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12 May: Six Leander athletes won gold medals at this weekend's opening World Cup regatta in Munich, where the GB women's quad, men's four, double and lightweight double all won convincingly. It was part of a total British haul of 5 gold medal crews and 3 silver, which won them the first World Cup winners trophy, clear leaders of the points table, as they now prepare for the second regatta at Lucerne in three weeks time.

 The flagship men's four, which includes Leander's Steve Williams and Peter Reed, were keen to re-establish themselves as the crew to beat after slipping to fourth at last year' world championships. With ruthless efficiency they moved into an early lead in Sunday's final, crossing the line ahead of the Czech Republic and Germany, while their long-term rivals, the Netherlands, finished out of the medal zone in fourth place.  

"But it's only the start - the Dutch will go away and come back stronger and New Zealand, the world champions, weren't even here today" said Olympic champion Steve Williams. 

Former Leander captain Mark Hunter and his lightweight doubles partner Zac Purchase were a length ahead of China and Italy at the halfway mark and had a five second lead at 1500m. Not even a finishing burst from France could mar another British win for the double who remain a definite medal prospect for Beijing. 

"The training over the winter has paid off, and rather than just improving as individuals we're developing as a unit" said Hunter. 

The GB women's quadruple scull, which includes Leander's Debbie Flood, an Olympic silver medalist in Athens, was another crew which led from the front, a position which neither the experienced Germans nor the ever-improving Chinese could threaten. The British had a three second lead at halfway and although Germany burst for the line they couldn't prevent a third British gold medal.  

"We were really up for racing today. The times in the heats were close so we knew that the other crews would be strong" said Debbie Flood. 

By contrast Leander's Matt Wells and Steve Rowbotham had to work their way through the field to win the heavyweight double sculls after Italy got a flying start. But after 500m mark Germany were in the lead, less than half a second clear of the British. As the second half unfolded Wells and Rowbotham piled on the pressure to establish a slim lead at 1500m before the Germans retaliated. The two crews went stroke for stroke to the line with the British taking the verdict by just 0.16sec. 

"They put up a good fight but we had it covered, although I hadn't expected them to come at us that quickly" said Rowbotham. 

Britain's other gold medal crews included Alan Campbell in the men's singles, and there was a silver medal for the GB men's eight, which included six Leander athletes.

GB CREWS and RESULTS in MUNICH

(Non-Leander athletes in italics)

1 May 2008: Leander athletes feature strongly in the GB crews announced for next week’s first World Cup regatta in Munich, which provides selectors with their first chance this season to see their crews in top-class competitive action. The GB women’s quad featuring Leander’s Debbie Flood is unchanged from the line-up which won the gold medal at last year’s world championships, while Alex Partridge swaps his place in the men's four with Tom James in the eight.

Leander captain Steve Williams is the only member of the Athens gold medal four to continue rowing, and retains his place in the crew which now has to raise its game after finishing a disappointing fourth last year in Munich, despite two previous world titles in Japan and Eton."Last year was a very painful and gut-wrenching experience - it hasn't left me after eight months" said Williams.

"But the result has been a source of motivation for me - it's driven me on, and it's the same for the other guys. It's a new position for us, people may have written us off, but we've got to come back."

Chief coach Jurgen Grobler, looking to maintain the unbroken run of Olympic gold medal crews which began in his native Germany in 1972, acknowledged the difficulty in selecting the four, where the pressure for places has been more intense than ever before.

"It was clear from the beginning that the four would once again be the lead men's boat - it's where we have the most experience" he said, as he described his efforts to rebuild the best unit around Pete Reed and Andy Hodge, consistently fast in the pairs trials. Grobler maintained his pragmatic approach to the challenges ahead.

"In real terms we've only lost once race in three years" he said."The selection process for the top boats was more intense than ever before with a number of GB rowers vying for places" said GB international performance director David Tanner.

"Whilst it has been tough for the individuals concerned it proves the strength in depth of our Olympic squads. We'll look again at all of our boats after Munich before naming the line up for the 2nd World Cup in Lucerne".

For many of Leander's other world-class athletes it's very much business as usual. Emerging from a winter partially disrupted by injury, Matt Wells and Stephen Rowbotham have settled back into their well-oiled combination in the men's double scull. The duo were world championships bronze medallists in 2006 and fourth in 2007. Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter will once more race together in the lightweight men's double scull after taking world championship bronze in Munich in 2007. The combination most definitely clicks on the water despite the two men's differing ages and backgrounds.

On the final day of last year's Munich world championships last year, GB rounded off a regatta in which they won seven Olympic-class medals, by taking bronzes in both the men's and women's eights. At this stage of the season there are still question marks over the final line-up for the men's eight as injury and illness in both training groups have precluded closure of the testing process. Ten rowers have been named in the pool from whom the men's eight will be selected, including Matt Langridge and Colin Smith, bronze medallist in the pair at the 2007 Worlds.

ENDS