As these things go, the Mens Championship Singles time trials are set to race at a fairly reasonable time on Sunday morning, and it is shaping up to be quite the contest. With a mixture of clubs and a mixture of J17 and J18 scullers, with only a couple of big-hitters in the mix there looks to be plenty of opportunity for for some new names to steal the limelight at this years National Schools’ Regatta.
First and foremost, we’ve got Marcus Chute of Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club, and my moneys on him for the victory. Not only did he triumph at Brit Champs in the summer, but his dominance at Hampton Head and second place at last year’s Regatta stands him in good stead for a strong performance at the weekend. If this wasn’t enough, he added to his credentials a crushing victory by over a minute at this seasons Junior GB trials and was recently crowned European champion. He’s the sculler to beat.
As for the other J18 scullers lined up to take to the lake, nobody seems to measure up in quite the same way. Sure, there’s characters like Josh Matthews of Strathclyde Park Rowing Club who competed at this years Munich International Regatta, as well as representatives from clubs like Leander and Henley who are set to be contending titles in other events, but for the Championship singles Chute has the best record of any of the J18 rowers.
However, of the J17 cohort competing, there are several scullers who look like they could be in with a shout. Ali El Sayed of Whitgift School Boat Club enjoyed a silver medal at this years Junior Sculling Regatta, building on an 11th place at Hampton Head. In his J16 year, Tideway Sculling School’s Samuel Arcichowski secured fourth at the Junior Sculling Regatta, with a time not far off Sayed’s effort from this year, so there is definitely potential for a close race here.
Aside from occasional successes at indoor events then, that is really it for this years lineup, with Windsor Boys’ looking to take another victory.
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