Head of the Charles is a race like no other, and the championship singles are revered as one of the hardest events to win. Year after year, the field is stacked with talent, the best of domestic American sculling meeting international superstars who fancy a crack at one of the most iconic events in rowing. Like Henley Royal, a Head of the Charles medal is a bucket list item for any athlete who wants to look back on their career and truly feel like they’ve done and won it all. Success at this regatta isn’t just limited to those making regular appearances on the world stage. The maelstrom of chaos created by the traffic, conditions, and notoriously difficult steering demand mean that it is an opportunity for an up and coming sculler to not only race the best, but beat them, and make a name for themselves in the process.
Emma Twigg
The standout name in the women’s field is of course, Tokyo Olympic Champion Emma Twigg. She is a Head of the Charles regular, with appearances dating all the way back to 2011, but despite a win in 2016 in the Championship Doubles with then-Olympic Champion Kim Brennan, she has never won the Championship Single. Despite a long career, she shows no signs of slowing down, having won a silver medal at the 2023 World Championships.
Emily Kallfelz
Last year, Twigg came second to Emily Kallfelz, who has become a staple on the American sculling team since the Tokyo Olympics. Kallfelz collected a handful of medals as a U23 and her senior experience means she is only getting faster, but the Charles is where she really shines, having already scratched her name onto the list of champions after finishing second in 2019 when she was fresh out of U23. She holds the coveted bow one, and will lead the pack down the course.
Margaret Fellows
Another winner in the field is Margaret Fellows, who took the title in 2021, part of her emergence onto the scene. Since that outstanding performance, she has been on the US Senior sculling team, in particular a member of the quad in 2022.
Sophie Vitas
Sophie Vitas has been on the US Senior team since 2017, starting out in sweep with appearances in the women’s eight and four, before switching to sculling in 2019. Despite missing the Tokyo Olympics, she has been getting stronger and stronger, rowing in the double in 2022 and 2023, culminating in a bronze medal at the World Championships in a stacked field this past summer with partner Kristi Wagner, who is also competing.
Kristi Wagner
Wagner, a Tokyo Olympian in the double, came second in this event in 2021, and third last year in 2022. She will be looking to complete her collection of podium places this year, and finally scoop the top stop.
Michelle Sechser
Michelle Sechser has been almost a permanent fixture in US lightweight women’s rowing since her first appearance in 2012, and appears to have hit her stride this Olympiad, picking up back-to-back silver medals in 2022 and 2023. She won’t be at all intimidated by her status as a lightweight in a field of heavy weights; her talent and experience speaks for itself and it will be no surprise to see her knock off several world class heavyweights.
Molly Reckford
Michelle’s partner in 2022 and at the Tokyo Olympics, Molly Reckford is also talented enough to compete with heavyweights, and after the 2022 season turned to doing just that on a more permanent basis, competing for the US in the heavyweight women’s quad in 2023.
Kara Kohler
Kara Kohler has been in the single since 2017, and has made consistent A final appearances ever since, winning a World Championship bronze medal in 2019, and just missing the podium in 2023. She is a regular NSR winner and has consistently proven her status as the fastest American single. She has never won the single at HOCR though, and doing just that would truly cement her legacy in American sculling.
Prediction:
In such a tight knit field of talented American scullers, it is difficult to pick a true favourite but I would be hard pressed to bet against Emma Twigg, especially after her consistency over the 2023 season. My prediction is Twigg for the win, Kohler in second and Kallfelz in third.
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