Secluded away from the bustle of the city, Twickenham Rowing Club sits proudly on historic Eel Pie Island. Founded in 1860, it is one of London’s oldest and largest rowing clubs. As the only club between Richmond and Teddington Lock, Twickenham enjoys a peaceful and uninterrupted stretch of the Thames, where its crews, distinguished in navy blue and pink, train along the idyllic waterway.
Twickenham has long been home to established masters and senior club squads and, in more recent years, has developed a growing junior programme. Until only a few years ago, the club also hosted the GB Start Programme, coached by Helen Brown, who is now the club’s Director of Rowing. The athletes within this squad proudly referred to themselves as “The Islanders,” a name that paid homage to both their training base on Eel Pie Island and the strong collective identity fostered within the group. This pathway produced several exceptional athletes, most notably Callum Dixon, who finished fourth in the men’s coxless quad at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Other distinguished alumni include Vwaire Obukoho, Jade Lindo, and Aidan Thompson, all of whom continue to excel on the GB circuit and are eyeing up the LA Olympic Games.
The women’s senior squad, coached for many years by Olympic champion Johnny Searle, is a familiar presence at Henley Women’s Regatta, building towards the event throughout the season. At Henley Royal Regatta, both the men’s and women’s club squads regularly compete. Twickenham crews are unmistakable as they race past the enclosures, with the Remenham Roar rising for them, as the club is a proud member of Remenham Club, alongside the six other members: London RC, Thames RC, Vesta RC, Kingston RC, Molesey BC and Staines RC. These clubs all regularly convene throughout the year and race each other every December at the Remenham Challenge.
The junior squad, though relatively new and smaller than many rival programmes, is an exciting and rapidly developing part of the club. Currently led by Paralympian Giedre Rakauskaite, the juniors have navigated several coaching transitions in recent years but continue to grow in strength and ambition. Athletes have competed at National Schools’ Regatta and Henley Women’s Regatta, with qualification for Henley Royal Regatta remaining a clear and attainable goal. A recent milestone for the programme came with the recruitment of an athlete to the University of California, Berkeley’s Division I Women’s Rowing Team, marking Twickenham’s first-ever international recruitment to a US collegiate programme and underlining the junior squad’s growing reach and credibility. Twickenham’s junior programme is undoubtedly up-and-coming, built on strong foundations and moving with clear intent towards expansion and sustained success.
