Groom fast and Hodge moves up at British team trials

In the men’s single sculls, 23-year-old Angus Groom finished ahead of Olympic bronze medallist Alan Campbell. Groom finished three seconds ahead of the veteran single sculler, Campbell to put his Olympic bid one step closer to reality.

Groom competed  for Great Britain at the 2015 European Rowing Championships where he finished fourth in the single. He was also part of the British men’s quadruple sculls at the 2015 World Rowing Cup I, where they finished first. Groom did not make the British team for the World Rowing Championships.

On the first day of trials, however, Campbell got the better of Groom after racing in 2 x 1900m time trials. Campbell recorded the fastest accumulated time with Groom in second.

The men’s pair was won by Pete Reed and Constantine Louloudis who finished ahead of George Nash and William Satch. All of these rowers raced in the 2015 British men’s World Champion eight. In third was Nathaniel Reilly O’Donnell and Matthew Tarrant who won this year’s men’s coxed pair. Coming through in fourth was Andrew T Hodge teamed up with Matthew Langridge. Olympic Champion, Hodge did not race the 2015 season due to illness, but is back in full training with the aim of making the Rio Olympic team.

Victoria Thornley was first in the women’s single sculls with the fastest accumulated time out of 2 x 1900m time trials. Thornley raced this past season with Katherine Grainger in the women’s double sculls and has so far won the last two trials in the single. In second was women’s pair World Champion, Helen Glover with Melanie Wilson in third.  

The lightweight women had Katherine Copeland at the head of the field followed by Imogen Walsh and Ruth Walczak. Copeland finish second at the 2015 World Rowing Championships in the lightweight women’s double sculls while Walsh was second in the lightweight women’s single sculls.

For the lightweight men’s single, William Fletcher finished less than a second ahead of Richard Chambers who, in turn, beat his brother, Peter by four seconds. This was the result of the accumulated time out of 2 x 1900m time trials. Fletcher and Richard Chambers partnered up this last season racing in the lightweight men’s double sculls. They were second at the 2015 World Rowing Championships. At the last British trials in October both Chambers brothers finished ahead of Fletcher. This was Fletcher’s first trials win.

The team will have more internal testing before taking a break over Christmas. The next full team assessment will be on 13 February 2016.