Record numbers at Henley Royal Regatta Qualifying Races sees tight contests across 23 trophies
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· Henley Royal Regatta Qualifying Races results
· HRR runs Tuesday, 2 July until Sunday, 7 July
· The Draw – 12:00 Saturday, 29 June, follow live on X and YouTube
Walk by the Boat Tents during Qualifiers at Henley Royal Regatta and you might just catch sight of one of sport’s most rewarding moments. When results for the various time-trials are posted on the board, or read out over the tannoy, the wild celebrations from successfully qualified crews are indicative of the privilege that many consider a row down the Henley Royal Regatta Course during race week to be.
With a record entry in 2024 – 772 Entries across 27 nations – today’s Qualifying Races have had to whittle down the starting grid in all but three of the 26 trophies on offer. 470 crews took part in the racing which, after results were posted, became 133 progressing through to Regatta week – leaving competitors with a 28% chance of making the Draw.
“2024 has seen a record number of crews coming to try and compete at Henley Royal Regatta, so naturally that means Qualifying Race Day is more ruthless than ever before,” said Sir Steve Redgrave, Chair of the Committee of Management for Henley Royal Regatta. “We have seen large entry lists in categories from junior quads up to the premier women’s eight event in The Remenham Challenge Cup, which has meant that some top ranked athletes have had to compete here today.”
Adopting the format of winter head racing, Qualifying Races at Henley Royal Regatta are in time-trial format, with crews in each trophy taking on the Course in roughly 30-second intervals. The challenge is physical but also psychological – competing against nothing but the clock, without knowledge of how fast your opponent is going.
Molesey Boat Club – which regularly sends a variety of crews to Henley Royal Regatta from juniors to seniors – had 11 boats competing in today’s qualifying. “Qualifying Race Day has a unique atmosphere that we are very excited the crews will be able to experience, “ said Helen Taylor, Lead Junior Coach at Molesey. “Racing at Henley Royal Regatta is not something that can ever be taken for granted, with many rowing for years before they may achieve their goal. Being part of today allows everyone to share this together; from 15-year-olds seeing the booms and boat tents for the first time, club rowers training around a full-time job, trialists challenging themselves against the very best in the world to the alumni coming back for one more run down the course.”
Edinburgh University were in a celebratory mood after qualifying all four of their boats to the main Draw, including three women’s eight’s in The Island Challenge Cup.
Collin Williamson, Lead Coach at Edinburgh University said: “The most pleasing thing is how many of our beginner squad have got in today. We have three women’s eights and in that third eight, half of them started rowing this year and half of them started rowing last year. Our second men’s coxed four contains beginners from this season too so I think it’s just a real testament to our beginner rowing programme under Mike Hughes. I think this number of qualified boats is the most we’ve ever had in the Regatta. We’re not done yet though; we want to progress through a few rounds but in terms of overall performance, that is probably one of our best years ever.”
Henley Royal Regatta will be flush with international representation in 2024, as 218 overseas crews were accounted for at Close of Entries. Several of them raced today and qualified boats into the Draw, including A.S.R. Nereus, Netherlands. Their Temple Challenge Cup ‘B’ eight, which made the 16-boat cut, is coached by Timo Van Wittmarschen. “We are ecstatic to have made it and we are going to race and do our best and show everyone what we’ve got next week.”
To continue the good news story for Nereus, Lars Kreiter qualified into The Diamond Challenge Sculls. He said: “It was a long dream to get here but I’m really glad I made the journey. It was a fantastic race and I’m just glad to be here competing at the Regatta”.
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