28 June 2024

By Tim Koch

Tim Koch has his ear to the water.

I hear of ambitious plans to stage a rowing regatta between 2nd and 7th July in a small town sited an hour from London. According to Wikipedia, the quaintly named “Henley-on-Thames” is “a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, 9 miles (14 km) northeast of Reading, 7 miles (11 km) west of Maidenhead, 23 miles (37 km) southeast of Oxford and 37 miles (60 km) west of London… The population at the 2021 census was 12,186.”

For those of you with a home computer and dial-up access to the World Wide Web, the so-called “Henley Royal Regatta” has an interesting and informative website. 

For events where more entries have been received than the number of crews permitted, qualifying races for certain crews were held on the Henley Reach on the afternoon and evening of 28 June. The results are here. The Draw will take place at 12 noon on Saturday, 29 June in Henley Town Hall and it can be viewed on the regatta’s YouTube channel.

A press release says:

This summer’s Henley Royal Regatta sees a record number 772 Entries, eclipsing the 2022 record of 739. Entries closed on Monday, 17 June with a total of 27 nations registered overall, the highest ever in the event’s 185-year history. The Entry list features 554 domestic and 218 overseas Entries breaking the 200 barrier for the first time. The list includes a record Entry from Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA, and our first-ever representation for Algeria, with their men’s Olympic single sculler. This year will see the most races ever at Henley Royal Regatta of 409, up by 15 on last year.

The press release goes onto preview some events and crews:

Fantastic Four for Zeidler?

Oliver Zeidler, the reigning World and European Champion, is returning to seek a fourth Diamond Challenge Sculls title before going for Olympic gold in Paris. Following a record-breaking 2023, which saw the 27-year-old single scull specialist named World Rowing Men’s Crew of the Year, Zeidler will arrive at Henley this year as the one to beat. 

Rematch of Estonia vs USA

Only a few weeks ago Estonia took the last qualifying place in Lucerne in the men’s quads for the Paris Olympics, with the USA missing out by 0.13 of a second. They have both entered the Regatta in The Queen Mother Challenge Cup, with the USA crew having something to prove. But both crews won’t have it all their own way as the depth of talent in this event is outstanding.

Los Angeles Olympic Hopefuls

Canadian, American, Dutch, German and British development teams are entering our open events, with many of the athletes just missing out on Olympic qualification this year.  

Oxford Brookes going for three in a row 

Oxford Brookes will be attempting to make it a hat-trick of wins in The Temple Challenge Cup for men’s student eights. Last year, the University secured the largest trophy haul ever by any rowing club in a single Henley Royal Regatta, winning all seven of the contests it competed in on Finals Day.

Top international junior eights going head-to-head

The Prince Philip Challenge Trophy for junior women’s eights is set to feature the first, second and third ranked crews from the USA, plus the Australian national champions. Hinksey Sculling School, after a solid win at the National Schools’, will also be a strong contender. 

Meanwhile, The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup for junior men’s eights will feature New Zealand’s national champions, Australia’s second ranked crew as well as USA’s fifth ranked crew. St Paul’s School, having won the National Schools’ Regatta, leads the British challenge. 

Watch out for Wycliffe

One school crew determined to better their 2023 performance – which saw them leave as beaten finalists – will be Wycliffe College, who are returning in The Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup this summer with a crew that is currently unbeaten on the domestic circuit. They won championship quads against a selection of senior and junior crews at the Metropolitan Regatta and have several junior internationals on board. It is arguably one of the strongest junior women’s quads this year.