Arguably one of the most entertaining races this year at BUCS Regatta will almost certainly be the Men’s Championship Lightweight Double. Due to the weight of each crew member being restricted to 72.5kg, the marginal gains are found in technique with incredibly close finishes almost guaranteed.
Durham University BC
Durham are entered under the name of Jude Richards, he was top junior sculler last year, winning the Championship Double at the National Schools’ Regatta and a silver medal in the double at the British Rowing Junior Championships. I’m sure that at a programme like Durham’s that Jude will have continued to develop and will therefore make Durham serious contenders for this event.
Oxford University Lightweight BC
Fielding two crews in this event are Oxford University, with such a strong lightweight programme cantered towards the Lightweight Boat Race, Oxford will undoubtedly have a strong pool of athletes to draw from when formulating these crews. As a result, Oxford will absolutely be ones to watch for this event.
Edinburgh University BC
This Edinburgh crew is entered under Dale Flockhart, the winner of the Men’s Lightweight Single at the GB final trials at Caversham a few weeks ago. He is an extremely impressive athlete for Edinburgh to have at their disposal and will certainly be in contention for the gold medal in this event due to the amount of speed he brings to the table.
Reading University BC
A programme focussed solely on sculling, Reading always perform well in sculling events at BUCS. Little is known of the standard of their lightweight men this season but I could certainly see them performing well due to Reading having such a strong season this year, winning the Men’s Championship Quad category at BUCS Head in February.
Cambridge University BC
Similarly to Oxford, Cambridge University also invest a lot of resources into producing a strong lightweight men’s squad. And arguably did a superior job of it this year too, taking the win in the men’s Lightweight Boat Race. Of course, the standard of this crew will depend on what Cambridge have prioritised for this regatta but I could definitely see this crew doing well.
Prediction
I predict that Edinburgh will take the win in this event, thanks to the speed provided by Dale Flockhart. Then followed by Cambridge University in silver medal position and Oxford in bronze.
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