In years past, the championship sweep events have been hotly contested battles between some of the best fours in the country, with athletes from the senior national team, upper echelon club and university rowers all taking to the Tideway to compete. One need only look at the list of recent winners to see the kind of calibre that the event attracts; frequently, Olympians or Olympic hopefuls. The champ sweep events are also a staging ground for the first encounter between Cambridge and Oxford in the Boat Race season; historically, results at the Fours Head have acted as an early form guide, influencing not just the betting odds for Boat Race day, but also the trajectory of the training for either side.
Unfortunately, because of looming GB selection trials in November (that feature everyone this year, including athletes that have competed at the most recent World Championships, due to the fast-approaching Olympics) and a lack of student entries from Oxford University, Oxford Brookes, Imperial and the like, this year’s Fours Head is a much less competitive affair. Indeed, of the ten crews entered in champ coxed fours, seven of them are from Cambridge. However, UL, Exeter and Upper Thames have entered strong boats in this category, so there should be some exciting racing beyond just the internal battle within the Cambridge squad. That being said, I’m going to look at each club before making a prediction.
University of Cambridge
Dominating the entry list here is Cambridge. As suggested, the Fours Head is often an important milestone in the Boat Race season, and a chance for an early matchup between the light and dark blues. Despite Oxford’s lack of entry this year, this will still be a crucial step in ongoing selection within the Cambridge squad, as well as practice over the Championship Course.
There are several strong lineups here that will be looking to stamp their authority over the event. The first four features two Boat Race winners in Mouelle and Lynch, with the addition of a Goldie winner, Marsh, and Harvard graduate Coplan, who oscillated between the 1V and JV while in the USA. It’s a powerful, experienced four, coxed by another Harvard grad, Bracey. Bracey is an old Etonian who went on to steer the Harvard Varsity, so should have no trouble handling the Tideway. Another Cambridge four sees three Boat Race winners – Edge, Benzecry and U23 World Champion Ferraro – joined by talented Durham athlete John. John, an Australian, joins Cambridge this year after a successful stint in the GB European Champs 8+ that won a fine bronze over the summer. There’s a ton of experienced packed into this boat, and the fact that they’re entered as Cambridge’s second four is testament to the depth that the light blues have this year. The third four is also impressive: former Stanford Varsity strokeman Amethier is joined by recent UC Berkley grad Halkiw, Boat Race 2023 winner Taylor, and Goldie winner Hayes. Other Goldie winners and Lightweight Boat Race winners can be found in several other CUBC entries. All these boats should be competitive, and will likely be more concerned about the internal squad battle playing out over the course than the wider competition.
University of London
UL‘s top athletes are entered in a quad at this year’s race, so I think this four will struggle to mix in with the fastest boats in this category. That being said, there’s some talent and experience in this lineup, and they’ll be eager to prove themselves on home waters. Langstone-Bolt has been on the Tideway since learning to row at St Paul’s. There’s international experience here too, in the form of Doyle – who rowed for GB at Coupe in 2022 in the JM2- – and Mauro, who has competed for Monaco. All of these athletes, including Oglesby and cox Stenhouse have had prior seasons at UL. Familiarity with the course is an advantage that cannot be understated at Fours Head. Success relies pretty heavily on the coxing line, and UL are certainly set up well in this regard.
University of Exeter
This looks to be Exeter‘s top combination, featuring some experienced athletes mixed with fresh, young talent. Pollock is an exciting import for the Exeter squad, having represented GB in the JM2- at Junior Worlds over the summer (making the A Final – the first GB junior men’s pair to do so since 2006). He’s joined by the talented German Zukunft, experienced Exeter athlete Loosley, and the squad’s Senior Men’s Captain, Banfield. Coxed by Exeter’s Coxing Captain, Darley, these boys should be pretty quick over the course. They’ll relish the opportunity to take on the likes of Cambridge, and will be hungry to take some scalps.
Upper Thames RC
This is a really interesting combination from Upper Thames, featuring athletes such as Bathe-Taylor, who rowed at Coupe way back in 2007 before captaining at the University of Bath in 2009, continuing to row at the top-end of the club level through the 2010s. Pepermans is a highly experienced athlete, having rowed at junior international level in South Africa, before heading to the UK and rowing both at Oxford Brookes and Leander Club. It’s difficult to say where exactly these guys are in terms of their wider career – whether they’re winding down, coming back together for a laugh, or starting to mount a serious campaign looking ahead towards Henley 2024 – but they should have the experience and power to place well here.
Prediction
It should come as little surprise that I’m going to go for Cambridge A as the outright winner here, and they’ll likely pick up the top three spots – though I’m interested to see how Upper Thames and Exeter will fare relative to the light blues.
Good luck to all crews.
Five Man
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