Where to begin?
This year’s edition of Henley Royal Regatta was timeless, an unedited, unadulterated snippet of rowing history. Races, records and rivalries unfolded in searing heat and a rasping tailwind that seemed to capture the essence of the English summer within the Thames Valley. Sport has the power to enthral, to crush and to lift the spirits of a country, a point evidenced by the swell of national pride during England’s World Cup run. Against a backdrop of summer swing and sporting triumph, the 179th running of Henley Royal Regatta presented us with new champions, new stars and new stories to tell.
In the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup, the script felt like it had already been written. St Paul’s School – arguably the most complete schoolboy unit of all time. Their dominance mirrored the yesteryear performances of Eton and Abingdon, but with it came new stage directions – technical mastery combined with raw power and a consistent, unbridled will to win at Henley. After the crushing disappointment of losing to Scotch College on the Friday in 2017, St Paul’s School barely blinked after recording remarkably comfortable victories at the Schools’ Head and National Schools’ Regatta. They had their sights set on one goal.
Breaking the record by 11 seconds deserves its own epitaph against the plethora of praise that has emerged in the past few days. 6:06 will stand in time as one of the Regatta’s great performances; a genuine display of world class athleticism and crew cohesion; a special opportunity for this outfit to shrug off the constraints of pressure and show the world how good they could be. A word for Eton, for Radley, for Shiplake, who were all exceptional schoolboy crews. In any other year, we may have had a genuine contest for the right to be called the best. 2018, though, belonged to St Paul’s School, Bobby’s boys, a uniquely gifted combination of athletes who may leave the Tideway in pursuit of greater things. They’ll always have these memories though – victory on the straights of Henley, three years in the making, alongside friends and family.
The Fawley Challenge Cup produced perhaps the surprise of the Regatta. Effervescent and altogether untouchable, Maidenhead had already claimed every title available to them approaching Henley, including a 1-2 in quads and doubles at the National Schools’ Regatta. Many tipped them to win the Triple, the elusive combination of three titles that forms a genuine schoolboy crown, but the Windsor Boys School have the magic touch at Henley. Much was said of their speed approaching the turn of June to July, of an ability to turn Henley into their playground. They did not disappoint, turning out a performance that stunned punters and pundits alike. A coherent race plan, backed up by four exquisite scullers, left all-comers in their wake – they sealed a second successive victory at Henley to cement themselves as the country’s leading centre of sculling excellence. To witness their celebrations over the line was to be transported back 12 months, except the expectation of a win was greater, the understanding was sounder and the cries of delirium louder.
In the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup, so many had made Henley clear favourites. Rightly so, after a stellar season which hadn’t involved domestic defeat. Of course, Henley is not a domestic competition in the most typical sense. Without Gloucester, this was a golden opportunity for somebody to fill the void and inscribe their name as the fourth club to win the schoolgirl sculling event at Henley Royal Regatta. If Henley believed they were to be granted that privilege, someone clearly didn’t tell the Americans. An all-star unit from Y Quad Cities Rowing Association made the trip to the Regatta, featuring a junior world champion and ergo record-holder. They faced Henley on the Friday, rowing down the local favourites in front of the enclosures. A daring display in open defiance of expectation and one which made the rowing world sit up and take notice. Next up were Latymer, silver medallists at the National Schools’ Regatta and holders of the closest verdict of the Regatta – they edged out Schülerruderverein Kreuzgasse Köln von 1911, Germany by a foot on the Friday. Unfazed, Y Quads produced another surge in the middle of the race to pass Latymer and set up a Sunday showdown with Marlow Rowing Club. The latter last made the final in 2014, and were determined not to be bridesmaids once again. As the race unfolded though, it was clear that there was little they could do to better or even match the efforts of a genuinely world-class transatlantic unit. Perhaps it was fitting that if Gloucester couldn’t do it, nor could anyone else from their stomping ground.
Henley Royal Regatta sunk records at a frightening pace, and all three of the junior winners covered the course quicker than any who have come before them. Many will claim that fast conditions played their part, but we should celebrate remarkable crews in a remarkable year. Vintage is an overused word, associated with anything that vaguely allies to that which we believe defines our collective experience. But 2018, hot, humid, fast, frantic and wholly brilliant, warrants that title. 23 winners, crowned on the world’s most famous stretch of rowing water. Rowing has never looked better.
About The Author
