We have reached the summit. As a rowing community, there are few weeks in the calendar that we collectively look forward to more than Henley Royal Regatta. The unique match-racing style format, the frivolity and festival unfolding on the banks alongside a pomp and circumstance that transports the punter back through the pages of time itself. All of this is secondary though to the curvature of competition that angles upwards as the week unfolds. From heats on the Tuesday to finals on the Sunday, all roads lead to the red box. JRN will be with you every step of the way to provide the most comprehensive coverage of the Regatta available anywhere in the world – and we start with our exclusive set of event previews. Roll on the racing.
Entries: 21 (To be reduced to 10 by Qualifying races)
Whilst there are no Paris-bound crews in this event, there are enough national squad development crews to make this a very intriguing event. Leading the home charge will be James Gare and Cedol Dafydd (Leander Club). They are both members of the GB “Project LA” squad. Dafydd made his senior GB debut at the Poznan World Rowing Cup where he partnered Stephen Hughes to an excellent fourth-placed finish in the double. Gare raced with Harry Ruinet to finish second at the Holland Beker. They both studied at the University of Bath and took silver at the BUCS Regatta in 2023.
Challenging the Leander double will be a number of overseas crews. Leading the foreign charge will be Vosse Meijssen and Olle Van Bohemen (Delftsche Studenten Roeivereeniging Proteus-Eretes and Eindhovense Studenten Roeivereniging Thêta, Netherlands). They are both part of the Dutch development squad and won the double at the Holland Beker. They also raced in the double at the Poznan World Rowing Cup, finishing 12th.
Van Bohemen and Meijssen are one of three Dutch crews in the event. The second of the three are Jelmer Immeker and Joost Van Der Sluis (Algemene Amsterdamsche Studenten Roeivereniging Skøll, Netherlands). The two 19-year-olds competed at the Holland Beker, finishing a very strong third. In 2023m Der Sluis won LM1X at the Wedau Regatta.
The final Dutch entry are the lightweights, Erik Van Eijck Van Heslinga and Brent Ten Boom (Roeivereeniging Studenten Vreie Universiteit Okeanos, Netherlands). They won silver in the LM2X at the Holland Beker this season. Both athletes have raced at the European Universities Rowing championships with Van Heslinga finishing seventh in the LM2X in 2022 and Ten Boom sixth the following year.
A strong lightweight challenge will come from Nikita Mohr and Finn Wolter (Tennis und Hockey Club Bayer Leverkusen and Ruder-Club Witten, Germany). They are the reigning U23 BLM2X world champions and raced at both the first and second World Rowing Cups, making the A-Final in Varese. They withdrew on medical grounds halfway through the Lucerne World Rowing Cup.
Another overseas entry is a German/Ukrainian combination of Sydney Garbers and Artem Zakharov (Hannoverscher Ruderclub von 1880 e.V., Germany). Garbers is an U23 bronze medallist from 2023 and also has a European U23 silver medal from 2022. Zakharov also raced at the European U23’s in 2022 where he placed eighth in the BM1X.
There are two entries from Australia. The first is the Scottish/Aussie combination of Cam Buchan and Jackson Free (Surfers Paradise Rowing club, Australia). Both are also entered into the Diamonds so it remains to be seen if they do try and do both. Buchan will be hopeful of qualification in the Diamonds, having just won championship singles at Marlow.
The second Aussie entry is Michael Hart and Henry Borger (Pine Rivers Rowing Club, Australia). They raced together at the 2023 Australian National Championships but didn’t progress beyond the reps. They also raced at Marlow Regatta but finished ninth of the nine entries. I would expect the Stewards to ask this combination to race qualifiers and they may have a battle on their hands to make the main draw.
Of the other British crews, one of the strongest are Harry Ruient and Dan Bradbery (Marlow Rowing Club). They won championship doubles at their home regatta last weekend. Ruinet raced for GB in the JM4X at the 2023 U19 world championships, winning a silver medal. Bradbery has just finished his Sophmore year at the University of California and in his Freshman year helped Cal win the Pac-12 Championships. He was also part of an outstanding junior coxed four for Hinksey Sculling School which made the final of the Britannia Challenge Cup in 2021.
Marlow has a second boat entered, Rasnam Tiwana and Tim Rollinson. They finished eighth at their home regatta so will probably have their work cut-out to make the final ten for the main draw.
Fourth at Marlow Regatta was Jackson Keech and Jamie Sanders (London Rowing Club). They will be hoping to go one better than at the 2021 Regatta where they were the fastest non-qualifier for the Double Sculls.
One surprise performance at Marlow Regatta was the third place attained by Thomas Oliver and Jonathan Farr (Southampton Coalporters Amateur Rowing Club). Their previous best result of the season was a win in Band 2 doubles at Reading Amateur. Their Marlow result will give them a big confidence boost heading into qualifiers on Friday.
Another crew who produced a decent performance at Marlow regatta were Harry Moule and Byron Bullen (Sudbury Rowing Club). They were fifth in the A-Final and will be looking to improve on their performance in the 2023 Double Sculls where they missed out on qualification.
Prediction
I’m going for the Leander duo of Gare/Dafydd to take the win
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