Following on from a highly competitive 2023 event, Marlow Regatta 2024 looks set to enthrall and surprise in equal measure. With Henley Royal Regatta 2024 now a clear picture on the near horizon, Marlow is set to be the final staging ground. This event will do one of three things for the nine crews entered; confirm the speed and bolster the confidence they will look to carry into their Henley campaign, bring about last-minute changes and a wave of pre-race anxiety or just be an enjoyable weekend of competitive racing.
Whatever the case these crews can learn a lot from this highly competitive competition and will relish the challenge that lie ahead of them.
At the time of writing this preview, HRR entries have closed but have not been published but a confirmed entries and crew list for Marlow makes for what one hopes will be an accurate preview.
Leander/Molesey
A composite made up of James Gare (Leander) and Harry Ruient (Marlow) has the potential to go very fast this weekend. I would expect they are one of the crews using this race as an opportunity to fine-tune before racing qualifiers. Gare won this same event last year whilst rowing for Bath University and I am sure will want to repeat the same feat this time around. He is partnered by Ruient, a very experienced and accomplished sculler in his own right. He has represented Great Britain twice, coming home with a silver medal from last summer’s U19 world championships. On paper, they look to be the nailed-on favourites to take the win but can these two combine to make a dominant combination? They certainly have some serious potential.
London Rowing Club
Jack Keech and James Sanders are a very experienced partnership. Having shared a shell since at least 2021, we all know that to make a fast-moving boat there is no substitute for miles together – knowing your crew mates and how they handle themselves is irreplaceable. They were the fastest non-qualifiers for the Double Sculls Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta 2021 and have a wealth of valuable experience under their belts from previous seasons at events including Scullers and Pairs Head. At the Metropolitan Regatta a few weeks ago, they finished seventh in the A-final so one would suspect they have learnt some lessons and will be out to climb a few places in the ranking. London RC is a club back on the rise with sights set on the top of the pile. It will be exciting to see what this experienced crew can achieve this weekend.
St Hughes BC/ Pembroke Coll Ox BC
Pete and Simon Kerswell-Jensen both have over a decade of experience within the sport. Pete spent time in the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) and has previously raced at Henley Royal Regatta, so there is no doubting his ability as an oarsman. However, he retired from elite competition in 2017 so might just be looking for a solid day of side-by-side racing, rather than the kick-off to a Henley campaign. Simon has been competing at a national, and at times international, level for several years and he raced for the City of Oxford in the Wyfold Challenge Cup last year. I cannot find anything to suggest they have raced together at any major competitions so far this season, so I wonder how battle-ready they are. It will be interesting to see how this experienced sibling partnership gets on.
Southampton Coalporters RC
Thomas Oliver and Jonathan Farr feature here, yet not much is known about this crew aside from the fact that they were the winners of the Band 2 open doubles at Reading Amateur Regatta. We have recent evidence that they can move well over 1500 meters in a side-by-side format but the double is usually quite a difficult shell to get right so the questions remains as to whether Oliver and Farr have spent enough time together to make the step from Band 2 to championship. Whatever the case, eight-lane racing will be a great building block in the pursuit of unlocking their shell’s top speed. Could they be a dark horse and storm the time trial to upset the formbooks?
Pine Rivers Rowing Club, Australia
Michael Hart and Henry Borger raced in the championship doubles at the 2023 Australian National Rowing Championships, so have been a stable double act for at least 18 months. In a discipline where accountability is high and there is nowhere to hide, knowing your partner is of the utmost importance. One would suspect they have had enough time to be able to work out how to move together and put some serious miles in the bank. After all, they have travelled around the world to compete here, and I am sure that it will be for a reason. It is exciting to see what is essentially a complete unknown take to the course – will the slight difference in rowing style between Australia and Great Britain prove an advantage for our international guests?
Prediction
My prediction is that the Leander x Molesey composite will take the win, followed by London RC in second with the St Hughes BC/ Pembroke Coll Ox BC composite taking third.
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