Leander Club demonstrated their command to perform with an impressive display of power and dominance on the water with a helping hand from strong tail winds and a quick tide they were untouchable. The club were keen to display how their summer training and preparation for the Head season has been productive and clearly successful.
The club cultivated a winning women’s Championship 4+ made up of three Tokyo Olympians from the eight squad and a European silver medallist with assistance from a gold medal winning cox from the 2022 PR3 4+ to navigate them down the Thames. They produced an impressive time of 19:53.7, which knocked the standing record set 24 years ago by Queens Tower BC and Marlow RC off its top spot.
Some could argue that setting off first at a head is a hinderance but Leander’s stroke George Bourne, of the fastest crew of the day the Open Championship 4x- couldn’t disagree more. He used the clear line and conditions to his advantage taking his squad to victory, with Leander’s second quad following closely behind. But the record for fastest crew of the day was just out of reach for the club, set by Tideway Scullers back in 2006 it remains untouched until the 2023 Fours Head where a new crew will have the opportunity to take the title.
The thrilling day of racing lead to 10 out of 12 course records being broken with 5 of the new titles being taken home by Leander, it was a successful day across the board for the club.
Overall, the Fours head and its 468 competing crews set the pace for the standard of rowing expected in the forthcoming races of the Head season. While also allowing a glimpse of what we could expect in the 2023 Regatta season from some of the country’s top crews.