It is hard to ignore the fact that 5 of the 6 Olympic rowing medals won this year were by either current or past university students. The quality of rowing demanded and improvements in training are continually pushing athletes to the national standard. It is therefore no coincidence that this year’s rowing GB trials were run in conjunction with the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Small Boats Head (SBH) held at Boston Rowing Club, Lincolnshire. ICBC had entries for both GB trials and SBH, coming away with two top ten trial finishes and medalling in all three SBH divisions.
Team ICBC left London early last Saturday morning to undergo a 2km ergo (indoor rowing machine) test at the Princess Royal Sports Arena. Successful meeting of the expected GB ergo standards meant progression into the single sculls 5km trial on Sunday. ICBC’s Ole Tietz (U23 Lwt) made apple strudel of his competitors by smashing his PB and making the GB national standard with over 23 seconds to spare. A tidy profit was made selling seconds to less conditioned athletes unable to make the standard. ICBC triallists performed well with E.R. Go (Concept RC) coming away the overall winner on the day.
After a gruelling day at trials there were no casualties. Except for Adam Seward. A ‘back injury’ manifested in the minibus on the journey from London. Understandably, Adam was confused as to the correct way to sit in a moving vehicle. Stabbing pains were reported when coming within earshot of an ergo flywheel. A medical note was somehow produced. We hope his recovery will be as speedy as his injury.
Back at the ‘Comfort’ Inn, Team ICBC were presented with a potato lasagna. This didn’t go down too well, for reasons I have yet to understand. Unimpressed with the food, Coach Stuart Whitelaw miraculously hit upon all the ingredients necessary for that Santa-red glow and will be making an appearance at this year’s ICBC Christmas Party.
On Sunday morning, ICBC had 6 entries in the heavyweight (M1x) and 5 in the lightweight (LM1x) men’s single sculls trialling for GB squads. Leander’s Ian Lawson secured first place in the M1x with a finish time of 18:09.68 and was one of 4 Leander entries to make the top 10 of 84. ICBC aim to be in this position in the near future. ICBC’s Simon Hislop came 10th overall in 19:00.84 while Dan Cadoux-Hudson also had a strong performance coming 24th overall (11th in U23).
In the LM1x, ICBC’s Adam Freeman-Pask, in a gesture befitting a man of good breeding came second (18:43.31), allowing Stephen Feeney of London RC (18:41.35) to have his glory for the day. Big Andy (Andrew Gordon) also impressed coming 29th overall (18th in U23).
In the BUCS Small Boats Head there was further success for ICBC crews who won medals in all three divisions. Pasklop was in action again, this time under the guise of a coxless pair and a bronze medal was collected: the slip to third place reportedly due to mid-race arguing about an email concerning a lunch date. When separated and given their own boats, the pair were individually more successful and both claimed silver medals: Hislop in the M1x and Freeman-Pask in the LM1x races. In the Men’s championship double sculls Henry Goodier and Dan Cadoux-Hudson were witnessed cutting some shapes down the river and came home in third place. Gillies and Andy Gordon also tore up the field in their Lwt2x. Wheels smoking like true lightweights they finished 4th in a hotly contested event.
Thus ends another successful weekend of racing for ICBC ahead of the major Fuller Four’s Head of the River Race which takes place next Saturday November 8th. ICBC are holding their annual club dinner the same night at the Knighstbridge Hotel to celebrate with many special guests. Contact John Davey at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to secure your ticket.
ICBC GB Trial results summary: [M1x] Simon Hislop 19:00.84 (10th) 85.9% Gold%. Dan Cadoux Hudson 19:16.67 (24th/11th in U23) 84.7%. Dominic Meyrick-Cole 19:45.94 (53rd/14th in U20) 82.6%. Henry Goodier 19:53.05 (59th/17th in U20) 82.1%. Josh Yerrell 20:04.56 (65th/20th in U20) 81.4%. Rob Manton 20:19.24 U23 (71st/40th in U23) 80.4%. [LM1x]: Adam Freeman-Pask 18:43.31 (2nd) 89.0%. Andrew Gordon 19:35.46 (29th/18th in U23) 85.1%. Alex Gillies 19:45.98 (32nd/9th in U20) 84.3%. James Wedlake 19:54.9 (38th/11th in U20) 83.8%. Kieran Docherty 20:58.08 (49th/33rd in U23) 79.5%.
By Christina Duffy