The women’s development squad were out in force this weekend competing with five boats plus a GB composite quad in the 2019 Henley Women’s Regatta.
In the run-up to the event, the weather gave the feel of what we would expect for a winter head race but thankfully the sun came out and the wind stopped just in time for this special event on the famous Henley course.
The event started on Friday for most boat types with a time trial followed by the knockout stages over the weekend.
Susie Dear and Natasha Harris-White coached by Ross Hunter were first up on Friday to race in the time trial. They raced well and put down a strong marker to post the fastest time in their event.
The quarter-final and semi-final all went to plan for Susie and Natasha setting up and a grand final with Cambridge UWBC on Sunday. The Leander pair raced superbly from start to finish on the Berkshire station to win the championship pairs title.
Katherine Maitland and Beth Bryan coached by Mark Banks racing in the championship double scull started their regatta like the pairs with a win in Friday’s time trial qualifying them into the quarterfinals. They raced well to beat Wallingford Rowing Club and then Winnipeg Rowing Club, from Canada, on their way to reaching the final on Sunday.
Their final was against Reading University and Beth and Katherine put their best race of the regatta to secure the win
The women’s quad scull of Anna Porteous, Emily Carmichael, Emily Ashford, and Laura Merridew coached by Mark Banks and Livinia Sherriff raced well in the time trial but were, unfortunately, beaten in the semi-finals by a strong GB under 23 composite crew who went on to win the event containing a Leander Clubs Zoe Adamson.
Our women’s championship four was a young crew containing our under 23 GB trialists, Charlotte Fennell, Olivia Caesar, Juliet Perry and Rachel Heap coached by Rob Morgan came through the time trial but were unfortunately beaten in the quarter-final by a U.S. Naval Academy (USA).
Finally, our second championship pair was a young crew containing Issy Rundle and Katie King-Smith coached by Ross Hunter. They raced well in the time trial to qualify for the quarter-final but unfortunately were beaten by Durham University.
This was a successful regatta for our women’s squad as Leander Club were the only single club to win two championship events at this regatta.
