2nd – 3rd November 2019
Leander Club travelled in force to Boston, Lincolnshire to compete in the first GB assessment trials of the year.
Sixty-six Leander Club athletes took part in the two-day trial, which consisted of a 2000 meter ergo test on Saturday at the Boston Rugby Club and then, on Sunday, a 5000 meter time trial on the water in pairs and single sculls, hosted by Boston Rowing Club.
On Saturday despite the disappointing rugby result in the World Cup final our athletes achieved some solid scores to qualify them to take part in the water assessment the following day.
Thankfully the forecasted wind and rain stayed away on Sunday leaving us with good conditions to race in.
Division one was for the men’s pairs and scullers, where we had thirteen pairs racing (some as composite crews) and fifteen single sculls.
Tom Ford and Jacob Dawson from Leander Club were the overall winners of the men’s pairs, with Leander athletes occupying eight of the top ten finish positions, and eleven in the top fifteen.
Tom Barras from Leander Club was the fastest men’s sculler of the day with Sam Mottram from Leander in second place as the fastest lightweight man. Leander had seven scullers in the top ten places.
Division two was for the women’s pairs and scullers. Leander had nine pairs and nine scullers racing.
Rowan McKellar from Leander with Rebecca Shorten of Imperial College was the fastest pair of the day with Leander athletes occupying eight of the top ten places.
Special mention to our development athletes Heidi Long and Alice Davies coming fifth, Chloe Brew and Lauren Irwin coming eighth, and Susie Dear and Natasha Harris-White coming tenth.
Club captain Vicky Thornley was the fastest women’s sculler of the day ahead of Holly Nixon from Leander, who returned to racing with a bang after a long time out with illness. Holly has been training with the Club squad since September while she has been recovering, so to achieve second place is a great result.
Impressively, Leander Club occupied the top four finish positions, with five scullers in the top ten.
Special mention once again to our development athletes training at the club Georgie Brayshaw coming fourth and Gemma Hall coming seventh.
All in all, the Club had a very successful weekend with plenty of promising results to build on over the next few weeks until the next assessment in December.
We thank all the fantastic staff at Boston Rowing Club for their continued support of GB trials and their incredible hospitality every time we attend trials.
Full list of results here.
