GB Rowing Team announces crews for 2022 European Rowing Championships

The GB Rowing Team (GBRT) has announced crews for the European Rowing Championships (ERC), from 11-14 August in Munich, Germany, across 15 boat classes including two Para rowing categories. The 57 athletes selected include Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic medallists as well as medallists from this year’s World Cup series.

Great Britain topped the medal table at the 2021 Europeans with five golds, four silvers and three bronze medals. At last month’s World Cup III, Great Britain also led the medal table, collecting six gold medals with five of these crews entered for the Europeans. The sixth crew – the lightweight women’s double – is also set to race with one crew change.

British Rowing Director of Performance Louise Kingsley said: “We have set a high bar so far this season and are looking forward to returning to the Munich course. The ERCs will provide the opportunity for our crews to have more race practice before turning our attention to preparing for the World Championships in September.”

After winning gold in the lightweight women’s single at World Cup III, Imogen Grant is back in the lightweight women’s double with her Tokyo 2020 partner Emily Craig. At World Cup I and World Cup III, Craig teamed up with Maddie Arlett to win golds at both regattas. Arlett will race in the lightweight women’s single at Munich, a boat in which she won a bronze medal at the 2019 Worlds.

The women’s four of Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Samantha Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten (pictured above) have had a blistering start to their season, setting a World Cup best time on their way to a gold medal in Lucerne and building on their World Cup I win in May.

Four of the men’s gold-medal crews from Lucerne will remain the same for Munich. At World Cup III Graeme Thomas memorably captured Great Britain’s first men’s single sculling gold medal in over a decade and will be hoping to repeat this result at the Europeans.

Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists in the men’s eight, Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George have had a golden run in the men’s pair at both World Cup I and III. They are also European champions, winning gold in the men’s eight in 2021.

Underlining the strength of the GBRT men’s sweep squad, the men’s four and eight have also won back-to-back gold medals at World Cup I and III with Leander’s Will Stewart joining Oxford Brookes rowers Sam Nunn, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson this season in the four. Oxford Brookes are also well represented in the eight with Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, David Bewicke-Copley, Tom Digby, and cox Harry Brightmore joined by Leander’s Sholto Carnegie and Tom Ford, together with Charlie Elwes from Oxford University.

These athletes will be defending GB’s title in the men’s four and men’s eight after the team won gold at last year’s Europeans in both boat classes albeit with different crews.

A new-look men’s quad sees Tokyo 2020 silver medallists Harry Leask and Tom Barras joined by Matt Haywood and George Bourne from the men’s double. Though the quad have had a disappointing start to their Paris 2024 campaign, this new combination will be keen to make their mark in Munich ahead of the World Rowing Championships in September.

Great Britain is fielding its first lightweight men’s crew this season with Jamie Copus and Dale Flockhart selected for the lightweight men’s double.

There will also be a senior women’s eight for the first time this year with athletes from the pair and four doubling up in the eight. In a strong crew line-up, the gold-medal winning four are joined by the women’s pair of Emily Ford and Esme Booth, winners at World Cup I and bronze medallists at World Cup III, together with Tokyo 2020 Olympian Rebecca Edwards and Lauren Irwin. The crew will be coxed by Morgan Baynham-Williams, with Irwin and Baynham-Williams part of the GB development women’s eight that won the Windermere Cup in May, defeating the University of Washington on their home water.

In women’s sculling there are four crews entered with the double and quad, plus a lightweight single and double.

The women’s quad were silver medallists at World Cup III – Jess Leyden, Georgie Brayshaw and Lucy Glover return to the boat with Lola Anderson replacing Kyra Edwards in a repeat of World Cup I, where they came a creditable fourth after doubling up in the quad and double sculls. Glover was part of the GB women’s quad that won silver at last year’s Europeans, together with Hannah Scott and the Hodgkins-Byrne sisters.

Edwards joins Saskia Budgett in the women’s double scull. Medical student Budgett last raced with Holly Nixon in this boat class, winning bronze last year at the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta and the Europeans.

The GB Paralympic squad took part in the Europeans for the first time last year and will be fielding two crews this year.

Benjamin Pritchard is racing in the PR1 single sculls and will be confident after his recent wins over double Paralympic champion Roman Polianskyi at the Para-Row to Paris regatta on the 2024 Paralympic course. At World Cup I, Pritchard also came second to Australia’s Erik Horrie in a close race. After winning a silver medal at last year’s Europeans, the Welshman will be aiming to go one better in Munich.

Finally, the world-beating PR3 mixed coxed four boat is also in action again after missing the Para-Row to Paris because of crew illness.

