News

Posted: July 24, 2017

Rowers from Scotland featured in two medal winning boats competing for the GB Rowing Team at the 2017 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, Plovdiv (19-23 July).

Oliver Wilkes (Matlock) of Edinburgh University Boat Club was in the men’s coxed four with George Stewart, Joshua Kent, Patrick Sullivan & Charlie Clarke and his Great Britain crew won silver behind Italy in an exciting final. The Brits sat third at the 1,500m mark, having seen Italy put in a move to take the lead in the third quarter, but GB edged through USA to take silver by half a length.

The men’s four of Rob Hurn (Glasgow, Leander Club), Tom Digby, Charlie Elwes and Sholto Carnegie also won a silver medal. Australia proved too strong, pushing out to an unassailable lead, but GB held off Austria by a length.

The men's quad finished fourth in their final - one place higher than the same crew achieved last year. New Zealand trailed the Brits in the opening stages of the race but timed their move perfectly to overhaul Russia and Italy in the final quarter to take gold. Andy Joel, Harry Glenister, Rowan Law and Harry Leask (Edinburgh, Leander Club) moved past early leaders Poland to take fourth place.

Also just off the podium were the lightweight men’s quad, finishing fourth in a race won by Switzerland. James Temple (Kew, Edinburgh University Boat Club), Jonny Jackson, Ollie Varley and Hugo Coussens crossed the line just over a length down on Ireland, who took bronze.

The women's eight, which included Fiona Bell (Kilmacolm, Aberdeen University Boat Club), took sixth in a race won comfortably by Canada. The USA looked favourites to take gold, but a series of technical problems saw them slip to second, with Canada racing through for the win. GB held fourth through the halfway mark but slipped back through the field in the second kilometre.

Josh Armstrong (Glasgow, Edinburgh University Boat Club) won the B final of the men's single scull to finish seventh overall. The young Scot, in his first year at Under 23 level, sat third at the halfway mark and judged his race perfectly, pushing through as early leader Jan Helvig, of Denmark, faded, taking the lead by the 1,500m mark and winning by clear water.

The lightweight men's double scull of Gavin Horsburgh (Lochwinnoch, Edinburgh University Boat Club) and Matt Curtis (Durham, Edinburgh University Boat Club) did not race their B final, with Matt withdrawn on medical grounds.