25 July 2023

By Tim Koch

Tim Koch claims to have left his homework on the bus.*

It is lucky that HTBS Types like a bit of nostalgia as my two posts on Henley’s finals day, Sunday 2 July, are so “late on the start” that they could qualify more as reminiscing than reporting. A trip to Lucerne for World Cup III closely followed by covering the Doggett’s Coat and Badge has slowed my output considerably. However, my Henley pieces are not an immediate results service, they are more an attempt to give an impression of a unique occasion. I could even argue that it is better to enjoy reliving the Royal Regatta some time after the immediate excitement of viewing it, either in person or via the video coverage, has died down.

Morning outings

Brilliant Brookes

Until Henley 2023, those of us that claim to know about the history of rowing would have confidently predicted that the days of one club dominating the regatta had long passed. However, Brookes won all seven of the finals that they reached and were victorious in the Prince Albert, Stewards’, Ladies’, Visitors’, Temple, Island and, in a composite with Leander, the Grand. 

In the Grand (Open M8+), Brookes and Leander beat Maple Bay Rowing Club, Canada, by 3 lengths.

In 1887, Trinity Hall, Cambridge, won five Henley finals, the Grand, Stewards’, Ladies’, Thames and Visitors’. There were only three other events at the time, the Wyfold, the Goblets and the Diamonds, so I could be churlish and say that Trinity Hall, winning five out of eight, got 62.5% of the silverware while Brookes, winning seven out of twenty-six, “only” got 26.9%. However, Brookes were not eligible for the four junior events so seven out of twenty-two gives them 31.8%. Still not too bad.

Terrific Thames

These days it seems strange to remember that Thames, one of the original “Grand Old Clubs,” went from 1957 to 2002 without a men’s Henley win and probably only survived by becoming a centre of excellence for women’s rowing after admitting female members in 1973. Thames women won what became the Princess Grace (Open W4x) in 2002 and since then have had six more Henley victories. Since their drought breaking Wyfold win in 2003, Thames men have had twelve wins at the Royal. The club had two Henley wins in 2018, two in 2021, three in 2022 and three this year with victories in the Thames, Wargrave and Britannia. 

The Leander Eight

Even by their high standards, it was a good regatta for Leander. The club won the Princess Grace, the Prince of Wales, the Town, the Queen Mother, the Silver Goblets, the Hambleden and the Fawley. The Grand Challenge Cup was won by the GB eight containing four Leander athletes. Leander were also in the finals of the Ladies Plate (losing by 3 feet), the Wargrave, the Double Sculls, the Stonor and the Remenham.

The Queen Mother (Open M4x): Nottingham Rowing Club and Leander Club beat Akademicki Zwiazek Sportowy Torun and Wloclawskie Towarzystwo Wioslarskie, Poland, by 1/2 length.

The Hambleden (Open W2-): R.E.S. Edwards & C.P.W. Brew, Leander Club, beat E.M. Lindberg & E.C. Witt, University of London and Imperial College London by 1 3/44 lengths.

The Fawley (Junior M4x): Leander Club “A” beat Hinksey Sculling School “A” by 3 3/4 lengths.

The Grand (Open M8+): Brookes and Leander beat Maple Bay Rowing Club, Canada, by 3 lengths.

*For the benefit of non-British readers, in the UK this is a traditional excuse given to teachers when a piece of school work is not handed in on time.