2006 British IRC Race Reports
The 2006 Concept2 British IRC has now finished. Full results, replays and race analysis is now available online. Over the next couple of days we'll be adding to the photograph gallery, plus competitors will also be able to download a PDF certificate with their time and position on it. If you were there at the start of the day, you may have seen one of the competitors in Race 2 being carried out of the arena after a suspected heart attack; we're happy to be able say he is now recovering in hospital and is in a stable condition.
Race 1
Women 30-34 Hwt, Women 35-39 Hwt, Women 40-44 Hwt, Women 45-49 Hwt, Women 50-54 Hwt, Women 55-59 Hwt, Women 60-64 Hwt, Women 65-69 Hwt, Women 70-74 Hwt
The first race of the day sees the veteran heavyweight women in action. With a lot happening early on it’s difficult to keep on top of what is going on. In the 40-44 Hwt race, Tracey Axten once again dominates proceedings, leading from start to finish. In the 55-59 Hwt category, Anna Bailey is another familiar name to come back and win gold. Despite suffering from a cold and sinus problems in the lead up to the race, Anna still does enough to take two seconds of her own World record with a new time of 7:28.0. This race also sees the first overseas winner, as Barbara Pike takes the Women’s 65-69 Hwt title back to America, with a new world record time of 7:53.4.
Race 2
Men 45-49 Hwt, Men 50-54 Hwt, Men 55-59 Hwt, Men 60-64 Hwt, Men 75-79 Hwt
In the 45-49 Hwt race, Andreas Van Tonder, the tough as teak South African, wins easily, with an awesome time of 6:05.7. Steve Bainbridge wins the 50-54 Hwt category, with a good row of 6:30.1, while the doughty Martyn Low adds to his gold medal collection with a win in the 55-59 Hwt. Danish dentist Tom Hinsby extracts a win of his own in the 60-64 Hwt category, while Michael Collier has an easy win in the 75-79 Hwt category in a time of 8:05.8, a few seconds out of his own championship record.
Race 3
Men 65-69 Hwt, Men 70-74 Hwt, Men 30-34 Lwt, Men 35-39 Lwt, Men 40-44 Lwt, Men 45-49 Lwt, Men 50-54 Lwt
The first lightweight race of the day. Tim Male is the fastest of the 30-34 Lwts, winning in 6:16.7, just outside Richard Wilder's championship record. The best race of the day so far is in the 35-39 Lwt race, where Neil Gear's 6:31.5 is only just enough to hold off Adam Gitlin and Rob Smith, who take second and third place with 6:33.2 and 6:35.4 respectively. In the 40-44 Lwt race, Duncan Paterson rows a very good 6:30.7 to win, while Stuart Bizzarri edges out Simon Barnes to take silver in 6:36.1. Kevin Oxlade wins gold in the 45-49 Lwt category, with John Brooks and Reijo Niemenmaa the silver and bronze medallists in a very close race. David Hislop is a popular winner in the 50-54 Lwt race, winning in 6:46.8. In the senior Hwt races, Peter Norman wins the 65-69 Hwt race, while Finland's Lauri Niskanen edges out Nottingham's Bill Payne to win the 70-74 Hwt event.
Race 4
Women 30-34 Lwt, Women 35-39 Lwt, Women 40-44 Lwt, Women 45-49 Lwt, Women 50-54 Lwt, Women 55-59 Lwt, Women 60-64 Lwt, Women 65-69 Lwt, Women 70-74 Lwt, Women J16
The Women's J16 race sees a great battle, with about half a dozen rowers in with a shout. With 700 to go, Natalie Bream, Zoe Thompson, Joanne Heyward, Laura D'Urso and Cordelia Wilson are all within a handful of metres of each other. With 400 to go, Heywood and D'Urso make a push for it, with Bream desperately trying to hold on to her small lead. At the 1,800 metre mark, Heywood finally manages to get her nose in front and she finishes really strongly, coming home in 1:49s. Behind her D'Urso also puts on a frantic late dash to just edge out Bream in a thrilling race.
Christina Nugent-Lee caps her return to racing by winning the 35-39 Lwt category in a time of 7:24.0. Teresa Roberts won in the 40-44 Lwt race, while Kelly Sapsford took her first ever British IRC gold in the 45-49 Lwt. Susan Little was victorious in the 55-59 Lwt race. Two more medals headed back across the Atlantic, as Luanne Mills won in the 65-60 Lwt, while Joan Van Blom was the winner in the 50-54 Lwt category. Gillian Burrell and Mavis Surridge were the winners in the 70-74 Lwt and 75-79 Lwt races.
