This weekend, Boston, Lincolnshire once again plays host to an armada of the country’s best rowing talents, battling out for a chance to eventually be selected for the U23 World Championships this summer. While no decisions are made off the back of these trials, and nowadays a sizeable contingent of top U23 athletes are away studying in the USA, performance here is still crucial; selectors have a limited dataset to work with to make invitations to Final Trials, so athletes will want to put their best foot forward.
For this preview, I’ll be highlighting the combinations that I feel will form the ‘ones to watch’, including combinations with only one U23. That being said, there’s always plenty of room for upset in these early-season, long-distance pairs races, and any one of the pairs entered here has the potential to be a threat.
Jake Wincomb and Fergus Woolnough (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Wincomb and Woolnough enter here as two of the most experienced athletes – both domestically and internationally – from inarguably the current most successful university program in the country, Oxford Brookes. Brookes really needs no introduction, having won a stunning number of titles in recent years at Henley, BUCS, HORR, HOR4s… the list goes on. While the program’s overall speed hasn’t always translated into top-tier results at trials, Wincomb and Woolnough are well-placed to deliver a fantastic result this weekend.
Wincomb has had an exceptional career at Brookes, and with two World Championship golds already under his belt – one in the BM8+ in 2022, and another in GB’s flagship boat, the BM4-, in 2023 – he will certainly be eyeing a seat in the top GB boat this summer. He’s won Henley twice with Brookes; the Temple in 2022, and the Ladies in 2023. His experience is almost unparalleled in this field, though his pairs partner, Woolnough, is no stranger to domestic and international success. Last year, he was part of the BM8+ that devastated the USA to take gold, and the Brookes crew that saw off a strong challenge by Syracuse University to win the Temple. He’s a massively powerful athlete, and the combination of his strength with Wincomb’s finesse should make a unit that’s pretty difficult to beat.
Gus John and Luca Ferraro (Cambridge University BC)
Looking to continue his streak of three wins at U23 long distance trials, Ferraro will be leading the charge for the Cambridge contingent. Ferraro has been a fixture of the Cambridge Blue Boats for the past couple of years, sitting at bow in 2022 and stroking last year’s Light Blue crew to victory. He’s also represented GB at U23 level twice; in the BM2- with Cambridge compatriot Ollie Parish in 2022, and in the winning BM8+ last year.
For trials this year, he’s joined by John, an Australian who did his undergrad at Durham. He had a strong season last year, eventually making the BM8+ for the European U23 Championships, taking home a strong silver medal. He’s a tall, long, powerful athlete, and it will be interesting to see if Ferraro can repeat his past successes in this new-look Cambridge lineup. With the Boat Race season nearly at its peak, these two are certainly capable of producing a very impressive performance.
Toby Lassen and Jonathan Cameron (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Lassen is the sole U23 candidate in this Oxford Brookes combination, with Cameron acting as a senior development triallist. This should be a fast pair that will set Lassen up well for another successful season of international racing. Lassen has been a mainstay of fantastic Brookes boats for the past few years, winning the Temple in 2022 and the Visitors in 2023 alongside Cameron, and has won several medals for GB: a bronze in the BM8+ at the 2022 U23 Europeans, a bronze in the BM4- at Europeans a year later, and, of course, a gold in the BM8+ at the 2023 U23 World Champs alongside Woolnough, Ferraro and Louis Nares. Cameron brings significant experience to the pair too, having rowed for four years at Boston University before joining the Brookes program. These guys should go very well, and I’m sure there will be a fierce fight within the ultra-competitive Brookes camp – not only for bragging rights, but also for seats in boats this summer.
Louis Nares and Odhran Donaghy (Oxford Brookes University BC)
U23 Nares is joined by senior development triallist Donaghy in this strong Brookes lineup. Nares has gone from strength to strength at Brookes. He is yet another Brookes triallist with multiple Henley titles – he won the PA in 2022 and the Temple in 2023, in the stroke seat – and stroked the BM8+ at Worlds last year to gold. He’s not the biggest athlete, but his ability to produce staggering power on the water is renowned, particularly in the stroke seat. He will likely be eyeing a seat in the top GB boat this summer, graduating from the 2nd-ranked BM8+. Donaghy, who has a Henley title from the Temple in 2022 and a bronze in the BM4- at U23 Europeans last year, should complement Nares’ aggressive style well, and I expect these two to be right in the mix this weekend.
George Reed and Ben Brockway (Durham University BC/Phoenix BC and Newcastle University BC)
Reed and Brockway of Durham and Newcastle respectively join forces again after both representing GB in the silver medal-winning BM8+ at the U23 European Championships last year. They’re both experienced athletes at the top of their respective programs, and I expect this pair to produce some decent speed. They’ve had good racing experience already, dominating the Open 2- field at Tyne United New Years Head back in January (finishing a good 30 seconds ahead of the other trialling Durham pair). Just having a long race already under their belts puts these guys at a pretty significant advantage; I’d expect these guys will be ambitious and aim for a top spot on Saturday.
Bruce Turnell and Isaac Hillicks-Tulip (Leander Club)
Former Tyne ARC and Teddies rower Hillicks-Tulip is the U23 triallist in this combo, with the experienced Leander athlete Turnell trialling as a senior development athlete. Hillicks-Tulip has done very well to get a seat in this pair. He’s only just graduated from St Edwards (and was an integral part of their PE-winning 2023 crew), so to immediately be put into a pair with Newcastle alum Turnell, who was in the Leander Ladies crew that lost out to Brookes in 2023 and the world-beating GB BM4+ at the U23 World Champs in 2022, would suggest that the younger athlete has some serious potential. Watch out for these guys as potential dark horses.
Saxon Stacey and Elliott Kemp (Oxford University BC)
The Dark Blues have one U23 triallist in the pairs field – Stacey, the Etonian who rowed for Isis in the Boat Race last year and who won a gold at Junior Worlds before that. He looks to be rising up the rankings at Oxford, and has been boated in their provisional Blue Boat. He’s joined by Kemp, a new Oxford recruit fresh from Cal Berkeley. Kemp is a multiple IRA winner with Cal, and was a part of the exceptional 1V8+ from 2022. There’s no dearth of experience in this boat, and Stacey will be hoping to use it as a springboard for eventual U23 selection.
Prediction
While there are plenty of other strong pairs in this field, I think the top few spots will be taken by some of the boats listed above. In terms of a finish order, I would probably put Wincomb and Woolnough out in front, with John and Ferraro second and Nares and Donaghy third.
Best of luck to all crews.
Five Man
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