The Championship Girls Pairs race is one of the most competitive events at the National Schools’ Regatta with some of the top female junior rowers in the country taking part in the race. A large number of the athletes have been involved in trialling for Great Britain and it should be a close one. The event is set to be held on Sunday, May 26th at Eton Dorney Rowing Lake with 28 crews competing for the Leander Cup.
Here’s a breakdown of some crews that are expected to do well:
Kingston Rowing Club A
Hannah Medcalf and Amber Harwood have really stood out this season at GB trials and have to be favourites to win this event. Having had experience racing with each other before, there is good chemistry in the boat, making them even more threatening. The two row well together and have quality race experience meaning that if another crew is to beat them then we are going to be in for a tight race!
St Pauls Girls School
Recently this pair has been rowing well and Isobel Stuart-Smith and Avery Louis will have gained a lot of confidence from picking up the win in the Women’s Challenge Coxless Pairs event at Wallingford Regatta. It will be interesting to see how they cope when put under the pressure of racing against other top crews but with both involved in GB trials, they are used to pressure and could be a competitive crew.
Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association
This Scottish pair will be traveling down with intentions of establishing themselves as one of the fastest in the country. Megan Hewison has been part of a fast boat during GB trials this year and will be joined by Ellie Andrew for the race at Dorney. This combination is set to work well and they will not want to make the journey back home without a medal around their necks.
Henley Rowing Club
Charlotte Rowley and Millie Guida are two established rowers who will hope that they can perform well at the Regatta. As with most crews coming out of Henley, they are well trained and will be a real contender for a podium place. The expectation is always substantial when Henley’s name is on the roster and these girls will be anticipation silverware.
Headington School
Charlotte Barker and Cordelia Mahony sit in the five and six seats for Headington’s first eight and will race together again on the Sunday in the pair. They’re both powerful rowers with the technique to make their boat fly through the water and on their day could be a threat to the top crews. They will hope that they have trained in the boat long enough to be a leading contender.
Kingston Grammar School
Kingston Grammar School could do well in the race. Lily Abbott, who is in the stroke seat of the pair, has performed well at GB trials this year and also proved her speed by winning the Women’s Junior U18 Single Sculls at Wallingford earlier on in the season. Her partner, Holly Blake, came third in the same event and they will hope to take this race pace into the pair and come away with a medal.
Prediction:
It’s going to be a close race with any crew being able to claim a victory with a good performance on the day. However, the recent form of the two rowers from Kingston Rowing Club A would suggest that they are the crew to beat. It should be a competitive and exciting race with Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association and St Pauls Girls School completing the podium.
By Louis Shaw
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