Image Credit: British Rowing
BRIC returns to the NEC this weekend for the third year, and we are again graced with the presence of the GB Rowing Team, this time with a larger group of athletes racing. For most of them, the event will be the first individual public performance since the World Rowing Championships, as these athletes were exempt from November trials. Well into their training now, following a late autumn break, this will set the benchmarks for their 2026 season and lead into the senior GB December Trials. Indoor rowing should be an easy sport to predict, given the countless hours of training on the ergo and the harsh realities of the rowing machine. However, the hot, dry, and loud environment often means athletes stray from their personal bests. BRIC has frequently proven to shake up the order, with Joshua Knight upsetting the whole GB Rowing team last year, so will anyone be up to the challenge this year?
GB Rowing Team: Scullers
Matt Haywood
The highest returner from last year, where he came second place, in a time of 5.51, a hugely impressive time, although far off his personal best. Matt is a member of the GB quad, which finished second at the World Rowing Championships. He is the biggest and strongest in the boat, so will undoubtedly be going for the win to one-up his result from last year.
Callum Dixon
Hot on his heels last year after finishing only 0.9 seconds behind, Dixon is also a member of the GB quad and will be keen to beat his crewmate. Another big athlete from the Performance Development Academy, he is no stranger to pulling fast times on the ergo, and it will be interesting to see if he can overturn Haywood.
Cedol Dafydd
Cedol is the man to beat in GB sculling since his rapid rise to the team. He started rowing in 2021 at the Bath-based Performance Development Academy under coach Dan Harris. He and Jamie Gare, who is also racing, enjoyed a seamless path to Caversham after they graduated in 2023, his sub-5.50 ergo time a contributing factor to this success. He now sits at bow in the successful GB men’s quad with the two previously mentioned athletes. Dafydd is a supremely competitive athlete, and after winning almost all the trials last year, he will be eager to compete with the other top dogs.
Rory Harris
The last member of the quadruple sculls will perhaps come up short this weekend as he is a slightly smaller athlete compared to the rest of the crew, despite being a technically gifted sculler on the water.
Tobias Schröder
Last year, Schröder finished in fifth in a time of 5.53, closely behind his sculling teammates. He raced at the 2025 World Rowing Championships in the men’s double and has a ton of power, so will be a force to be reckoned with on the indoor rowing machine this weekend
GB Rowing Team: Sweepers
Archie Drummond
A crucial member of the silver medal-winning eight at the World Rowing Championships, Drummond returned from Washington as a 2024 IRA champion and has been an integral part of the GB rowing team ever since. Rumoured to be strong on the erg, he should be pushing for the top spots.
Fergus Woolnough
From Hartpury and Oxford Brookes, Woolnough is famed for his towering stature and has some impressive accolades, including multiple U23 World Rowing Championship titles and Henley Royal Regatta wins during his time at Brookes. A member of the GB men’s eight for the senior team, he will undoubtedly be pulling big numbers on the rowing machine, so he should be up there.
Sam Nunn
Also hailing from the silver medal-winning eight of last season, Nunn is back on the GB rowing team after an Olympiad of being in the group of spares. The Brookes veteran is back and in good form, so it will be interesting to see how he fares.
Others
Adam Stephenson – Molesey Boat Club
After winning the November Trials 2k, Stephenson will undoubtedly be here to see how he stacks up against the GB rowing team athletes who were exempt a few weeks ago. His score should be comparable to that of some of these athletes, so I hope he can perform to his full potential.
Adam Oliver – Tideway Scullers School
Adam Oliver is back racing after last racing internationally at the 2022 U23 World Rowing Championships. He recently came third in the single at the November trials, so he will also use this as an opportunity to race against the senior team athletes and try to secure a spot in the squad.
The presence of the GB Rowing team at BRIC makes this a much more interesting competition, and it gives aspiring GB rowers, as well as anyone else who wants a chance to race Olympians and world champions, an opportunity to compare themselves. It will be exciting to see the ranking of the GB team rowers, and I am sure it will provide some thrilling racing, with some very impressive scores on the board.
