As the meteorological summer begins, we are once able to have major national-level events in the single scull. The Metropolitan Regatta acts as the first stopping point on a domestic scullers’ route to the Diamond Challenge Sculls at Henley Royal Regatta. It is late enough in the year to establish a true pecking order but is early enough such that if one is too far off the pace, to make some friends and enter one of the larger boat events. The most notable entries come in Sunday’s racing as the larger boats take priority on Saturday.
Jack Beaumont (Maidenhead Rowing Club)
It’s not often you get all you need to know to preview a domestic sculling race from World Rowing’s website, but former-GB rower Jack Beaumont has never neatly slotted into the established order. Jack’s career for that national squad peak with a silver medal in Tokyo at the 2020 games, having previously won a smattering of medals across the sculling boats in previous cycles. Now back at his home club of Maidenhead, Jack will surely enter this weekend as a red-hot favourite – or a target for fresh upstarts looking to take down a Goliath.
Dara Alizadeh (London Rowing Club)
The other Olympian on the roster is London Rowing Club’s Dara Alizadeh. Previously resident at Cambridge University Boat Club, where he won two consecutive Boat Races, Dara was the flag bearer at the Tokyo Olympics for his home nation of Bermuda. At the Games, Dara raced in the single scull, finishing in the C final. He’s a titan of the rowing scene, so it’ll be surprise if he’s not scrapping for medal in the A finals this weekend.
Kealan Mannix (University of Limerick Rowing Club)
Coming across the Irish Sea from the University of Limerick is Kealan Mannix and he may have rowed the journey himself. An accomplished coastal sculler, he has represented Ireland in the discipline, but he is barer on accolades on flat water. He competes on the Saturday slate of races so will have his opportunity against the less established field which has gathered at Eton Dorney.
Jacob Ioras (Leander Club)
Possibly the most established sculler in the Saturday field, Jacob Ioras has been representing Leander this season. The former Windsor Boys’ School athlete sat bow seat in the British U19 Quadruple Scull that reached the A Final at the World Championship last summer while on the domestic front, as he won a sculling Triple Crown taking home gold medals from Schools’ Head, National Schools Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta, all in the Junior Men’s Quad. His ability to turn this pedigree into speed on his own has been good but not phenomenal, so how he will stack up against this national competition remains to be seen.
Will Young (Cambridge ’99 Rowing Club)
Taking part in both day’s competition is Will Young from Cambridge ’99. He placed seventh at the Scullers Head at the start of the season. Last year he placed seventh and second in the single sculling events at the Metropolitan Regatta in a campaign that lead up to a date on the Henley stretch with a German sculler named Oli Zeidler. Any improvement on these results will be a step in the right direction for the Manufacturing Scientist.
Matt Brigham (Twickenham Rowing Club)
Speaking of races at Henley against World Champions, Matt Brigham races in the single event on Sunday. He has mixed and matched with his affiliation so far this season but seems like he will race at the Metropolitan Regatta in the navy and pink of Twickenham RC. Since ending his brief stint at Leander he has failed to reach the heights of his famous win over Mahe Drysdale, but the ‘Kingslayer’ remains among the top scullers in the UK away from Caversham. 13th place at Scullers Head in the autumn after stepping out of the Double he raced at the Pink Palace and 16th in the GB April Trials was the best result of anyone racing in a single at Dorney this weekend.
Tom Wilkinson (Greenbank Falmouth Rowing Club)
At the Scullers Head it was Tom Wilkinson who was the best placed at this field with a fifth place finish on the Championship Course. Wilkinson represents Greenbank Falmouth RC, possibly the southernmost flatwater rowing club in Great Britain and does so with distinction, qualifying for every Diamond Challenge Sculls since 2019, including a trip all the way to Saturday in 2021. He will race in the Single on Sunday and look to improve on his fourth place he achieved twelve months ago.
Josh Lyon (Reading University Boat Club)
The top University Sculler taking part in this years’ competition, Josh Lyon of the University of Reading has already had some good performances in this regatta season. Second place in the Championship Single at BUCS Regatta. The Bedford School graduate made it to Sunday in the quad at Henley Royal Regatta last summer and it racing the single on Sunday alongside the quad on Saturday on Dorney Lake this weekend.
Cedol Dafydd (Bath University Boat Club)
Cedol Dafydd of Bath University has been one of the most impressive scullers so far this season. After finishing last season by racing at Home International Regatta (unsurprisingly for Wales), he has been on a roll, placing 13th, 13th and 19th at GB Trials and medalling in the Championship Single, Double and Quad at BUCS Regatta. Similarly to Lyon he will race a quad on Saturday but look out on Sunday as he will look to extend his great run of form in the single.
Prediction
With no major open event in the single sculls since mid-September, this is the event that future predictions will be based upon. To this end, we are shooting in the dark based on nothing more than pedigree and memories of previous results. There will be athletes who overperform those mentioned: whether it is a known talent who has ducked under my eye, a crew boat athlete going out on his own or an athlete who has made phenomenal progression in the last year – as is often the case in the single scull. On Sunday’s results I would expect Matt Brigham and Josh Lyon to be at the front of proceedings, whilst on Saturday the Tokyo pairing of Dara Alizadeh and Jack Beaumont must surely be at the front.
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