News

Posted: July 24, 2016

Scotland Rowing Team’s senior women won back the title they had last captured in 2014 whilst the men missed out on the double by the narrowest of margins in the final race at the prestigious Home International Regatta (HIR) in Cardiff this weekend.

There was a distinctly young feel to Scotland’s team of 67 which included 20 seniors and 18 juniors making their debut at this level. The senior women’s team included just one member of the 2014 line up. But they rose to the challenge of the choppy 1500m Cardiff Bay course, battered by strengthening cross wind throughout the day, to win 11 gold medals whilst the whole team battled for every single point.

Scotland Rowing Team for HIR 2016

The McDonald sisters, Emma and Laura, together with Flora Wharton, won three gold medals between them in various lightweight combinations, contributing heavily to the women’s success.

“Coming into today we were hopeful of winning but we didn’t put too much pressure on ourselves,” said Emma, the only one of the three to have competed in the 2014 HIR, who made the best start for Scotland by winning the first event of the regatta, the women’s lightweight single.

“It is not that experienced a team with a lot of people racing at an international for the first time but everyone did themselves justice today and did everything they could to fight for the best place.”

The senior women kept up the focus through the day. Claire Aitken and Rosanna Loy delivered the fourth gold in the women’s pair. Then in the decisive final race of the day, the women’s eight beat England to win overall by a margin of two points.

Ben Parsonage had originally been due to compete in the lightweight double sculls at Cardiff, but when his boat partner was told last week that he had been selected for GB trials, he became a substitute.  But his fortunes changed rapidly when he was selected to compete in the lightweight single scull and the heavyweight quad, where he went on to win golds in both.

“The focus of my whole season has been to make the team for the Home Internationals,” said Parsonage, who just missed out on a place in 2015.

“For the single I battered it off the start, then with 500m to go I saw I was in with a shout so I gave it the beans. Two feet was the verdict at the end over Ireland – I was ecstatic because I had expected to come last.

“In the quad the three other guys had raced and been beaten by a close amount, so they had something to prove.

“They are all big guys with lots of power so all I had to do was set the right rhythm and go along for the ride. They performed fantastically behind me and it was only a couple of feet at the end.”

James Temple, part of the University of Edinburgh team which last month made history by becoming the first Scottish University ever to win an event in the Henley Royal Regatta, won gold in the lightweight men coxless pairs with James Stevenson. Scotland’s senior men missed out on the overall prize after being beaten by England right on the line in the eight.

For the very first time in the regatta’s history, para-rowing was included as a point scoring event and Scotland’s Scott Meenagh finished second.

“It was a great race in very tough conditions which were pretty much on the edge of being rowable, more of a technical challenge than a physical one,” said Meenagh.

“It’s a massive step forward for this regatta to include para-rowing on points. It can only be a good thing which is going to improve the quality of rowing, the standards and effort people are going to put in.”

In the junior competition, respective team captains Giacomo Galano of Clydesdale ARC and Durham University’s Katy McDonald both followed up on their victories at last weekend’s British Junior Championships with gold in Cardiff.

“The conditions were a bit tough today but this competition has been fantastic and I’m really pleased to win the junior single,” said Galano, who was one of four Scottish scullers that won successive races in the morning’s competition.

“I really wanted to race the junior women’s single in this competition last year so I’m really happy to come here and win it today,” said McDonald.

“As a team we have done so well getting as many wins as we have today. This has been a great experience, especially for the younger athletes, to come and race against people from other countries and get international experience.

“I love racing for my club but racing for Scotland is really special and a great privilege to be captain two years in a row.”

Four athletes from Glasgow Schools RC won medals in the junior event. Rachel Cannon and Lauren Macnaughton were fastest in the junior women's pair, adding to their title from last weekend’s British Junior Championships. Their club mates, Callum Broad and Frank Murray, exceeded their own expectations by winning gold in the junior men’s doubles.

“We really weren’t expecting to win because we were racing crews who have previously beaten us,” said Broad. “But we put down our best performance and it came off successfully.”

Murray added: “We’ve been rowing competitively for most of the year and row really well together. In the tricky cross winds it paid off because we were able to apply our power more efficiently than everyone else.”

Said Scottish Rowing Director of Performance Operations, Lee Boucher:

"It has been a wonderful day for the Scotland Rowing Team with strong performances across all four teams and 11 individual titles. We are delighted to have brought the Senior Women's trophy back to Scotland, especially with such a young and inexperienced team.

"The Home International Regatta gives us a unique platform to introduce athletes to international competition. Several of the Scottish rowers in Team GB for the Rio Olympics this summer started their international careers with the Scotland Rowing Team at the Home International Regatta so today's performances bode well for the future of our sport."

Scotland Rowing Team 2016 Home International Regatta gold medallists

Gold Medal Winners at HIR 2016

Senior Men

Lwt 1x
Ben Parsonage (Strathclyde University BC)

4x
Jack Burns (Strathclyde University BC)
Matthew Mole (Glasgow University BC,
Ben Parsonage (Strathclyde University BC)
Ryan Morrison (Glasgow Schools RC)

Lwt 2-
James Stevenson (Newcastle University BC)
James Temple (Edinburgh University BC)

Senior Women

Lwt 1x
Emma McDonald (Glasgow University BC)

Lwt 2x
Emma McDonald (Glasgow University BC)
Laura McDonald (Edinburgh University BC)

2-
Claire Aitken (Glasgow University BC)
Rosanna Loy (Glasgow University BC)

Lwt 2-
Flora Wharton (Glasgow University BC)
Laura McDonald (Edinburgh University BC)

Junior Men

1x
Giacomo Galano (Clydesdale ARC)

2x
Callum Broad (Glasgow Schools RC)
Frank Murray (Glasgow Schools RC)

Junior Women

1x
Katy McDonald (Durham University BC)

2-
Rachel Cannon (Glasgow Schools RC)
Lauren Macnaughton (Glasgow Schools RC)