The GB Rowing Team won its best-ever haul of five medals at the European Championships in Italy as the team’s development crews carried on the success of their Olympic and Paralympic team-mates.

The women’s and lightweight’s squad won five of GB’s nine medals at London 2012 and on Lake Varese continued to make the podium with 21-year-olds Caragh McMurtry and Olivia Carnegie-Brown winning silver in the women’s pair, before doubling up in the women’s eight to win a dramatic last-gasp bronze medal.

The lightweight men’s four, featuring Olympic reserve Adam Freeman-Pask and stroked by 23-year-old Jonathan Clegg, won silver in beautiful conditions and two more GB crews made the medal podium winning bronze against Olympic opposition - the lightweight women’s double scull of Imogen Walsh and Ruth Walczak - a day after her 24th birthday - and the lightweight men’s double of Chris Boddy and Mikey Mottram.

None of the GB Olympic rowing squad raced in Varese, with the European Championships again reserved as an opportunity for younger members of the GB Rowing Team to gain competition experience against a field from a record 36 countries - many of whom raced at London 2012.

“It was an exceptional team result and although some crews got medals it is about the overall squad performing and across all disciplines we covered ourselves with real credit. These are a very strong set of results, better than we have ever done before,” said Pete Sheppard, Team Manager and Lead Coach of the GB team in Varese. “It shows the strength of the development squad going forwards towards Rio.”

The long selection process for the 2013 season starts all over again from the start of October with a number of the European Championship team hoping to secure places in the senior squad for the world cup series which comes to Eton Dorney on June 21-23 and the 2013 World Championships in Korea.

Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine