Nationals prove a triumph for Invicta

Rowing

Maidstone Invicta Rowing Club enjoyed unprecedented success at the National Junior Indoor Rowing Championships. More than 30 of the club’s juniors competed at the event, which is now the world’s biggest indoor rowing competition involving more 2,300 young people from across the country. Five national medals were secured by the junior rowers, including two golds. Hannah Read, representing Maidstone Girls Grammar School, won gold in the Year 10 girls’ event, while the MIRC boys’ team triumphed in the relay 16-17 category. Further medals followed with the club’s junior president, Ella Knight, winning silver in Year 12 girls for MGGS and joining her team-mates, including Read, to win bronze in the relay. The MIRC boys’ junior relay team (Year 7-9) added the fifth medal, with a silver. The club’s juniors secured at least six other top-10 finishes across Years 7 to 13 and were representing the club or their school teams including Highworth, King’s Rochester, Maidstone Grammar School, Maidstone Girls Grammar School and Oakwood Park. The juniors were cheered on and presented medals by Team GB’s golden Olympians Andrew Triggs-Hodge and Mark Hunter and by representatives from crews of the Oxford and Cambridge boat race team. Maidstone’s head junior coach James Knight said: “These results reflect the dedication and commitment of both our juniors and their volunteer coaches and the amazing community spirit they have generated this year. “Our juniors can be found running the indoor rowing clubs in many of the town’s and county’s schools.” The rowing club have also been busy on the water and 36 of their juniors have been selected to race for the Thames South East Region at the national level junior inter-regional regatta at the National Water Sports Centre, Nottingham in late April.