The first big Thames head race is on! With the final return of racing after a long hiatus due to weather, all of the big names in WJ18 single sculls have come out to play. 25 WJ18 Single Scullers will be heading up the famous Henley stretch on Saturday, against quite a strong stream, on a difficult course for steering, with many obstacles still in the river such as floating logs, all is to play for…
Delevante – Tideway Scullers School
First down the course will be the Tideway Scullers School athlete, Delevante. With a history of British representation and national medals, Delevante is in a position of great advantage with a wealth of knowledge and skill to use in her favour. Tideway Scullers has a robust programme, being the only club to win The Fawley Challenge Cup and The Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. This young sculler certainly knows a thing or two about that, as she was in the crew that secured victory in 2023. She has shown herself to be an outstanding small-boats sculler as well, winning silver in a Championship Double at the National Schools’ Regatta in 2024.
Donn – Claires Court School Boat Club
Another British international heading up the Henley course this weekend is Jemimah Donn. Claires Court are building up a broader reputation as prominent scullers with every passing year. After their surprise win at Henley Royal Regatta in 2022, their squad has become competitive and regularly punches above their weight. Donn has shown her ability as a single sculler, winning the British Championships as a J16 before representing Great Britain at the Coupe de la Jeneusse in the junior women’s quad the following year. Her consistency in results also shone through at the National Schools’ Regatta when Donn and her crew took fifth in the Championship Women’s quads two years after winning the The Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup as a 15-year-old.
Colahan – Tideway Scullers School
Third down the course this weekend is another Tideway Scullers athlete: Colahan. She featured in the Henley Women’s Regatta quad that made it to the semi-final before losing out to Marlow by a length, a result they repeated at Henley Royal Regatta a couple of weeks later. Colahan, however, has not performed as much in small boats, finishing third in the WJ16 1x B-final at the British Championships. Can she turn that around on Saturday and challenge the two British internationals setting off in front of?
Parcell-Arregi – Maidenhead
Parcell-Arregi is racing up a year as a J17, which is to be expected of her after featuring in a Maidenhead crew that became the first women’s boat to qualify for Henley Royal Regatta last summer. After progressing through their opening race, they lost to Molesey on the Thursday by just 2/3rds of a length. Parcell-Arregi does not have many results in small boats; her stand-out result as part of the quad was a sixth-placed finish at the National Schools’ Regatta in the Women’s Championship Quads. Her last result in a small boat was a silver medal at the Junior Sculling Regatta at WJ14 level. The question is: can Parcell-Arregi carry her crew sculling results into a single scull this weekend?
- TSS – Delevante
- CCS – Donn
- Maidenhead – Parcell-Arregi
- TSS – Colahan
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