The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
A great weekend on the Great Ouse for Peterborough City
Peterborough City Rowing Club were the dominant force at the St Neots Regatta at the weekend coming home with 11 wins and 12 second places.
The J16 double of Jack Collins and Benjamin Mackenzie and J17 single sculler Sarah Watson led the way with victory on both days.
After national success for Collins and Mackenzie the previous weekend, placing seventh in the country at the Junior British championships, their confidence was at an all-time high.
They flew to victory in Saturday’s final over the kilometre course, beating a Star Club crew by five lengths, and on Sunday over the shorter 500m course they beat Sudbury by two lengths in the final.
Watson’s Saturday success included a notable heat win over a four-times world indoor champion from Doncaster. She then went on to win the final by two and a half lengths against a Sudbury Rowing Club sculler.
On Sunday she fared even better, beating Deben Rowing Club in her heat by four lengths, then Lincoln in her semi-final by one and a half lengths and the 6ft 3in Doncaster sculler in the final by two lengths.
Another Saturday winner was James Toynton, who raced up a year in the men’s J16 category and won the final by three lengths against club- mate Harry Masterson.
However, Masterson fought back the next day, claiming the J16 single title himself.
Again it was an all-Peterborough final with Masterson just edging out Mackenzie by a third of a length.
The other two City winners on Saturday were the men’s Masters E/F quad of John Canton, Owen Green, Joe Smith and Pete Orme and the women’s master’s B/C/D composite quad with Leicester Rowing Club.
On Sunday there was yet another all-Peterborough final as Alex Leverage and Henry Barnett battled it out against Tom Jackson and Connor Ribbons in the men’s J15 double sculls decider. Leveraage and Barnett nicked it by a third of a length.
Hannah Chatfield experienced tough races in the very challenging women’s Elite category but still managed to win the title, beating Bedford Rowing Club by two thirds of a length in the final.
The last win came from Eve Cresswell, Charlotte Bolton, Chloe Reed, Milly Hilton and cox Hannah Parker in the Women’s J14 coxed quads.
Completing a good weekend for Peterborough City, star women’s sculler Camilla Plumb picked up a silver medal when racing for England in the Home International regatta in Strathclyde.
She rowed with Bethany Meakin from Norwich in the women’s lightweight pairs and they were narrowly beaten by Ireland.
Former Peterborough rower Sam Tuck raced in the lightweight men’s single sculls and also won a silver medal, coming second to Wales by just two tenths of a second.