Great Britain won five gold medals and one silver medal across the two days of finals. The results saw the team finish third on the medal table behind Romania and Germany.
Sunday’s racing saw the Single Sculls and the Women’s Eight in action, and following two outstanding performances from Benjamin Pritchard and Lauren Henry in the PR1 Men’s Single Scull and Women’s Single Scull, respectively, two more golds were added to the three won yesterday across the Men’s and Women’s Four, and the PR3 Mixed Coxed Four.
Following thunder and lightning in the surrounding area, racing in the morning was suspended by more than 90 minutes.
In the opening stages of the PR1 Men’s Single Sculls, the lead was constantly changing. Benjamin Pritchard, the defending European, World, and Paralympic Champion, led out, before Italy’s Giacomo Perini snatched it back. By halfway, the pendulum of momentum was back with the British Sculler as Ukraine’s Roman Polianskyi brought himself into contention.
With 600m to go, it became a two-horse race between Pritchard and Perini. Despite the roar of the home support, Perini couldn’t overhaul Pritchard, and the Paralympic Champion shook off his challenge, extending his lead to clear water as he approached the finish line. This means Pritchard has won back-to-back European titles as he continues to build towards the World Rowing Championships.
“The reason why this is so special is that my coach on the River Tawe, Andrew Williams, his father passed away on Tuesday. This was done for the Williams family and for everything they do for me. Thank you to them and to everyone in the GB Rowing Team for getting me here in this shape.
“I didn’t really know what was happening out on the course. I was trying to focus on what I was doing. With the delay to racing, the headwind, and conditions changing, you can get caught up in what everyone else is doing. David [Breen] and I were really clear about sticking to my race plan and trying to execute that.
“Every time Giacomo came through me, I looked at my clock, and I thought, ‘Well, he’s not beating my World Record in these conditions so let’s just carry on with the plan,’ and that’s exactly what I did.”
Credit: Benedict Tufnell
Lauren Henry worked her way through the field to take gold in the Women’s Single Scull and win back-to-back European titles in this boat class. Lithuania’s Viktorija Senkute led the field through 500m and through the halfway marker; however, this didn’t faze Henry, who motored through in the third quarter of the race. The 2024 Olympic Champion had clear water come the finish, winning by more than four seconds on Lago di Varese.
“I was really pleased with the race today, and very pleased to defend my European Championship title,” said Henry.
“It was a nice, fast race. The thing for us is that we have our sights set on Amsterdam in three weeks time, so we’re buildings towards that and seeing what we can take from this race towards the World Championships, and there’s a couple of things already. It’s really special to get a Championship title, but I’m slightly disappointed not have heard the national anthem as that’s always sopecial. That being said, I’m really thankful we managed to race today with all the delays and I’m pleased with how I dealt with those. I’m looking forward to the next few weeks and hopefully delivering a cracking result in Amsterdam.
After clocking the fastest time ever by a British Women’s Eight in their Preliminary Race, the British were back in action in a four-boat final. Romania did what they did 48 hours ago and blasted out of the blocks. Lizzie Witt, Megan Slabbert, Amelia Standing, Katherine George, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart, Heidi Long, Annie Campbell-Orde, and cox Jack Tottem firmly established themselves in second place but were unable to bridge the gap to the 2024 Olympic Champions. The British did well to keep the home favourites, Italy, at arm’s length throughout the race and crossed the line second behind the Romanians.
“It was a good race. We went out wanting to be brave, and that’s what we did,” said George.
“We wanted to try something new, and we did that. The whole crew was happy with the performance on Friday, and we wanted to see how we would build on that.
“We’re in the middle of quite a long training camp, so it was a good opportunity to test what we have been working on and see what we can do next. Friday’s performance was a huge thing, and we were all very excited by that. We’re all thrilled, and it shows how much we’ve put in, as well as how much effort and grit we’ve got, which is very exciting.”
Credit: Benedict Tufnell
On his senior debut for Great Britain, Ben Parsonage reached the A Final of the Lightweight Men’s Single Scull. In a strong field, Parsonage left everything out on the course as he clocked 07:09.04 to finish sixth overall.
“It was pretty tough, and I was in good company today,” said Parsonage.
“I felt very humbled to be on the start line with them all. The race was good; I thought it was a good performance from me, but clearly there’s work to be done. The overriding feeling now is gratefulness. I’m very grateful to the GB Rowing Team; Pete Sheppard and Tom Dyson have been so welcoming, as have all the staff and athletes who have made me feel so welcome this week, which is pretty special.
“I wouldn’t be here without my coaching team of Chris Parsonage, Nick Thomas, and Peter Haining. Everyone has risen to the occasion this week.”
The day also saw Jamie Gare racing in the B Final of the Men’s Single Scull. Following a weekend of tailwinds, Lago di Varese served up a headwind for the second race of the revised schedule. Norway’s Jonas Juel led from start to finish, and Gare struggled to keep pace with the pack that chased after him, led by a fast-finishing Filip-Matej Pfeifer who moved from fifth up to second. Gare would finish his European Rowing Championships twelfth overall in the Men’s Single Scull.
“I jumped in the Single Scull quite last minute and gave it a good go. Conditions probably showed some weaknesses and highlighted that I hadn’t been in it for too long.
“I’ve enjoyed being in the Single though. I did a little bit before we came out and I was going alright, but it was quite a chunky headwind and that showed some weaknesses.”
“Lauren and Benjamin both demonstrated outstanding composure and quality in today’s racing to defend their European titles in style,” said Interim Performance Director Tom Dyson.
“Together with the women’s eight securing silver, and the three European titles won across the fours events yesterday, it has been a hugely positive Championships for the team. Just as importantly, this weekend has provided valuable insight into our preparations for the World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam next month.”
“Every crew will leave with a clearer understanding of what’s required, and a renewed determination to deliver it over the final weeks of training. All squads will now move into their final preparation camps ahead of the World Championships.
“With the strength of the entries published this week, and the level of performances we’ve seen from other nations throughout this weekend, Amsterdam is shaping up to deliver a world-class spectacle of rowing.”
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