27 July 09: Nine Leander athletes returned home with medals following last weekend's World Under-23 Championships in the Czech Republic, including gold for the GB women's eight.
The crew, including Leander's Vicky Bryant at bow and Rachael Jefferies at stroke, was coxed by Zoe de Toledo, and won their world title in style after demolishing the opposition.
After winning their heat and taking a direct path to the final, they looked to the USA, whose heat time was some six seconds faster, to provide the challenge. But come the final it was Poland who looked to upset the form book, running GB a close second for most of the course. A late charge by the Americans denied Poland the silver as the British eight held on to win by just one second.
"It's all a bit of a shock really, but in the last 500m we nailed it - it was absolutely brilliant" said Rachael Jefferies.
Britain's two bronze medals came in the men's eight, and the lightweight men's quad, which included Leander's Dave Jones and Jono Clegg. The crew won the Prince of Wales Challenge Cup at Henley just three weeks earlier and won their heat on the opening day in the Czech Republic. Third place in their semi secured them a place in the final by the skin of their teeth, and a blistering first half course in their final ensured they stayed clear of the pack. But Italy ran way with the gold while the British crew couldn't close the gap behind second placed Germany.
"It's what we deserved" said Jono Clegg afterwards. "The semifinal didn't go as we planned - we didn't come out with the right attitude, so in the final we were really up for it. In the end the bronze was where we were at."
The men's eight included four Leander athletes - Tom Clark at 4, Ben Duggan at 5, Anthony Locke at 7, and Matt Rossiter at stroke. Second place in their heat earned them a direct path to the final, where Estonia and Canada, the early leaders, faded at halfway, and the British crew found themselves ahead. But Poland and Germany came through strongly in the second half to take gold and silver, while GB hung on to third place ahead of Australia.
A dramatic storm on the first afternoon of racing destroyed all bar two of the coxed fours on the boat racks. In a spirit of true international cooperation many nations lent boats to those without, but the British crew, stroked by Leander's Ray Poulter, slipped to ninth overall in the competition. |
