Britain Races Closer to Selection

Great Britain’s national team moved one step closer to Olympic selection when they travelled from their training base in Varese, Italy to Hazewinkel’s Bloso Sportscentrum in Belgium. 

Athletes had a chance to show their boat speed in singles and pairs racing over the 2000 metre distance as coaches attempted to narrow their decisions down to the final line-ups that will make up Great Britain’s team for Athens in the country’s strongest Olympic sport.

All eyes were on the men’s pair over the two days of racing after pre-race favourites James Cracknell and Matthew Pinsent had to withdraw when Pinsent suffered a bout of tonsillitis. This left the field open to a number of combinations that indicated the depth of talent. These athletes will make up the men’s eight, four and pair ? all of which are considered to have Olympic medal potential for Great Britain.

Rick Dunn and Toby Garbett, in the absence of Pinsent and Cracknell, were ranked next in line for the top spot in the pair. But the established order was upset when relative newcomers and last year’s bronze medal winners in the eight, Alex Partidge and Andy Hodge won the final. Garbett and Dunn, world silver medallists in the four from 2002 and 2003, had to settle for second.

These results add to the debate centred on head coach Jurgen Grobler’s decision to make the four the priority men’s boat rather than the pair. The pair had been the top boat from 2001 until Pinsent and Cracknell’s fourth place finish in 2003.

Cracknell expressed regret at not being able to race the pair as this may have been the duo’s last race together this season. But Cracknell chose, rather than sitting on the sidelines, to race the single. With two days of sculling practice behind him, Cracknell won the B-final. First place overall went to Matthew Wells ahead of Matt Langridge.

The women’s pair stuck rigidly to the status quo when World Champions Katherine Grainger and Cath Bishop comfortably won their race by 10 seconds over Beth Gough and Ros Carslake as Bishop and Grainger move towards the Olympics as strong favourites.

Frances Houghton and Debbie Flood led the field in the women’s single finishing first and second respectively and stamping their name at the top of the women’s sculling squad. Great Britain has qualified both the double and the quad for the Olympics but final crew line-ups are yet to be decided.