On the 2nd of October, 355 of some of the country’s finest rowers will take to the infamous waters of the Tideway stretch once more to compete at Pairs Head 2021. The Open Championship Doubles category will be no exception, with five crews entered, the calibre of this field is in no doubt and we would almost certainly expect the winner of this event to post the fastest time of the day over the 4500m course.
Itchen Imperial Rowing Club
Coming off the back of a spectacular semi-final appearance in the Double Sculls category at Henley Royal Regatta 2021 with Cracknell and Aitchison, Itchen Imperial will be looking to use this momentum to secure the victory at Pairs’ Head. However, a crew change has led to Aitchison being swapped out for a sculler named Wilkinson. Taking all of this into account, this combination of Cracknell and Wilkinson will be a serious threat for the win of the Open Championship Doubles event.
Newark Rowing Club
Hailing from the waters of the Trent River, the relatively small club of Newark will be looking to make their mark on a stage as big as Pairs’ Head. The crew of Cowley and Jones had a solid 2021 season, including a win in the C final for Cowley in the Open Single event at the Metropolitan Regatta in this highly competitive category. This crew may not have many recent past achievements to its name, but steering can gain or lose a crew a vast amount of time of the Tideway, so a competent steersman could put this crew in with a shot of the win.
Upper Thames Rowing Club
With their iconic boathouse instantly recognisable on the Henley Royal Regatta stretch, this Upper Thames crew comprising of two brothers, Diserens and Diserens will be looking to take a good swing at the Open Championship Doubles category when they take to the Tideway this Saturday. With no notable recent results to speak of, this crew heads into this event as a relatively unknown entity.
London Rowing Club
By having their boathouse on the Tideway, this London Rowing Club crew of Curtis and Maxwell will be extremely familiar with this 4500m course which will stand them in good stead for a strong result. This crew boasts a number of notable achievements, including Curtis winning a gold medal at the U23 World Championships, demonstrating this crew is by no means lacking speed for this event and I fully expect them to be at the sharp end of the field.
Tideway Scullers School
A stronghold for top quality rowing on the Tideway, head coach Kieran Clark has taken this programme from strength to strength in recent years. This crew of Lowther and Valt are vastly experienced, with Valt representing Great Britain in the Junior Men’s Pair category at the 2019 Coupe. Taking this into account, I expect this crew to be a serious contender for the win in this event.
Prediction
I expect the crews of Itchen Imperial, London and Tideway Scullers to be battling it out for the win of this event. However, if I had to put my money on a single crew to emerge victorious, it would be the Tideway Scullers crew who I would back to win this event and set the fastest time of the day.
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