The pair has always been the boat class of choice for those who wish to truly showcase their skill in sweep rowing. It is no coincidence that all the greats, Redgrave, Bond, Pinsent, all made their names famous in the rowing world, through success in the pair. British Rowing themselves highly value efficiency in the pair, so it is no surprise that three out of the four trials that take place during the year involve long distance time trials in this boat class.
The Championship Pair this year looks to be a showdown of small boat supremacy between the London clubs on the Thames. Whatever happens later in the season as the big boats come off the racks and sprint racing gets underway, these athletes will remember which of their competitors had the skill to prevail in the pairs on the Tideway, a mark of honour that will stubbornly reverberate.
Thames Rowing Club
Leading the charge down the course will be Thames Rowing Club’s Gosling and Braithwaite. These men were 4 and 5 in Thames’ victorious Henley Royal Regatta crew in July, and worked their way through an impressive series of crews on their way to the coveted red box, including a very sharp entry from Sydney Rowing Club that many saw as the favourites for the Thames Challenge Cup. These men will be relying on the power and poise that secured them those victories to prove that they can move the pair just as effectively as the eight.
St Paul’s School
St Paul’s School have chosen to place an entry into the Championship Pairs instead of the Junior Pairs, and the pedigree of this crew may hint to why. Fowlie and Wolfensberger were members of the Henley Finalist crew that ran a generational St. Edwards entry to a 1/3 length last season, and Wolfensberger went on to earn his first GB vest at Junior Worlds just weeks later, where he stroked the four to a 4th place finish. He has now utterly stormed his way into the 2023-24 season. Just a few weeks ago at the Scullers Head, he came 8th overall, stunning many senior and U23 athletes with previous GB representation of their own. This 8th place overall translated to a 20-second victory in the Junior Single. These two will be looking to establish themselves as the ones to beat in junior rowing this year, and a good result in this experienced field could do just that.
University of London
The University of London Boat Club fields five entries this year, the most competitive of which appear to be the pairings of Cross and Burke, and Trevor and Dallas. ULBC has been a consistent force to reckon with on the Tideway, and their intricate knowledge of the course and its idiosyncrasies will surely keep them firmly in the mix for the podium.
London Rowing Club
London Rowing Club’s entry of Jenkins and Reeder rowed together in the Britannia Challenge Cup at HRR last year, losing to eventual winners Thames on day four, and this shared experience will give them a solid base off which to build their speed in the pair. Whether it will propel them to the front of the field remains to be seen.
My prediction is for Gosling and Braithwaite to claim the title, but I am very interested to see where Fowlie and Wolfensberger place amongst a significantly older field.
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