St Paul’s – Despite the rumoured loss of junior world champion Calvin Tarczy, the St Paul’s crew should still be strong. Five of the crew placed 6th in this event last year but have clearly stepped on since then. In fact, seven of the crew went on to win the Queen Mother cup at the National Schools’ Regatta in one of the most closely contested races in recent years. The two newcomers come in the form of Oliver Parish and Thomas Horncastle. Both of these boys placed second in J16Ch8+ at NSR and raced in the JM4+ at GB France. Even if the rumours prove true and Calvin does not race, this crew still has plenty of outstanding talent and a number of international medals. Rower, Douwe de Graaf and cox, Axel de Boissard won Gold and Bronze respectively at the JWRC in Trakai, whilst Alex Langstone-Bolt finished up eighth in the coxed four. Leo von Malaisé and Cameron McInroy raced in the “Coupeachter” that won bronze and gold medals at the Coupe. This is clearly an experienced crew. However, experience alone is not what wins races. It’ll be interesting to see how they perform.
Radley College should also be incredibly strong. They too have a number of returners from last season’s crew that made the PE final. This combined with a very strong group of J17s could prove dangerous. Last year, Radley college entered their top four athletes into the “Men’s Youth Fours” and won the event relatively comfortably. They increased steadily in speed throughout the season and had clearly stepped on by Henley, where they made the final and gave Scotch College a close race. A number of their crew raced internationally this summer, which will have helped them maintain fitness in preparation for this event. Most notably, Archie McChesney represented Great Britain at the JWRC in the JM4+ and Max Dunlap won bronze and gold in the above-mentioned “Coupeachter”. Because they did not race in youth eights last year, they will be starting 74th. This means that if they are to challenge for the win, they may have to overtake a number of crews. This might prove difficult and could cost them valuable time if they are not careful. Regardless, they are a class crew and are definitely ones to watch come Sunday.
Although KCS do not typically compete with the likes of Radley and St Paul’s they should definitely not be underestimated. Most of this crew raced in this category last year and will be eager to prove themselves against some of the best schoolboy crews in the world. Anything can happen at this time of year!
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