It’s that time of year again where the best in the country flock to Boston to test themselves both on and off the water in this first assessment for the Great Britain Rowing Team. This being a mid-cycle trials, the returning internationals will be present, offering an exciting opportunity to compare them all the way down to the new U21 level athletes who are just cutting their teeth at this level.
The keen eyed will wonder why this preview is for sweep when this year all the women are competing in this set of trials in singles. For continuity’s sake, and because it’s fairly obvious who’s who, we decided to stick to our guns and write a preview for those athletes who are expected to more into sweep boats later in the season.
Indeed, most of the top spots are expected to be filled by the incumbent squad members, however, we’ll do our best to shed a light on some of the top individuals who have a shot of breaking through.
Lauren Irwin & Rebecca Edwards (Leander Club)
On the edge of the senior team throughout 2022, Irwin and Edwards competed at several international races in the eight most famously winning the Remenham Challenge Cup at Henley Royal against the odds. The team made the decision not to send an eight to the World Championships in the end which must have been a blow to these two, who instead travelled as spares.
With last season acting as a taste of what could be, whether or not they partner up again these two will be hungry for more opportunities to prove themselves at the highest level.
Rebecca Shorten & Rowan McKellar (Imperial College London BC / Leander Club)
Another presumed pairing which would take to the water later in the season, Shorten and McKellar are the top female pair in British Rowing. Their experience of disappointment in Tokyo was turned around at the World Championships where they took gold in the Women’s Four, alongside Heidi Long and Sam Redgrave who are also worth looking out for.
Sophia Heath & Annie Campbell-Orde (Leander Club)
Part of an army of athletes making the trip from Leander, Heath and Campbell-Orde were on the edge of the senior team last year. They were picked to make the trip to Seattle to compete against the University of Washington in the Windermere Cup for Great Britain as part of a development crew featuring athletes both in and out of the main squad. The trip proved a success, with the Brits taking the win.
This pair then competed at Henley Royal in the pair together, losing in the final to an American national team crew.
Helen Glover & Karen Bennett (Marlow RC / Leander Club)
It is fantastic to see some returning stalwarts at trials. Glover returns to trials after taking to the waves this summer in the World Rowing Coastal Championships where she did her part to raise the profile of the newer discipline. It will very interesting to see how this latest challenge to make the team goes for Glover.
Karen Bennett also makes her return to the rowing scene after a year off following the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Both these athletes have talent enough to break back into the team, the question will remain, however, on how far the rest of the squad have moved on in their absence and how fit and ready these two are to put in a standout performance which will be needed to break back into the Caversham squad as soon as possible.
Sara Parfett & Oonagh Cousins (University of London BC)
Probably not the most obvious combination but one we might see later in the season with both hailing from the same club, ULBC, Parfett and Cousins are also making a return to the water and vying for a spot in the national team. Parfett was part of the women’s eight who were disappointed to finish in the B final in Tokyo, while Cousins was set to make that crew before suffering with long-Covid caused havoc and put an end to her Olympic dream.
Both part of a contingent of strong entries from UL, including the likes of Georgie Robinson-Ranger, Phoebe Snowden and Emily Lindberg, I expect some strong results from the women in purple.
Prediction
There is such impressive depth in women’s sweep rowing at the moment, looking through the list of entries there are names jumping out as international level athletes who haven’t made a senior debut.
However, despite this, it’s almost certain the top crews will be those who are part of the national team, I’d bet on Shorten and McKellar being among the top three sweep athletes in their singles, although with this change to the system for November trials, it might allow others to show their versatility and climb up the rankings. An athlete such as Helen Glover is known for being very fast in a single as is UL’s Georgie Robinson-Ranger who will be firing after the test of the Wingfield Sculls.
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