12 July 2024
By Tim Koch
After his wet week at Henley, Tim Koch may have dried out, but he is not drying up.
My intended three reports on Sunday’s Henley results are somewhat late on the start, not least because the race for the Doggett’s Coat and Badge came two days after the Henley finals day and the senior event required my attention (Doggett’s was founded in 1715, young Henley in 1839).
This post will cover the Open events and it will be followed by one on Intermediate and Club results and finally one recording the outcome of the Student and Junior finals. The italicised text summarising each final is from the official press release.
Racing was between 9.30 and 4.00. The morning was overcast with rain and breaks of sunshine. The afternoon saw sporadic rain with intervals of sunshine.
The Double Sculls Challenge Cup (OM2x)
J. Gare & C. Dafydd, Leander Club, beat C.M. Cunningham & C.C. Fuller, Penn Athletic Club Rowing Association and Saugatuck Rowing Club, USA, by 2 lengths, time 7.25.
The final of The Double Sculls Challenge Cup between Leander Club and a well-drilled pairing from the USA created some excitement in this morning’s racing. Starting sharp, the Brits led the Americans from the end of the island. Despite an aggressive attack from Cunningham and Fuller at the Mile to narrow the gap, the crew representing Leander could respond and continued to move away. Leander Club came away from this contest as victors by two lengths.
The Town Challenge Cup (OW4-)
Rowing Canada ‘A’, Canada beat Leander Club ‘A’ by 3/4 length, time 7.52.
An epic encounter, this race kept spectators on the edge of their seats in The Town Challenge Cup. A fast start gave Leander a third of a length advantage into the Quarter Mile and within the next one hundred and fifty metres, they had extended this to three quarters of a length. Thinking they were secure, Leander held Canada until the Three Quarter Mile, but at Remenham the Canadians began to hunt down Leander’s lead. Drawing level at the Mile and One Eighth, audiences in the enclosure were treated to a show. Upping their rate beyond forty, Canada dug deep and sprinted to the line, winning The Town Challenge Cup on most of the crew’s Henley debut.
The Hambleden Pairs Challenge Cup (OW2-)
E.M. Cornelis & J.P. Cornut-Danjou, Club France, France, beat A.A. Cronk & K.A. Edwards, Rowing Canada, Canada, by 1 3/4 lengths, time 8.42.
The Final of The Hambleden Pairs Challenge Cup was an international match with representation from France and Canada. Despite a couple of pushes from the Canadians, they could never re-establish contact with the French crew, who won by one-and-three-quarter lengths.
The Stonor Challenge Trophy (OW2x)
S. Wibberenz & L. Gutfleisch, Ruder-Club-Havel Brandenburg e.V. and Heidelberger Ruderklub 1872 e.V., Germany, beat J.R. Bates & F.B. Keto, Oxford Brookes University and Thames Rowing Club by 3 3/4 lengths, time 8.20.
In the final of The Stonor Challenge Trophy, the German double declared dominance over the British and didn’t allow them to come close throughout the entire race. Managing to sustain a four-length lead over the majority of the course, the pushes of the British crew were futile, and they were unable to recover the lengths lost early on.
The Diamond Challenge Sculls (OM1x)
O. Zeidler, Frankfurter Rudergesellschaft Germania 1869 e.V., Germany, beat J. Plihal, Craftsbury Green Racing Project, USA, easily, time 7.49.
This final of The Diamond Challenge Sculls marked Oliver Zeidler’s third consecutive Henley victory. Plihal sculled hard but was outdone by Zeidler, who had already moved six lengths away from him by Fawley. Zeidler’s fourth victory never looked in jeopardy as he beat Jacob Plihal, a fellow Olympic-bound athlete, ‘easily’.
The Grand Challenge Cup (OM8+)
Oxford Brookes University and Taurus Boat Club beat University of Washington, USA, by 3 3/4 lengths, time 6.25.
Torrential rain and a broken oar made the final of The Grand Challenge Cup tense. Oxford Brookes have won this event for the past three years. Washington, however, is yet to claim the title.
The race started as expected: strong, punchy, and precise. The crews drew level, intensifying the atmosphere of the race as both vied for the lead. Washington made the first move and crept ahead. Brookes remained focused but did not respond to Washington’s early lead although they continued to row long and powerfully to maintain contact with their competition. The early lead was short-lived when, approaching the barrier, Brookes drew level.
