This coming weekend will see over 5,000 junior crews take to the water at Eton Dorney, all hoping that the hours of training over the long cold winter months will pay off and they’ll snatch the win. This always leads to a great few days of racing and this category will be no exception. With a nice mix of both Schools and Clubs, I’m sure there will be some very competitive racing from all crews.
St Edwards School
Three of these girls were part of the J15 four that won at National Schools last year and since that win they had had a good season. Their recent second place at Wallingford shows that this crew works well together and has to be a contender for medals.
Kingston
Last year their J16 four was exceptional and with a reputation like that I’m expecting this crew to rise to the challenge. So far this season this crew has performed well, with a win at their own head race and a 4th place finish at Wallingford. If they continue on this trajectory then they will be ones to watch.
Putney
Putney has an impressive record in the sweeping events, with a win at Women’s Henley in the Four last year. I’m hoping this crew will be no exception and so far, this season they have performed well, with a 5th at Wallingford. If they can push themselves and improve on this result I think this crew could be in the mix at the finish line.
Enniskillen
This crew comes from another club with good reputation and last year their J15 four, which was a very similar line up to this one, came 6th in the A final. This season some of the girls had 8’s success with a 4th place at Schools Head and an Enniskillen WJ164+ also won at Erne Head in March. Perhaps these successes could be a springboard to a podium place here?
Godolphin and Latymer School
This is another crew that performed well at National Schools in their J15 year, placing 3rd in this category. More recently, they were 7th in the Junior Fours at Hammersmith Head and 2nd at Kingston Head. If they can translate these good long-distance performances into an effective sprint then they will be very competitive.
Predictions
This is a category packed with talent and along with crews mentioned in detail, other strong contenders include Lea and LEH. I think that the medals are really up for grabs, but based on the best performance at Wallingford, St Edwards have a good shot at the win. However, I’m sure there will be some surprises from the crews this weekend.
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