The two-kilometre racing season is upon us once again, bringing with it beautiful weather, exciting racing, and some amazing competition. Wallingford Regatta is a significant event in that it is the first major spring season regatta. A strong crosswind is expected on Sunday, so the podium in the fiercely competitive Open Junior Eights category will likely decide which of the crews can hold their composure the best in the windy conditions. It will be rousing to see the best schoolboy crews in the country face each other head-to-head and get an idea of how they may rank as we head inevitably closer to the National School’s Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta.
St Paul’s School Boat Club
As winners of the School’s Head of the River Race, St Paul’s School Boat Club are heading into this weekend as favourites for the gold medal. They have brought in strong J17 talent since last year to bolster the ranks, including Miles, who was the fastest sweep athlete in the country at the Early ID GB trials. That said, the boat has several returning members from last year, including Karadogan and Reese, both of whom were in the GB U19 men’s coxless four last summer at the World Rowing Championships in Canada. Despite their strong performance at the School’s Head of the River, it will be crucial for the older athletes in this crew to develop the composure and calmness of the younger athletes if the gold medal is to be theirs on Sunday. Indeed, both St Paul’s and several of the other eights in this category will have already raced in the Challenge 8s category in the morning.
Eton College Boat Club
The third-place finishers from the School’s Head of the River Race are always contenders for medal position when the summer racing arrives. Eton College Boat Club have just as much, if not more, GB pedigree as St Paul’s do, with five of their nine athletes having competed for GB at the World Rowing Championships or at Coupe de la Jeunesse. They additionally have the advantage of having rowed together for almost two seasons, as only two of the athletes in this eight are newcomers from last year. Eton are sure to want to prove themselves at Wallingford, and I think that their experience and depth will allow them to do so. Much like St Paul’s, Eton will also race the Challenge Eights in the morning, so they will have the added difficulty of managing their effort and fatigue.
Shiplake College Boat Club
Completing the School’s Head of the River Race podium, Shiplake College Boat Club will also be racing on Sunday. They finished seven seconds behind St Paul’s, and a mere two seconds ahead of Eton, so they are likely to be well in the mix on race day. In the past, Shiplake has struggled to hold their winning speed at School’s Head into the later stages of the season. However, last year, they developed a final five hundred that allowed them much success. They sprinted into third place at the National Schools’ Regatta and kicked past Radley and Eton to secure their spot in the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup final last year. Unlike Eton and St Paul’s, Shiplake will not be racing in the morning, so will enter the Junior Eights races with fresh legs. This very possibly may give them the edge going into the final.
Honourable Mentions
Hampton School Boat Club and St Edward’s School Boat Club are the two honourable mentions in this category. They were very close behind Eton at the School’s Head of the River Race, three and four seconds back respectively. With so many crews so close together over 6.8km, they are likely to be tightly packed for the shorter two-kilometre race.
Predictions
Perhaps more so than in previous years, the Junior Eights category at Wallingford Regatta is brimming with top-level talent and speed. The racing on Sunday will be explosive and very entertaining. As for my predictions, I think it will be St Paul’s heading the podium, with Shiplake and Eton close behind. That said, the bronze and even silver medals will be hugely contested, with the margins likely to be fractions of a second. It would not be inconceivable for both Radley College Boat Club and King’s College School Boat Club to have a chance at that bronze medal.
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