Rowing Australia selects 2013 squad

Trials at the Sydney International Regatta course, venue of the 2013 Samsung World Rowing Cup I held in March and of the 2000 Olympic Rowing Regatta, helped finalise the team of 53 athletes. This includes athletes in ten Olympic events, two Para-rowing events and six international (or non-Olympic) events. The season of trials began with long-distance races last December and included results from the March World Rowing Cup.

Already preselected were Kim Crow (women’s single sculls) and para-rowing athlete Erik Horrie (AS men’s single sculls). Crow won two London Olympic medals last year when she competed in the women’s double sculls and the women’s single. Crow was one of the first Australian athletes to announce her intentions of continuing on to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games when she returned to training about a month after the London Olympics. Horrie took silver at the London Paralympic Games in the AS men’s single sculls event.

Leading the men’s squad is a new-look men’s four. This sees a change from the crew that won the World Rowing Cup in Sydney and was built around the 2012 Olympic silver medal crew. Joshua Dunkley-Smith and William Lockwood remain in the boat but impressive trials by Spencer Turrin and Alexander Lloyd have brought them into the boat. This has pushed out James Chapman and Joshua Booth who were both part of the crew in Sydney.  

Chapman has a chance to trial for the men’s eight which is still to be selected, while Booth has stood down to focus on his medical studies.

Turrin and Lloyd were both part of last year’s bronze medal World Rowing Under 23 Championship men’s eight and at trials they finished first in the men’s pair helping to seal their position in the four.

The women’s eight that caused a stunning upset by beating the World and Olympic Champion United States eight at the World Rowing Cup in Sydney has just one change to its line-up. Peta White will replace junior representative Genevieve Horton. Out of that crew Tess Gerrand and Katrina Bateman will double up to also race in the women’s pair. Also doubling up in the eight are Alexandra Hagen, Charlotte Sutherland, Lucy Stephan and Hannah Vermeersch who will race in the women’s four.

The women’s quadruple sculls crew has one change from the crew that won at the World Rowing Cup in Sydney. Rebekah Hooper comes into the crew to join Jessica Hall, Madeleine Edmunds and Olympia Aldersey.

The lightweight men’s four and lightweight women’s double sculls remain the same as the World Rowing Cup boats that finished with bronze and silver respectively in Sydney. For the four it is Nicholas Silcox, Darryn Purcell, Blair Tunevitsch and Alister Foot. In the double are Alice McNamara and Maia Simmonds.

Head coach Drew Ginn commented that part of the crew selection was made with an eye on the long-term aim of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Leading up to the World Rowing Championships in Chungju, Korea at the end of August 2013, crews will follow individualised preparation programmes. Thus some will race at the second and third stages of the World Rowing Cup series while others will not. For example the women’s eight will only go to the World Rowing Championships.

This is in line with the ‘Australia’s Winning Edge’ strategy which aims at addressing the needs of each crew separately and so maximising performances of the crews.

Final amendments to crews can be made by selectors up to 25 July 2013.

For a full team list, please click here.