Holder: O. Zeidler, Germany
Entries: 40
It would take a major upset for defending champion, Ollie Zeidler, not to win his third Diamonds title. But, Henley is known for it’s upsets….just ask Mahe Drysdale. Zeidler, racing for Frankfurter Rudergesellschaft Germania 1869 e.V, is the reigning World Champion and won bronze at the European Championships earlier this year. He dominated the field at the Varese World Cup last weekend, making the most of the benign conditions to record a very fast 6:36.18 (his fastest ever 2K at a World Rowing event). The only chink in his otherwise seriously impressive armour, is his dislike of rough conditions. If the wind blows at Henley, it might just open the door a little for some of his rivals.
The German’s main challenger is likely to be Trevor Jones (Rowing Canada). Jones was U23 World Champion back in 2018, and since joining the senior ranks placed ninth at the Tokyo Olympics and tenth at the 2022 World Championships. The only concern with Jones is that he withdrew from the Varese World Cup on medical grounds (having won his heat). Hopefully Jones will have recovered sufficiently to race at Henley, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he withdrew in order to focus on the Lucerne World Cup.
Canada has a second sculler through to the main draw, Liam Smit (University of British Columbia). The former South African U23 international raced for Canada in the M4X at the Varese World Cup (in place of Daniel De Groot) finishing ninth. Canada are entered in the Queen Mother with De Groot in place of Smit, but it remains to be seen if De Groot is back in the boat or not. If he isn’t then I expect Smit to race the QM and withdraw from the Diamonds.
Another senior international in the draw is Piotr Plominski (WTW Warszawa, Poland). He was U23 silver medallist in 2021 and on the senior stage he has a B-Final win in the M2x at the 2022 Europeans and was 11th in the M1x at the World Championships. He raced at the Zagreb World Cup placing ninth and was 13th at the Europeans.
Hamish Harding (Australian National University Boat Club, Australia) is a member of the Aussie Lightweight squad. He made his international debut last season racing the LM2x at the World Cups before switching to the LM1X for the World Championships, finishing ninth.
Australia also has a second sculler pre-qualified, Damien Schroder (Melbourne University). He won the Australian U23 BLM1X title in 2022. He raced at Marlow Regatta last weekend, finishing second in the B-Final of the Championship 1X.
The Netherlands has a single representative in this event, Lars Kreiter (Amsterdamsche Studenten Roeivereeniging Nereus). The 23-year-old made his senior international debut at the first World Cup of 2022, finishing 12th in the M4-. He was a member of the Nereus crew that won The Temple Challenge Cup in 2021.
The home nation has two scullers pre-qualified, Tobias Schroder (Leander Club) and Will Young (Cambridge ’99 Rowing Club). Schroder is a former U23 World Champion and Oxford Blue and was selected as the sculling spare for the European Championships earlier this season. Young qualified for the Diamonds last year and had the dubious honour of facing Ollie Zeidler in the first round. This season he’s produced some excellent results domestically, winning on the Sunday of the Metropolitan Regatta, and, crucially, taking gold in Championship 1X at Marlow Regatta (a result which secured his Henley pre-qualification). He’s the only non-international sculler to pre-qualify for this year’s regatta.
The remaining 31 scullers all have to racing the qualifiers to grab one of the remaining five spots – a simple yet brutal time trial that is a rite of passage for many Henley entrants. Whilst there isn’t the space to preview every entrant, these are the scullers to watch at Qualifiers.
Dara Alizadeh (London Rowing Club). Dara is a former Cambridge Blue and raced for his native Bermuda at the Olympics in Tokyo, finishing 18th. It’s not often the Stewards make an Olympian race qualifiers! This season, Alizadeh raced at both the Metropolitan and Marlow Regatta’s finishing second in the B Final of the Met and seventh at Marlow. He raced in the Diamonds in 2021, reaching the semi-finals.
Matt Brigham (Twickenham Rowing Club). Brigham will forever be remembered in Henley lore as the man who beat five-time Diamonds winner, Mahe Drysdale. The shock came in the first round of the 2019 regatta and just goes to show that you can’t take anything for granted at Henley. This season, the former Leeds University sculler has a seventh place at the Met and fourth at Marlow. He also raced the final GB Trials in April placing 16th overall.
Cam Buchan (Monkton Coombe School) is a former GB senior international who raced in the GB M8 at the 2017 European Championships. He’s back aiming to regain a place in the GB team, which he documents via his immensely popular YouTube channel. This season he raced at the Metropolitan Regatta placing fourth in the B-Final.
Marcus Chute (The Windsorian Rowing Club) is one of the most exciting young talents in the country and in 2022 he was shortlisted as one of SportsAid’s “Ones To Watch”. He won the Fawley last season with Windsor Boys and also won the National School’s Championship Single, the European U19 Single title and finished fifth at the U19 World Championships. He turned 19 last month and has just finished his Freshman year at Princeton, where he rowed in the five-seat of the Varsity Eight that won bronze at the IRA’s.
Stephen Cox (Rowing Association of Zimbabwe) is a Corporal in the British Army and has represented Zimbabwe for the last seven years at the World Cups and World Championships. At last season’s Worlds he finished 31st out of the 35 entrants. This season he raced at the Zagreb World Cup as well as domestically at the Metropolitan and Marlow Regattas; at the Met he won on the Saturday and was fourth on Sunday and at Marlow he made the A-Final, winning the bronze medal.
Daniel Jones (Edinburgh University) was the top Lightweight sculler at the GB Final Trials, a win which saw him rewarded with a seat in the LM2X with Dale Flockhart for the European Championships, finishing 15th. Whilst it remains to be seen if GB continue with the LM2X project (they didn’t enter the Varese World Cup) Jones has been racing the single, and finished second at Marlow Regatta, a great achievement for a Lightweight sculler and one which probably left him a little aggrieved that it didn’t earn him a pre-qualification spot for Henley.
Kealan Mannix (University of Limerick, Ireland) is one of three Irish scullers in the field and is probably the strongest of the three. Mannix won the Open Single at Skibbereen Regatta and on this side of the Irish Sea placed forth at the Metropolitan. He’s also raced at the Coastal Rowing World Championships, placing fourth.
Strathclyde University’s Ben Parsonage is also another very talented lightweight sculler. He was the third best lightweight at the GB Trials in April and is the current Scottish Champion. He raced the LM1X at the European Universities Championships, finishing fifth.
Predictions
Will anyone get close to Zeidler? Probably not, but what will be interesting is to see who gets to the final to meet him, with some doubts over the fitness of his most likely opponent (Jones of Canada) it’s going to be fascinating to see how the racing pans out.
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