Rowing returns to the Henley stretch for Henley Women’s Regatta this weekend. Held over the first 1500 metres of the iconic Henley Royal Regatta course, crews can race one-on-one between the dreaded booms. There are four entries in the Godfrey Rowsports Trophy for championship lightweight singles, meaning there is no time trial, and the scullers will head straight to side-by-side racing on Sunday.
University College Cork Rowing Club, Ireland (Clíodhna Nolan)
Returning to race in this event is last year’s beaten finalist, Clíodhna Nolan, hoping to go one better this year. She has already had a successful season thus far, winning the lightweight single on both days of the Metropolitan Regatta, placing third and fifth overall. She was also the stroke seat of the UCC Rowing first eight, which won the overseas pennant at the Women’s Eights Head of the River Race earlier this year. More recently, she was selected to represent Ireland at the Home International Regatta later this summer. She is arguably the favourite for this event and should be looking to make the final as a minimum.
Cambridge University Boat Club (Claire Cooper)
Two-time Lightweight Boat Race winner Claire Cooper has been tasked with going up against Clíodhna Nolan. She also raced in this event last year, making the quarterfinal stage. She did not race at the Metropolitan Regatta but did place fifth in the championship lightweight single at BUCS Regatta. It will be interesting to see how she has progressed throughout the regatta season and if she can challenge Nolan on Sunday.
Ruder Verein Teutonia, Argentina (Sonia Baluzzo)
Racing in the other semifinal is Sonia Baluzzo, who represented Argentina in the lightweight women’s double sculls at the Paris Olympic Games, placing 12th overall. She also won a bronze medal in that event at the 2023 Pan American Games. Their time in Paris was some way off the top crews, so it is unknown where she will fit in speed-wise amongst the other scullers in this event.
City of Oxford Rowing Club (Hazel Wake)
Hazel Wake, who has extensive experience in the single scull, is racing against Sonia Baluzzo. She has won the championship lightweight single at BUCS Regatta for the last two years and also placed second in the lightweight single on the Saturday of the Metropolitan Regatta a few weeks ago, coming seventh overall. She raced in this event last year, making the quarterfinals where Clíodhna Nolan beat her, so it will be interesting to see if she can turn that around on Sunday.
Prediction
The first semifinal is between Sonia Baluzzo and Hazel Wake. It is difficult to pick a winner from these two, as Baluzzo’s relative form is relatively unknown. However, Wake’s experience on the course may enable her to take the win. In the other semifinal, Clíodhna Nolan should beat Claire Cooper and is probably also the favourite for the overall win.
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