Sure signs of Finals Day at Henley: packed Enclosures, the clapping out we mentioned in last night's dispatch, the teams knocked out earlier in the week watching the final round of their event play out in their blazers instead of their "kit," and the finalist crews being allowed to drill as they row past the stands to meet their last opponent in the way of a Henley win...and that coveted little red box with the winner's medal.
So it was fine that Australian Men's Eight did their top quarter drill to start their trip down to meet the GB eight for the year's Grand Challenge Cup showdown. GB, much to the delight of the home crowd, would prevail going away: the fastest crew of the regatta by far and, based on the margins so far this year, possibly the fastest British eight in some time in a good turnaround for Team GB as they start to gear up for the Paris 2024 Games in just two years time.
The Honour of Being a Finalist
Across 26 finals, there were five American winners in the end, but as always at Henley, winning is only half the story.
Making finals day is rare air, to be sure, but the finality of the win-or-lose Henley dynamic remains, and meeting a faster crew, one that has what it takes to prevail on the very last day and hoist one of the hefty bits of silver that is a Henley prize, can be devastating in the moment. With time, being a finalist—-and part of a great race that the other crew won even though you gave your all—-can be a balm, but not in the moment.
Henley's boom-ed course can be the ultimate test, and it is not easy: Cal's powerful crew trailed for the first time all year in the Ladies Plate final and saw their championship season end with a loss to Leander Club. The Cal Four, a group of younger guys from the second boat of the Cal program in the Prince Albert Cup, also came second on Finals Day, against what must have been a strong group from Oxford Brookes, since Brookes did not enter the Ladies Plate at all, despite having won that event here each year since 2017. Instead Brookes won the Prince Albert and, in a race that Washington led to the Barrier, came through to win the Temple as well.
Junior Women From US Leave Mark
Coming up against a faster crew from the other side of the Draw was also the case with for the two of the American crews that made the deepest of runs in the Junior Women's events short of a win: Redwood Scullers in the Diamond Jubilee quad, and Winter Park in the Prince Philip eights.
Despite prevailing in tough races all week to make it to Sunday, Redwood Scullers found themselves just overmatched against Claires Court School, and Winter Park could not reel in St. Catherine's School, from Melbourne Australia, once they got ahead off the start.
Monica Hilcu, the Redwood Sculler's coach, said afterward: "The overall experience has been absolutely incredible. We were treated to four incredible races against incredible crews that we had never seen before. We knew how great the British crews would be here in sculling and that's exactly what we got. So, no regrets and congrats to Claires Court. They rowed a perfect race. Absolutely perfect."
When asked what the key to her quad's resilience out on the race course this week, where they came from behind against Tideway Scullers and outlasted Wycliff by just two-thirds of a length to made the Final, Hilcu picked it out immediately:
"It's just their overall respect and love for each other. They know their individual jobs, and they respect all the work that they've done together. And there's just a general love for each other. I mean, they hang out with each other all the time, and any disagreements are always settled over food," she said, laughing. "Anytime anything comes up, it's settled with food, and then it's good."
In their Final, Redwood led Claires Court, as they had with Wycliffe in the Semi, but could not get far enough away to withstand a really polished mid-race push by the British schoolgirls.
As for Winter Park, the "Vertullo Sisters" finally met a school with a faster start, and the persistence and grit they displayed down the track was, unfortunately, only good enough to keep them in contact the whole way. When Winter Park "asked the question" as they like to say over here, drawing within a quarter of a length, the Aussies had an emphatic answer--and we mean emphatic: yells and shouts could be heard from the crew as they bore down and took the momentum back to hold off the American charge.
"It's just been an incredible two weeks," said Winter Park coach Mike Vertullo. "Practicing here for a week to get used to the course, and then winning the qualifier was a great accomplishment. Getting even to the weekend is a great accomplishment, as I found out here at Henley, and to row a final against such a formidable Australian crew was an honor. Hats off to St. Catherines, because, you know, we weren't going to quit and they just matched every move we had. Congratulations to St. Catherines on a well run race."
