After their recent success at the Star Regatta in Bedford, Oundle School Boat Club had a further outstanding day of racing at York City Regatta, coming away with a record of eight wins.
Individuals who excelled at this event were Oliver Chapman (15) who came away with three wins and Cosmo Davis Gimeno (15), Anna van de Braak (17) and Omer Elmadbouh (17) each winning two races.
Others who performed extremely well were the Women’s Novice quads made up of Holly Telfer (14), Catrina Courtney (15), Rebecca Siddall (15), Lucy Sly (15) and Hannah Miller (15) who progressed through to the final after beating York City. They then went on to race the Oundle B crew in the final and were victorious.
Another impressive win was attained by the Novice double of Omer Elmadbouh (17) and Jamie Hembury-Gunn (17) defeating their opposition – Bradford – by a convincing margin.
Oundle was also successful in the Junior 15 quadruple sculls event, deservedly winning against York City in a powerful boat of Zac Freij (15), Oliver Chapman (15), James Duckitt (15), Cosmo Davis Gimeno (15) with Benjamin Hutchinson (15) as cox.
Oliver Chapman (15) and Cosmo Davis Gimeno (15) also excelled in their doubles event racing against York City, securing a win in a strong and clean race.
Anna van de Braak (17) raced in her single scull in 3 events – Women’s Junior 18, Women’s Junior 17 and in the Women’s Intermediate 2. She lost the WJ18 race against a strong opposition from York City. However she ended the day on a high by winning both her other races.
Oliver Chapman (15) commented, “We are extremely pleased with the win in our race and the margin by which we won. We faced a skilful opposition but we held our nerve and are pleased with the end result and couldn’t have done it without the first class training we received from our coaches throughout the course of the year.”
Anna van de Braak (17) noted, “Rowing is a sport that requires endurance and determination and is a fantastic platform from which you can grow and become successful. This is an incredible performance for Oundle School Boat Club, leading to an excellent finish to this year’s racing season. We are incredibly fortunate to have the expertise of Mr Roche and Mr Aston at hand when training the older members of the Club, as it has proven extremely effective.”
Mr Jeff Roche said, “This is a fantastic end to the season for our Senior rowers. The boys won five out of the six events they entered, and Anna van de Braak came away with two wins out of three having also competed at Henley Women’s Regatta in a composite eight on the Saturday. Our top athletes have trained well this year and are particularly motivated – they have responded well to structure and direction in their training. We are excited about this group and are already planning for next year – the focus is still on training well, there are no short-cuts for those wanting to compete at major events.”