The mighty lighties are back and with a vengeance. The Women’s Championship Lightweight Pairs are an event which smaller athletes are allowed to shine, and with a classically dogged mindset create some exciting racing.
Cambridge
This year’s entry is dominated by four crews from Cambridge. Their top pair is the King sisters Gemma and Catherine, who took the win in the 2021 Reserve Women’s Boat Race with Blondie. The pair have competed at Henley Royal Regatta in the Hambleden Pairs in both 2018 and 2019 showing their quality by qualifying for the open level event.
None of the other three Cambridge pairs competed in the Boat Races or the Lightweight Boat Races, so must be crews made up of college rowers. While they shouldn’t be discounted completely, it’s unlikely that these pairs will contend the medals come race day.
Bath
The entry from Bath University features Imogen Bantick who won the U23 Women’s Lightweight event at the World Rowing Indoor Championships earlier this year. Partnering up with teammate Hannah Slater this is a strong pairing who if all goes well will be amongst the front of the field.
Nottingham
Nottingham have a history of producing strong lightweight crews, in recent years winning numerous medals at BUCS and sending a squad of athletes to EUSA each summer. Although this pairing is unproven, having not raced at
My prediction for this event: Cambridge (King & King) to take gold, followed by Nottingham, then Bath in bronze.
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