Two King’s Ely students have been crowned British Champions at the British Junior Rowing Championships 2017.
Holly Lancaster, 16, and Rebecca Garrett, 15, were among several King’s Ely students who competed in the Championships, held at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham from 14th to 16th July.
Holly and Rebecca joined Olivia Morgan, from Cambridge 99 Rowing Club, and Freya Dingwall, from Isle of Ely Rowing Club, in the Women’s Under 16 Quad Scull. The girls dominated the event, winning the initial time trial and heat, with their successful day culminating in a 12 second victory over their nearest rivals in the A Final.
This impressive result saw the crew being crowned the 2017 British Rowing Junior Champions in the Women Under 16 Quad Scull. In addition to this achievement, King’s Ely students had several top 10 finishes throughout the event.
The weekend started with the Under 14 competition on the Friday where all rowers competed in a series of skill tests followed by a 500m side by side race. King’s Ely student Georgia Chapman, 14, finished seventh.
Racing for the Under 15-18 rowers took place on the Saturday and Sunday, with all crews competing in a timed trial on Saturday morning before minor finals in the afternoon, and semi-finals and manor finals taking place on the Sunday.
There were also strong performances from Holly Lancaster, who doubled up from her successful quad event to placed fifth overall in the Women’s Under 16 Single Scull, Alex Millard, 16, finished eighth overall in the Mens’ Under 16 Single Scull and Lucy Whiteside, 16, who teamed up with Charlotte Knapp, from Rob Roy Boat Club, to place 12th in the Womens’ Under 16 Double Scull event.
There are no short cuts in rowing and these positive results are a by-product of the hard work, determination and effort put in by all the students and staff involved – Mark Beer, Head of Rowing at King’s Ely Senior
Head of Rowing at King’s Ely Senior, Mark Beer said: ‘It was great to see such a strong set of results from our student athletes. There are no short cuts in rowing and these positive results are a by-product of the hard work, determination and effort put in by all the students and staff involved. We were especially pleased to see Holly and Rebecca win the British Championships with two girls from local clubs. It has been a great learning experience for the athletes and coaches from all the three clubs in collaborating together to produce one of the fastest women’s crews in the country.”
