The event was cancelled after this preview was completed.
After the cancellation of the 2024 edition of Henley Fours and Eights Head due to adverse river and ground conditions, race organisers once again face a degree of uncertainty this year. However, conditions appear to be improving, setting the stage for another exciting weekend of racing. On the much-loved Henley course, this event runs from Greenlands upstream to the finish, giving crews a chance to showcase their speed in a different context from the summer season down this famous stretch.
Leander Club
Leander is fielding two eights on home waters, undoubtedly eager to show the competition who is boss. Leading the first crew is Annie Campbell-Orde, fresh off an Olympic bronze medal in the GB women’s eight in Paris. Her presence to this Leander women’s eight adds both experience and prestige, and with the GB crew picking up speed in the second half of the Olympic final, the longer 3000m course may work to hers and her crewmates benefit on this occasion also. Olivia Caesar, a former UCLA rower, takes her place in the second crew, further demonstrating Leander’s strength in presenting crews comprising of international talent. Leander’s women’s eights are consistently formidable, and familiarity with the stretch and the strategy that goes with it may prove decisive. At the Women’s Eights Head of the River Race 2024, Leander narrowly defended their headship against Oxford Brookes by less than five seconds, a margin that leaves room for competition. Interestingly, the clubs’ B crews had reversed results at the same event, highlighting how evenly matched these squads are. With both clubs entering two crews again this weekend, the battle for supremacy is wide open.
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes women are no strangers to dominating eights racing. Over the summer, they claimed multiple titles at both Henley Royal Regatta and Henley Women’s Regatta. Their women’s squad won the Island Challenge Cup for the third t ime in four years, along with the prestigious Remenham Challenge Cup. This reputation was supported by their victories in both Championship Eights and Aspirational Academic Eights at Henley Women’s Regatta. On this occasion, Brookes’ two eights are racing under the names of “Hill” and “Regan“. Both were in the victorious 2024 Island Challenge Cup crew and Hill holds an U23 World Championship gold medal. Therefore, she will likely be in demand of a relentless pace from her crew down this course. To that end, these could well be matched crews and are expected to befiercely competitive. Once again, it looks as if Brookes will challenge for the top spot.
Marlow Rowing Club
Marlow’s senior women’s squad has fewer high-profile results in the eights compared to Leander and Brookes. However, a crew similarly under the name Myers recently placed third in the women’s senior eights category at Quintin Head, behind University of London and Vesta. Their development in eights racing is further evidenced by their senior women’s squad pre-qualifying for the Wargrave Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in the summer. While they may not yet match the firepower of the top contenders, they are clearly progressing and are on the way to causing an upset.
Upper Thames Rowing Club
Also racing on their home stretch, Upper Thames are fortunate to take advantage of the familiar racing line. Their crew, named under “Headley“, no doubt includes rowers who were prepared to compete in fours at Fours Head at the end of last year before its cancellation, so it is clear that they have been brushing up on their sweep. Notably, they were one of the few clubs with three women’s crews at Henley Royal Regatta last year, so there is no reason why they cannot compete with the rest of the field this weekend.
Prediction
Leander’s squad is likely to feature Olympians and multiple athletes with significant international pedigree, bolstered by their particularly strong showing at the recent February GB Trials. However, Oxford Brookes has always demonstrated exceptional dominance in eights racing, and this may indeed give them the upper hand on Leander’s home stretch. Ultimately, Leander will be extremely quick, but Brookes seemed to have been aiming for the overtake, and this may be the occasion that they turn the tables of first and second place. While Marlow and Upper Thames are clearly making strides, they may not have yet reached the level needed to challenge the top two. I believe an Oxford Brookes second crew could well take third place. With a questions over how the ranking for these Band 1 eights will fall, this race is set to be a thrilling display of top-tier rowing talent on one of the sport’s most iconic courses.
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