Imperial rowers help GB place third at European Universities Rowing Championship

The gold medal winning lightweight men's coxless four. From left to right: Tim Richards, Wilf Kimberley, Myles Holbrough and Paul Jones

Imperial crews round out rowing season with strong performance at European Universities Rowing Championship

Imperial crews built on a strong rowing season as they helped power Great Britain to third overall at the bi-annual European Universities Rowing Championships (EURC) in Poznan last weekend, placing behind Germany and host nation Poland. Three of Great Britain’s twelve medals were won by Imperial crews, meaning Imperial’s tally was higher than any other British university. 

A gold medal went to Imperial’s lightweight men’s coxless four consisting of Tim Richards (Medicine), Wilf Kimberley (Life Sciences), Myles Holbrough and Paul Jones (both Materials). Both Tim and Wilf were part of a British crew which won a gold medal at the recent Under 23 World Championships, but the Imperial team of four only had two weeks together in their boat to practice. 

Tim said, “It was great to be able to do something with the Imperial crew on an international stage. Although we only had two weeks together going into the competition, we knew we had a good thing going because we hadn’t once been beaten in England.”

The silver medal winning women's quadrupal scull. L - R: Michelle Vezie, Myriam Goudet, Georgie Phillips and Hannah Patterson

Michelle Vezie (Physics), Myriam Goudet (Life Sciences), Georgie Phillips, and Hannah Patterson (both Medicine) made up Imperial’s women’s quadrupal scull who won a silver medal, while the women’s double scull (Michelle and Myriam) received a bronze. 

It has been a season of achievements for Imperial’s rowing crews, who had the strongest performance of any university at the British Universities and College Sports (BUCS) regatta in early May, and recently won the prestigious Princes Albert Cup at the Henley regatta. 

Stuart Whitelaw, Head Coach at the Imperial College Boat Club said, “It’s been a very exiting summer. The EURC is a fantastic event where European universities come together every year to fight it out for their university and country, so it’s a great opportunity to mix with universities from all over Europe. It’s a tough event but our group of very talented athletes were thoroughly prepared”. 

Neil Mosley, Head of Sport, was similarly delighted with the result. “This is a wonderful achievement”, he said. “The standard at these competitions is always incredibly high, and on top of that the teams had a gruelling drive to Poland with all of their equipment to cope with.”

This year the entire Great Britain team was coordinated for the first time by Imperial’s Head Coach, Stuart Whitelaw. Neil adds, “Stuart has worked with a diverse field of talent from a number of far-flung UK universities, so for the entire team to place third under his guidance is a real credit to him.”

The team’s next challenge is the National Championships in mid-October, and while some have already started training others are taking a very well-earned break. “Our coach has told us to take a week off, so we’re heading to the south of France!” says Tim.

Follow their progress on the Imperial Boat Club website.