Once a consolation prize for those spurned by the eights, since 2021 the coxless four has become one of the premier sweep events at the regatta, populated by smaller, but equally high-performance clubs. Coxless fours operate at a precipice, the balance between harmony and power fragile, and the nine crews entered for Sunday’s racing will need to toe that line perfectly.
Molesey
Molesey are the clear form crew in this event, their men’s program the strongest it’s been since the days of Mikey Dalton and Theo Darlow. With rumours of a Wyfold entry from this four, they’ll have to dominate the schoolboy level to step on to the national stage, but the raw talent in this combination makes that incredibly likely. Whilst the combination of Peck and El-Sayed had a rougher than expected time at trials, both are powerhouses in the larger boats, Peck winning the coupe four last summer and El-Sayed having worked his way up to Munich selection. There’s the unknown quantity of US national team athlete Achtner, but with multiple international-calibre athletes Molesey look a cut above the rest of the field.
Monmouth
Monmouth seem to have cleaved their Schools Head eight in two, bow four moving into this coxless four. While they’ve never hit the same heights as the famed giant-slayers of the 2019 crew, beating the Kent School at Henley and winning First Eights, there’re a consistent string of solid boats coming out of South Wales. Despite an underwhelming performance in J16 coxed fours last year, this crew should be a contender for the event, the Monmouth program geared around small boats and technical finesse.
Shiplake
The Shiplake Third Eight is over. Instead, this four has risen from the ashes, looking to carry on a legacy of strength in depth. Ben Brooks, normally a second-eight stalwart, strokes this crew, with the bow three also extremely competent oarsmen. If the glories of the first eight have carried over to this boat, they should be fighting for medals, and likely not the boat club’s only silverware.
Other Contenders
With three returners from their coxed four last year, Nottingham and Union seem like a strong outfit, though questions have been posed about their ability to transition into the nimbler and twitchier boat. Meanwhile, Canford and Norwich seem in a similar position to Monmouth, formerly Child-Beale Schools experimenting with the smaller boats to try bring home some silverware.
Predictions
It feels like this event will be a coronation for Molesey, but the crews from the likes of Canford and Shiplake could push them hard to the line or take advantage of a slip-up down the stretch. Norwich and Monmouth will likely fight for the minor places.
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