Holders: Leander Club
Entries: 15 (to be reduced to 12 by Qualifying Races)
Every year, the Visitors’ is one of the most thoroughly engaging contests of the regatta. As an intermediate event, it draws U23 national teams, top club crews, and top university crews; as a coxless event, it adds some crucial variables—including steering—that make this event even more exciting (think back to that incredibly dramatic final between California Berkeley and Thames RC back in 2016).
There’s never a shortage of quality in the Visitors’, and this year is no exception, though we’re seeing slightly fewer entries here than the stacked event last year. The holders of this event, Leander, have opted to field top eights rather than a Visitors’ lineup; they won’t be returning to defend the title. I would say it’s a pretty open field, with a few standout entries. As it’s Henley Royal Regatta, I’m going to give a little preview on all the entries here, though not all of these crews will qualify.
At the end of the preview, I’ll predict who will make the final, and who will emerge as the outright winner.
Elizabethan Boat Club and Cambridge ’99 Rowing Club
A strong crew made up of British athletes currently studying in the USA, this composite features two ex-Westminster athletes – Charles Cartisser and Max Peel. Cartisser is currently at Columbia, where he’s been a mainstay of the program’s 1V; Peel is currently at Yale, and is an U19 World Rowing Championships silver medallist. They’re joined by Benjamin Mead, the Yale freshman who previously attended the Perse School in Cambridge and rowed for Cambridge ’99; he won two silvers at the Coupe de la Jeunesse as a junior. Rounding out the lineup in stroke is Rory McDonnell, who rowed at St Edward’s School in their Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup-winning 2023 crew. He’s now at the University of Washington, where he’s been mainly sitting around the 3V; he won a silver at this year’s IRAs. This looks to be a potential U23 combination – not a top four, but certainly ones to watch for the future. I don’t think these guys will have the top-end speed to mix with some of the older, stronger boats in this category, but they could make it through that first round.
Frankfurter Rudergesellschaft Germania 1869 e.V., Germany
The youngest crew in this field comprises a number of strong German former junior internationals. Alvar Floeter and Keno Sakzmann both rowed in the silver-medalling coxless four at the U19 World Rowing Championships in 2023. Alexander Monissen is now a freshman at California, Berkeley, and lightweight Paul Josenhans will attend Columbia next year. All these guys have done well at a national level, and have several strong Trials performances to their name. They’re probably a bit young and inexperienced to be able to mix with the top crews here (this is the first appearance at Henley Royal Regatta for all of these athletes), but will be a racey, determined lineup.
Leander Club and Tideway Scullers’ School
A very interesting composite entry from Leander and Tideway Scullers, and certainly one to watch. This seems to be a mixture of two top U23s, with two older athletes ‘facilitating’, training out of Caversham. At bow is ex-St Paul’s and Harvard oarsman Calvin Tarczy, a member of the St Paul’s 2018 boat that obliterated the competition – and the record – at Henley Royal Regatta. Tarczy is a multiple junior and U23 world champion, and won The Visitors’ Challenge Cup last year with Leander. He’s joined by Simon Nunayon in two. Nunayon is another U23 world champion – the GB eight in 2021 – and also a Harvard alum. He’s been at Cambridge this season, where he rowed in the winning Goldie boat at The Boat Race and just missed out on a place in Cambridge’s Grand Challenge Cup combination for Henley Royal Regatta. In front of him is Gabriel Obholzer, the titanic British record holder for 17-18 2000m, yet another U23 world champion (this time, from just last year) and Harvard student. At stroke is the talented Harry Geffen, who is a double U23 world champion (the pair in 2023, and the coxless four last year). Geffen just finished his last season at Yale, where he served as Captain; it was a tough season for Yale that saw an eventual 5th-place finish in the B-final at the IRAs, the worst result for the programme in many years. I’m sure the disappointment will only have spurred Geffen on to make this combination as fast as possible.
