It’s that time again: some of the top athletes in the country ship up to Boston, Lincolnshire, for the GBRT open trials assessment, hoping to break onto, or return to, the national team. For the third year in a row, female hopefuls must enter singles, regardless of whether they are primarily scullers or sweepers. Here, we see a rundown of the names to watch this weekend for the 2k ergo test and 5k on-water time trial.
The Favourites: Post-Olympics and Worlds
Previous trials successes, and now Olympic gold, stand Lauren Henry (Leicester RC) in excellent stead to top the rankings this weekend. Still just 22 years old, this is her first time trialling as a senior athlete, but it’s safe to say we can expect a stellar performance nonetheless. Philippa Emery (Leander Club/Durham University BC) also has plenty of international racing experience, coming away with gold at the U23 World Rowing Championships in August. Emery is no stranger to impressive GB trial results, having emerged as the top U23 pair in 2023. Swapping one oar for two, I hope to see an improvement on previous initial assessment trials in the single.
Jenny Bates (Oxford Brookes University BC) and Katie Mole (University of Birmingham BC/Leander Club) are two more names who have had their fair share of trials success. With various sweep accolades to her name with OBUBC, Bates has now turned her hand to sculling as part of the British Rowing Performance Sculling Academy. Having placed sixth at the Paris Olympic trials, Bates will have her eye on breaking onto the senior team soon, with LA 2028 already in mind. Similarly, for Mole, who placed third last November and then absolutely dominated February trials, a place on the senior team will likely be calling her name in the not-too-distant future. We’ve seen some exceptional sculling from these two of late, and I hope to see both of them toward the sharp end of the field.
The Underdogs: One Blade to Two
Elizabeth Witt (Leander Club/Imperial College BC) shines in the pair, climbing the rankings significantly between last year’s November singles time trial and the February pairs time trial with longtime partner Emily Lindberg. Natasha Morrice also returns to the GB scene after her storming first few weeks with Cambridge University Boat Club, bringing with her new teammates Carys Earl and Jessica ‘Beanie’ Spain. Morrice placed second in the pair at least year’s final trials with Juliette Perry – another sweep athlete taking to the single this weekend to make her mark up in Boston. We’ve recently seen a lot of Perry in the pair with former Oxford teammate Amelia Standing, although Standing hasn’t historically performed so well in the single, so I’m interested to see how some of these sweep athletes fair over the 5km time trial against some of their sculling-focussed counterparts.
There’s a distinct lack of the returning Olympic sweep cohort among the names listed to race this weekend, so it really is all to play for among these athletes. I’m excited to see how they can perform not only this weekend but further into the season once they settle back into pairs as well.
The Rising Stars: First Senior Trials
Having ended their U23 careers with gold in the four at the World Rowing Championships, Grace Richards and Arianna Forde (Oxford Brookes University BC) take to the single again this weekend. Richards ranked highly in the pair’s trials last season with Rhianna Sumpter, coming out as the fastest U23 combination, and I hope to see her put down a solid time in the single across the Boston course. Holly Youd of Newcastle University BC also enjoyed a successful end to her summer out in Canada, coming away with a gold medal at the U23 World Rowing Championships in the pair with Anna Grace (Durham University Boat Club), who is also racing here in the U23 category.
The younger cohort of athletes at this year’s trials will be nipping at the heels of the more senior women, and I’m excited to see the kinds of performances they can put down on the day to challenge for their position in the rankings.
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