European Win for Imperial Rowers

Imperial female four celebrate their gold at the European University Championships

Four female Imperial rowers win gold at European University Championships on 16 July beating French, Swiss, German, Croatian and other UK crews

On Wednesday 12 July, a group of four Imperial rowers – Maddalena Ardissino, Amy Gibson, Eleanor Disney and Pippa England – headed to Serbia to compete in the European University Rowing Championships. 

Having missed out on a BUCS medal very narrowly, the European Championships provided the ideal chance for the crew to take home a medal. On Friday 14 July, the team competed and won in a race for lanes against French, Swiss, German, Croatian and other British crews, a great start to the competition.  

Imperial row to victory at European University Rowing Championships

During the finals on Sunday 16 July, the wind picked up heavily throughout the afternoon, creating trickier racing conditions. The strong winds caused an accident on the start pontoon, which delayed the start of the final race by over an hour. Fortunately, the crew's experiences training on the Thames, with strong currents and winds, put them in a good position and they stayed positive while they waited. 

After a good start, the Imperial four dropped the French and British crews immediately, but the other crews were harder to shake. By the 1km mark, the team had established a comfortable lead which they maintained, absorbing the pushes from the other crews well, they rowed their way to first place, and a gold medal. 

Two of the girls in the crew, Eleanor Disney and Amy Gibson, have now graduated from Imperial, having successfully completed a Masters in Bioengineering and Applied Biosciences respectively.

"Winning gold at European University Championships was incredible." said Maddalena Ardissino, reflecting on their outstanding result. "This was Amy and Eleanor's last race as students at Imperial, and it was a fantastic way to crown their time at the University. Myself and Philippa England, are going into our fifth year of Medicine and 2nd year of Biochemistry respectively, and will be around for a while longer to build on this result in the coming years."