As programs up and down the country prepare for regatta season, the top athletes will get the first shot of side-by-side action with a place in the national team on the line. 23 of the UK’s top female scullers will race at the national training centre this weekend, with 11 of them young enough to be aiming for a trip to St Catherine’s, Ontario for the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in late August.
Ellie Cooke, Reading University BC
The top performer at the only round of trials so far this year was Ellie Cooke, a sculler from Reading University. She finished more than 13 seconds ahead of all other Under 23 entrants in February to claim fourth overall, a great improvement from her 28th overall twelve months previously.
That result was no barrier to success for the former Bedford and Peterborough City rower, as she was named in the quadruple scull for both the World and European Under 23 Championships in 2023, and while the outcome at these races was unlikely to be what they were hoping for, Cooke will no doubt be wanting to return to the global scene and build from that foundation this summer.
Hannah Supple, Edinburgh University BC
Another athlete from the quads from Plondiv and Krefeld was Hannah Supple of Edinburgh University. Now an experienced international, the Lady Eleanor Holles alumna missed the February trials due to injury but will be back this weekend to prove she still has what it takes to represent GB after making her international debut last year.
The third-year veterinary medicine student performed well at these trials last year finishing as the top Under 21 and lost to only Lauren Henry in the Under 23 ranks, who would win the trial overall. Supple will be looking to repeat that success in Caversham this weekend as she eyes up a trip to Canada this summer.
Rachel Bradley, Newcastle University BC
The third and final member of last year’s World Championship quad racing at Caversham this weekend is Rachel Bradley of Newcastle University. She sat in stroke seat in the crew that finished eighth in the twelve-boat field in Plondiv, but Bradley has world-level success from her junior career. Coming from Garvagh, Northern Ireland, she donned the emerald green to race and win a bronze medal for Ireland in the double sculls at the World Rowing Under 19 Championships in 2021.
Now firmly entrenched within the GB system, Bradley will be aiming to earn her third GB vest in as many years, having been selected to race at the Under 23 European Championships in 2022, and looks well placed to achieve this. She placed tenth overall at February’s trials and will be backing herself to improve that placing in the side-by-side sprints racing this weekend.
Annabelle Ruinet, Marlow RC/Twickenham RC
The fourth and final member of last year’s worlds squad who is racing a single this weekend is Annabelle Ruinet of Marlow Rowing Club. Racing last season as a lightweight, she was rather successful, winning the B Final at the World Under 23 Championships and a Bronze medal at the European Under 23s, both in the lightweight double. To finish the summer, she would switch to the lightweight single when representing Royal Holloway and British Universities as she would win gold at the EUSA Championships in Poland.
This season, with Britain not selecting any more lightweight crews outwith their Olympic group, Ruinet has been forced to transition to the openweight and seems to have done so with some success. Despite missing the February trials, a solid erg score and her glittering resume have earnt her an invite this weekend as she will be aiming to compete with the bigger athletes for selection this summer.
Zara Povey, Reading University BC
One of the standout performances among those who attended the February trial came from Zara Povey. The Royal Grammar School Worcester alumna did not have a glittering junior career with no results of particular note either domestically or internationally. As she moved to Reading University, she didn’t set the world on fire immediately either, having rowed in the third ranked quad just fourteen months ago.
In those intervening months, there has been a great deal of development in Povey as in February this year she would win gold in the championship quad at BUCS Head and finish as the third fastest Under 23 at GB trials in Boston. Given the steepness of Povey’s development curve, there is no guessing what she could achieve this weekend as she aims to make a splash and put herself well into consideration for international selection.
Ella Fullman, Bath University BC
By contrast, Ella Fullman had about as spectacular a junior career one could ask for. Spending two years in the stoke seat of the Wycliffe Junior Rowing Club crews, Fullman won at Schools Head of the River, the National Schools’ Regatta and Henley Women’s Regatta, before falling just short on finals day at Henley Royal Regatta. Her international career also got off to a great start winning both a bronze in the double at the European Rowing Under 19 Championships and a gold at Coupe de la Jeunesse last year.
This year she has been racing at Bath University and was back in stroke seat as they took the spoils in the Intermediate Quad. The performances in the single have also continued as she was sixth Under 23 and second Under 21 at the February trials and given her success in placing second at the junior equivalent of this event last year, she will be hoping to carry her success this weekend in the older age group.
Predictions
At the top of the field, Ellie Cooke will be looking more towards a top placing in the trials as a whole rather than just worrying about the other Under 23s, so it seems simple to predict she will come out on top. If Hannah Supple can reignite her form from twelve months ago, she will likely be best of the rest and my pick for third place is the ever-improving Zara Povey to make it two Reading University boats on the podium.
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