With the 2023 event being cancelled, Fours Head is back and bigger than ever in 2024. The championship open coxed fours looks like a competitive affair, with top club crews racing against some of the heavyweights of university rowing. With the dominant Oxford Brookes University withdrawing their three crews from this event, many crews will now vie for the coxed fours crown.
Leander Club
The men from the Pink Palace have travelled in force to the Tideway and look like favourites to win multiple events. Their coxed four looks like a strong crew, with three of the rowers – Bannister, Vogel and Ballinger – all racing in the very quick Leander eight last year, which won the headship at the Head of the River Race before losing out to Oxford Brookes in The Grand Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. Bannister and the fourth crew member, Drummond, swapped codes to race at GB trials in singles, with Drummond attaining an impressive eighth place. With their cox Tottem possessing heaps of Tideway experience and having coxed the Oxford Blue Boat to a Boat Race win in 2022, it is hard not to place this crew as favourites for this event.
Oxford University
It looks like new men’s head coach Mark Fangen-Hall has sent numerous crews to race this weekend, and this coxed four includes some of the top athletes in the Oxford University program. Three of the crew, Stacey, Rawlinson and Doran competed at GB trials, with Stacey and Rawlinson putting together a great race to win the men’s pairs. Doran has previously won both The Ladies’ Challenge Plate and The Grand Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta with Oxford Brookes, so brings a lot of big race experience. Doran, Stacey and fourth crew member Sharrock all have Blue Boat and Isis experience, so they should feel at home on the Tideway. This crew should be one to watch at the weekend.
London Rowing Club
The Putney-based club came so close to usurping Thames Rowing Club’s dominance last season, with multiple wins over the year over Thames, but sadly falling short at Henley Royal Regatta. This coxed four is a strong one on paper, with both O’Connor and Clarke being in London RC’s quick Thames Challenge Cup eight last season. Given the Tideway is home water, this crew could be challenging for the top spot in this event.
Other entries
The University of London again has the advantage of racing on home water. Coupled with this seemingly being their top crew and decent results at trials, they will be competitive in this field.
Marlow RC have come off the back of a strong 23/24 season, culminating in their coxless four winning The Wyfold Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta . The crew racing this weekend looks like a different lineup, but can they keep the club’s good momentum going?
Durham University has travelled to Fours Head for the first time in a while with a strong group of athletes. Looking at previous events they have entered, this coxed four looks like it contains some of their top rowers, including a couple of postgraduates from big US and Canadian universities. Even though they are starting last in the event, they could definitely shake up the results.
Prediction
Given that their main rivals Oxford Brookes are not attending, it is hard to look past Leander Club winning this event. These two clubs have been far ahead of the rest, so I cannot see any other crew overturning Leander. Other placings will be much closer, but I think Oxford University will take second and UL and London RC will fight it out for third.
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