GB U23 Team Announcement

Jun 06, 2020

50 athletes have been selected to represent Great Britain at the U23 World Rowing Champioships next week at Nathan Benderson Park, Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida (USA) where they will race against 52 other nations. The team features a number of medallists from last year's world championships, which saw GB take home their best ever medal haul of eight medals including three golds.

Georgie Robinson Ranger (University of London BC) makes her U23 debut in the single scull, after finishing 5th in the JW4x at the World Rowing Junior Championships last year in Račice, Czech Republic. Georgie was the third fastest U23 sculler at final trials, finishing 6th in the B final. Susannah Duncan (Exeter University BC) takes on her third U23 championships, this time in the BLW1x. She won a fantastic bronze medal in the lightweight doubles last year and has no doubt got big shoes to fill following in the footsteps of now senior world champion Imogen Grant, who was BLW1x champion last summer.

Chloe Knight (Reading University BC) and Fiona Chestnutt (Newcastle University BC) will both represent GB for the first time in the lightweight double sculls after promising performances at final trials amongst the senior team. They have lots of good results behind them, including a win for Fiona at last year's HWR in the Championship Lwt 1x and gold and silver medals at European University Games 2018 for Chloe.

Emily Lindberg (University of London BC) and Esme Booth (Oxford Brookes University BC) earned their first GB vest back at Duisburg Regatta in May where they raced together in the women’s coxless fours as part of a small U23 team. They were the fastest U23 crew on both the Saturday and Sunday, finishing in fourth place behind senior crews from Germany and the Netherlands. They race together again in the women's pair in Sarasota.

Lucy Glover (Edinburgh University BC) returns to the quad off the back of last year's bronze medal. She is joined by Molly Harding (Molesey BC) and Lola Anderson (Newcastle University BC) who both make their first step from the junior world championships up to U23, after winning silver medals in the JW4x in 2015 and 2016 respectively. The crew is completed by Ella Toa (Molesey BC), who has previously raced for New Zealand as both a junior and U23. Three of this crew won the Ch4x at Henley Women's Regatta last month.

Two of this year's Henley Women's winners in the Ch4-, Alex Rankin and Lydia Currie (both Edinburgh University BC), now take on the world stage in the women's coxless four. Scottish talent Alex has two agonising fourth places at junior and U23 world championships already under her belt, while Lydia makes the step on after winning a gold medal in the W8+ at the FISU World University Rowing Championships last year. They are joined by Hope Cessford (Durham Amateur RC) and Lauren Irwin (Durham University BC). Hope has twice represented GB at junior level, while Lauren has raced to a bronze medal at the European U23s as well as a sixth place at U23 worlds.

Three of last year's sixth place finishing women's eight return to the crew again in coxswain Autumn Mackay ( Molesey BC) and rowers Meg Saunders (Tideway Scullers School) and Holly Dunford (Molesey BC). Hannah Scott (Leander Club) joins the crew after winning silver in the pair last year, while Megan Slabbert (Molesey BC) joins them from the coxless four. Jo Gannon (Oxford Brookes University BC) raced in the successful U23 four at Duisburg and races the eight this year, following after twin sister Nuala Gannon who raced in last year's crew. Like many of the U23 team, the remaining three of this eight are back on home soil after spending much of the year away at university in the US. Lucy Edmunds (York City RC) makes her U23 debut having raced in the Yale second varsity eight this season and last representing GB at junior worlds in 2017. Alex Watson (Nottingham RC) took silver at NCAAs for the University of Texas in the varsity eight, while Sophie Paine (Leander Club) has had a successful season in Brown University's varsity eight. Both represent GB for the first time next week.

On the men's side, Gavin Horsburgh (Edinburgh University BC) races in the lightweight single sculls. Having already collected gold medals at juniors and U23s in the quad, as well as a silver medal at senior level, his hopes will undoubtedly be set on a podium finish this year in the single.

Victor Kleshnev and James Cartwright (both Leander Club) have spent much of their gap year this season racing together after winning a silver medal at junior worlds last year in the quad. They now make their U23 debut in the double sculls.

James Snowball (Oxford Brookes University BC) races for GB for the first time in the pair right off the back of a win in the Temple Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. He is joined by Brown's Rufus Biggs, with experience racing at European U23 and Junior World level.

Both a coxed and coxless four will travel to Sarasota next week. The coxless four have shown exceptional form of late, taking a dominant win in the Visitor's Challenge Cup at Henley Royal and setting a course record in the process. David Ambler (Tideway Scullers School) and Charlie Elwes (Leander Club) have returned form last year's 4- which pipped New Zealand to take the silver medal behind a strong Romanian crew. The other half of this crew step in from last year's silver medal winning eight, in Tom Digby (Griffen BC) and Freddie Davidson (Cambridge University BC). Tough competition awaits, but their sights will be set on a gold medal.

In the coxed four, Oscar Lindsay (Durham University BC) returns to this crew after finishing 5th last summer in Poznan. He is joined by pairs partner Casper Woods (Imperial College BC) who won the Prince Albert Challenge Cup for student coxed fours at Henley last year with Imperial and finished as junior world champion in the 4- back in 2017. Henry Jones (Thames RC) raced the eight at the junior world championships that same year, earning a bronze medal, and like Casper won a red box at last year's HRR in the Britannia Challenge Cup for club coxed fours. Coxswain Scott Cockle (Oxford Brookes University BC) races at his first world championships having previously taken double gold at Coupe, while Cormac Molloy (Newcastle Univ. BC) completes the crew off the back of finishing as the fastest U23 pair back at final trials.

