Our Rowing students in Years 8 and 9 had a fantastic time at the National Junior Indoor Rowing Championships – and four of them came home with Bronze medals!
More than 50 students represented King’s Ely Boat Club at the annual event, which took place at London’s CopperBox Arena Olympic Park on March 3rd.
Despite some nerves and a very early start, every single pupil gave it their all, with Year 8s competing over 3 minutes and Year 9s competing over 4 minutes – all of them aiming to cover as many metres as they could during these time periods.
It was our Relay Team made up of Qiba Westfield-Airey (Year 8), Oliver Davey (Year 8), Thomas Peters (Year 9) and Theodore Logan (Year 9), who won Bronze medals after they placed third in their category out of a bumper 91 entries, most of whom were Year 10 students. Congratulations chaps!
Craig Ward, Head of Rowing at King’s, said: “The day kicked off with the Year 8 boys smashing their 3 minutes. Qiba Westfield-Airey and Oliver Davey recorded blistering times – placing 6th and 9th, respectively, in a category of over 267 boys! The Year 8 girls followed next. Anastasia Liashenko nailed a personal best to finish 111th out of 245 competitors, and Lucy Jameson led the way, finishing 77th and just 88 metres off the category winner.
“The Year 9 boys stepped up to the plate in arguably the most competitive category of the day. Thomas Peters and Sebastian Thompson recorded huge personal bests under pressure to finish 26th and 33rd, respectively, out of 247. Eight of the boys recorded a personal best of over 1,000 metres in the 4 minutes, which is very impressive and exciting for this summer’s racing. The Year 9 girls settled into the day after seeing everyone in action and kicked on well. Abigail Pierson led the pack, finishing 59th overall, with Sabrina Edwards and Millie Moss following in 100th and 101st, respectively.
“After a short rest, the focus moved towards the Team Relay – four Rowers racing on one machine over 2,112m, which is the length of the Henley Royal Regatta course. The three girls’ relay teams took to the floor first, with our A Team Relay recording a 5th place in their wave and a 26th place overall, out of 93 crews.
“Five boys’ teams took part in a relay effort with a mix of Years 8 and 9 boys. In an incredible final heat, with Mr Ruta getting very animated, the A Team of Qiba Westfield-Airey, Oliver Davey, Thomas Peters, and Theodore Logan recorded an incredible third place overall, out of 91 entries! An awesome effort considering this was a Years 8-10 open event. The event also showed strength in depth, with our B and C Team Relays coming 18th and 24th.
“Overall, it was a fantastic day out and a really positive experience for our Years 8 and 9 Rowers. My thanks go to Mr Davis, Mr Ruta, and Mr Sellers for the early start and late finish!”