Searle takes limelight at GB trials

Lining up at the British Rowing winter assessment trials, Searle, 37, caused quite a stir and made the men’s single scull B-final the event to watch. Searle rowed at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympics winning gold in the coxed pair in 1992. Watching the World Rowing Championships in Poznan helped inspire Searle into a comeback.

At early season rowing trials Searle was at the front of the singles pack, but with the return of the big British names, Searle found himself racing newcomer Brendan Crean right to the line of the 2,000m B-final. The effort was enough to get Searle a spot in the British team’s training camp this month in Portugal.

GB Rowing’s press release quoted Searle, "It's always satisfying to win races but it needed fighting spirit today," said Searle. "It was the first time in ten years that I've really had to dig deep and perform."

Racing in the men’s single A-final was current world silver medallist, Alan Campbell. Campbell continued to head the bunch of British scullers despite a recent cycling accident during training that landed him in hospital. Matt Wells and Matt Langridge (Olympic silver medallists in the double) finished second and third respectively.

Three times Olympic silver medallist Katherine Grainger won the women’s single. Grainger switched from team boat rowing to the single after finishing second in the quad at the Beijing Olympics. In Grainger’s first international season as a single sculler, she took the silver medal at the 2009 World Rowing Championships.

After a post-Olympic break, Grainger’s Beijing Olympic teammate, Debbie Flood, used these trials to start her road back into the British team. Flood finished sixth in the final. Olympic  medallist Anna Watkins (nee Bebington) was second behind Grainger with Beth Rodford taking third.

Also coming back from a year off after the Beijing Olympics was lightweight sculler Zac Purchase. Purchase took 2009 off due to injury and fatigue but coming in first in the lightweight men’s singles race shows that he is well on track to get back on the British team. Richard Chambers and Adam Freeman-Pask were second and third respectively. The lightweight women’s single was won by Andrea Dennis but in the absence of last year’s top lightweight double combination of Sophie Hosking and Hester Goodsell.

The men’s pair racing is always hotly contended and last year’s silver winning pair combination of Andrew Triggs Hodge and Peter Reed remained the top crew. Behind them Alex Partridge and Alex Gregory came in a close second after remaining in an overlapping position for the majority of the race.

The next British team trial is 11 – 12 April at Hazewinkel, Belgium.