Henley refines schedule to raise status of women’s races
Prestigious eights event switched to opening day Regatta pursues equality with new silverware
Thunderstorms in the Thames Valley this afternoon threaten the opening day of the 169th Henley Royal Regatta, which celebrates further moves towards gender equality by featuring the prestigious women’s eights, the Remenham Challenge Cup, two days earlier than usual.
Last year’s introduction of three new women’s small-boat events further squeezed an already packed programme, and instead of beginning the women’s events on Friday, this time the stewards have moved the opening rounds of the Remenham to today to join the customary men’s club and student events.
The selected (mostly international) women’s eights claim a bye in an expanded Remenham with space for 12 crews, but on show will be the Dutch Olympic development squad Silvia, racing Henley Women’s aspirational runners-up, Newcastle University. Tideway Scullers, the Henley Women’s aspirational club winners, meet the formidable Pacific-12 champions from the University of Washington, Seattle.
A fortnight ago the Royal Regatta unveiled trophies for the three new women’s events that started last year. The popularity and high standard of the 2017 races had brought forward plans to commission silverware, so this week’s winners will be able to lift the Town Challenge Cup (for women’s fours), Hambleden Pairs Challenge Cup, and the Stonor Challenge Trophy (for women’s doubles). The fours have been especially popular, attracting entries from the Princeton and Yale women, the British squad, and Henley Women’s winners Molesey.
Despite extremely strong entries in the women’s open eights, fours and quads, it is a thinner year for international men’s crews, especially the larger boats. The Grand Challenge Cup for eights has only three entries: Britain, Romania and Australia, and the Stewards’ Challenge coxless fours is a straight final for the second year running, pitting GB seniors against the likely under23 crew. The international men’s quads is also a two-horse race, Britain against Norway, although the squad’s chances may be threatened if the legendary Olaf Tufte rejoins the Norwegian crew and replicates their Linz speed.
The quality comes in the smallboat events, where Olympic champions Martin and Valent Sinkovic pose a heavyweight challenge in the men’s pairs, alongside strong entries from the British, Hungarian and Romanian national teams.
New Zealander Mahe Drysdale is taking time out of his bid to return to the Kiwi team after a long break to attempt his sixth Diamonds sculls title, which would see him equal Sam Mackenzie’s record. Standing in his way are several high-quality scullers including Kjetil Borch of Norway and Britain’s former Olympian, Charles Cousins, himself returning to racing after a break. The Princess Royal women’s singles looks likely to pit GB’S Vicky Thornley against Jeannine Gmelin, the redoubtable Swiss world champion, in the final.
A slightly undersubscribed Princess Elizabeth schoolboy eights saw a decision having to be made about which crew would get a bye in the first round. In the end the stewards easily awarded it to St Paul’s School, Hammersmith, who have dominated school rowing this season, winning the National Schools championship by 15 seconds and posting a time at Marlow Regatta less than a second outside the official junior world record. It is hard to see St Paul’s being bettered unless they make a mistake.