After the highlight of Freya Keto’s win in her heat of the Princess Royal, the Club’s athletes and alumni had a packed day of racing today.
Freya kicked off the racing against Cara Grzeskowiak, a former Australian national team athlete and winner of Champ Single at this year’s Henley Women’s Regatta. Freya’s excellent sculling served her well, but the more experienced Australian met Freya’s challenges and went on to take the victory by 2 and 3/4 lengths in the fastest race of the day.
There was then a long break until 2022 Blues Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George raced Ernst and Andrews of Isis. They were not troubled by their opponents, hitting clear water by the end of the Island, recording the fastest times of the day to the Barrier and Fawley, and cruising to a 2 1/2 length length win.
2023 Women’s Blue Boat members Isabelle Bastian and Caoimhe Dempsey took on Standing and Perry of Leander in the Hambleden Challenge Cup, and found the going tough against the GB development pair, fighting hard but recording a 4 length loss.
The second last race of the day for Cambridge came at 7.05 pm, when our Visitors’ Boat raced Princeton. The Americans started fast and were clear water up at Fawley but the CUBC crew was not daunted, pushing back past Remenham and into the enclosuresput together a storming finish to push the Americans to finish, coming off 2/3 of a length behind.
2023 Blues Noam Mouelle and Seb Benzecry took on Walkley and Cullen of Rowing Canada Aviron, who are the National Squad pair. Cambridge served it up the the Canadians, but greater experience in the small boat told, and Seb and Noam recorded a 3 length loss to the Canadian National Team.