The 2017 staging of Henley Royal Regatta has attracted 577 crews from 15 nations, with no fewer than 24 Olympic medallists from Rio set to compete on the famous 2112m course.
Grand Challenge Cup
The German national eight, fresh from winning the second world cup in Poznan, look set to reclaim the premier eights event as they face up against crews from New Zealand and Great Britain. In the German eight, stroke Hannes Ocik and 7-man Richard Schmidt were silver medallists at the Rio OIympics last summer.
Remenham Challenge Cup
For open women's eights, this event has attracted 21 entries which will be slimmed to 8 through qualifying. Holland and New Zealand have entered national crews, whilst the newly revamped British eight will be looking to lay down a marker ahead of the world championships in August. Fulham Reach and London Rowing Club have entered a crew containing several athletes who won silver in Rio last year, including Polly Swann and Jess Eddie. Meanwhile, Ohio State University won elite eights at Henley Women's Regatta last weekend.
The Ladies Challenge Plate
Oxford Brookes University and Taurus Boat Club is largely made up of athletes who won the Temple Challenge Cup last year, with the addition of Oxford Blue Joshua Bugajski. Brown University finished sixth in the grand final of the men's Varsity eight at the IRA State Championships, whilst Elizabethan Boat Club contains several athletes who are returning from the US collegiate circuit.
The Thames Challenge Cup
Both of last year's finalists return to this event, albeit with different crews. Thames Rowing Club, who got their hands on the prize in 2015, have a strong crew approaching the event whilst RTHC Bayer Leverkusen were winners of the Britannia Challenge Cup last year.
The Temple Challenge Cup
Regularly one of the most fiercely contested events at the regatta, the Temple Challenge Cup has attracted 73 entries to match the 2016 total. Yale's lightweights, who made the semi-finals last year, make the trip whilst 2015 winners Amsterdamsche Studenten Roeivereeniging Nereus of Holland have entered a crew. The lightweight varsity champions from Cornell University will prove to be ferocious races, whilst the University of California, Berkeley have entered a combination of their second and third varsity eights. The strongest British entry will surely come from Oxford Brookes, who have won this cup twice in the past three years.
The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup
This looks set to be one of the most exciting events of the regatta, with the national champions from Australia (Scotch College), Great Britain (St Paul's School) and the USA (Montclair High School) all present. Behind those three will come stern opposition from Gonzaga College of the USA, Eton College and Shiplake College.
The Stewards' Challenge Cup
For open coxless fours, Great Britain's top-ranked crew are entered into this event. Olympic gold medallists Mo Sbihi and Will Satch will face opposition from France, South Africa and Italy in their hunt for Henley silverware.
The Visitors' Challenge Cup
Usually one of more challenging events to predict, largely due to the obscure nature of many of the crews, a punter's eyes should be drawn to crew 223 of Leander Club. In addition, Cambridge University have a boat in the draw and will undoubtedly be strong at this level. Edinburgh University, who won the Prince Albert Challenge Cup last year, also feature.
The Wyfold Challenge Cup
Mercantile Rowing Club, Australia tend to produce fast crews, whilst Sydney Rowing Club return to try and set right the record from 2016. London Rowing Club have been going well on the domestic circuit, whilst Sport Imperial were beaten semi-finalists last year.
The Women's Fours
In the women's fours, Olympic single scull champion Kim Brennan will race in a crew organised by multi-professional services firm Ernst & Young. The crew contains athletes from four different nations, all of whom are seasoned internationals. Their stiffest opposition may come in the form of a crew from New York Athletic Club, with a number of American Olympic medallists on-board. Susan Francia, Kerry Simmonds, Olivia Coffey and Felice Mueller make up the crew from the USA.
The Queen Mother Challenge Cup
A straight final, with the favourite tag surely belonging to Leander Club. This crew contains Pete Lambert and Jack Beaumont, who made the 'A' final at the Rio Olympic Games in the quad, and are joined by John Collins and Jonathan Walton, who raced the double throughout the Rio Olympiad. This crew won gold in Poznan and so will surely be confident of dispatching their opposition from New Zealand.
