Marlow Regatta is the last big pre-Henley event; a massive single-day affair at Dorney that attracts some top domestic and international competition.
It’s a really important regatta for gauging relative speed pre-Henley, and securing seeding. A good result here can mean the difference between a very difficult Henley draw or a relatively light one that could see much easier progression through to the latter stages of the competition.
It’s difficult to know whether the pairs entered here will have an eye on the Goblets at Henley – the open pairs category – or whether they’re just looking for more racing experience. There are certainly some potentially quite fast crews entered, and it will be intense: only seven entries means the time trial will act only as a race for lanes, and all crews will be heading to the A final.
There’s certainly a bit of a split in terms of quality here, though, and this preview will analyse only the most competitive entries in the category.
Leander Club
As a rowing institution, Leander really need no introduction. A storied club with a rich history of domestic and international success, Leander always puts out some fast crews with a view towards winning both club, intermediate and open-level events at Henley. This is a strong pair made up of a former Brookes athlete, Alfie Heath, and the strong South African, Nic Farrell. Farrell was in Leander’s Ladies Plate eight last year, but hasn’t quite made the cut this year. He’s still a great contender, and this pair should be the one of the ones to beat here. They’ll be a powerful unit, and if their technical cohesion can hold up over the day, they’ll be in a great position.
Molesey BC ‘A’
Molesey’s ‘A’ entry here is an exciting pairing of two para athletes, Ed Fuller and Ollie Stanhope. Stanhope has made waves on the para-rowing scene over the past few years, and comes into this field as the most decorated international athlete, with three World Championship and a Paralympic title to his name. Fuller is just at the outset of his international journey, having just raced with Stanhope in the PR3 Mixed Coxed Four at the Gavirate International Para Rowing Regatta in Italy. These guys should be a pretty formidable unit, and it will be really interesting to see how they fare.
Molesey BC ‘B’
Another really strong Molesey unit, this is a pair formed of the talented youngster Mikey Dalton, who saw significant success as a junior and most recently was crowned U23 world champion in the stroke seat of the GB men’s eight in 2021, and long-time Molesey athlete Tom Middleton. These guys will likely be a pretty technical unit – Dalton in particular is very proficient in the pair. They’ll be vying for the top spot with Leander and their Molesey counterparts.
Tideway Scullers School
This Tideway Scullers unit is formed of experienced athletes Kieran Brown and Rob Hodgson. They’ve raced this combination at Met Regatta, where they saw seventh place finishes both on the Saturday and Sunday. Their experiences at the Met will stand them in good stead here, though I doubt they’ll quite have the pace to keep up with the front of the field.
Prediction
I’m going to go with Molesey ‘A’ in first, with Leander closely behind and Molesey ‘B’ in third. There’s certainly all to play for though, with crews like Newark BC and Elizabethan BC hot on the tail of the top four entries.
Good luck to all crews.
Five Man
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