Clubs are well into the swing of regatta season, and the next stepping stone towards the season’s pinnacle – Henley Royal Regatta – is Metropolitan Regatta. The women’s coxless fours promises to be one of the most hotly contested events, featuring some of the most prominent names on the domestic rowing circuit. A substantial field of 40 crews will compete on Saturday, followed by 27 on Sunday.
Racing begins in the afternoon division, with time trials covering 1900 metres and finals stretching the full two-kilometre course. Each final will contain an assortment of Championship, Club, and Academic crews, with overall rankings determining category winners.
The Metropolitan Regatta operates under the same eligibility rules as Henley Women’s Regatta, making it an ideal testing ground for clubs finalising combinations ahead of Henley Women’s Regatta in three weeks.
Championship Women’s Coxless Fours
With their formidable reputation preceding them, Leander Club return to Metropolitan Regatta as reigning champions of last year’s Saturday racing, where they defeated Thames Rowing Club by a convincing three seconds. The following day, Thames ‘B’ narrowly edged Upper Thames Rowing Club out of the lead by just 0.59 seconds to secure their medals.
At Wallingford Regatta, the A-final of the Women’s Challenge Coxless Fours was another closely matched affair, with Leander and Thames Rowing Club making up half of the field. In a gripping race, it was Thames who emerged victorious, rowing through Leander in the second kilometre to claim the win. Unfortunately, spectators won’t be treated to a rematch between the two crews this weekend, as Leander and Thames have entered their Championship boats on separate days. Will this mean the results of 2024 will be repeated?
The Molesey Boat Club crew entered in this category features Holly Dunford, who made her senior international debut for Great Britain at World Rowing Cup I in Varese, Italy, winning silver medals in both the eight and coxless four. Just 110 days later, Dunford had added two more silvers at the European Rowing Championships and World Rowing Cup II to her collection, before rounding off the season with a bronze medal in the women’s eight at her first Olympic Games. Dunford clearly made her mark in the national team, and having returned to Molesey Boat Club in preparation for the summer’s racing, expectations are high for her and her crew. Molesey’s season has been strong to date: they finished fourth overall and claimed the Club Pennant at WEHoRR and went on to win both the Challenge and Club eights at Wallingford Regatta.
Durham University Boat Club, too, has proven their capability in fours racing. Just four weeks ago at BUCS Regatta, their women claimed gold medals in every women’s Championship and Intermediate Fours category. Last year at Metropolitan Regatta, Durham placed third overall on Sunday – 3.12 seconds behind victors Thames Rowing Club. In 2023, they dominated the women’s coxless four field across both days, winning by margins of 4.4 and 7.3 seconds respectively. If the Palatinates approach this weekend with the same tenacity and grasp each race by the scruff of the neck, there’s every reason to believe more blue boxes could be heading back to the North East.
Club Women’s Coxless Fours
Worthy of recognition, London Rowing Club made a strong showing at last year’s Metropolitan Regatta, fielding three crews on the Saturday – each of which earned a place in the A-final. They return this year with another trio of boats, all entered in the Club category. Following their triumph in the Lester Trophy for Aspirational Club Coxless Fours at Henley Women’s Regatta last summer, this weekend presents a valuable opportunity for London to gauge speed and form in their pursuit of back-to-back success.
Thames Rowing Club are an ever-present dominating force at all of the large domestic races in the UK. Having recently returned from training camp in Spain, the Thames crews have had plenty of time to build cohesion and should be in good shape coming into this weekend. With two fours entered on both Saturday and Sunday, the Thames boats will no doubt be racing against one another as well as the rest of the field. After falling short in the Aspirational Club Coxless Fours semifinals at HWR last year, Thames return with a point to prove – and a strong performance at Metropolitan Regatta will no doubt lay those foundations for resurgence.
Upper Thames Rowing Club, meanwhile, were the standout performers in the Club Coxless Fours at Wallingford Regatta earlier this month, crossing the line more than four seconds clear of London Rowing Club. Last year saw Upper Thames’ two crews miss out on the A-final on the Saturday of Metropolitan Regatta; however, a more successful campaign at HWR saw them to the final of the Aspirational Club Coxless Fours, where they were ultimately overpowered by London RC, losing by 2¾ lengths. Upper Thames have already managed to overturn that result once this season; another victory this weekend would not only solidify their form but also strengthen their claim for silverware at Henley.
Academic Women’s Coxless Fours
Last weekend marked a historic milestone at the National Schools’ Regatta, as Shiplake College became the first school or club to win both the Boys’ and Girls’ Championship Eights titles. Still riding high on that unprecedented success, Shiplake returns to Dorney Lake this weekend with two coxless fours entered for Saturday’s racing. A programme at the very top of the field, these juniors are unlikely to be out of their depth racing university crews. Last year, Shiplake’s two crews both outpaced many senior crews to reach the B-final, with their A crew going on to place third and win the Academic Coxless Fours, and their B crew coming second.
Also returning are Galway University Boat Club, who are making the journey from Ireland to defend their title in the Academic Coxless Fours from Sunday’s racing last year. Galway managed to scrape a place into the B-final, finishing in 16th position after the time trial. After a slow start in the final, sitting in eighth place through the 500-metre mark, a powerful second kilometre saw them work through Imperial College Boat Club to finish fifth. This was enough to place them as the highest-ranking Academic-eligible crew, and the team were able to travel home across the Irish Sea, blue boxes in hand.
On the converse, Imperial College posted a commanding performance in last year’s time trial, finishing 6.3 seconds ahead of Galway. However, they didn’t quite manage to carry this momentum forward into their final, and ultimately missed out on the Academic title by eleven seconds. The rematch of these two crews this Sunday promises to be an exciting contest, but with challengers from the University of Surrey and Queen’s University Belfast, both crews will have to be at the top of their game in order to triumph.
Predictions
Saturday Winners:
Championship: Leander Club/ Durham University/ Oxford Brookes
Club: Upper Thames RC
Academic: Shiplake College BC ‘A’
Sunday Winners:
Championship: Thames RC ‘A’
Club: Thames RC ‘C’
Academic: Galway University BC
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