As reported by Robert Treharne Jones, Leander Club Archivist
Leander members raised £4,000 for charity at their Club Dinner on Friday, 20th January, when two of the club’s rowing legends enthralled a packed house with tales from their sporting careers.
Olympic medallists Debbie Bruwer, who won silver in Athens and Beijing, and Angus Groom, a silver medallist in Tokyo, have both retired from international rowing. But both were able to draw parallels between their sport and their new lives in an entirely relatable way, even for non-rowing members of the audience! Debbie now manages the Henley Debt Centre, which received half the proceeds of the evening, while Angus works in a team at Oxford exploring the causes of leukaemia.
The evening was organised by Leander stalwarts Andy Trotman, Robert Treharne Jones, and former Leander president Rass Randall, who took charge of the auction at the end of the evening.
The other charity to benefit from the auction was The Leander Trust, which supports young rowers and which has made grants to a number of Thames Valley clubs as well as London Youth Rowing and academic institutions in addition to supporting the junior rowing program at Leander.