31 August 09: The British men's four, with three Leander athletes on board, dominated the opposition to win the gold medal at the world championships last weekend in Poland.

The GB team, which included nineteen Leander members, finished third in the overall medal table with a tally which included three gold, five silver and a bronze.

Matt Langridge, Ric Egington and Alex Partridge were all silver medallists in the Beijing Olympic eight, but together with Reading University’s Alex Gregory they were peerless in taking the men's fours gold.

Australia boated the same four who took silver in behind GB in Beijing, after 500m it looked as though the Aussies might turn the tables. But as the second quarter opened up the British four surged ahead to establish a one length lead to which the Australians had no response.

Alex Partridge added: "That was fantastic. This is a new crew this season and it's great to win".

But there was no such victory for Leander’s Pete Reed and Molesey’s Andy Hodge in the men’s pairs, where they had to be content with silver behind Hamish Bond and Eric Murray, the New Zealanders pair who had defeated them three times this season.

"Hand on heart I felt we could beat them", said Reed. "We had real belief but they are an exceptional crew".

Leander’s Anna Bebington and her Marlow partner Annie Vernon were always tipped for honours in the women’s double sculls. But the Polish crew, boosted by the home crowd quickly moved into the lead before the British double came through strongly in the second half before running out of space to take silver just 1.64sec behind Poland.

"We started the sprint early but in the last ten strokes they found something extra and congratulations to them" said Bebington.

Another silver came for the lightweight women's quadruple scull, stroked by Leander’s Jane Hall, who won her first world championship title in 1993.

Two of Britain’s other silver medals were won in the single sculls, where Alan Campbell of Tideway Sculler produced a career best to take second place behind New Zealand’s Mahe Drysdale, while Marlow’s Katherine Grainger produced a similar result after her first season in the single.

The GB men’s eight, with five Leander men on board, finished in fifth place, as did the women’s eight, which included Leander’s Jo Cook and Tina Stiller.

GB CREWS in POZNAN

(Athletes competing as Leander listed in bold)

21 July 09: There were few surprises at this week's GB team announcement for the world rowing championships in August, when 20 Leander athletes will travel to Poznan, Poland - the largest contingent from a single club.

57 rowers in 16 boats have made the list in Olympic and international classes while eight adaptive rowers have been selected in three boats, including Naomi Riches, who competed in the GB four which won the bronze medal at the Paralympic Games in Beijing

Despite their recent defeats at the hands of the fast New Zealand pair Olympic champions Pete Reed and Andy Triggs-Hodge will contest their first world championships together in this boat class.

"We know that the New Zealanders have been quicker than us so far this season. That will give us the motivation during a ruthless series of training camps coming up now", said Reed.

The GB men's four, which includes Leander's Alex Partridge, Rick Egington, and Matt Langridge, together with Alex Gregory of Reading University, performed superbly in Lucerne to take gold in the final and, with it, the overall world cup leaders trophy for their boat class.

Leander's Matt Wells and Stephen Rowbotham, bronze medallists in Beijing, are one of few crews to remain unchanged since the Olympics, but were ruled out of Lucerne by illness after qualifying for the final. They should be in the main fray in Poland in what can be one of the most competitive boat classes on the circuit.

After the best-ever performance by a GB men's quad scull in Lucerne the world championships could prove a significant step up for Leander's Marcus Bateman and his Reading University crewmates, Sam Townsend, Bill Lucas, and Charles Cousins. After running the Polish Olympic champions close on two occasions this season they continue to grow in experience, racing to a superb silver medal in Lucerne behind Germany.

Leander's Anna Bebington and Marlow's Annie Vernon were absent from Lucerne but, with two medals to their credit earlier in the season, should be in the medal zone for the women's doubles, the boat in which Bebington won the bronze medal in Beijing.

Olivia Whitlam and Louisa Reeve were virtually unknown as a pair a year ago, but qualified for the Olympics last summer in Poznan. They will b eback to the same lake to contest the worlds, having grown in stature this season, with a gold and a bronze to their credit.

The GB men's eight includes no less than five Leander athletes while Jo Cook and Tina Stiller retain their places in the women's eight.

Leander's Paul Mattick and London's Rob Williams have stepped into Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase's double scull shoes and acquitted themselves well even if a world cup medal has eluded them so far.

In the non-Olympic boat categories Leander's Jane Hall, who won her first world title in 1993, is back for more as part of the British lightweight women's quadruple scull, the boat in which she won a silver medal last year in Austria.

ENDS