With Upper Thames Autumn Head catering for those looking for a jaunt down the henley stretch in the big boats last weekend, this Saturday it’s the turn of the small boats at Henley LDS.
As you’d expect from an event run by their club, the entries list is swamped by Henley RC scullers, many of whom have a formidable racing history. Alongside them at the start will be a smattering of athletes from the likes of Borlase, Hinksey and Claires Court, to name but a few.
Henley Rowing Club – O’Donohue
It’s not often an athlete’s results matrix emboldens me enough to lay my cards on the table at the start of a preview, but Henley’s Laoise O’Donohue is a clear favourite for the win. Daughter to Kathryn Holroyd, who competed for GB at the 1984 LA Olympics, Laoise spent last year in Henley’s top junior women’s boats, across both sculling and sweep. She began the season in the quad finishing at the bottom of the A-final at NSR, before placing 2nd at June Junior Trials and winning the junior women’s singles at Met Regatta. Then, moving to the eight, she placed second at Brit champs before being selected for Henley Royal Regatta in the JWE, where Henley lost the semi-final to the eventual winners, Headington. This year, Laoise has already laid down an intimidating gauntlet at Wallingford LDS, claiming the WJ18 1x by over 30 seconds, pushed only by athletes from Headington, LEH and Latymer who won’t be racing this weekend; at Reading SBH, she paired up with Jamieson to win the WJ18 doubles. An accomplished athlete as at home in the smallest of boats as in the largest, well acquainted with the course, and with the backing of one of the most formidable centres in the country for women’s sculling, it would be a colossal upset if Laoise didn’t walk away with a pot this weekend.
Henley Rowing Club – Harkin
A curious entry to preview, as Henley currently has two Harkins on the roster, and with the draw only providing a surname, we’re assuming it’s Ailish Harkin racing the single. A seasoned HRC athlete, Ailish placed 6th in the Championship Quad at NSR last season (in what was one of the best races of the regatta) before moving to the eight at Henley Women’s Regatta, eventually losing to Headington in the final. Ailish remained in the eight for HRR, where alongside many of her fellow HRC scullers racing this weekend, making it to the semi-final, where Headington once again got the better of Henley. The umpire for the Henley-Tideway Scullers match-up noted Henley’s ability to deal well with a stiff headwind, which is precisely the skill athletes will require on the Henley Reach this weekend. Harkin should be challenging for the top few places, but I can’t see O’Donohue being overthrown in a hurry.
Henley Rowing Club – Schoenmakers
The final member of the top Henley squad from last year still racing, Natalie Shoenmakers‘ rap sheet reads similarly to that of Harkin and O’Donnohue: 6th in the quad at NSR, made the switch to sweep for silver at Brit Champs, second at HWR and Saturday appearance at the Royal. It’s possible, much like Ailish, that Natalie has hidden in larger HRC sculling boats so far this season at the likes of Reading and Wallingford. Regardless, as an athlete sitting in the sport’s upper echelons, we can expect a strong performance.
Reading Blue Coat School – Carpenter
A name well-regarded on the circuit, rowers from Blue Coat have often struggled to overthrow the titans of junior rowing. However, Amelia Carpenter could be a sculler with plans to re-write such a history. Previously resident at Maidenhead RC where, along with doubles partner Olivia Hall, she collected pots across the junior scene. Since making the move to Blue Coat, she’s finished second in the B-final at National Schools’ and took fourth at Reading SBH, around 50 seconds slower than O’Donohue. So I suspect she’ll sit in the upper ranks, though I can’t see a Henley ‘podium’ being toppled.
Claires Court School Boat Club – Hickson
Silver medalist in the Championship Girl’s double at NSR 2021, Hannah Hickson began rowing as a J15 (alongside doubles partner Nuala Macfarlane) and has since become something of a specialist in the double. Hannah repeated her silver medal performance from NSR at Henley Women’s Regatta before the club decided to try and emulate the success of their boy’s quad programme in recent years and enter a JW quad at Brit Champs, with a view to race at HRR. However, with covid ripping through the crew just before the national championships, the squad raced in the quad for the first time at Kingston Regatta before they raced at HRR, eventually being knocked out by Wallingford on the Thursday. Hannah also attended GB Trials in June and is an accomplished sculler – she should be challenging for the top few places this weekend.
Claires Court School Boat Club – Macfarlane
Claires’ second top sculler from last season, Nuala Macfarlane raced alongside Hannah Hickson in the double, taking second place at both National Schools’ and Henley Women’s before moving to the quad for Kingston and HRR, where Wallingford knocked them out on the Thursday. Doubtless a strong sculler – especially in the small boats – she’ll be looking to edge towards the top of the results sheet.
Notable Mentions:
Lucy Jones, Rhiannon Luke and Josie Sawbridge of Henley all finished last season in the club’s top boat, as did Claires Court’s Jess Jones and Rebecca Donn. Also in the mix are Borlase’s JWE stroke pair – Giulia Sarno and Inés Graham Usabiaga – who remained competitive in both sweep and sculling events over the summer.
Conclusion & Predictions:
By sheer mass, Henley should walk away with a good haul in this event, but I’d expect their successes to be even more pronounced with a 1-2-3 (at least) finish:
- Laoise O’Donohue (HRC)
- Ailish Harkin (HRC)
- Natalie Schoenmakers (HRC)
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