The Women’s Championship Singles at Metropolitan Regatta looks set to be a thrilling competition, with the Saturday field particularly stacked with current and former GB internationals. It’s getting to crunch time in the season, and many of these athletes will be looking for a good result at Metropolitan Regatta to set them up for the ever closer Henley Women’s and Henley Royal.
Saturday
One of the standout names from Saturday’s entry lists is Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne (Upper Thames RC), a former World Championship bronze medal winner and Tokyo Olympian as part of the GB Women’s Quad. She’s also had some impressive wins in the single including being a double Wingfield Sculls winner. Hodgkins Byrne was absent from the 2022 season while having a baby, but is now back and will see Met as an important stepping stone in her return.
Vwaire Obukohwo (Twickenham RC) is also someone looking to use Met as an important stepping stone in their season, having missed April trials through injury. Despite recent frustrations, Obukohwo has very strong pedigree in the single and won bronze in the double at U23 Europeans last year. Still an U23 athlete for this season, a good result at Metropolitan Regatta will put her firmly back into contention for a place on the GB team this year.
Obukohwo is joined by fellow former Under 23 GB international, Lauren Maddison (Reading University BC), who took bronze in the Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls at the 2022 European U23 Championships. She took third place on the Sunday of Metropolitan Regatta last year, and will be looking to improve on that performance, this time only competing on the Saturday.
The GB internationals will face competition from the American Freya Keto (Cambridge University BC). The five seat of this years winning Cambridge Blue Boat, Keto has proved her sculling pedigree by finishing second at BUCS Regatta.
Also competing are the likes of Perri McCluskey (Strathclyde Park RC), a former Henley Women’s Regatta winner as part of a British Rowing World Class Start programme quad, and Jade Lindo (Twickenham RC), a finalist in last year’s Henley Women’s Regatta Championship Singles. The battle to make it into the A final of the Saturday alone, demonstrates the depth of the field this year, and the strength of women’s sculling this season.
Sunday
The Sunday looks to be a reduced field, with many of the expected top athletes from the Saturday opting not to double up this year. Sheyi Blackett (Twickenham RC) will be one of the contenders on this day and will be hoping to continue a good weekend for Twickenham RC, who have three athletes competing in total across the two days. She achieved a top 20 place at GB trials back in November 2022 and will see the reduced field as a good opportunity to do well.
Blackett will likely face competition from Sarah McKay (Grosvenor RC Chester), an A finalist at Metropolitan Regatta last year, who has already notched up a good win at Wallingford Regatta in the scull. At Wallingford she finished ahead of the likes of Jen Titterington (Nottingham RC), who will be looking to reverse those results this time around.
Prediction
It’s difficult to know where along the comeback trail the likes of Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne (Upper Thames RC) and Vwaire Obukohwo (Twickenham RC) are, but their history would suggest that even not at peak form they’ll be contenders on the Saturday. Freya Keto (Cambridge University BC) looks to be the inform athlete going by BUCS results and will feel this is another strong opportunity to make a podium. For the Sunday Sarah McKay (Grosvenor RC Chester) has had some good results this season, but Sheyi Blackett (Twickenham RC) will be one of the tougher opponents she’s had to face thus far. Although less internationals are present, the racing on Sunday looks to be just as tough to call and just as exciting as the Saturday.
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