The single scull. Possibly the most mentally tough competition happening this weekend. Fifty junior athletes will be battling it out for the Sculls Cup this Sunday. No longer clashing with the Championship quads event, we can expect some of the big names of the junior rowing scene to be present and hungry for solo glory.
Bryn Ellery (Windsor Boys C)
Entered as Windsor Boys’ C athlete, but by no stretch of the imagination will Bryn Ellery be expecting anything but a medal this Sunday. Winning the doubles event at February assessments, with an absent Viktor Kleshnev who will instead opt for the traditional Championship Double competition in conjunction with the ch4x, and himself placing in the top five at February assessments too. Bryn Ellery would be the expected favourite to take the Sculls Cup this Sunday.
Julian Van Gelderen (Windsor Boys A)
Ellery’s fiercest competition may come from his teammate, the talented J16 sculler Julian Van Gelderen. He is somewhat of an unknown quantity as he rarely competes at the Championship level, however, he has shown domination in the J16 division this year winning both the single and double at Feb trials. However, Mark Wilkinson’s decision to enter Julian into the Championship singles event instead of the J16 quad event shows that he believes that this talented athlete has a chance. Could the young protege teach his superior a lesson?
Bruce Turnell (Henley A)
Having raced the J18 single at Junior Sculling regatta amidst those not selected for Munich Regatta, Bruce Turnell showed his promise placing third. However, whether he can repeat the bronze medal acquisition this Sunday is perhaps more questionable.
Jens Hullah (Bath Minerva)
Hullah will be setting off in the last place in the mornings time trial however if he can harness his raw power displayed by his huge ergo scores then he will place far from last in Sunday’s race. He didn’t show himself as the fastest at GB trials however you can expect this young athlete to show himself in the AB semifinal for certain.
Alex Milne (Glasgow Academy B)
This junior sculler has shown that he has the ability to win big in the single having won British Championships in the single a couple years ago. However, it has been a somewhat quiet year for the Scot, with an 8th place at February trials indicating that he may threaten for the gold medal this year.
Although I believe this race is wide open, as with most single sculling events my predictions for this Sunday are:
1st: Bryn Ellery
2nd: Alex Milne
3rd: Bruce Turnell
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