Final Olympic Crew Selected for Great Britain

In a turbulent season of setbacks and reshuffling Great Britain has finally announced their complete Olympic team. Securing 11 out of the potential 14 spots, the British squad of 36 members will be one of the biggest contingents at the Schinias Rowing Centre in Athens.

Throughout this season the trials and tribulations of Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell held the headlines, as Britain’s golden boys of rowing became event question marks. Head coach Jurgen Grobler finally selected Pinsent and Cracknell to row in the four rather than their standard, for the last three years, the pair. But illness and injury thwarted the new crew finally denying number three seat Alex Partridge of his spot after being diagnosed with a collapsed lung.

Ed Coode in the four
© Getty Images/John Gichigi

The perpetual substitute, Ed Coode, was swapped out of the eight to take up a place in the four. This elevated Tom Stallard into the eight. Stallard has a World Championship medal in the coxed four event and now heads for his first Olympic Games to defend Great Britain’s gold medal from Sydney.

Bishop & Grainger, defending World Champions
© Getty Images/Paul Gilham

However it has been the women who have shone this season in the medal arena. The women’s quad finished the 2004 BearingPoint Rowing World Cup season with two golds and a silver medal. They will go to Athens as silver medal defenders. Current pair World Champions, Cath Bishop and Katherine Grainger, held the yellow leader bib throughout the season collecting silver in Poznan, gold in Munich and bronze in Lucerne.

Pinsent leads the team in terms of experience as he heads for his fourth Olympic Games with a perfect record of three Olympic gold medals to his name. His partner since 1997, Cracknell, will be adding Olympics number three to his repertoire. 

The team continues their Olympic preparation with the men’s squad at altitude in Silvretta, Austria while the women and lightweights are based in Breisach, Germany. The teams will remain there until the end of the month before moving to their respective pre-Olympic camps ? the men in Aiguebelette, France and the women and lightweights in Varese, Italy. 

Great Britain’s Olympic Squad

Women
Pair
Katherine Grainger & Cath Bishop

Double scull
Sarah Winckless & Elise Laverick

Quadruple scull
Alison Mowbray, Debbie Flood, Frances Houghton, Rebecca Romero

Lightweight Double scull
Helen Casey & Tracy Langlands

Men
Pair
Toby Garbett and Rick Dunn

Four
Steve Williams, James Cracknell, Ed Coode, Matthew Pinsent

Eight
Robin Bourne-Taylor, Dan Ouseley, Jonno Devlin, Andrew Triggs Hodge,
Josh West, Phil Simmons Tom Stallard, Tom James, Christian Cormack (cox)

Single scull
Ian Lawson

Double scull
Matthew Wells & Matthew Langridge

Lightweight Four
Mike Hennessy, Tim Male, Nick English, Mark Hunter

Quadruple scull
Alan Campbell, Simon Cottle, Pete Gardner, Peter Wells

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