The only gold medal returners are in the men's quad, with three of last year's U23 world champions taking on the event again in Matthew Haywood (Nottingham RC), Josh Armstrong (Edinburgh Univ. BC) and Sam Meijer (Elizabethan BC). Josh and Sam won gold in the quad as juniors back in 2015, too, and will hope to make it a third world championship gold. They are joined by last year's spare, George Bourne (Durham University BC), and come into the event fresh off the back of a win in the Prince of Wales at Henley Royal.

The last of the fourteen GB crews entered is the men's eight. Half of the eight rowers that won silver last year return to the crew and will look to go one further this season, with David Bewicke-Copley (Leander Club), Leonard Jenkins (Leander Club), William Stewart (Newcastle Univ. BC) and Harvey Kay (Leander Club) back again this season. They are joined by Felix Drinkall (Oxford University BC) of last year's silver medal winning coxless four, and his rivalling Boat Race winner Callum Sullivan (Cambridge University BC) who has come through the ranks after learning with London Youth Rowing. Henry Blois-Brooke and Matt Rowe (both Oxford Brookes University) both raced to fifth in the coxed four last year. They come into the event this year with a win in the Temple for Brookes and hopes of an U23 medal after winning bronze in the junior world eights together in 2017. The crew is steered by experienced coxswain Vlad Saigau (Colet BC), a two time Henley winner & IRA champion for Yale and previously a junior world medallist.

We will be out in Sarasota next week so follow the team on our socials @allmarkone, the British Rowing socials @britishrowing and over on the World Rowing website www.worldrowing.com.

The full team is listed below:

GB Rowing Team crews for U23 World Championships

Men’s coxless pair (BM2-)

James Snowball (Oxford Brookes Univ. BC)

Rufus Biggs (Molesey BC)

Coach: Morgan Baynham-Williams (Leander Club)

Men’s coxless four (BM4-)

David Ambler (Tideway Scullers School)

Thomas Digby (The Griffen BC)

Freddie Davidson (Cambridge Univ. BC)

Charles Elwes (Leander Club)

Coach: Richard Chambers (Cambridge Univ. BC)

Men’s coxed four (BM4+)

Casper Woods (Imperial College BC)

Oscar Lindsay (Durham Univ. BC)

Henry Jones (Thames RC)

Cormac Molloy (Newcastle Univ. BC)

Scott Cockle (Oxford Brookes Univ. BC)

Coach: Hugo Gulliver (Univ. of London BC)

Men’s eight (BM8+)

Henry Blois-Brooke (Oxford Brookes Univ. BC)

Felix Drinkall (Oxford Univ. BC)

Callum Sullivan (Cambridge Univ. BC)

Matthew Rowe (Oxford Brookes Univ. BC)

David Bewicke-Copley (Leander Club)

Leonard Jenkins (Leander Club)

William Stewart (Newcastle Univ. BC)

Harvey Kay (Leander Club)

Vlad Saigau (Colet BC)

Coach: Brian Young (Univ. of London BC)

Men’s double sculls (BM2x)

Victor Kleshnev (Leander Club)

James Cartwright (Leander Club)

Coach: Ali Brown (Leander Club)

Men’s quadruple sculls (BM4x)

George Bourne (Durham Univ. BC)

Matthew Haywood (Nottingham RC)

Josh Armstrong (Edinburgh Univ. BC)

Samuel Meijer (Elizabethan BC)

Coach: Kieran Clark (Tideway Scullers School)

Lightweight men’s single sculls (BLM1x)

Gavin Horsburgh (Edinburgh Univ. BC)

Coach: Matt Evans (Edinburgh Univ. BC)

Women’s coxless pair (BW2-)

Emily Lindberg (Univ. of London BC)

Esme Booth (Oxford Brookes Univ. BC)

Coach: Morgan Baynham-Williams (Leander Club)

Women’s coxless four (BW4-)

Lydia Currie (Edinburgh Univ. BC)

Alex Rankin (Edinburgh Univ. BC)

Lauren Irwin (Durham Univ. BC)

Hope Cessford (Durham Amateur RC)

Coach: John Higson (Edinburgh Univ. BC)

Women’s eight (BW8+)

Lucy Edmunds (York City RC)

Sophie Paine (Leander Club)

Margaret Saunders (Tideway Scullers School)

Alexandra Watson (Nottingham RC)

Hannah Scott (Leander Club)

Holly Dunford (Molesey BC)

Megan Slabbert (Molesey BC)

Johanna Gannon (Oxford Brookes Univ. BC)

Autumn Mackay (Molesey BC)

Coach: Lauren Fisher (GB Rowing Team)

Women’s single sculls (BW1x)

Georgina Robinson Ranger (Univ. of London BC)

Coach: Nicola Benavente (World Class Start Nottingham)

Women’s quadruple sculls (BW4x)

Lola Anderson (Newcastle Univ. BC)

Ella Toa (Molesey BC)

Molly Harding (Molesey BC)

Lucy Glover (Edinburgh Univ. BC)

Coach: Pete Sheppard (GB Rowing Team)

Lightweight women’s single sculls (BLW1x)

Susannah Duncan (Exeter Univ. BC)