The St. Catherines eight--who got here after the mid-race gotta-get-back-on-my-seat recovery by stroke Bronte Cullen that we covered on Wednesday--really was the best Australia had to offer: three of the crew were named to the AUS U19 Eight last year, and the school regularly supplies athletes to the Aussie Junior National Team.
Husky Technicians Take It
UW Head Coach Micheal Callahan called it: the key to a victory in the Visitors Coxless Fours would take, as he described it, "a test of all your skills." In the end, it was the skillful steering of bowman Mattijs Holler and the poise of a stroke man, in Jack Walkey, with U23 Worlds experience in the stroke seat. Why? Because it came down to steering straight where Tideway Scullers swerved, right near the end, and to being right there, with Walkey's rhythm the whole time. Washington did not lead until the Grandstands, and it took a new record to win it, by just three feet of a straighter line to the finish.
"Those are four guys out of our Varsity Eight," Callahan told row2k. "When we were looking to bring people, I wanted at least 50% of the boat to return, so 50% of that boat is returning, and then also wanted to reward some seniors."
"We had fairly fast pairs and straight fours all year, and then some of these guys couldn't be in the Temple eight because they are Under 23 medallists, so that was the baseline decision, and also: it's fun to do the Visitors."
Before the race, Callahan leaned on the famous “Rowing is an Art” letter which George Pocock wrote to the 1958 Husky crew that rowed in Henley Royal Regatta--Pocock wrapped the note around the oars so they would read it when they got to Henley-on-Thames.
"I quoted George and impressed upon them if we wanted to finish this we needed to remember, 'Rowing a race is an art not a frantic scramble. It must be rowed with head power as well as muscular power.' This race and opponent was going to require everything we had it in the end it did just that.
"These really special oarsmen and they displayed that yesterday. I thought if we could stay within a length in the body of the race we would have a chance at the end. They have explosive strength and tremendous grit. At the same time I knew competitors are veteran racers and are also incredibly dedicated to the art of oarsmanship. It takes two competitors to have a race like that and to break the course record. We have a tremendous amount of respect for them.
"Henley is a special place and it was very fulfilling to be back. Congratulations to the Stewardship and all involved."
It was likely the race of the day: a nail-biter to the line, and another Husky win at Henley, where this year they wore replica 1936 throw-back racing shirts--with "Boys in the Boat" filming here in the UK, just down the road.
US Team Wins & Progress
After a win at Poznan, the USA Light Women's Double is starting to look like the flagship of the US Team's renewed emphasis on small boats. While the Sechser/Reckford combo emerged in 2021 to make a run in the Olympics and pre-dates the new selection approach, US High Performance Director Josy Verdonkschot spoke to row2k about this trip the US Team has taken, to Poznan's World Cup and then to Henley.
"It's perfect for us to have one hand our NSR [winning] boats get the opportunity to race the boats, being totally focused on racing the event at the World Cup, but then bringing all boats together," he said. "Basically what we selected at the camps were not to be any competition to NSR boats, but was just to make sure that we get small boats experience in Europe, and then combine that to big boats."
"So actually, it worked out pretty well. We went to Italy for nine days. We had a great camp over there. Good weather, good conditions and good spirit. So I think everybody's pretty happy about that. And, now we look to get some results. I mean, okay, today, and Saturday, probably we will lose some races. But I still hope we win some races and we have a nice Sunday."
The Light Women's Double was part of that nice Sunday--as was Kara Kohler who won and the Men's Quad which made the final against the World Cup-leading Chinese Quad--but they had a tricky week. When Molly Reckford took ill earlier in the week, Maggie Fellows stepped in for the opening race, and then Reckford returned to race the Semi and Final.
On Sunday, said Michelle Sechser, "It was a really hot race right off the start.
