Thames regains the Thames, Wargrave and Wyfold Challenge Cups

The 2026 season hit its climax at Henley Royal Regatta in the first week of July, with Thames RC regaining three trophies: the Thames Challenge Cup, Wargrave Challenge Cup and Wyfold Challenge Cup. Tristan Wenger, racing for Nautilus, also made it back-to-back wins in the Visitors’ Challenge Cup.

A total of 107 athletes competed in Thames crews, and another nine raced in composites; 42 reached a final. Every single one of the Thames entries qualified for the regatta.

In the Thames Challenge Cup, Thames qualified three boats. Thames C drew Sydney RC on Tuesday and were knocked out despite putting up a stiff challenge. Thames B beat the UK Armed Forces on Tuesday, but then came up against Sydney on Wednesday, losing by a length.

Thames A cruised through the early rounds, beating Avon RC, New Zealand, Crabtree BC and City of Cambridge before defeating Leander Club in a good semi-final. That brought them up against London RC on Sunday in a repeat of the 2025 final, but without the same result. Thames got their bows in front after an aggressive start by both crews, and despite a good fight from London, took a 3/4 length victory. It is the 17th win in the club’s history in this event, and the sixth time in the last 10 regattas.

In the Wargrave Challenge Cup, four Thames crews qualified for the fourth year in a row. Thames D drew a fast City of Cambridge crew in the first round, and lost. Thames C beat Marlow RC on Tuesday before losing to Avon RC on Wednesday.

Thames B, having beaten Tideway Scullers School and Tyne ARC in the first two rounds, avenged Thames D with victory over City of Cambridge to put themselves in the semi-finals. There, they produced one of the best performances of the entire regatta by rowing through Molesey BC to win themselves a place in the final.

Thames A had a bye to Wednesday, when they beat London RC B. They then defeated Avon RC on Thursday and, after a rescheduled race, Leander Club in the semi-finals to secure the Wargrave a day early. In the first-ever club vs club final in this event, they went on to take victory - the fourth win in six editions of this event.

Both Wyfold Challenge Cup crews had excellent runs through the regatta. Thames B beat Barcelona Club de Rem, Spain, Vesta RC and Mercantile RC, Australia, to put themselves in the semi-finals where they came up against a fast Sydney RC crew, losing by 1 3/4 lengths in a solid race.

Thames A defeated Walton RC, Marlow RC, London RC and Molesey BC to set up a final showdown against Sydney. A good start gave them the advantage they needed to hold off Sydney’s charge through the enclosures, and secured Thames the Wyfold for the first time since 2022.

The Bridge Challenge Plate crew progressed to the final for the second time in the two years the event has been run, after beating Dartmouth University, USA, and a Nautilus crew including Thames athlete Valentina Fenton. The final was a repeat of the Henley Women’s Regatta final two weeks previously, with opponents Molesey & University of London taking the lead early on before Thames fought back, but coming up half a length shy of victory.

The Britannia Challenge Plate crews both went out on Thursday after agonisingly close losses. The A crew beat Nottingham RC on Wednesday and drew De Hoop, Netherlands, on Thursday. Thames stormed out of the blocks and set Barrier and Fawley records, before De Hoop found another gear and moved through. The Dutch boat, which went on to win the event comfortably, set a course record by four seconds in the process.

Thames B beat Shoreham RC on Wednesday and lost to Royal Chester on Thursday, also leading early on before being rowed down in the closing stage of the race.

Thames’ Ladies’ Challenge Plate crew was predominantly formed of club members studying in the USA. They put up a superb fight against the fancied University of Washington boat, with added drama of a safety boat encroaching on the course, losing by 2 1/2 lengths. Crew members Luke Putter and Alex Willot also raced the Silver Goblets & Nickalls’ Challenge Cup, leading Irish Olympians Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney for 3/4 mile before the Irish pair took the lead.

Ben Campbell-Reide wore Thames colours in the Cambridge University & Harvard University boat which reached the final of the Ladies’ Plate, where they lost to Leander. Leander had defeated the Nautilus crew including Thames’ Bob Rawlinson, Chris Reese, Tom Griffin and Isaac Thurnham in the semi-finals.

In the Visitors’ Challenge Cup, Tristan Wenger secured a second win in this event in two years with confident rows in Nautilus A - a GB under-23 boat - over Nautilus B, Oxford University & Erster Wiener Ruderclub Lia, and Leander Club B. His brother Gaspard and Rory McDonnell raced in Nautilus C, reaching the semi-finals.