The Princess Grace Challenge Cup
Hollandia Roeiclub, Netherlands are the stand-out name here, with Princess Royal Challenge Cup holder Lisa Scheenaard on-board. However, the British women's quad, in the form of Leander Club & Reading Rowing Club, will lead the domestic charge. This crew contains Jessica Leyden and Holly Nixon. The Tideway Scullers School won senior quads at Henley Women's Regatta.
The Prince of Wales Challenge Cup
Leander Club have been perennial winners of this event over the past few years, but were finally dethroned last year by a crew from the USA. There are three foreign entries this year, including Christiania Roklub of Norway who had an unfortunate collision with the booms last year.
The Fawley Challenge Cup
The junior quad sculls have been hotly contested in the UK, with the Windsor Boys School, Maidenhead Rowing Club and Leander all featuring highly. San Diego Rowing Club of the USA will likely provide the UK crews with their sternest international test.
The Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup
An all UK affair, as 51 entries have to be whittled down to 12. Headington School have to be considered favourites after a convincing win at the National Schools' Regatta, but Gloucester Rowing Club have won this event in each of the last three years.
The Britannia Challenge Cup
The men's club event for coxed fours, which sees 2016 winners RTHC Bayer Leverkusen return for another tilt at Henley glory. Sydney Rowing Club, who won this event in 2015, are also involved whilst there are also entries from France, Norway and the USA.
The Prince Albert Challenge Cup
It would be difficult to look past Imperial College in terms of domestic force, who won Elite Coxed Fours at the Metropolitan Regatta, but expect strong crews from Edinburgh, Oxford Brookes and Newcastle University. Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China have made the long trip to race on the famous Henley waters, whilst 2014 Temple Challenge Cup winners Laga of Holland are also entered.
The Silver Goblets and Nickalls' Challenge Cup
This looks like it will be particularly exciting, with a couple of stand-out entries among the nine on show. Josh Dunkley-Smith, a seasoned Australian international, will race alongside Joshua Booth, who won silver at the Rio Olympics – they will surely enter the event as favourites. Seb Meijer and Seb Devereux team up from the US collegiate circuit whilst strong crews from Hungary, France and New Zealand will also be contenders.
The Women's Pairs
The Women's Pairs has drawn eight entries, with the stand-out crews coming from abroad. The top two crews from the second world cup in Poznan will face off, as Kerri Gowler and Grace Prendergast from New Zealand come up against Tracy Eisser and Megan Kalmoe of the USA. Holland's resurgent women's squad have also boated a crew
The Double Sculls Challenge Cup
Arguably the regatta's premier event in terms of Olympic representation this year, the Berliner Ruderclub and Ruder-Club Potsdam e.V entry from Germany contains two athletes from the Olympic gold medallist quad – Hans Gruhne and Karl Schulze. Not to be outdone, the French lightweight double, who also triumphed on the blue waters of the Lagoa, are prominent on the list, with Jeremie Azou looking for his second win in this event. The French have had an excellent 2017 so far, winning the European championships and the second world cup. John Storey and Chris Harris, who won the heavyweight equivalent in Poznan by four seconds, will also be strong contenders. This is set up to be one of the clashes of the week.
The Women's Double Sculls
The Women's Double Sculls features crews from France, Holland and New Zealand along with six domestic entries.
The Diamond Challenge Sculls
Cam Girdlestone takes to the scull after his silver medal in the four at the Olympics, whilst new World's Best Time holder Robbie Manson will compete for Waiariki Rowing Club of New Zealand. Jamie Kirkwood, a lightweight trials winner in Great Britain, will probably be the UK's strongest chance.
The Princess Royal Challenge Cup
It is difficult to look past Vicky Thornley, current European champion in the single, and Anne Thiele, an Olympic champion in the women's quad. Inge Janssen jumps in the single after winning silver at the European championships in the quad, completing the trio of top contenders.
Comments | Log in to comment |
There are no Comments yet
|