With just days to go until Henley Women’s Regatta kicks off, the W.Peer Cup for Championship Doubles looks to be one of the most exciting sculling events of the weekend. With ten entries and eight to go through to side-by-side racing, expect some tight results over the 1500 metre course. Reigning champions and course record holders Katherine George and Vwaire Obukohwo are amongst the entries, with a number of club and composite crews making up the rest of the draw.
Reading University: E. Cooke F. Stratton
BUCS Champions Cooke and Stratton are in the midst of an impressive season together. Following their dominant display in Nottingham at the end of April they raced impressively at the Met last weekend, placing second on the Saturday. Cooke won the Junior Double in 2021, so has experience and history at this event and will want to continue building her legacy with a step up in the Championship category. Under the tutelage of Reading University Head Coach Chris Bartley, they will continue to go from strength to strength and it would be unsurprising to see them make the final.
Leander Club/Twickenham: K. George V. Obukohwo
This duo is reunited after last season’s success. As 2023 is their final year as U23s they will be looking to better the bronze medal they picked up at last season’s World Championships and this will be an important start to their season together. George has just returned from the US, having placed third in the Princeton 1V at the NCAA’s two weeks ago. Obukohwo has struggled with injury in recent months but has some singles results under her belt at both Wedau Regatta in Duisburg and the Met last weekend. Should they regain the form they had last season it is hard to look past this combination, but a lack of time together compared to other crews may hinder them slightly.
Strathclyde Park/Twickenham: J. Lindo, McCluskey
Lindo and McCluskey are a relatively new combination. Having spent plenty of time in their singles in the first part of the season they raced together for the first time at the Met last weekend. They placed fourth in Saturday’s event, almost 20 seconds behind Reading (albeit in a strong crosswind) before taking victory by a large margin on the Sunday in a weaker field. Lindo has some history in this event, having made the final in 2021 and will surely want the win that has eluded her thus far. With another two weeks of training under their belt and improvements made every time they race, they are bound to find more speed and challenge for the final.
Leander Club: A. Menke, N.Dunn
Menke and Dunn are a new combination but could be a surprise package in this event. Both Princeton students, Dunn on a gap year and Menke having just finished her freshman year, this is an exciting young crew. Dunn has spent the majority of the season rehabbing after a shoulder operation, before slotting into Leander’s sculling squad and becoming a mainstay of their quad fleet. Menke placed fourth at the U19 World Championships in the double last year, so has plenty of pedigree and experience in this boat class. She will only have benefited from being a part of one of the world’s leading women’s programmes at Princeton and will be race ready after NCAA’s. Time is not on their side but training on the Henley stretch has its advantages and this combination could do something special.
Edinburgh University/Newcastle University: R.Bradley, H. Supple
This development U23 double has already raced a number of times this season. Part of the British Rowing group that raced at Wedau Regatta in Duisburg, they placed second in the B final on the Sunday in a competitive international field. This composite followed up with a fifth and third-place at the Met last weekend. These races will have given them plenty of experience and set them up well for a competitive Henley Women’s showing. Whilst it is unlikely Bradley and Supple will make the final, expect them to be in the last four.
Predictions
It’s hard to look past defending champions George and Obukohwo in this event. The combination were hugely impressive last season and are sure to be a force to be reckoned with this year. Anything can happen between the booms, but I expect them to take victory over Reading in the final. This would still be an impressive result for the university crew and a sign of their continued success as a sculling program.
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