Five US teams made it to Sunday, racing across four events including the all-US junior women's eight between Greenwich and Deerfield; at the end of the day Greenwich emerged as the lone winner from across the pond.
Penn's women made the strongest bid to be the second, but their late charge to get back ahead of Oxford Brookes in front of the enclosure fell just short:
??? "It's going to be close!"
— Henley Royal Regatta (@HenleyRegatta) July 2, 2023
An electrifying finish to the Island Challenge Cup Final as the University of Pennsylvania and @OBUBC pushed each other right to the very last stroke.#HRR23 pic.twitter.com/THTIUnXjDt
Oxford Brookes--whose 7 wins on Sunday "out-Leandered" the home stretch team that often dominates Prize giving--also bested both Syracuse in the Temple final and the Washington four in the Prince Albert.
The 2023 regatta was a bit of a landslide for the OBUBC: Brookes went 7 for 7 on the day.
Level now and a tough battle paddle for both crews.
— The Rowing Voice (@RowingVoice) July 2, 2023
Something we've heard a lot today: "Oxford Brookes have taken the lead".
Notable Henley Champions, 2023
A partial list, to be sure, but you can read the Regatta's race-by-race notes on all the Finals here, or just settle in and watch a few hours of replays and highlights here.
Greenwich Claims Prince Phillip Trophy
Greenwich earned the first win by a US team in the newest junior women's event, holding off a Deerfield crew who made up the twelve second gap between the two boats at Youth Nationals to give Greenwich--and the Enclosures--an exciting duel all the way up the course.
We gave each crew a "Race of the Day" nod as we worked through the week, but at the risk of being redundant, their race against each other in the Final was just as worthy:
Deerfield, in just its first year as an 'eights school' after years of focusing on fours, played the long game with base speed all week. The crew and coach Parker Washburn used the month since Youths to find enough gears to make this race far closer than that 12 second margin in Sarasota, where Greenwich finished second behind Marin, while Deerfield took seventh. The crew seemed built for the longer Henley distance, but Greenwich had enough speed in reserve to stay ahead for the win.
Even though the race was far tighter than past history would have suggested, the Greenwich crew kept is cool and stayed relentless:
"I was thinking about all the times that we've been racing our 2V and 3V and how close it's been, and how much you'd have to claw through practice," said Greenwich 6-seat Phoebe Wise, a senior. "We all have the mentality that we can give a little more each time.
"It was just a great race," Wise added. "Deerfield is very fast and a respectable boat, and we're friends with a lot of girls in the boat. It was just a great way to end the season."
Catie Ruf, the rising senior in the five seat, said the wind was a factor in the early going:
"Coming off the start, we were hit with a big headwind, so it took a little bit to find some rhythm. Then, once we hit that first 500 I felt like we were just locking in and going as hard as we can. I knew that, no matter what happens, I have confidence in this boat and my teammates."
The crew was coxed by Francie McKenzie, who coxed the USA U19 eight to gold last summer.
"From my point of view, I can see everything that's going on in the other boat," said McKenzie, "so I was just trying to make calls that would make us a little bit better than the other boat and help us sit up through the wind and take advantage of the headwind.
"Through the 1000, we were still down at that point a little bit, and I just had this thought of I know we can do this. Trust the boat. If I deliver on the moves and call moves where they're supposed to be, I know that these girls will be responsive and can help us walk back up."
When Greenwich got back to the dock to celebrate, the hugs with the lead coaches Heidi Hunsberger and Catherine Starr were about more than just the win: it was the final race for Hunsberger and Starr with Greenwich as both are moving on from the program they have built into one of the top US junior women teams. Going out as the first US crew to win the Prince Phillip Trophy? Not a bad note to end on for sure.
Fun Facts
Schoolboys FTW
To the delight of both the Enclosures watching the cracker of a race between St Edwards and St. Pauls, and to the newspapers that like to tweak Sir Steve Redgrave and the Regatta for opening the PE Cup to club teams, the PE this year was never seriously threatened by the rule change that allowed worthy teams from places like Marin to enter.
That may change over the years--or not, given the caliber of schoolboy rowing and the resources behind the top UK programs--but the PE final was everything it has always been: an exciting final to delight the old boys from two schools.
Champions of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup ??
