The 163rd Marlow Regatta proved a real challenge for Exeter Rowing Clubs top crews but yielded some of the best results in the clubs recent history. Two coxless fours made the long journey from Devon, to the Olympic venue at Eton Dorney to mix it up with some of the best talent in the country.
The event kicked off with 1900m time trials to sort the crews into their finals. The first run down the course was to settle places in the tier two event. It proved to be a very close match between Exeter A and B with the second boat running the course only two seconds down. Unfortunately for the B crew in such a competitive event, that wasn’t enough to make the B final and they had to settle for a place in the C final.
The next time trial was to settle places for the championship final and both crews upped their game from the first event to both land a place in the C final.
The A crew, disappointed with their time trial performances, stepped up their game to take a win in the B final. Whilst the B crew struggled to convert their previous speed into a result in the C final.
Both crews had been improving all day and were raring for a chance to deliver a result in the Champ C final. The A crew threw down a big start to put themselves into the race and quickly pulled ahead of opposition they’d been battling with in the tier two.
The B crew rediscovered their earlier speed and held onto the 2nd place finishers of the tier two B final, eventually only losing out by half a length.
The end results of 3rd and 5th in the Champ C final proved impressive enough to see the Exeter A crew prequalified for Henley Royal Regatta and the B crew itching to prove themselves at qualifiers next Friday.
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