On paper, these guys unquestionably have the firepower needed to win this event, both in terms of raw power and racing experience. I think what might hold these guys back is just time in the lineup together – this is a very fresh combination, and while relatively new crews have had success in the intermediate events at Henley Royal Regatta in the past, I think they’ll be hard pressed to find enough speed to be the outright fastest boat in the competition. That being said, there’s no dearth of talent here, and I would fully expect these guys to be in the fight come the weekend.
Molesey Boat Club and Holstebro Roklub, Denmark
A very interesting composite, also training out of Caversham. At bow is Robbie Prosser, who was at Bristol where he won a U23 gold medal in the GB coxed four at the U23 World Rowing Championships in 2022; he then attended Cal Berkeley as a graduate student last season, oscillating between the 1V and 2V. Ahead of him is Tobias Kristensen, who rowed in the Danish senior four at the European Rowing Championships and World Rowing Championships back in 2022. He’s also at Cal. Sam Ford is at three; he won The Thames Challenge Cup with Molesey in 2022, and has been a fixture of the Washington 1V since joining for the 2024 season. He’s won back-to-back IRA titles with the Huskies. Rounding it out in stroke is Ryan Smith, a fellow Husky who competed for Germany at junior and U23 levels, winning the eight at the U19 World Rowing Championships back in 2019. This season, he was in the 1V up until the IRAs, where he was moved down to the 2V (though still took home a national title). These guys might well be the dark horses of this category. It’s a very strong lineup with no real weak links, and tons of experience between them. Watch out for these guys.
Oxford Brookes University
Last year, Brookes were arguably the favourites to take home the Visitors’, but fell in a dramatic final against Leander. This year, I’m not sure any Brookes boat will enter Henley Royal Regatta as favoured to win their event – shocking, I know – but that’s not to suggest these combinations won’t be very fast, and completely capable of causing an upset.
We haven’t seen this specific Brookes lineup race yet – Brookes often shift lineups around right up to the wire, to keep athletes training at the right intensity all the way up to the race. All of the guys in this boat have plenty of pedigree, however. At bow is American Travis O’Neil, who was part of the winning Temple Challenge Cup crew last year. In front of him is the old guard, Jonathan Cameron, the massively experienced ex-Claires Court and Boston University athlete who won The Fawley Challenge Cup back in 2016, and The Visitors’ Challenge Cup with Brookes in 2023. Zach Day sits at three; he’s new to Brookes for the summer, currently studying at Yale. He won the U23 World Rowing Championships in the GB eight last year, and was a silver medallist in the coxed four the year prior. At stroke is Callum Gilbey, who rowed at Star Club before joining Brookes; he was also in last year’s winning Temple Challenge Cup combination. Most of this combination rowed just last weekend at Marlow Regatta, with O’Neil stroking, Day at three, Gilbey at two and another Brookes Henley Royal Regatta winner, Connor Mcgillan, in bow. They finished third in the final, three seconds behind Oxford and two seconds behind Thames. Can they make up that deficit by Henley Royal Regatta? If anyone could do it, it would be Brookes. I fully expect to see these guys racing at the weekend, and I think with the right draw, they could win it.
Oxford University
At last, we have crews from Oxford University entering Henley Royal Regatta with a real shot at winning the title, something the Dark Blues haven’t achieved for a long time. Despite a disappointing Boat Race for this talented Oxford squad, it seems that the rowing has significantly stepped up over the past couple of months, and the ‘A’ crew entered here might well be considered favourites, given recent results.