"The Australian lightweight double led with a really aggressive first third of the race and it makes it fun to get everybody swinging early. I think Molly and I did a great job of staying really composed, rowing in our race and not quite taking the bait on that early jump. And then really waiting until the right moment to start making our move, start closing that gap, adding in a little stronger rhythm, a little more power to pull back even. Once we got that momentum going, Molly made a great call, and I think just kind of riding that momentum of a stronger rhythm, the momentum of what it feels like to move through a crew, really paid off.
"It's such an almost quiet, intimate battle out there," she added. "Just two crews, and it's really new to me, new to Molly. It's so quiet, you can almost hear the other crew talking, you hear their rhythm from the oarlock, so it's really fascinating to be battling in such a quiet private space."
The Australians came second to this US duo in Poznan as well, winning silver, and they will see each other in Racice at Worlds.
"It's a good crew," Sechser said. "I see a strong rivalry building here."
Reckford talked about the conditions, which were notably flatter and faster today, but again this is Henley, so...
"I think one of the interesting things is that, yesterday, the water was rough all the way down the course. So when you got waked out by a pleasure craft, you could just roll with it. But the water was actually quite beautiful today and so we noticed when we got waked out," she laughed. "But it was really fun. I think the places that we've trained, like Mercer and Sarasota, have really taught us how to roll with the punches and how to handle those conditions. So we just sort of said, 'Surf's Up,' and away we go.
"I was really proud of the way we handled the waves and the way that Michelle's experience and our experience together really helped us have that base, even in the wash and the spray and the bounce."
Kara Kohler took advantage of the beautiful water to get into a long rhythm that helped her master the Henley wash as well, and she was able to control the race a few lengths clear of GB's talented lightweight Olympian, Imogen Grant. With her skill and Tideway experience Grant was fancied to snatch a home-side win here, but Kohler was in control the whole way, and the USA's Tokyo Olympic Sculler remains undefeated in the single this year.
"Well, we're very proud of Kara," said her primary coach with the Texas Rowing Center's High Performance group, Peter Mansfeld.
"Each time when it comes to race day, she is really, really on and she shows every single time that she's a great racer. Today we had a conservative race plan, but she basically outperformed even that plan.
"She took the lead on early and was incredible what a straight line she took down the booms. She was all the time in control of it. Imogen is a great racer, she's technically a really good sculler, technically very well equipped, and but Kara just had a little bit more horsepower in her today.
"I was actually for once never nervous at any point of the race," Mansfeld said. "She took the lead and defended the lead at every point of the race and deserved the trophy that she just took home."
Mansfeld also coached the US quad which came together after Poznan, with Jacob Plihal at stroke, the NSR winning double of J.P. Kirkegaard and Kevin Cardno in the middle, and Dominique Williams in the bow. The paired-up doubles did well here as a scratch crew, seeing off New Zealand and rowing strongly against the Chinese who have won both World Cups so far this season. The Chinese had the quicker start, which would be expected from a crew with more experience together, but the Americans had some base speed down the track. It will be interesting to see if the crew, and the US selectors, decide to pursue the quad as an option for this group.
The Chinese crew's win was the first ever for a men's boat from China here at Henley.
3 OLY Golds beats 1 WC Bronze
USA's Megan Musnicki and Jess Morrison of Australia showed again what years of training--and winning--at the Olympic level can do for you in a pair, and won despite a game effort by an Australian pair making their first round of the senior circuit this season. While they did earn a bronze in the Aussie eight, as the bow pair, in Poznan, Musnicki and Morrison--who would have spent a lot of time in pairs during selection on the way to their Olympic golds--were just too strong. Two and a half lengths was the margin even at the Barrier, and they won easily.
"It was such a fun week; I love to race!" said Musnicki, whose whirlwind week away from homebase in the Bay area included getting inducted into the New York AC's Hall of Fame before heading to Henley.
