Henley Royal Regatta changes in Olympic years. The normal pattern is that Olympians don't attend, and clubs from all over the world get giddy wondering if they could win the top titles. 2021 was no different, but with the novel variation of a virus which stopped most of those giddy clubs from travelling or attending. The resultant UK-centric entry told us something very important: with the exception of the two mega-strong clubs Leander and Oxford Brookes, UK domestic rowing isn't in too good a state.
Brookes and Leander between them took away fourteen titles, reaped from all but two of the 16 events in which they made the final. As the grey rainy skies darkened over the hills around Henley following a somewhat damp prizegiving, shouts and applause rang out from the Pink Palace and from the Stewards' Enclosure where burly security guards had supervised the crew/trophy photographs with crew after crew. The remaining ten trophies went: three overseas, four not entered by Brookes/Leander as junior, two to Thames RC and one to the University of London.
The three overseas crews claiming titles were Frankfurter Germania in the Britannia, Nereus' ever-high quality students in a Temple Cup competition shorn of the domestic champions when Brookes' stroke had collapsed during the quarter-final, and the charmingly blarney-ridden Irish Olympic LM2x champions Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy. McCarthy is the straight man to O'Donovan's Joker, sensibly obeying instructions, steering carefully, and remaining dead-pan when O'Donovan told the Henley Royal videostream film crews that coming to HRR was the highlight of their summer.
After catching a small crab in the semi-finals the Irishmen's final was a more straightforward affair, but they were given a trial by power in the shape of fast-starting former Under-23 champions Sam Meijer and Matt Haywood, and had to exert to the full to row through, repel further attacks and then hold on for a 1.75 length win. There was more lightweight excellence on show as GBR's LW2x Emily Craig and Imogen Grant did a superb job holding off openweights Jess Leyden and Georgie Brayshaw of Leander all the way down the track for the Stonor double sculls.
British single sculler Vicky Thornley may well be carrying on to the Paris Olympics, but the final of the Princess Royal which carved a new GB name on the singles trophy suggested that in temperament at least two new scullers are snapping at her heels.
First to show ahead was Lauren Henry, the Leicester oarswoman who impressed so much during the early rounds, but Leander's Lola Anderson, who won bronze at the Sabaudia world cup, rapidly used her bigger reach and water-length to sweep past and move out. At the start of the Enclosures Henry began to charge, and nearly surprised Anderson, very quickly closing what had been near to a four-length gap. It was a few strokes too late, however, and Anderson passed the line first by only three feet, with Henry left to rue what could have been a classic turn-around if it had been better timed.
The Grand eights straight final was notable for its winners, Oxford Brookes University carving their names on the oldest cup for the first time ever, but not for much else as it was an 'easily' verdict with the victors just needing to rate 32 for much of the course. Brookes only had their alumni in the shape of Taurus & Tyrian to race, nobody else having thought it worth an entry.
But it was also notable because the Brookes eight later split into two coxless fours, one claiming the Stewards' Cup with a win over Dutch development athletes Hollandia, and the other swiping the Visitors' following a bitter battle with Leander. It took the Brookes quartet, their legs heavy from racing the Grand three hours earlier, until Remenham to grind their way back into contact with Leander's stern after losing contact on the start, then pushed through and broke the Leander crew, steaming on to a clear-water win. Never give up, even when you are down by a long way early on.
The Queen Mother quads was a straight final too, the GB Olympic silver-medal quad riding with a substitute in the shape of Rory Harris on board in place of Angus Groom, otherwise occupied, and facing Ireland's Olympic M2x racing with world lightweight champion Gary O'Donovan and their non-qualifying single sculler Daire Lynch. It was an excellently matched contest, the British quickly taking control but pushed and shoved to their best by the Irishmen. From Remenham onwards the silver medallists could not relax, and were made to sprint to their limits by the final attack from their rivals.
Hotly contested as usual, the Princess Elizabeth schoolboy eights went to Eton again, defending their 2019 title across a two-year gap and a pandemic. St Paul's pushed them hard, and to a similar margin as the one they had at National Schools, but it wasn't enough and the Windsor college added its fifteenth title to the history books.
The new women's eights events deserve a mention, the gorgeous trophies being picked up by three well-known names in UK women's rowing. Leander captured the Wargrave club eights, Brookes the Island Cup student eights, but it was Headington School whose screams of delight rang loudest round the Henley hills, as they stormed away from Surbiton High School to take the inaugural Junior Women's Eights. This currently has a salver as its prize, since the regatta is waiting for a suitable trophy to be donated for the event.
Obeying COVID limitations, athletes picked up their own medals and trophies from the table this year, supervised by a benevolent Sir Steve Redgrave leading his own prizegiving for once, without a visiting VIP.
On one hand the regatta was changed by the pandemic, a large number of changes and accommodations made which gave it a different feel. Spectator numbers were nothing like normal and competitor entries were affected. But once there, either racing or watching racing, it felt peculiarly normal. There could have been nothing at all, and instead there was 95% of a great regatta. Blessings upon those who organised, hosted, raced, volunteered and supported, including the many watching online around the world. We were so lucky HRR 2021 went ahead.
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