In terms of personnel, this ‘A’ lineup is enviable. Two Olympians are in this boat, in the bow pair: Nick Rusher at bow, who studied at Yale before moving to the US National Team and winning a bronze in the eight at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and Nic Kohl at two, who was at Syracuse while also representing the Italian National Team in the coxless four and enjoyed some great results throughout the Olympiad but was ultimately pushed into fourth in the Olympic final. They’re joined by Tassilo von Mueller at three, the strong and technical German international who was captain at Princeton back in 2021 before joining Oxford – he’s rowed in three Boat Races, winning with Isis in 2022, rowing in the Blue Boat as President in 2023, and then again this year. He has rowed at junior and U23 level for the German team. At stroke is Felix Rawlinson, the U23 world champion from the GB eight last summer. A former Dartmouth athlete, he has gone from strength to strength this year at Oxford, earning his first senior international vest at World Rowing Cup I just a few weeks ago, in the GB pair with Brookes athlete Toby Lassen. This crew has come out on top of the last two big domestic regattas: the Metropolitan and Marlow (with another Oxford Blue, Tom Sharrock, in for Nick Rusher at the Metropolitan). These haven’t been blowout victories – a couple of seconds at most – but importantly, they’ve already beaten many of the boats entered here, including the strong Thames ‘A’ lineup and Oxford Brookes. These guys are rowing exceptionally well at the moment, and I think the ball is pretty firmly in their court.
The Oxford ‘B’ entry are also no slouches, though they’ll have to go through the qualifiers. In the bow pair are two Isis athletes, Tom Rigney and Paolo Cicuta – Rigney rowed with von Mueller in The Silver Goblets and Nickalls’ Challenge Cup last year. Stroking is Sharrock, who is a two-time Blue, and behind him at three is James Doran, the powerhouse three-time Blue who, despite never having won a Boat Race, has won Henley Royal Regatta in The Ladies’ Challenge Plate and Grand Challenge Cup in 2023 and 2024 respectively, in some incredibly impressive Oxford Brookes eights. I expect these guys to get through the qualifiers, and while I doubt they’re anywhere near their ‘A’ entry in terms of speed, they can get through a couple of rounds with a favourable draw.
Pembroke College, Oxford and Balliol College, Oxford
One of the five crews required to qualify. This composite from Pembroke and Balliol Colleges will have a tough time getting into this event, I think. On the college scene, Pembroke had a good run at the Summer Eights, moving up from fifth to third on the river; Balliol, on the other hand, dropped from eighth to tenth. If these are the top athletes at the colleges, I think they’ll certainly have a shot at a qualification spot, but with massively inconsistent training due to the changeable river conditions in Oxford, I think it will be some time before we see any Oxford college crew – composite or otherwise – able to make any headway in an intermediate event at Henley Royal Regatta. That being said, I hope to see an excellent performance at Qualifiers from this crew.
Ruderverein Munster and Marbacher Ruderverein von 1920 e.V., Germany
This strong German composite took first and third at the International Ratzeburg Regatta this year; looking at the personnel, it’s easy to see why. Jasper Angl at stroke is probably the biggest name – he was part of Germany’s senior 4 last Olympiad, ultimately coming third at the Final Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta and fourth in World Rowing Cup I last year. He’s joined by two FISU silver medallists from the eight last year – Julian Garth and Jannik Metzger. Metzger was in the German senior pair for the World and European Rowing Championships back in 2023. Finally, at bow is Ben Gebauer, who was 12th at the U23 World Rowing Championships in the coxless four last year. Plenty of speed here. I’ll be very interested to see how these guys fare – they might surprise a few people.
Thames Rowing Club
Three Thames boats are entered here, with the ‘B’ and ‘C’ entries requiring qualification. The ‘A’ entry is the big one here, featuring British Olympic gold medallist James Rudkin. Rudkin made waves early in the season by joining the club scene right off the back of the Olympic Games – not something that’s commonly done, but something that he has fully launched himself into. He unsurprisingly adds significant speed to this lineup, and they are certainly in the conversation for a place in the final. Rudkin is joined by several highly experienced Thames oarsmen who, through repeated success over the past few years, are ineligible for the club competitions. James Palmer sits at bow; he was part of the 2015 Thames Challenge Cup winning crew. At 36, he’s the oldest contestant in The Visitors’ Challenge Cup, and arguably the most experienced: this is his 16th appearance at Henley Royal Regatta. Josh Braithwaite is in front of him; he won The Thames Challenge Cup in 2023. At stroke is James Beattie, the former King’s Worcester and Exeter University athlete, who was part of The Thames Challenge Cup-winning crew in 2021. Star power of Rudkin notwithstanding, this is a crew replete with Henley Royal Regatta success. They know how to race this course, and their results thus far this season at the Metropolitan Regatta and most recently at Marlow – where they took a narrow second behind Oxford – suggest that they do have the necessary speed. The question is whether they can get it right on race day.
