Leander Club Secures Ronald Rombaut Trophy at Ghent Regatta 2026
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Leander Club delivered a commanding performance at the 2026 Ghent Regatta, achieving 18 podium finishes across the weekend and securing the KR Sport Gent Ronald Rombaut Trophy for the senior club with the highest points total.
At Ghent, the Saturday and Sunday are treated as separate events, with heats in the morning and five crews progressing to the final in the afternoons. The competition included the Polish and Swiss national teams and U23 squads.
Leander athletes demonstrated depth across all boat classes, with standout results in the women’s and men’s eights, fours and quads.
Saturday podiums
Leander opened the regatta with a series of strong performances, highlighted by multiple medals in the quad and eight categories.
M4x – 1st (Alex King, Jamie Hindle-Daniels, Stephen Hughes, Aiden Thompson) & 3rd (Dan Jones, Harry Fox, Joe Cunliffe, Oliver Costley)
W4 – 1st (Martha Birtles, Phoebe Snowden, Zoe McCutcheon, Philippa Emery) & 3rd (Carys Pryce, Freya Engle, Lucy Stratton, Amelia Carpenter)W4x – 2nd (Jenny Bates, Amy Hicken, Anna Grace, Zoe McKellar) & 3rd (Lucy Thomson, Izzy Sellers, Amelia Hempleman-Adams, Charlotte Fennell)
W8+ – 1st (Abigail Topp, Philippa Emery, Annica Ford, Martha Birtles, Georgie Robinson Ranger, Phoebe Snowden, Zoe McCutcheon, Grace Richards, Cameron Moffatt) & 2nd (Steffi Preller, Carys Pryce, Lucy Stratton, Emily Baker, Daisy Jackson, Jordan Kingston, Niamh Kilgallen, Olivia Caesar, Caspar Gray)
M8+ – 3rd (Oliver Nash, Ben Nathan, Isaac Dean, Isaac Mono, Alfie Dean, Zak Jenkins, James Purves-Liddelle, Charlotte Hodgkinson)
Sunday Podiums
W8+ – 1st (Jordan Kingston, Lucy Stratton, Amelia Carpenter, Carys Pryce, Daisy Jackson, Steffi Preller, Zoe McCutcheon, Olivia Caesar, George Farthing) & 2nd (Abigail Topp, Phoebe Snowden, Annica Ford, Izzy Sellers, Georgie Robinson Ranger, Philippa Emery, Martha Birtles, Grace Richards, Cameron Moffat)
W4- – 1st (Abigail Topp, Annica Ford, Georgie Robinson Ranger, Olivia Caesar) & 3rd (Niamh Kilgallen, Freya Engel, Eva Rootkin-Gray, Emily Baker)
M4- – 3rd (Oliver Nash, Isaac Mono, Isaac Dean, Ben Nathan)
W4x – 2nd (Lucy Thomson, Anna Grace, Katie Mole, Charlotte Fennell)
M4x – 1st (Harry Fox, Stephen Hughes, Jamie Hindle-Daniels, Aiden Thompson) & 2nd (Alex King, Oliver Costley, Joe Cunliffe, Dan Jones)
M8+ – 3rd (Will Wreford, Alex Clack, George König, Alfie Dean, Reed Eddy, Louis Lees, James Purves Liddelle, James Arnold, Alex Erb)
Trophy Points Summary
Leander’s consistency across both days secured the club’s overall victory.
Saturday
- 🥇 1st: 3
- 🥈 2nd: 2
- 🥉 3rd: 4
Sunday
- 🥇 1st: 3
- 🥈 2nd: 3
- 🥉 3rd: 3
Weekend Total
- 🥇 6 Gold
- 🥈 5 Silver
- 🥉 7 Bronze
Quote from Chief Women’s Coach, Ross Hunter
“The squad handled the weekend with real professionalism. Ghent is a fantastic event and always asks a lot of athletes, and they responded with composure and commitment in every race. The results are encouraging, but what matters most is the way the crews supported each other and executed their processes. It’s a solid step forward, and we’ll keep building from here.”
