Olympians through with Campbell in record-breaking form
2nd July 2009British and other Olympians racing at Henley Royal Regatta today all moved smoothly through their opening races during which single sculler Alan Campbell broke the record to the Barrier (2089 feet) in his heat of the Diamond Challenge Sculls event.
Campbell smashed the previous record, held jointly by one of his great rivals here, Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand, by a full second to record 2:04.
Drysdale, the world champion, was also a heat winner as were Olaf Tufte, the Olympic champion from Norway, and Tim Maeyens, the 2008 Olympic finalist from Belgium.
Zhang Shumying of China made history by becoming the first Chinese national to win a heat at Henley, also in the Diamond Challange Sculls.
2008 Olympic gold medallists Andrew Triggs Hodge and Pete Reed, having switched formation since the last World Cup with Reed stroking, were comfortable winners in the Silver Goblets for men’s pairs against American qualifiers.
Isis, representing Oxford University, won the closest race of the day recording a verdict of just one foot in their heat win over traditional rivals Goldie, racing for Cambridge University.
Reed, Hodge and Campbell will all race quarter-finals tomorrow. The GB women’s eight will make its first appearance this year, racing in the Remenham Challenge Cup as will their GB team-mates Beth Rodford, Katie Greves, Sarah Cowburn and Ro Bradbury in the women’s quadruple scull event, the Princess Grace Challenge Cup.
Matthew Wells and Stephen Rowbotham, Beijing bronze medallists, know that they have a tough regatta in store with two top NZ crews featuring in the Double Sculls, also starting tomorrow.
After another day of soaring temperatures on the banks of the Thames, tomorrow’s weather forecast might be kinder to those seeking cooler times.