6 July 2021
By Göran R Buckhorn
After having to cancel last year’s Henley Women’s Regatta (HWR) due to the pandemic, the organisers, lead by Miriam Luke (nee Batten), put on a glorious show this past weekend for the 2021 regatta. See all the results here.
Yesterday, the regatta announced on social media that Miriam Luke is stepping down as Chair. Luke has been the HWR Chair since 2012, and “the rowing community owes her an enormous debt of gratitude,” it was stated on the regatta’s Instagram account.
New Chair is Naomi Riches MBE. “These days she is rowing with Marlow Rowing Club’s Senior Women and has a hand in coaching the MRC Para Squad,” it read on Instagram.
Naomi Riches, who is blind, is a para-rower who won gold at the 2012 London Paralympics in the LTA (Mixed) Four and a took a bronze in the boat class at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. Between 2004 and 2013, Riches became world champion in the LTA Four six times and took a silver medal in the class in 2007.
“We are tremendously excited to welcome incoming Chair Naomi Riches,” the HWR organisers wrote on social media. Riches is making her debut as Chair of HWR at the 2022 regatta.