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: 17 (to be reduced to 12 by Qualifying Races)
There’s a strong chance for Germany (and Frankfurt) to do the double in the single sculls, with Zeidler winning the Diamonds and his countrywoman Juliane Faralisch (Frankfurter Rudergesellschaft Germania 1869 e.V., Germany) starting as favourite for the Princess Royal. She has been racing as Germany’s W1X this season, finishing fourth in Varese, then 11th in Lucerne before winning an excellent silver medal in Poznan. She also raced at the Holland Beker last month, winning the Ladies Trophy. If Faralisch does take the title, she will become only the third German to do so after Katrin Rutschow in 1999 and AnnKatrin Thiele in 2017. If Germany do take both singles titles, that’ll the first time that’s been done since Emma Twigg and Mahe Drysdale won back in 2009.
The main challengers for the German may well come from the USA. Sophia Luwis (Whitemarsh Boat Club, USA) was LW1X bronze medallist at the 2023 world championships and also won gold and silver medals during the 2023 World Rowing Cup series. This season, she won another World Rowing Cup medal with silver in Lucerne. Another strong American challenger is the experienced Cicely Madden (Cambridge Boat Club, USA). She raced on the US senior team in 2019, finishing fifth in the W2X and then went on to race in the W4X at the Tokyo Olympics, finishing tenth. The third US entrant is Mary Kaleta (San Diego Rowing Club, USA). She rowed for four years at Marquette University and has wins at the Head of the Charles. She’s competing in the championship single at Henley Women’s Regatta this week (at the time of writing she was through to the second round).
Nika Vos (Hollandia Roeiclub, Netherlands) will also be a strong contender. She made her senior international debut in 2019 and in 2021 was in the NED eight that won silver at the European championships. She moved into the quad for the 2022 season, taking another European silver and followed that with silver at the world championships. Last season, she raced in the double, finishing 11th and so far this season spent time in the coxless four (winning bronze at the Euros) before finishing off the World Rowing Cup series with seventh in the single in Poznan. Vos raced at the Holland Beker but missed out on a place in the final after finishing fourth in her semi.
Australia haven’t won the Princess Royal since 2003 (when CJ Oliver beat DR Martin in an all-Australian Institute of Sport final). Australia’s entry this year, Kathryn Rowan (Rowing Australia, Australia) has a good chance of doing very well in 2024. She was in the quad that finished sixth at the 2022 world championships and in 2023 they went one better, taking fifth (qualifying the boat for the Paris Olympics). She was named as part of the Australian squad for the quad but ultimately missed out on selection. She competed in the single at the Poznan World Cup, finishing 15th.
China have never won this event, but their entry this year – Ruiqi Liu (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China) – should put in a strong challenge. She was China’s representative in the single at the 2023 world championships, placing 14th.
There is a second German entry in the event, Pia Otto (Kölner Ruderverein von 1877 e.V., Germany). Otto has international racing experience under her belt; in 2020, her lightweight quad finished second at the European U23 championships. Otto also has previous at coastal rowing events. She raced in the championship LW1X event at Henley Women’s Regatta this season, exiting at the quarter-final stage.
The final international entry is Aisling Hayes (Skibbereen Rowing Club, Ireland). She’s a Henley winner already, having taken the Island title with Oxford Brookes in 2021. She won the championship single at the Metropolitan Regatta this season and is one of Skibbereen’s “Big Strong Gorls”.
Of the domestic entries, one of the strongest contenders will be Sarah McKay (Grosvenor Rowing Club). She was selected to race for GB in the double at the Holland Beker where she and partner Jade Lindo finished third. She’s also racing in the championship single at Henley Women’s Regatta. She’s qualified for this event at the last three regattas but lost to senior international scullers in the opening round on each occasion.
Another strong domestic entry is Jen Titterington (Nottingham Rowing Club). She raced at both Wallingford and Metropolitan Regattas, placing second at Wallingford and third at the Metropolitan. She’s set to face Sarah McKay in the quarter finals of the championship single at Henley Women’s Regatta.
Hazel Wake (City of Oxford Rowing Club) was one of the favourites to take the championship lightweight singles at Henley Women’s this year but lost out in the quarter-finals. She a former lightweight Blue for Oxford and was the British Universities champion in the LW1X. She qualified for the Princess Royal last year, losing to Cambridge’s Freya Keto in the first round.
Prediction
This should be a really good contest, but I’m going for Faralisch of Germany to beat Rowan of Australia in the final.
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