Leppard and Cowburn lead the way at Abingdon Head

Two Henley Rowing Club J16 athletes, Diego Petrosillo and Oliver Rowley, represented the club at the 47th Ghent International Spring Regatta, held on the five-lane course over the weekend of 11–12 April.

Competing against strong international opposition from Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Cyprus and the UK, the pair raced in three events on Saturday and two on Sunday. Due to differing continental age group rules, Petrosillo and Rowley - J16s in the UK - were required to step up and compete primarily in U19 events. Despite the challenge, they delivered an impressive performance, with the highlight of their weekend coming in the U19 double sculls, where they placed eighth overall out of a 30-boat field.

Meanwhile, with many of Henley’s older juniors away in Seville for their Easter training camp, the club’s J14 boys made the most of the opportunity by holding a mini training camp at home. Their week of focused training concluded with racing at Abingdon Head, the final local head race of the season.

The event saw over 100 crews take on the 2,000m course along a winding stretch of the River Thames just outside Abingdon town centre. The narrow, twisty nature of the course, combined with busy race traffic, made for challenging and engaging racing conditions.

Henley’s J14 squad fielded three crews across two categories in the first division. With the wind picking up, conditions were far from easy. First to race was the quad of Milo Eyers, Hugo De Gouveia, Zach Norman and Nai Kennedy, coxed by Robert Finlaison. Racing up in the J15 open category, they produced a strong row to finish third overall.

Next came the doubles. William Cowburn and Thomas Leppard delivered an outstanding performance to take first place, while Wilf MacDonald and Ernie Sterjo secured fourth, both crews competing against tough opposition from clubs including Maidenhead and Reading.

Also training alongside the J14 squad during the week were visiting athletes David and Tamsin Kidwell from Windermere Rowing Club. They capped off their stay by racing at Abingdon Head, where they claimed victory in the Mixed Masters F double and recorded the fastest mixed crew time of the day.