidated their silver medal position throughout the second half of the race and pulled away to lead the Aussies by clear water. The British would cross the line second, meaning Ottilie Campbell-Reide went one better than last year’s bronze medal, and Isis Thurnham, Henriette Smit, and Anna Trapmore won their first medal on the world stage.
The Men’s Four was set to be a sensational final after some mouthwatering semi-finals. Through the opening stages, the big favourites Great Britain and New Zealand, who topped yesterday’s racing, led, but by halfway, Spain had made their presence known. From lane 1, the Spanish mounted an almighty charge, snatching the lead and never looking back. As New Zealand crumbled in the closing stages, Great Britain jacked their rating to over 43 as they kept a charging France at bay. Csombor Hanzcar, Edward Ludgate, Guy Parson, and Nick Conway crossed the line second, behind Spain, and ahead of France.
The A Final of the Men’s Quadruple Sculls was another nailbiter. Finley Corby, Gabriel Lorenzi, Isaac Thornton, and Louis Sheasby built nicely through the field and found themselves in third place with 500m to go. From there on out, it was a drag race for the medals. Germany held their nerve and continued to lead as they crossed the finish line. Denmark went through gears and moved from sixth to third in the space of 500m, pushing the Brits into fourth place in the dying stages, while Poland held on for silver.
The women’s event was equally entertaining. Having had their bow ball out in front for the first half of the race, the wheels came off the German steam train in the second half of the race. Poland rowed through to pole position and never looked back. As Germany dropped back through the field, Czechia and Romania, who had been dogfighting all race, moved into second and third, respectively. Great Britain’s Kate Cohalan, Lauren Kennedy, Alice Moss, and Holly Weddell raced admirably, placing fifth, less than 2.5 seconds off third place.
Both the Men’s and Women’s Pair were in action in the B Final. Germany blasted out of the blocks and held their advantage right through to the finish line. Great Britain’s Isabelle Hughes and Bella Okunola, who have grown throughout the regatta, posted their fastest time of the weekend as they placed fifth, beating South Africa, and finishing their campaign ranked eleventh in the world.
Much like the women, the Men’s Pair of Jonathan Cleugh and Wilder Daffey posted their quickest time of the U19 World Rowing Championships as they fought their way to second in the B Final, eighth overall at the regatta. The duo were leading after 500m, but Uzbekistan was quicker through the middle section of the race. Cleugh and Daffey did well to keep the French at bay, even as they pushed up towards the Brits. In the closing stages, Uzbekistan crabbed, and the rest of the field pounced. Hungry won out, after lying in waiting, and Great Britain crossed the line second.
Saturday also saw semi-final action across the Single Sculls. Lewie Harris was back in action and raced bravely in a stacked field. He placed sixth in a race won by Norway’s Raphael Pintsch, ahead of Germany and Switzerland. The Hinksey Sculling School athlete will be back in action tomorrow morning in the B Final.
“Our crews continued to demonstrate a mature and committed approach to training,” said U19 Team Manager John Layng.
“All of our races were very closely contested, and to win three silver medals on the world stage was an excellent achievement.”
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