Rowing to glory
Henley Royal Regatta is one of the most famous rowing competitions in the world. Beginning on 4 July and lasting for five days, 565 crews from Great Britain and countries such as Australia, China, France, Germany, New Zealand and the US competed in more than 200 races. Athletes ranged from teenage school children to experienced Olympic gold-medal winners.
Henley Royal Regatta is held on the River Thames in the town of Henley in Oxfordshire. It began in 1839 and has been staged every year, except during the First and Second World Wars. Boats have one, two, four or eight rowers. They compete on a straight river section that’s 2,112 metres long, and thousands of spectators watch the action along the riverbank.
An Australian team called the National Training Centre won two of the most important races. In the men’s Grand Challenge Cup final, they beat a team from Romania. National Training Centre’s women also beat a British team in the final of the Remenham Challenge Cup.
In the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup, St Paul’s School from London beat Eton College in a new course-record time.