The women’s open four has always been an incredibly competitive event; this year is no exception. Usually, the podium in the open category is made up of combinations of NTC athletes – although this year, as the Olympic cycle has just finished, NTC athletes have taken a step back – meaning the promise of gold is all the more possible for open women aspiring for greatness.
Melbourne Uni Composite
As two of Rowing Victoria’s dedicated high-performance clubs, it’s no surprise that Melbourne Uni’s / Mercantile’s entry is incredibly strong. This boat brings with it the gusto and experience of rowing Olympia – with dual Olympian and Tokyo Gold Medallist Lucy Stephan. Laura Foley, who is no stranger to representing Australia, will support her in the middle. Her accolades include representation at both the Windermere Cup and last year’s World Rowing Cup I. Zara Lavery saw herself find great success in the recent RV state championships, leaving with a gold in both the pair and double – showing a mastery of rowing no matter the type of blade. With such strong leadership and the backing of clubs that consistently produce top-quality athletes, these four will be strong competitors.
Sydney Rowing Club
SRC are known to be hungry for gold, and their entry into this boat class is a testament to that hunger. Isabelle Furrer is an SRC veteran, being one of the club’s long-standing and consistently high-performing rowers. In 2018, she represented Australia in the U23 coxed four, and medalled for the junior team the following year. Her success has been sustained well beyond her junior years, as she collected a gold in the eight, a gold in the four and bronze in the pair at NSW State Championships. She’ll be joined by fellow SRC staples Caitlin McManus-Barrett and Isabella Scammell who claimed a bronze in the U23 World Rowing Championships last year. They were also in a crew with Furrer that claimed gold at the NSW State Championships, with McManus-Barrett being combined with Furrer in the pair whilst Scamell would claim gold with a different partner. Barr brings youth to the crew, as an U23 who claimed gold in the eight and was the final member of the SRC crew that won the elite four. Her age clearly has no impact on her performance. Their incredibly strong background in high-performance junior crews paired with this combination of racing experience is sure to make them highly competitive in this event.
Sydney University Boat Club
The girls from Linley Point will certainly have something to prove in this race. Like SRC, this combination is successful, as all four girls walked away from the elite eight with silver medals around their necks at NSW State Championships. Women’s boat captain India Hobbs will certainly create cohesion between the diverse experiences and talents in this boat. Zara Collinson returns to Australia after four successful seasons rowing at the University of Michigan. She’s joined by Taylor Caudle, who rowed at both the University of Wisconsin and Oxford Brookes University, where she won The Island Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. Her performance last year also earned her an invite to trial for the NTC. The final athlete in this boat is a recent import to the club – Ireland’s Aisling Hayes. Hayes returned home with an array of silverware from the recent NSW State Championships, including an elite quad win, elite double win, elite eight silver and a commendable fourth in the single. Since beginning racing in Australia, she has been consistent, strong and reliable in the boat. These four will be ones to watch.
University of Western Australia Composite
The UWA composite is the closest thing to an NTC entry on the race draw, with three out of four crew members being current NTC athletes. Georgina Rowe has been the face of Australian rowing in recent years and holds multiple world records on the rowing machine. She claimed a bronze in the eight in World Rowing Cup I before besting this medal with a gold in the same category at World Rowing Cup II, before competing in Paris at the Olympic Games last year. She backed in this boat by Jacqui Swick, also a World Rowing Cup gold medallist and recent Olympian. Ella Bramwell has been a powerhouse in domestic rowing over the past few seasons and will leave nothing on the line alongside Cox, who is also an Olympian. This boat is an absolute powerhouse and will be in hotly-tipped for the gold.
Prediction
It would be difficult to predict a boat powered by mainly Olympians to finish in any place but first, and thus, I pick the UWA composite to win. The second and third spots will be a contentious battle, although I pit it primarily between SRC and the MUBC composite.
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