The crew had a new line-up at the start of the season when James Fox stepped down after the crew’s Tokyo Paralympic success and Ellen Buttrick who is recovering from injury, with Frankie Allen and Ed Fuller joining Giedre Rakauskaite, Ollie Stanhope and cox Erin Kennedy for the Paris cycle. They raced well together at the International Para-Rowing Regatta in Gavirate and went on to win an emphatic gold at World Cup I, continuing the boat’s unbeaten run of three Paralympic gold medals and gold in last year’s Europeans.

The Great Britain Crews racing at the Europeans
The Women’s squad is coached by Andrew Randell, James Harris and Darren Whiter.

Men’s and Para coaches are listed by boat.

PARA CREWS

PR1 men’s single sculls (PR1 M1x)

Benjamin Pritchard (City of Swansea RC)
Coach: Nick Baker

PR3 mixed coxed four (PR3 Mix 4+)

Frankie Allen (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Giedre Rakauskaite (Worcester RC)
Ed Fuller (Molesey BC)
Ollie Stanhope (Molesey BC)
Erin Kennedy (cox) (Leander Club)
Coach: Nick Baker

MEN’S CREWS

Men’s pair (M2-)

Ollie Wynne-Griffith (Cambridge University BC)
Tom George (Cambridge University BC)
Coach: Steve Trapmore

Men’s four (M4-)

Will Stewart (Leander Club)
Sam Nunn (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Matt Aldridge (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Freddie Davidson (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Coach: Christian Felkel

Men’s eight (M8+)

Rory Gibbs (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Morgan Bolding (Oxford Brookes University BC)
David Bewicke-Copley (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Sholto Carnegie (Leander Club)
Charlie Elwes (Oxford University BC)
Tom Digby (Oxford Brookes University BC)
James Rudkin (Newcastle University BC)
Tom Ford (Leander Club)
Cox: Harry Brightmore (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Coach: Steve Trapmore

Men’s single sculls (M1x)

Graeme Thomas (Agecroft RC)
Coach: Christian Felkel

Men’s quad (M4x)

Harry Leask (Leander Club)
George Bourne (Tideway Scullers School)
Matt Haywood (Nottingham RC)
Tom Barras (Leander Club)
Coach: Paul Stannard

Lightweight men’s double (LM2x)

Dale Flockhart (University of Edinburgh BC)
Jamie Copus (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Coach: Colin Williamson

Spares:

John Collins (Leander Club)
Oli Wilkes (Oxford Brookes University BC)
Lenny Jenkins (Leander Club)

WOMEN’S CREWS

Women’s pair (W2-)

Emily Ford (Leander Club)
Esme Booth (Leander Club)

Women’s four (W4-)

Heidi Long (Leander Club)
Rowan McKellar (Leander Club)
Samantha Redgrave (Leander Club)
Rebecca Shorten (Imperial College BC)

Women’s eight (W8+)

Rebecca Edwards (Leander Club)
Lauren Irwin (Leander Club)
Emily Ford (Leander Club)
Esme Booth (Leander Club)
Samantha Redgrave (Leander Club)
Rebecca Shorten (Imperial College BC)
Rowan McKellar (Leander Club)
Heidi Long (Leander Club)
Cox: Morgan Baynham-Williams (Leander Club and Ross RC)

Spare pair

Annie Campbell-Orde (Leander Club)
Alex Watson (Molesey BC)

Lightweight women’s single sculls (LW1x)

Maddie Arlett (Edinburgh University BC)

Women’s double (W2x)

Kyra Edwards (Nottingham RC)
Saskia Budgett (Tideway Scullers School)

Lightweight Women’s double (W2x)

Emily Craig (University of London BC)
Imogen Grant (Cambridge University BC)

Women’s quad (W4x)

Jess Leyden (Leander Club)
Lola Anderson (Leander Club)
Georgie Brayshaw (Leander Club)
Lucy Glover (Edinburgh University BC / Warrington RC)

SUPPORT TEAM

Team Leader – Louise Kingsley
Team Leader – Para – Tom Dyson
Team Manager – Jo Bates
Resources Manager – Maurice Hayes
Assistant Team Manager – Jack Mercer
Head Coach – Para – Nick Baker
Head Coach – Women – Andrew Randell
Head Coach – Men – Paul Stannard
Men’s Coach – Christian Felkel
Men’s Coach – Steve Trapmore
Men’s Coach – Colin Williamson
Women’s Coach – James Harris
Women’s Coach – Darren Whiter
Doctor – Ann Redgrave
Physiotherapist – Women – Penny Stern
Physiotherapist – Men – Sam Whittaker
Physiotherapist – Para – Pat Dunleavy
Performance Analyst – Molly Lloyd-Jones
Physiologist – Lizzie Jacobs
Driver / S&C – Sam Boylett-Long
Driver – Kieran Clark
Press Officer – Shelley Wyatt

Source: British Rowing News