Oarsome foursome (From Evesham Journal)

Oarsome foursome

4:50pm Thursday 18th March 2010

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EVESHAM Club members have well and truly got their 2010 medal haul underway with a victory at the schools head of the river race and several medals at Gloucester.

The successes have boosted morale after a difficult winter where, between dangerously icy conditions and high river levels, opportunities to both train and compete have been few and far between.

The first medal came for the junior 15 coxed four at the schools’ head of the river, a national event attracting the top rowing schools and clubs from across the country, to race the four-and-a-quarter mile course on the mentally and physically challenging tideway between Chiswick bridge and Putney.

The four of James Waterhouse, Alex Russell, Ross McIldowie and Jack Towers, well coxed by Zoë Thomas, completed the course in a time of 20 minutes 57 seconds, nearly 30 seconds ahead of second placed Norwich.

Both the men’s and women’s junior Coxless quads put in strong performances in the hotly-contested events to beat crews from top establishments. Results from the junior sculling head, held at Dorney lake the following day, set the tone for the coming year.

With results well into the top half of the table, including two in the top 10 of their event, it provides a good basis for pots and medals as the season develops.

It wasn’t all junior success, as Zara Cottrill dominated the women’s intermediate three single sculls event on the Gloucester and Sharpness canal.

She clocked up a time of 19.37, finishing the 4,000-metre course more than four minutes ahead of the second-placed sculler from Gloucester.

Helen Taylor put in a good performance on her comeback from injury, coming second in the women’s veteran ‘B’ singles event.

Her son Will won convincingly in his J15 event, clocking up a time of 17.08 making him the fastest sculler of the day ahead of senior and elite scullers alike.

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