Silver lining for campus’ oarsome duo
NEWCASTLE University rowers scooped silver medals at the World Under-23 Championships competing for Great Britain and Ireland.
William Stewart helped propel Great Britain’s men’s eight crew to second place, while Ryan Ballantine was part of Ireland’s lightweight quad which also finished runners-up.
The meet, in Poznan, Poland, also featured Newcastle University Boat Club rowers James Stevenson and Dominic Jackson, who competed in the lightweight men’s quadruple sculls - rowing under their Newcastle University coach Ciro Prisco.
Great Britain finished second in the men’s eight final, 2.5 seconds behind winners USA.
Stewart and his crewmates beat the other boats in the final - Romania, Germany, Canada and the Netherlands - to claim the silver medals.
Stewart, who rowed in seat seven, said: “We had a tough race being a few lanes away from the Romanian crew, making it difficult to judge who was leading for second place throughout.
“When we crossed the line, I had no idea who won and had to sit there waiting until they flashed the finishing positions on the board showing we had just beaten them into second place by two-thousandths of a second.
“It was a fantastic race and a great event overall.
“I enjoyed the experience and hope to have another chance next year.”
Rowing in seat three, Ballantine helped the Ireland lightweight quad boat beat the USA, Denmark, France and Spain.
However, the Ireland crew fell short by 1.3 seconds to winners Italy.
Ballantine said: “To race against the best crews in the world and come away with a silver medal is surreal, it has not sunk in yet.
“Our race plan was controlled and we knew what we needed to do to put ourselves into contention for the medals.
“This was my first World Championships and the standard of rowing was on a completely different level.
“I have been invited to trial for the senior squad and hopefully represent Ireland at the senior World Championships in September in Bulgaria.
“I would like to thank the Newcastle University Boat Club for all the help it has given me to get this far.”
Newcastle University Boat Club was ranked second overall in the UK in BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) for 2017/18.
The Blue Stars were crowned BUCS Regatta champions, gaining the overall Victor Ludorum at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham.
Newcastle University’s 53 boats reached 27 A finals and cruised to 19 medals, making this one of the most successful weekends in the Boat Club’s history.