Mens 8+, Greg Searle, Mo Sbihi, James Foad
Mens 2-, Andrew Hodge
Mens 2-, Cam Nichol
Injured, Tom James, Tom Ransley, Peter Marsland
Despite FISA's attempts to ruin one of the most beautiful lakes on the international scene, 5 Molesey men were competing at the wonderful setting in Slovenia.
First out were the pairs, after some inconclusive results in the heats and semi's, both boats were looking to step up and make an impression on their respective opponents. Cam, with Tommy Burton, in the B final were fighting it out with China, France and Serbia, all going through the 1000m's as a lead group, with each stroke, GB and China pair broke free and sprinting to the line, china just managed to pip our boys to win.
While Hodge, with Pete Reed, had a good heat, their semi-final left a lot to improve on and 7 second gap on the leading, and long term rivals, New Zealand pair. The final saw both boats breaking through the field with 1500m gone, with NZ a length up, coming to the line the British Pair brought this back to half a length. While there is a lot of work to do, this is a must stronger start to the season than last year, and makes for an exciting season.
Meanwhile the Men's Eight, with Searle, Foad and Sbhih, looked to make their first impression with significant changes from last year championship 8+. With coach John West mentoring this young* crew, they settled into a strong rhythm through to the 1000m mark, after which the engaged 5th gear, they picked up the boat and sent it further every stroke, powering there way to dominate the final, and the Gold medal.... Watch this space, especially with two Tom's to come back and strengthen this 8 further!
*Searle isn't young anymore, but he's still got it!
World Cup II - Munich, Germany, 18th to the 20th.
World Cup III - Lucerne, Switzerland, 9th to the 11th.
Watch the finals at Molesey, after training!
