King’s rowers shine at the Chester Virtual Regatta

Written by King’s Director of Rowing, Mr Blackham 

With the cancellation of the summer racing programme for all of the rowers, it has been a disappointing few months for the athletes who have not had the racing opportunities this summer. It was therefore fantastic to see so many King’s School Rowing Club (KSRC) athletes racing in the inaugural Chester Virtual Regatta. Athletes from clubs all over the world were able to compete in a single, double, four or eight (as part of a team on an ergo) or they could complete a 2ooo metre run in the best time possible. This regatta was a welcome addition to the challenges set to the rowers who have been competing a different challenge each week, the club is currently on challenge week 12! 

There were many notable results across the categories, the full club results can be seen below and well done to every member of the club who raced at the weekend. It was also fantastic to see in the ranks, OKS athletes, parents and siblings of current athletes, as well as Rex members and coaches from the KSRC coaching team. However, it wasn’t just about the competition, it was brilliant to see the oldest regatta in the world, Chester Regatta, continuing to run despite the closure of team sports. It was also great to see so many athletes competing and getting involved, the results below show great engagement from the club and it was brilliant to see club athletes supporting each other. 

The boys J15 VIII (composite with a Trentham RC member) produced an outstanding time to record the 5th quickest team ergo for adults and juniors, an average of 2:33.4 for the 750 metres. Only an equally superb 2:32.9 from Dulwich College pipped them to the silverware. Members of the team however weren’t to be outdone and George Munday, Ted Arnold, Luke Dillon and William Oleshko were victors in the quad event. The boys also finished in 1st & 2nd place in the double sculls, and completed the set when Luke Dillon was the overall winner of the J15 singles in a time of 2:15.2. The J15s also featured prominently in the running event, with Mahir Ahsan finishing in 6th place out of 35 competitors, Oliver Manning in 9th and George Munday 12th. The running event also featured great efforts from athletes in other squads. Luke Mulholland finished in 11th place overall, whilst in the Junior Novice Women’s event, Amy Ford finished in 5th, Isabella Jones 12th and Rachel Bosworth 17th out of 21 competitors. In the Experienced Junior Women’s event, Anushka Salvi finished in 3rd, Annabel Pochin 4th and Emma Bosworth 6th. Finally, there was a superb performance by Niall Eddleston (J16) who finished in 2nd place in the Experienced Junior Male category, Mr Levitt (OKS & coach) also challenged the top of the leaderboard in finishing in 2nd place in the Adult Novice Men’s category. 

In other regatta events, Will Standing and Angus Millard were victorious in the J18 double sculls, finishing in 1st place. Ben Threadgold and Fergus McKeown finished in a very respectable 6th place in the J14 double sculls event. Isabel Sykes recorded an excellent time to win the WJ15 single scull event. Behind Luke Dillon’s’ victory in the J15 singles, William Scott finished a very competitive 2nd place. In the J16 singles, Nathan Wilmot finished in 11th place, whilst in the J18 event, Daniel Sykes finished in 2nd place. A few coaching team results rounded off a fantastic day for the club, with Mr Roe finishing 3rd in the Open Mens Lightweight category, Dr Bosworth 6th in the Lightweight Masters D category and Mr James 6th in the Masters G category. 

Mrs Edwards continued her fantastic form this summer, after breaking a range of British ergo records earlier in the month. Mrs Edwards won the Women’s Masters F single sculls, with Dr Gillies in 8th place. Finally, the coaches got into the spirit of the event and entered a team of 8, winning the Masters C Mixed VIIIs event! 

Well done to everyone who entered, many thanks to the Chester Regatta committee and we look forward to racing on the water in 2021. 

Click here to view the Chester Regatta results page.

Chester Regatta – Ergo Results – 750 metre sprint 

Chester Regatta – Running Results – 2000 metres