Somerset Rowers Strike Gold in Lucerne
11th July 2011Somerset rowers were the talk of the rowing world at the last big competition before the World Championships - which acts as qualifying for London 2012.
PE teacher Helen Glover from Minerva Bath Rowing Club and her team-mate, army officer Heather Stanning, a University of Bath graduate, stunned the World Champions from New Zealand to win the women’s pair and start a flurry of British medals, including four gold, four silver and two bronzes at the world cup finals in Lucerne on Sunday.
Glover, who only started rowing in 2008, won silver at the Worlds on the Kiwis’ home water with Stanning last Autumn, and they held their nerve and shape on Sunday in the frantic final 250 metres in Lucerne to go one better.
The New Zealanders edged partially in front but the British "showed their mettle", according to GB Performance Director David Tanner, and hauled them back to win in 7:00.66 - a significant victory in their progress since setting out in Bath as part of the GB Rowing Team's talent identification scheme, ‘Start’, which is sponsored by Siemens and backed by the lottery.
"We just found ourselves with a big lead", said Glover, a former Millfield School pupil. "We're quietly confident of our own abilities but we know we can't take anything for granted".
Frome’s Paul Mattick followed suit in the lightweight men’s four with added delight for crew-mates and siblings Richard and Peter Chambers, competing together for the very first time.
Rob Williams, who won the World Championships with Mattick, 33, Richard Chambers and the currently injured Chris Bartley last Autumn, stroked home the crew in Switzerland to their biggest ever margin of victory – just under a second ahead of Italy and less than two seconds ahead of Denmark and Australia.
“We didn’t have a great first 250m but we soon got back on terms and once we got ahead I knew the other crews wouldn’t come through us,” said Mattick.
“We actually won by a decent margin for a lightweight men’s four final.”
Winscombe’s Stephen Rowbotham showed the significant improvement in the GB men’s quadruple scull – which beat the Croatian World Champions at the Henley Royal Regatta - by taking silver in Lucerne behind Germany.
“Everything went well at Henley and I felt today that the guys had 100% trust in what I was telling them,” said Rowbotham. “I think we proved today that Henley wasn’t due to home advantage. We are fast. And we now have six weeks to work on things for Bled.”
There were also bronze medals for another rower who learned his trade in Bath, Marcus Bateman in the double scull with Matt Wells and Cameron Nichol from Glastonbury in the men’s eight – which narrowly missed out on silver after a late charge from fifth place.
Nichol said: “I think we are pleased with the race. It goes to prove that we are in a hard event and in a tough field. Our goal is always to win gold and we didn’t achieve that here but I’m proud of the way we raced and I’m looking forward to the World Championships.”
Vicky Thornley, who learned to row at Minerva Bath RC, finished fourth in the women’s eight.
The GB Rowing Team’s other two golds came from Anna Watkins and Katherine Grainger in the women’s double sculls and the men’s four featuring 2008 gold medallist Tom James.
The team, sponsored by Siemens and lottery funded, added silvers from the men's pair, women's quadruple scull and lightweight women's double scull.
GB Rowing Team performance director David Tanner described the overall performance as, “a good curtain raiser for the Olympic qualification regatta”.
"It was fantastic to see the women's pair to kick off the regatta as they did when they are still rookies really,” he said.
“The women's double, because of injury, is still a work in progress and to win was significant.
“The open men's four were outstanding in dominating their field and what a sub in Peter Chambers to help the lightweight men's four win by their biggest ever margin at this level of event.”
The GB Rowing Team for the 2011 World Championships in Bled, Slovenia, from 28 August - 4 September – which doubles as Olympic and paralympic qualifying for London 2012 - will be announced on July 19.