"Racing and winning such an iconic event like Henley with one of my close friends, who just so happens is quite handy in the pair, was the icing on the cake! Jess and I live near each other in the Bay Area and 5 weeks ago when Mike [Teti] and Skip [Kielt] said that the California Rowing Club would support our training for Henley, we jumped at the opportunity. "We are grateful to Andy Rogers, Mike, Skip, and the CRC for the opportunity to race as the first ever California Rowing Club women’s 2- to win at Henley. Just over one decade after my first ever Henley race, it was great to be back on the Thames! Go AUSA!"
(The crew has referred to themselves as AUSA, a combination of AUS and USA.)
Musnicki was also quick to tell row2k that her racing here was not meant to be a comeback, but she also said, with a smile, that she much prefers the term "sabbatical" to the word "retired."
All-US, All-Ivy Final for the Island
Brown and Yale marched pretty relentlessly towards each other through the Draw, and the two Ancient 8 foes met in a final that was essentially round three of the 2022 season.
Brown edged them at the Ivy Championships by the slimmest of margins--0.2 seconds--and they finished second and third behind the Princeton Varsity (Princeton's boat here at Henley in the early rounds was a seniors-only crew). At NCAAs, Brown won the heat over Yale and, while both advanced, Brown would up in the preferable semi and raced to the A final, while Yale got nudged into the B Final, by Stanford, the Washington crew racing the Remenham here, and Princeton in that order.
Add to the drama that Brown was unbeaten here on the Thames these past few weeks, winning the Henley Women's title and--of course--all the Island preliminaries, while Yale had changed their line-up, putting their two, more senior Brits into the pair, as we covered earlier this week. Their replacements? Just drawn out of the NCAA winning 2nd Varsity eight, and the new crew looked sharp all week, and proved their mettle in the come-from-behind win over UL that put Yale into the final.
In the final, Brown got the jump and, when it comes to close racing--like that Ivy League 0.2 margin--Brown is always formidable. The tough Bruno eight never let Yale back into it and won their 2nd trophy of the trip for Tessa Gobbo and boatman-extraordinaire Ned Foster, who coached the team here at Henley in the stead of longtime Brown coaches John and Phoebe Murphy.
Notable Henley Champions, 2022
The Row Pasts
This year's Row Past List of former winners back for reunions and a chance to relive the trip past the enclosures included the USA's 1980 Olympic crew--which won the Grand on the trip they made in lieu of the Olympics in the boycott year--, Harvard's 1971 team that won both the Thames and Wyfold, the Boston University women who won the 1982's invitation race for Women's Fours, and the 1971 Columbia Lightweight crew that placed second at the EARC Sprints and raced to the Henley quarterfinals in the Thames Cup was stroked by Joe Medioli; the row also commemorates the 100th anniversary of lightweight rowing at Columbia.
In a special side-by-side Row Past that was no doubt hatched out on the water, the Kent Men commemorating their 1972 win by three feet over Brentwood School, Canada, "raced" the Kent Women commemorating their 2002 win at Women's Henley as the Kent program celebrated 100 years of rowing on the course that might be most special to that storied program from the States. As they crossed the line, the two crew did the Kent cheer for each other...and then it was on to the next 100 years.
Blazer of the Day
The blazer of the UK Armed Forces Rowing Team:
If you look carefully, the crest is actually the rower's service unit, so the jackets vary a bit and, of course, double as camouflage. Very practical.
Notes from the Course
"Get off the Float, please!" St Pauls School celebrated their return to the headship, as it were, with a “please clear the dock” celebration as nearly every Paul’s Boy joined their crew on the winners raft and it came perilously close to sending the whole lot into the Thames, blazers and all.
Bowler Hat Patrol Report: If you have ever misbehaved in the Steward's Enclosure, then you've met the bowler hat brigade. Misbehaving includes: glassware "out the bar," having a cell phone out (particularly it it can be seen on the live stream camera), and, of course, gentlemen removing their jackets without Sir Steve Redgrave's permission. Best Bowler moment this year: when two blokes threw two other blokes in the river, and all four were out on their ears quite quick.
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