Bexhill rowers triumph at Olympic venue

The river race was a straight 2,000 metres, as opposed to the usual coastal rules that require a turn at the mid-way point.

The crew of Joe Guppy, Matt Hellier, Mark Mitchell and Kieran Cahill, coxed by Laura Quinn, were up against 14 other boats drawn from experienced clubs and universities in the intermediate 2 coxed fours (Division 1) event.

In the heats, Bexhill got off to a very good start and built up a decent lead over the opening 500m and although their closest rivals put a spurt on at halfway, the local crew held on to win by four seconds in a time of 7.28.

The final was contested in very windy conditions which meant some crews were struggling to stay straight and line-up so the umpires decided to have a rolling start. This did not favour Bexhill who boosted the fastest start but one of the slowest times for the second 500m.

Quinn managed to hold her own and steering a very tricky course, guided Bexhill to victory by five seconds from closest rivals St Hild & St Bede.