Race 5
Men J16, Men 55-59 Lwt, Men 60-64 Lwt, Men 65-69 Lwt, Men 70-74 Lwt, Men 75-79 Lwt, Men 80-84 Lwt, Men 90+ Lwt
The Men's J16 race wasn't as close as the Women's version, Matthew Tatlock winning in the comparatively handsome margin of five seconds in a time of 6:21.3. Behind him, Sam Arnot took silver in 6:26.2 and Chris Johnstone rowed a 6:30.8 to win bronze.
In one of the more anticipated races of the day, Richard Cureton fired out of the blocks in the 55-59 Lwt race, setting out at a 1:40 pace and chasing down Dennis Hastings' world record time of 6:40.8. With a couple of hiccups coming in the last 500 although, he was just outside, finishing in a time of 6:42.6. In the 60-64 Lwt, Roger Prowse once more swooped in from the Isle of Wight to win yet another gold. There was a strong race in the 65-69 Lwt category, with Arnold Cooke winning gold from Roger Bangay and Philip Stubley. In the 70-74 Lwt race, world record holder Geoffrey Knight won in a new championship record time of 7:19.9. Weston Towler and Alan Hanna won the 75-79 Lwt and 80-84 Lwt race. The biggest cheer, as ever, was reserved for 96 year old John Hodgson, winning the 90+ Lwt category in a time of 11:06.2
Race 6
Men 40-44 Hwt, Men 35-39 Hwt (Heat 1)
The Men's 40-44 Hwt race saw a strong line up, including European silver medallist Andy Sangster. Marek Hebda did most of the early running at the start, but he couldn't shake off the pack, and with 400 to go, Michael O'Mahony took the lead. Behind him Andy Sangster gave chase, while now Hebda was desperately hanging on to the last medal position. The line came to quick for Sangster to catch up with O'Mahony, but not quite quick enough for Hebda, who was just pipped at the post for the bronze medal by John O'Grady.
Race 7
Men 30-34 Hwt, Men 35-39 Hwt (Heat 2)
There's an intriguing battle in this one for the Men's 35-39 Hwt. Nik Fleming is there, and while his old sparring partner Tony Larkman isn't present today, there's the likes of Julian Tomkinson and South Africa's Pieter Englebrecht in the mix. It's David Newman who goes off fastest at the start, however, with Tomkinson behind and Fleming lying third. Fleming tends to lie a bit low in the early stages of a race, picking it up mainly in the third 500m. At the halfway stage, Fleming and Engelbrecht are neck and neck, dead heating each other at 1:30s all the way. Behind those two, Newman has dropped back to fourth, with Tomkinson third, a boat length back. After that third 500m which we said would be huge for Fleming, he's still dead heating with Engelbrecht. 50 metres later, however, the South African has hit the front after a slight falter from the Cambridge man. There's 300 to go, and although the South African has a lead, Fleming is a tough competitor and he starts to come back at him, dropping to 1:26, then 1:25. Englelbrecht is sticking steady at 1:28s, and it's not enough, a flying Fleming, finishing at 1:24s, comes through him and dips under the line in 5:59.2, the first sub-6 time of the day. Englebrecht finishes on 6 minutes dead and it's a fantastic race that has the crowd on its feet. Behind them, Tomkinson takes third in 6:09.4, comfortably ahead of the rest of the pack.
The Men'30-34 Hwt race sees Simon Handley win in a time of 6:03.6 in a one-two for MAD Team IRC as Stuart Williams takes the silver in 6:09.0. Behind those two, Andrew Roddam took bronze with a 6:14.1.
Race 8
Men J12, Men J11, Women J11
Unlike the bad old days where juniors were forced to row 2,000m, in these enlightened times they row for a set time, which for Junior 11 and Junior 12s is two minutes. The Men's Junior 12 sees the tightest of finishes as Callum Jones storms though at the end to just beat Harry Townsend by three metres, covering a distance of 538m. Behind those two, James Davies finished third with 521m.
Race 9
Women J13, Women J12
A slight technical hitch means the J13 girls race over two minutes rather than the normal three. In the J12, Alice Wharmby has an outstanding race, covering 532m in the two minutes. Behind her, Kate Strange takes second and Rowann Raynor third. In the J13 event, Georgia Evans wins with 561m, followed by Denmark's Cecilie Sandager and then Roseanne Lindley.