— Henley Royal Regatta (@HenleyRegatta) July 2, 2023
Congratulations @TeddiesOxford ?? #HRR23 pic.twitter.com/ilEuZbCc1z
And on the Sixth Day...
The six day Henley, in its second year, is here to stay, but is a long go even for the Stewards.
row2k overheard one Steward sigh, "Just four more races and we can all go home."
Racing for Ric
It is customary for National Team boats to race under club names at Henley, and hew to the quaint tradition that they are not the national crew at this event, but the Canadian Women's Eight had a special reason for choosing to row as Maple Bay Rowing Club:
Brookes, Brookes, Brookes
It was a day for Oxford Brookes to be sure, winning all seven of their finals--to include four races in a row at one point: The Ladies', Steward's, Visitors', and Temple.
That forty minute stretch of "And Oxford Brookes now lead by..." prompted three things you don't see everyday: the Umpires launch for the Temple final waited for the Ladies' launch to return so the Brookes coaches would not miss the boat, then the coaches were given permission to stand and cheer the passing Visitors' final, and finally, the launch was treated to a word-for-word repeating of the call on the race radio by one of Stewards aboard.
That last might just be the most dramatic way to listen to a race, especially when the voice sounds uncannily like the one over the Tannoy in the Enclosures.
As the wins piled up for Brookes, we saw lots of singing, some swimming, and plenty of evidence that the club is built to peak for the Henley in ways that other teams coming off championship seasons or eyeing World Championships find it tough to match.
The bevy of supporters greeting each successive Brookes winner just kept growing, which did prompt this @RowingVoice poll:
We have been discussing what the group noun for Brookes supporters would be. A gaggle of geese, a murder of crows, a …
— The Rowing Voice (@RowingVoice) July 2, 2023
In the celebrations at the finish line, however, the press box noted that Oxford Brookes forgot to cheer for their opponent more than once. Verdict: unsportsmanlike.
I'm sure it was just an oversight, but neither @OBUBC or @Leander_Club offered each other the customary 3 cheers at the end of the final of the Visitors #HRR23
— Daniel Spring (@fatsculler) July 2, 2023
"There is a Swan on the course, over."
Heard that over the radio in the Crow's Nest quite a few times, and we did make mention of the Swan Keepers much in evidence this year.
Turns out the Keepers are new to regatta week: the Regatta does indeed still round up the swans from the Henley Reach just like we thought we remembered, but not this year due to avian flu restrictions. The guidelines to limit transmission of the virus mean that they cannot transfer swans from one reach to another or even take them to the sanctuary where they normally spend Henley week.
The Keepers were active all week, but row2k did get spot one swan crossing the course just in front of the Temple final--look closely!
He timed it perfectly, and got clear as you can see in this other photo, prompting the Umpire to remark, "That was one smart swan."
Henley Hack
Can't pass up an opportunity to call out a good hack, and this bit of hacking helped today when the wind started turning the Lollypop--which we described in yesterdays report--from red to green at the wrong time:
Ingenuity like that? "Well, it's how we won the War," said the Steward.
And the Trophy race goes to...
Aquil Abdullah, proud to announce that he had won the unofficial trophy race as the first Steward to escort his winners through the whole process of getting photos and champagne baths with their trophy and get the silver safely back into safe keeping.
Each of the 26 winners--or, to be more exact, 26 trophies--gets a Steward specifically in charge of keeping the trophy itself safe amidst the mayhem of the prize celebrating. We will report back next year on whether Abdullah can defend his title.
Leaving Real Luggage
Another sure sign Henley is nearly over? When folks in the Left Luggage queue are looking to leave real luggage at the bag check:
Blazer of the Day
Today's Blazer comes to us from the same lady who made those sweet Syracuse shoes we featured yesterday: Margaret Kieffer. When her son Harrison made his first Oxford Lightweight Blue Boat, she had this custom lining made and added it to the jacket:
The artwork comes from an old London Underground advert, updated with the date of Harrison's race--and the inside pocket has a record of his three races against Cambridge Lights. Harrison, seen here with his parents and friends in the Stewards Enclosure, is a St. Joe's Prep rower who raced for Mercyhurst in college before heading to Oxford for grad school, also has a custom pair of shoes to match, just like his dad, but in dark blue and white.
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