As one of the most well-subscribed events for the inaugural regatta, the women’s double is shaping up to be a standout race to keep an eye on. Six women’s double sculls from four clubs will descend onto Lake Burley Griffin in hopes of etching their names into this regatta’s history books.
Mercantile Rowing Club
Mercantile Rowing Club is one of three clubs with multiple entries in this event. All four Mercantile women raced in the club women’s eight at the National Championships last March and collected a silver medal together. The lead crew of Lindsey Calvert and Freya Axten will be ones to watch, having won silver in the club women’s double together as well. The previous racing experience of this duo will surely see them toward the front of the pack of this event.
Australian National University
The Australian National University is another institution submitting multiple entries for this event. The hometown women will be no strangers to Lake Burley Griffin and will surely look to put out some strong results. Brooklyn Leslie has been in strong form as of late, with a bronze medal at the National Championships in March in the club four. Her partner, Tahlia Turnbull, was also part of that medal-winning four, and the two raced to fifth place in the U-21 double. This combination clearly has some proven chemistry together and looks to be in strong standing for some hometown hardware.
Toowong Rowing Club
Coming all the way from Queensland, Toowong are looking like they could be fierce competitors come race day. The crew of Tiggy Wake and Alice O’ Toole collected many medals at the most recent National Championships, with five between them across various lightweight events. With the extra distance of the omnium regatta format, along with that infamous lightweight endurance, these girls are still big contenders for the overall.
Final Predictions
In terms of final predictions, I’m going with the women from Mercantile Rowing Club to take the win, followed by the young Australian National University combination for silver, and Toowong for bronze.