Race 10
Men J13
With no such technical hitches affecting the Men's J13, the race is won by Lee Harrison in 843m with Victor Van Campen second in 834m and Tom Hillsdon just behind with 831m.
Race 11
Women J14
Camilla Hadland from Stratford-upon-Avon BC wins this four minute race in a distance of 1093m, closely followed by Georgia Grayson with 1081m. Rosa Atkinson completes the medal line up with a bronze effort of 1068m
Race 12
Men J14
City of Oxford Rowing Club's Richard Steele wins with a fantastic distance of 1173m, rowing at a level very close to adults. In a top finale, the race also sees the first medal dead heat of the day for second place, with both Morgan Hellen and Edward Rippon rowing 1161m.
Race 13
Women J15
The Women's J15 event is a popular race with the crowd and gets one of the biggest cheers of the day. The race is won at canter by Rachel Gamble-Flint, who covers a huge 1383m in the five minutes. Behind her, Holly Holden and Julia Van Campen are the second and third placed rowers.
Race 14
Men J15
The Men's Junior 15 sees a great, great struggle between Sam Howell and James Fox. Sat side by side, Sam gets a small lead at the start, but with a minute to go, him and James are locked together. As they come to the line, they're both hitting 1:38 and you can't separate them. As the time runs out, you still can't, and it's a dead heat, both having covered 1553m, a great effort for J15s. Behind those two Will Boekee-West is third with 1497m.
Race 15
Men Open Hwt
Here it is then. The big event of the day. For the next six minutes, all attention will be on the middle of the front row in the NIA. Lined up is the crew of the British coxless four, one of our main hopes for an Olympic gold in Beijing. Also there is reigning World and British indoor champion Graham Benton, and the current European champion Phil Turnham. At the start, they all blast out of the blocks. After thirty seconds, Benton's power of the start sees him in front by a good few metres. At the 400 metre stage, he's still going away, sat here on 1:26s and 1:27s. Behind him, all in a line are Alan Campbell, Turnham, Matt Langridge and Peter Reed. After 1100m, Benton's get a decent sized expanse of clear blue water between him and the pack. It's Campbell who's the closest to him, and behind him Turnham. Benton's looking pretty relaxed and surely the gap is already too big for any one to catch him. Campbell and Turnham are matching each other stroke for stroke but Campbell's lead from earlier makes him favourite at this stage for the silver. With 500m to go, Matt Langridge has started to creep up from the pack, and he's right on Turnham's shoulder. With 300 to go, Turnham puts on his sprint finish, dropping to 1:26, but Langridge matches that with 1:25. Both are moving on Campbell who is forced to respond. At these speeds, the finish line comes quick and in a flash Benton's over, winning in 5:46.9; behind him Campbell, desperately pouring on the power, crashes over the line in second place with 5:49.9 with Turnham just inches back in 5:50.5. Langridge finishes just outside the medals in 5:50.9. The first 13 all finish under the magic 6 minute barrier.
Race 16
Men BUSA Hwt, Men BUSA Lwt
This is a really close race. After 1,500m, you could throw a blanket over virtually the entire front row, and the lead changes several times. With about 600 to go, Nathan O'Reilly, one of the pre-race favourites, throws in a big 3-400m. He opens up a decent lead, and it looks like the race is in the bag. With 200m to go, however, it's clear he's gone a little bit too soon, and he's slowly reeled in by Jamie Watson. Andrew Rogers all of sudden brings out a really powerful sprint finish, and he goes through the line almost simultaneously with Watson. As the smoke clears, it's Watson who wins with 6:28.6 with Rogers just a single tenth of a second back in second place. O'Reilly has managed to hang on to third with a time of 6:29.4,
Race 17
Men BUSA Hwt, Men J18 Hwt
The Men's Junior 18 Hwt is another edgy race, with nobody showing their hand early. At the halfway stage, Tom Mullins and Tom Aindow, by our reckoning the biggest guy in the race, are in the lead, along with Calum Wright and Matt Hellier.With 500 to go, it's still these four and Aindow is breathing down the neck of Tom Mullins. Mullins splits start to float out and little and Aindow is really hitting the big strokes now, coming in in 1:30s and below. Aindow drags his splits down even lower to 1:27s, finishing as quick as some of the Olympic athletes in the Men's Open Hwt, and he wins in a time of 6:14.0. Calum Wright sneaks in front of a fading Mullins to take the silver in a time of 6:19.9 against Mullins' 6:20.5.
