2nd attempt at this having got dodgy info from AI that luckily I checked!
Steve Redgrave has won titles in six different events at Henley. Only one other oarsman post WW2 has won five. He achieved that this afternoon (big clue). Who is he?
It is only two years since Oxford Brookes won the Grand at Henley – and the Remenham, the women’s equivalent. The University won all three student events - the Temple, the Island and the Prince Albert (beating their own second four in that event). Oh, and four of the Grand winning crew jumped back in the boat and won the open coxless fours, the Stewards (see photo).
I believe it was probably the single most impressive day’s rowing for any club, anywhere in the world, ever.
But since then, for reasons we won’t go into here, Brookes has unravelled. And results at Marlow Dorney regatta and Henley Women’s Regatta at the weekend has confirmed that. They are still one of the best rowing universities in the UK – but compared to 2024, the difference is stark.
So looking at Henley (HRR) this year - Brookes has a chance in the Temple, although I think Cambridge and a couple of US crews won’t be too worried about them. Their Ladies Plate (intermediate men) crew looks well of the pace based on Marlow, as do their Prince Albert and women’s crews generally. I hope Brookes do well, they have a large cohort of excellent athletes, and maybe they will come back to more success. But I would bet my house that 2024 will never be replicated again.
I know many in the rowing world are pleased about this. Never underestimate the power of jealousy. But I think it is a bit of a disaster for British rowing actually. It is good to see Oxford and Cambridge picking up some of the slack, but losing the Brookes pipeline to the GB squad is a real shame.
This is not be the end of the story though… watch this space.