Washington continued to apply pressure to Brookes, not letting them slip away, but the steering of the Washington boat went awry, causing them to hit the booms. The mistake gave Brookes an opportunity to storm into a lead. Despite Washington’s prompt recovery, the seconds it took to get back on track gave Brookes a two-length lead that Washington failed to mitigate.
At the one and one-eighth mile Washington were three and three quarter lengths down from Brookes (who) crossed the line to be crowned winners of The Grand Challenge Cup.
The Queen Mother Challenge Cup (OM4x)
Leander Club beat Ruder-Klub Normannia Braunschweig e.V. and Sportclub Magdeburg e.V. Abteilung Rudern, Germany, by 2/3 length, time 6.41.
A tidy start allowed the German quad to lead until the Barrier, Leander trailing ¼ length behind. Approaching Fawley, Leander made a sustained push, which inched them up to 1 ¾ lengths in front of the Germans by the Mile. In a desperate bid to reclaim their advantage, the Braunschweig & Magdeburg crew dashed towards the line and recovered the best part of a length, but unfortunately they came up short, and Leander triumphed in The Queen Mother Challenge Cup to secure their third win of the day.
The Princess Grace Challenge Cup (OW4x)
Shawnigan Lake School, Canada beat Lausanne-Sports Aviron, Switzerland, and Shawnigan Lake School, Canada, by 3/4 length, time 7.49.
This was a closely fought battle between the Swiss and Canadians down the entirety of the course; however, Shawnigan Lake School of Canada claimed victory by three-quarters of a length.
The Silver Goblets & Nickalls’ Challenge Cup (OM2-)
N. Van Sprang & G. Krommenhoek, Hollandia Roeiclub, Netherlands, beat R.D. Schmela & T. Hagemeister, Berliner Ruderclub and Frankfurter Rudergesellschaft Germania 1869 e.V., Germany, easily, time 7.51.
In the Final of The Silver Goblets & Nickalls’ Challenge Cup, the Dutch pair took an immediate lead and, despite some erratic steering, stayed in control. At the mile marker, the Dutch continued to pull away from the Germans, claiming an easy verdict.
The Remenham Challenge Cup (OW8+)
Oxford Brookes University beat Princeton Training Center and Advanced Rowing Initiative of the Northeast, USA, by 1/2 length, time 7.19.
The eventual winners of The Remenham Challenge Cup, Oxford Brookes, were never able to move more than half a length away from Princeton at any point during this race. Brookes used a lower, more efficient stroke rate to power through and claim half a length by the Quarter Mile but this was reduced to one-third by Fawley and only a canvas at the Mile. Both crews fought until the finish, Brookes receiving repeated warnings about their steering; however, in the end they crossed the line half a length ahead of Princeton.
The Princess Royal Challenge Cup (OW1x)
R. Liu, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, beat C.M. Madden, Cambridge Boat Club, USA, by 3 3/4 lengths, time 9.14.
In the final of The Princess Royal Challenge Cup, Liu, within the first minute, steadily moved into the lead in an easy stride and was more than capable of keeping Madden at bay. Madden’s challenge to claim back some water came too late, making her efforts ineffective, and by the One and One Eighth Mile, Madden was down three lengths. R. Liu of Shanghai Jiao University, China, has claimed the title with a three-and-a-quarter length lead.
The Stewards’ Challenge Cup (OM4-)
Oxford Brookes University beat Leander Club by 2 lengths, time 6.50.
In a straight final in The Stewards’ Challenge Cup, there was no race data available for these crews to pick a clear favourite from. It looked as if Leander were going to continue the advantage that they had held for the first two kilometres into the enclosures, but Brookes were determined to take this lead from Leander’s grasp. Appearing as though they had teased their opposition into thinking they would win, Brookes flipped a switch through the Stewards’ Enclosure, quickly claiming dominance and snatching the victory from their competition. Defeated, Leander conceded to the crew, who had also won The Grand Challenge Cup earlier in the day.
Brookes successfully defended five 2023 trophies plus won another in the Remenham. This makes forty-one medals, eight finals and six wins including four out of the nine events for Eights.
The next post will cover the finals of the Intermediate and the Club events.