News

Posted: August 29, 2016

Scotland’s rowers featured in a highly successful World Championships for the GB Rowing Team in Rotterdam, with eight Scots contributing to the overall GB medal tally of five gold, five silver and three bronze.

Scotland’s first medal went to Gavin Horsburgh (Edinburgh University/Lochwinnoch) who achieved the rare feat of winning back to back world titles after taking gold in the under 23 men’s lightweight quadruple scull.

A year ago Horsburgh (18) won a historic first ever gold for GB in the junior quadruple scull in a crew which also featured Glasgow’s Josh Armstrong.  
 
Last week in Rotterdam, together with England’s Hugo Coussens, Oliver Varley and University of Edinburgh’s Matthew Curtis, Horsburgh won gold by a margin of 1.53 seconds over Germany, making history again as the first-ever men’s quadruple scull to win a gold medal at U23 level. The crew was coached by Colin Williamson, Head of Rowing at the University of Edinburgh.

“To be part of another GB crew to make history is just amazing,” said Horsburgh. “Tunnel vision – that’s what we’ve been saying all week; focus on our own race, and thanks to the powerhouses in our boat, we were able to push through.”

Moments later, Lewis McCue (Robert Gordon University/Aberdeen) was just four-tenths of a second off winning another gold but had to settle for silver in the under 23s men’s four final.
 
Racing with James Johnston, Tom George and James Rudkin, it was a second successive silver for McCue, who said afterwards: “It was a great race and we put everything out there, it just wasn’t quite enough.  Austria were the better crew on the day; well done to them.”

A day later, two more under 23 Scots picked up a silver medal each in the men’s eight.   Calum Irvine (Edinburgh University/Aviemore) and Robert Hurn (Leander Club/Glasgow) were members of the crew that finished just behind the home favourites, The Netherlands.

Saturday was a golden hat-trick for the senior members of the GB Rowing Team and Scottish athletes featured in two of the winning races.
 
Together with Ollie Cook and cox Henry Fieldman, Callum McBrierty (Leander Club/Edinburgh) successfully defended GB’s title in the men’s coxed pair with a storming victory.

Afterwards, McBrierty said: “If we had to define our perfect race, we almost had it down to a tee today. We were relentless with every stroke.”

In the lightweight women’s quadruple scull final, Brianna Stubbs, Emily Craig, Imogen Walsh (London RC/Inverness) and Ellie Piggott powered away from Germany to upgrade on last year’s silver medal.

Walsh, who repeated her 2011 success in the lightweight quad, said: “I have so much trust and respect for these girls and I never doubted we could do it. This is a fitting end to what has been a really fun and exciting project.”

On the same day, Joel Cassells and Sam Scrimgeour (Imperial College BC/Kirriemuir) were just edged into bronze-medal position after a thrilling three-way tussle in the lightweight men’s pair final.

Scotland narrowly missed a medal in the junior women’s fours final; India Somerside (Glasgow Schools RC/Glasgow) and Alex Rankin (Glasgow Schools RC/Drymen) were part of the team beaten on the line by just four-hundredths of a second.

2016 has been another record year for Scottish representation on the GB Rowing Team with 30 athletes selected across all age groups, senior, under 23 and junior.  The World Championships success follows on from the remarkable Rio Games where Scotland’s rowing athletes won four medals.

Said Lee Boucher, Scottish Rowing's Director of Performance Operations:

"It has been a wonderful week for the GB Rowing Team at the World Rowing Championships in Rotterdam and we are delighted with the contribution of the Scottish rowers competing as part of the team with a special mention for Edinburgh University's Gavin Horsburgh who has won back-to-back world championship gold medals at junior and now under 23 level.
 
"Athletes competing this week will all have had one eye on Tokyo 2020 and the start of the new Olympic cycle and the outstanding medal haul for Scottish rowers (4 new world champions, 3 silver medallists and 1 bronze medallist) at these Championships gives us plenty to be optimistic about.

"Thanks to the support of our partners at sportscotland we now have a world class infrastructure to support long term athlete development in Scotland, working in partnership with the University sector to retain, identify and train more rowers with the potential to achieve success on the international stage."

World Rowing Championships, Rotterdam, Netherlands: 21 -28 August 2016

World Rowing Under 23 Championships, Rotterdam, Netherlands: 21-28 August 2016

Coach representation – Colin Williamson (LM4x – GOLD; M4+ - 5th)

* Non Scottish athlete representing a Scottish Rowing member club

World Rowing Junior Championships, Rotterdam, Netherlands: 21 -28 August 2016

Coach representation – Iain Somerside (JW4- 4th)