Holders: M Bolding & M Tarrant
Entries: 19 (to be reduced to 12 by qualifying races)
Over the years the Goblets has produced lots of classic Great Britain v New Zealand battles and this year could potentially add to that list. Representing New Zealand, and racing as Waiariki Rowing Club, are Matt Macdonald and Tom Mackintosh. They both made their senior debuts in 2018 as part of the M4- that finished 15th at the world Championships. They then moved into the M8 and were members of the Olympic gold medal Men’s Eight from Tokyo. They raced at the second World Cup in Poznan and won gold by five seconds ahead of the Dutch.
Great Britain’s top pair (and one of three GB squad boats racing in the goblets) are the Cambridge University pairing of Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George. They were both members of the losing Cambridge crew at this year’s Boat race and were bronze medallists in the GB Men’s Eight at the Tokyo Olympics. They started the international season in impressive style, winning the first World Cup. Whilst it’s always difficult to compare two crews’ performance at different regattas, it’s interesting to note that Wynne-Griffith and George also beat the same Dutch pair (Nikki van Sprang and Lennart van Lierop) by roughly the same margin that the Kiwis did in Poznan – read into that what you will! I would expect the Stewards to put these two pairs on opposite sides of the draw so this could well be our final.
The second Great Britain squad boat racing are Harry Glenister and Josh Bugajski (Leander Club & Oxford Brookes University). This is a new combination for Henley; Bugajski raced with Matt Aldridge at GB trials (which they won) and at the Belgrade World Cup (where they finished sixth). But Aldridge has moved to the Stewards M4-, so Bugajski is now joined by Glenister. Glenister raced as GBR3 at the Belgrade World Cup (with Matt Rossiter) and finished fifth. Bugajski was a member of the Great Britain M8 that won bronze in Tokyo, and Glenister has raced in the pair throughout the last two/three seasons narrowly missing qualification for the Tokyo Olympics. Inter-squad rivalry will be huge, and this pair will, no doubt, relish the chance to take on the Cambridge pair.
The third British squad boat are the Oxford University & Oxford Brookes University pairing of Sam Nunn and Dave Ambler. They both made their senior international debuts at the Sabaudia World Cup at the end of last season as part of the “Project Paris” M4-, putting in an impressive performance to win a silver medal behind the Italian Olympic crew. As well as being a winning Oxford Blue, Ambler is also a Harvard graduate and rowed in the Varsity Eight throughout his time at Harvard and in 2019 won gold at the U23 World Championships. Nunn has several Henley wins to his credit with Oxford Brookes (including the Ladies Plate in 2019 and The Grand in 2021). He also raced for the Great Britain U23 team winning a silver medal in 2018.
There are two Oxford University pairs that have been pre-qualified. The first of these is the Anglo-American duo of Ollie Cook and Liam Corrigan. Both these athletes raced at the Tokyo Olympics, both finishing fourth; Cook was in the GB M4- and Corrigan the USA M8. The Olympics was Corrigan’s senior international debut having raced on the US U23 team in 2017 and 2019. For Cook the Olympics marked his swansong in international rowing which started back in 2012 and included a world championship title in the coxed pair in 2016, a world bronze in the M4- in 2019 and European title in 2021.
The second Oxford University pair are Tassilo von Mueller and Augustin Wambersie. They were both members of the winning Isis crew at this year’s Reserve Boat race. They also both did their undergraduate degrees at Princeton (although never rowed together); Von Mueller won bronze for Germany in the BM8 in 2021 and Wambersie raced for Belgium at the Junior World Championships of 2014.
Rowing Australia have entered two pairs in this event, with Harley Moore and Angus Widdicombe in one pair and Nick Lavery and Sam Marsh in the other. Widdicombe raced in this event in 2018 reaching the final before losing to the Sinkovic brothers. All four of these athletes are members of the Australian Men’s Eight squad and Widdicombe is slated to double-up in The Grand. He’s the most experienced of the four having raced at the Tokyo Olympics in the Men’s Eight and was a world silver medallist in 2017 and 2018. Harley Moore makes his senior international debut this season and was an U23 World Champion in 2017. Nick Lavery also raced in the Tokyo Olympic Men’s Eight, his first senior international regatta. His partner for Henley, Sam Marsh, raced in the M1X at the Belgrade World Cup finishing eighth.
The final pre-qualified crew are the German pairing of Friedrich Dunkel & Paul Gebauer (racing as Alster Ruderverein Hanseat von 1925 e.V. and Potsdamer Ruder Club Germania). Dunkel raced in the M2- at the final World Cup of 2021 finishing fifth. Gebauer raced the pair at the 2019 World Championships finishing 17th and was in the M4- that missed Olympic qualification at the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta.
The remaining ten crews will be racing for the remaining four qualifying spots, and this includes several overseas pairs including Smith & Mirow from Sydney University and the US pair of Pienaar & Stocavaz from the Ivy Club of Princeton.
Predictions: I’m hoping this is a final between Cambridge University and Waiariki which should be a fascinating battle. I’m going to go for a Cambridge win (which would be the first for the Light Blues since Dave Gillard and Nick Clarry won as Goldie back in 1992).
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