Race 18
Men BUSA Hwt
Akthough Oxford aren't competing this year, Cambridge have still turned out in force, meaning there are athletes of the quality of Kieran West, Thosten Englemenn and Sebastian Schulte racing. It's West and Englemenn who hit the front early although, with West the front runner of the two. At the halfway stage, West has eked out a decent lead, but Englemenn is refusing to let him ease up, going at 1:29s. Going into the final quarter, those two are comfortably ahead of the rest of the field, and it's Englemenn who makes the move, drawing level with West. With the two teammates matching each other, the strain is written on both of their faces. It's the German Englemenn who finds the extra gear, and with 200 left he throws in a dozen strokes at 1:24, while West conversely knows he's beaten and his splits fluctuate out to 1:34. Englemenn wins in 5:52.3, West second with 5:54.6 and Schulte makes it a German 1-3 with a time of 5:56.7.
Race 19
Men Open Lwt, Men J18 Lwt
The Men's Open Lwt race turns into a head to head between Bexhill's Mark Mithcell and Scarborough's Bob Hewitt. The two are neck for most of the way, with Mitchell holding the slightest of leads. With Mitchell leading virtually all the way, he is finally forced to relinquish the lead with less than 100 metres to go as Hewitt finishes incredibly strongly. Hewitt wins in 6:21.0, Mitchell is just 6/10ths of a second back, in 6:21.6, while Oliver Bottrell, who put together a really good last 500 metres is only just behind him with a bronze medal time of 6:22.3.
In the Men's J18 Lwt, George Caines rows a very assured race to win in a time of 6:36.6, a very good time indeed for a 16 year old. Behind him, Joshua Butler's strong finish is not quite enough to take second place, finishing just two-tenths of second behind Joe Abdalla, who rowed a 6:43.7.
Race 20
Women Open Lwt, Women BUSA Lwt, Women J18 Lwt
Most of the early betting here is on Naomi Hoogesteger to repeat her victory from last year. After 250m she soon settles in her rhythm and she's comfortably faster than her rivals. Behind her, Rachel Willis and Athalie Redwood-Brown are duelling it out for second spot along with Kerrie Trembling. Hoogesteger has the race comfortably in the bag, and she can afford to ease off for the second half of the race. She wins in a time of 7:09.8, but it's the race for second that is the big struggle. With 500m to go, Willis, Redwood-Brown and Trembling are neck and neck, with Trembling having the momentum. Trembling forces her way through and she takes silver in 7:30.0, with Willis third in 7:31.3.
In the Women's J18 Lwt, Charlotte Burgess tusseled with Rachel Lee for the entire race. With 250 to go, the effort is clear on both of them as they both go through a sticky patch. It's Burgess who recovers first however, and she wins in 7:46.1. Lee is second with 7:47.7 while Jenny Quested is a bit further back in the third spot with 7:53.0.
Race 21
Women Open Hwt, Women BUSA Lwt, Women J18 Hwt
The Women's Open Hwt develops into an intriguing contest. Clare Abbey of City of Oxford RC is the early leader, but Joanne Lyons of Worcester RC is sat right on her shoulder, matching her with 1:42s and 1:43s. This pattern is maintained all the way and with 500 to go Abbey still has the slight lead. It's all going to come down to the sprint finish. With 300 to go and both women giving the handle a mighty yank, it's Abbey who is able to consistently give it more welly; she wins in a time of 6:51.3 with Lyons second in 6:56.9. Behind her Nina Jenkin is third with 7:05.0. The Women's J18 Hwt sees a great race between Harriet Bridges and Alicia Parker. In Bridges is just able to do enough to win with a time of 7:16.0, with Parker a little way back with 7:17.2. In third place is Olivia Oakes with 7:21.3.
Race 22
Women BUSA Hwt
The final individual race of the day sees the Women's BUSA Hwts in action. At the halfway mark, it's Emma Windham, Heather Stanning and Kristina Stiller at the front, with Windham showing a slight lead. It's Stanning who pushes on from here, and rowing very strong and long, she goes out to the front. With 500 to go, Stannah has built up a small but significant lead. Behind her, Stiller and Windham are virtually level, with Stiller having a small edge. With 400 left, Stanning is building on her lead and looks to have the race sewn up; Stiller and Windham are still close, but Stiller is just edging out in front. Now it's a question of whether Windham can hold of Grace Riekenberg who's finishing like a train with 1:40s. Stanning wins with 6:59.6, while Riekenberg's astonishing finish turns out to be enough to snatch the final individual silver of the day in 7:03.6. Stiller has to settle for bronze with 7:04.0.
