The Fours Head of the River Race 2024 – Women’s Championship Coxless Four Preview

The Fours Head of the River Race has established itself as one of the best Autumn races, offering competition for top crews from across the nation on the iconic championship stretch. Crews in the championship women’s coxless fours category will be looking to test new season combinations and stake their claims in fiercely contested categories. This particular lineup features an exciting mix of Olympians, rising stars, and seasoned club rowers. With last year’s race cancelled due to adverse conditions, the stakes for this weekend are higher than ever.

Imperial College Boat Club / Leander Club / Marlow Rowing Club Composite

This composite crew features Helen Glover, Esme Booth, and Rebecca Shorten – fresh off their silver medal performance in the women’s four at the Paris Olympic Games. This weekend’s extended course will offer them an opportunity to display their endurance. This crew will want to ensure that there is no threat of marginal losses over the 6.8km track; the 0.18-second gap between themselves and the Netherlands in the Olympic final is not a margin they will want to be on the wrong side of again. Though another Leander Club member has replaced Sam Redgrave for this event, the crew’s established speed and experience make them almost untouchable. All eyes will be on their performance this weekend as they seek to dominate once again.

Leander Club

Leander Club has entered two strong fours into this event, with standout athletes featured across both boats. The first crew includes Annie Campbell-Orde, who stroked the GB women’s eight to a bronze medal at the Paris Olympic Games, so she brings experience and leadership to her boat. In this crew, her teammates present similarly impressive accomplishments. Philippa Emery and Abigail Topp were both in the U23 coxless four at the World Rowing Championships last year, so they will be comfortable targeting a strong result in a coxless four at Fours Head together. Phoebe Snowden earned a silver medal in the U23 eight at the World Rowing Championships in 2022 and also reached the Semifinals in The Town Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta Royal Regatta in 2023, so her experience in fours remains ever-increasing. The second crew also boasts remarkable talent, including Charlotte Fennell, a 2023 Ivy League Champion and former Yale Varsity Rowing Team member. Lauren Carey, another standout, has GB U23 pedigree and rowed alongside crew mate Elizabeth Witt and squad members Emery and Snowden in the The Remenham Challenge Cup this summer. With such depth of talent and expertise, Leander’s strength across both entries will make them as hard to beat as ever.

Thames Rowing Club

Thames Rowing Club has entered what seem to be two relatively closely matched crews. The first crew for this event is stacked with Henley Royal Regatta champions Grace Johnson and Jane Hardie, who featured in last season’s winning Wargrave Challenge Cup crew, and Emilia Crocker, who claimed a win in the same event in 2023. Completing the crew appears to be a recent Team USA import, Margaret Hedeman, who raced in the American Women’s Eight and placed fifth at the Paris Olympic Games. Thames has a strong history in this event, finishing with silver in the last edition of the championship women’s coxless fours in 2022. They will be aiming to upset Leander’s dominance this time.

London Rowing Club

London Rowing Club (LRC) also enters two competitive crews with impressive pedigrees. The club made history in 2023 when their unselected crew became the third club to reach The Wargrave Challenge Cup final. Many women from this crew appear in the two fours in this event, namely Elizabeth Cottrell, Laura Bates, Gaby Morton, Claudia Turley, and Millie Perrin. Elizabeth, who has been captain at LRC for two years, will compete against former club Oxford Brookes this weekend. Many of these athletes also claimed victory at the prestigious Fortunabeker regatta earlier this year, giving them the confidence to push for success over a longer distance on home soil.

Notable Mentions

The depth of competition does not stop there. Imperial College Boat Club’s entry features Loren Boles, part of the aspirational coxless four that won Henley Women’s Regatta in 2023, and Laura Ellington, who previously raced with Leander’s Elizabeth Witt to win BUCS Regatta and will now be competing against her. Oxford Brookes always brings talent, particularly with Lindsey Morrissett and Amelia Carpenter at this event, who were both members of the winning Island Challenge Cup crew this year. Marlow Rowing Club and Cantabrigian have not made many appearances in this category before and may be relative underdogs. However, they will be looking to surprise, with Marlow already boasting a third-place finish in the club coxless fours category at Fours Head 2022.

Prediction

The last time this event took place, the podium places in this category were taken by Leander, Thames, and Oxford Brookes; some may argue the possibility of this happening again. However, this year’s Imperial / Leander / Marlow composite crew looks immediately poised to challenge for the top spot, leveraging their Olympic pedigree. I believe Leander’s depth across its two entries suggests they are favourites to fill the remaining podium places, though Thames Rowing Club and London Rowing Club cannot be underestimated on their own stretch in what promises to be a fiercely competitive race.

About The Author

Darcie Summers

Darcie had a successful junior career both nationally and regionally. After winning women’s champ eights with LEH in 2019, she has now returned to the school as part of the coaching team. She has recently started writing for JRN to solidify her involvement with the rowing world.

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