Henley Women's Regatta 2021
Thames sent eight crews comprising 51 athletes - 46 rowers and five coxes - to Henley Women’s Regatta 2021. Although no boats reached the finals, the club had 29 athletes racing in Sunday’s semi-finals and the future looks bright for the women’s squad.
Championship 8+
Our two championship 8s raced for seeding in Saturday’s time trial, with the A crew drawing Tideway Scullers School and the B crew Oxford Brookes in the semi-finals. Brookes proved to be a formidable opponent for the B crew, who nevertheless put out an aggressive race down the course. In the second semi-final it was neck and neck for much of the course, but Scullers prevailed by 3/4 length. The squad will now focus on the Wargrave Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in August.
Championship 1x
Elo Luik, the defending 2019 champion in this event, produced two solid rows in the heat and quarter-finals to take her through to the semi-final. In the semi she was up against Nottingham RC sculler Kyra Edwards, a world and under-23 medallist. Elo led out the race with an aggressive start before Edwards came through in the second half; she went on to dominate the final with an ‘easily’ verdict.
Aspirational Club 8+
For a second regatta running Thames entered three Aspirational Club 8s. The A crew looked powerful and smooth throughout, defeating Furnivall and Agecroft in the first two rounds before meeting Tideway Scullers in the semi-final. They shot out of the blocks and led by around 3/4 length until the boating area, when the powerful Scullers crew edged through. Thames kept moving but ran out of water on the shortened course, ultimately losing by 1/3 length in what was the fastest race of the event by a considerable margin.
The B crew drew Royal Chester in the first round and blasted out to an incredible start that gave them open water before the Barrier and an unassailable lead. In the quarter-final they lined up against Vesta A and once again led off the start, before Vesta moved through in the closing stages of the race. It was nevertheless the best race of the season for a crew full of potential for the future.
The C crew faced Agecroft in the first round, and couldn’t quite match the Manchester club’s power. However it was a solid HWR debut for many of the crew, and they showed true Thames spirit throughout.
Aspirational Club 4-
The 4- found themselves with a tough draw. After overcoming broken steering in round one against Wallingford they progressed to a quarter-final against Vesta A. It was a cracking race from start to finish with both crews battling all the way. Vesta won by 1 length in the fastest, closest quarter-final.
Aspirational Lightweight 1x
After racing at BUCS Regatta the previous weekend Natalie Morgan was ready to race, and she produced a series of great performances that took her to the semi-finals. She started out with a good win against a sculler from Oxford University, and then sculled an incredible race against St Andrew’s University’s Jodie Cameron. Cameron had a comfortable lead early on, but Nat kept on pushing and her persistence saw her scull steadily through to take a 3/4 length win. In the semi-final she faced Wallingford RC’s Teuntje Tijssen, and despite another solid race Tijssen prevailed.