Instead of previewing individual boats, I thought I’d take a look at the athletes who are racing for Great Britain this weekend at the Munich Junior International Regatta. My junior women’s preview…
Junior Women
Florence Pickles
Club/School- Gloucester Hartpury
Competing in- JW2x, JW4x
Position at Feb Trials- 3rd
Flo has been involved in the Hartpury set up for around a year now and she’s an oarswomen who has really come on since being picked as the spare for the GB France match last year. I expect her double with Anna Thornton to go quick.
Anna Thornton
Club/School- Nottingham Rowing Club
Competing in- JW2x, JW4x
Position at Feb Trials- 1st
Anna is a well-established sculler and has competed at a high level for a few years now. She is involved with the high performance women’s squad at Nottingham and is still only J17. She’s raced and won at WEHORR, HOR4 and GB Trials already this season so don’t be surprised to see her pick up another win at the weekend.
Molly Harding
Club/School- Marlow Rowing Club
Competing in- JW2x, JW4x
Position at Feb Trials- 5th
Molly races in the excellent WJ17 Marlow quad, which swept all before them last year at WJ16 level. I spoke to her coach, Bret King, at the weekend and he was particularly excited at the speed of his girls. Molly is an excellent example of this. Watch out for her quad in JW4x.
Charlotte Hodgkins Byrne
Club/School- Gloucester Hartpury
Competing in- JW2x, JW4x
Position at Feb Trials- 6th
Sister of Mathilda, Charlotte has been plying her trade in that superb Gloucester Hartpury quad which took the title at SHORR. She’s a very talented young lady who will surely be looking to follow in her older sister’s footsteps with selection for U23 level in mind.
Saskia Budgett
Club/School- Tideway Scullers
Competing in- JW4-
Position at Feb Trials- 4th
A versatile oarswoman, who is a proficient sculler as shown by her success in the TSS junior quad. She raced in the JW4x at the Coupe De La Jeunesse last year, gaining two silver medals. She’s switched her hand to sweep oar this year and I look forward to seeing her four.
Kyra Edwards
Club/School- Nottingham Rowing Club
Competing in- JW4-
Position at Feb Trials- 10th
A strong girl, who I’m told is particularly fast on the ergo. She is also part of the high performance senior women’s group at Nottingham and has been very influential in helping them to the Provincial Pennant for the second year running.
Heidi Long
Club/School- Marlow Rowing Club
Competing in- JW4-
Position at Feb Trials- 7th
Another product of the superb junior rowing squad in the Thames Valley, Heidi has been an instrumental part of THAT quad containing three of the top seven scullers in the country. Heidi has been placed in the four and I’ll be interested to see how she gets on- the Marlow girls boated an VIII for SHORR which came fourth.
Zoe Taylor
Club/School- Reading Rowing Club
Competing in- JW4-
Position at Feb Trials- 12th
Zoe won at the GB sculling festival in October and has had success on the Indoor Rowing Circuit. A J17 who is pretty new to the scene. I believe she is part of the World Class Start Program so definitely a name for the future.
The Junior Men to come next- in two parts!
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