Below this crew, there is some decent speed in the ‘B’ crew, which features multiple Goldie/Isis winner Reef Boericke; they were fifth in the C-Final at Marlow. They’ll be fighting for a qualification spot, which I think is within reach; I think the ‘C’ entry will struggle.
The Ivy Club of Princeton, USA
The Ivy Club is a social club at Princeton, one of the ‘Eating Clubs’ that most students join in their sophomore year. The Ivy Club frequently attracts a large portion of the rowing team, and as a result, has been able to sporadically field boats at Henley Royal Regatta for decades, when the Princeton Varsity team elects not to send any boats. This lineup comprises rowers from across the Princeton team, with Zach Vachal as the main headliner. He won The Ladies’ Challenge Plate last year with Princeton, as bow seat of the 1V; he stayed there this year in another strong season for the Tigers. He is a U23 World Rowing Championships medallist, in the USA coxed four, from back in 2022. He’s joined by Nicholas McAdam, who has been in the 2V and won an Eastern Sprints gold back in 2024; Alex Kawaja, who rowed in the 3V this year, and Matthew Wagner, who also rowed in the 3V and last season won a silver at the IRAs and a gold at Eastern Sprints. Plenty of good racing experience in this boat – I don’t think they’ll have the depth to pose a serious challenge to the top players in this event, and Eating Club boats rarely feature later in the regatta, but this is a solid lineup and has the potential to cause an upset or two.
Tideway Scullers’ School and Ever Green Boat Club, USA
This crew is made up of three Dartmouth athletes, all of whom were in the program’s 2V, and Victor El Kholti from Northeastern, who has been coaching this year while he finishes his degree. A Frenchman, El Kholti was a staple of Northeastern’s 1V as a student. The Dartmouth athletes – Nicholas Hepburn, Tom Thomas and Nirav Tomasi – were all in the 2V that finished fourth in the IRA B-final this year, but were part of a robust year for Dartmouth overall that saw the 1V capture a bronze at the IRAs. It’s tough to say quite how much speed these guys will have – much will depend on how much quality training they have put in. They’ll have to go through qualifiers, but I think with a good race, they should certainly be able to make the main Regatta.
University of British Columbia and University of Western Ontario, Canada
This strong crew is part of the Canadian national team’s development program. The big name here is Liam Smit; he was a Youth Olympian, was part of Canada’s senior quad in the 2023 season, and made Day four of The Diamond Challenge Sculls back in 2023, falling to the impervious Ollie Ziedler. He went on to win The Queen Mother Challenge Cup last year, stroking Leander‘s top quad. We haven’t seen much from him as a sweep athlete recently, but he’s an absolute powerhouse and will drive this crew from the front. He’s joined by U23 international Aidan Hembruff, who rowed in Canada’s men’s eight at the U23 World Rowing Championships last summer alongside crewmate Maijken Meindertsma. Sam Stewart won a silver medal last year in the coxless four at FISU. They raced at Marlow Regatta just last weekend, finishing fifth overall – but only three seconds behind the winners from Oxford. They’re very much in the conversation, and I think they’ll probably have been pleased at Marlow to come so close despite being relatively fresh off the plane. I think these guys have a real shot at winning.
Prediction
As you can see, there’s quality up and down this event, which makes a prediction pretty difficult. In terms of weekend crews, I think the standouts at Oxford ‘A’, Thames ‘A’, Oxford Brookes and UBC/Western Ontario, and for a winner, I’m going to go with the guys that have been setting the pace nationally in the coxless four over the past few weeks: the Dark Blues of Oxford.
Good luck to all crews.
Five Man
