Sunday at the National Water Sports Centre will see the women’s lightweight coxless fours racing down the course. For this event, all crew members must be below 59kgs but there is no crew average. There are eight crews up for racing: Bath, Cambridge, Durham, Exeter, Nottingham, two from Oxford, and Surrey. Looking over the BUCS head results for 2021/22 season, we saw Surrey take the lead out of four crews with Cambridge coming in last whilst the other two names are not present here. With some big brands in the mix, let’s take a closer look.
The lightweight Cambridge women raced and won on the Thames only a few weeks ago during the Oxbridge boat races. They will be a quick crew as half of the girls will probably be creating this four, potentially containing both of the King twins, Gemma and Catherine. However, there are two from Oxford which we can only presume is also the Boat Race eight split in two. A long lasting rivalry between these clubs underpins the narrative developing in this category.
Durham have also got a strong crew with some of the crew members posting previous at GB trials over the year. With strong pedigree at lightweight level, Durham are a good bet to boat competitive outfits whose focus is on gold. Surrey has also been building momentum over the past few years under the leadership of Sam Tuck, again with lightweight athletes which have been racing over the GB trials weekend such as the Kennedy twins. Their form will be interesting to watch.
Bath, Exeter and Nottingham will also be wanting to win and have had competitive lightweight crews over the past few years, The aim will surely be to continue this over this 2022 regatta.
In essence, the predictions for this ‘A’ final are Cambridge, both Oxfords, Durham, Surrey and Exeter to create a cracking line-up. For the top three spots, Cambridge are my bet for the gold, then Surrey, and for the bronze a tight one between Durham and Oxford. Here’s hoping for a hearty tailwind! Best of luck ladies!
BUCS Images credit: Drew Smith
Drew Smith Photography
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