27 October 2026

By Tim Koch

Tim Koch watches six scullers show their mettle.

As reported yesterday, on 27 October George Bourne won the 186th Wingfield Sculls and Imogen Grant won the 20th Women’s Wingfields. A report on the latter will follow soon. Both scullers had also won last year.

Sam Meijer previewed the men’s race:

Defending champion George Bourne of Leander heads a field of six that includes former winner Callum Dixon. Bourne won gold in the Men’s Four at the 2025 World Championships and took bronze in this summer’s Worlds… Olympian Callum Dixon of Twickenham, Wingfield’s Champion in 2024 and a World bronze medalist in the quad this summer, will want to make amends for fading to fourth last year. They are joined by Leander’s Jamie Gare, the GB single at this summer’s European Championships, and Hereford’s Jamie Coombes, this year’s British Rowing Club Championships single sculls winner and third place finisher at the Sculler’s Head. Max Raymond-Barker of Lea, the 2024 British Club champion, returns after finishing fifth last year, and Luke Watts of Queen’s University Belfast brings eight New Zealand senior titles.

Sam also wrote the official race report that I will reproduce here in bold italics interspersed with my photographs. While the day was warm, dry and sunny (uncharacteristic of recent weather conditions) there was a strong westerly wind blowing down the course against the tide producing some very rough conditions in places, notably Hammersmith Bridge to the Chiswick crossover and approaching the finish.

At times the “tin fish” that I was following the race in was bouncing around so much that taking pictures proved impossible and simply hanging on proved advisable, hence there are some gaps in the visual record. My thanks to Luca Ferraro for taking the tiller, I never expected to be in the same boat as a three-time Boat Race winner.

At the athlete lane selection at London RC before the race, defending champion Bourne, elected to select the Surrey lane. As other athletes’ names were called, they all drew lanes from the Surrey bank in a foreshadowing of what was to come.

After a quick start, Dixon (2024 Champion), Bourne and Coombes shot out with Gare and Watts close behind. Down the line of boats at Putney, this group extended to a two-length lead over Raymond-Barker of Lea Rowing Club.

With the conditions settling, Dixon, now moving into the centre of the river, opened a lead on the group of Gare, Bourne and Coombes.

To umpire this close race, Raymond-Barker was passed by the following launches with the positions of the leading athletes unchanged.

Dixon extended his lead on Bourne approaching the Milepost, with Bourne starting to move on Gare and Coombes.

Bourne, on the Surrey bank, started to find better water as they approached Harrods wall, and the two front runners drew level.

Coming through Hammersmith, Bourne took a slight lead on Dixon as they moved into the rougher water. With both scullers missing strokes and losing blades in the chop, Bourne made the better of it and ducked into the bank. Dixon fell back, catching one too many waves, and Gare seized the initiative, closing on to Bourne to get overlap.

Two races now developed around the bend, with Dixon struggling in the conditions trying to hold off Coombes and Gare challenging Bourne for the leading spot.

As the crews completed the turn and set off down the Eyot, Bourne won his battle with Gare, extending his lead to a couple of lengths, and Coombes overhauled the 2024 Olympian and Wingfield Champion, Dixon, to hold the third spot.

Passing the bandstand, the positions remained unchanged with Coombes behind Gare and Bourne.

At Barnes Bridge, Bourne and Coombes, advised by their steerers, took the inside arch, with Gare in the centre.

As the conditions worsened once again, the positions remained unchanged and eventually Bourne crossed the line first to take his second victory in the Wingfield Sculls.

Wingfields Secretary, Sam Meijer, concluded:

The river threw everything it had at us today. Conditions were nearly unrowable, Uber boats were in the way, the tide turned significantly later than predicted and our launches were held up by impassable locks. Despite this, we had two exciting and dramatic races… All scullers that raced made the most of these incredibly challenging conditions and were a credit to themselves, and their clubs and coaches.

The 2027 Wingfield Sculls will take place on Sunday 31st October, with races starting at approximately 11.30 and 13.00. Due to the number of entries received this year, the committee is reviewing the possibility of holding heats, and more information on this will be released closer to the race.

A recording of the livestream is on YouTube.