Connie Batley-Smith broke a British Championship record on her way to gold at the British Junior and Senior Championships in Nottingham.
Shanklin Sandown Rowing Club enjoyed an outstanding weekend at the British Junior and Senior Championships, held at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham from 17th to 20th July.
With more than 167 clubs from across Great Britain taking part and record-breaking entries, competition was fierce. Seventeen SSRC athletes made the journey, with every rower facing a time trial where only the fastest 36 crews progressed to the finals.
Connie Batley-Smith, who remains unbeaten in her age group this season and had already tasted international success after helping the British team to victory in France the previous weekend, once again demonstrated her class.
After comfortably negotiating the heats and semi-finals, Connie produced a thrilling finish in the final, battling back from a length down before timing her sprint to perfection. Her victory earned her the British championship title and a new Championship record of 3 minutes 57 seconds over the 1,000m course.
There were also impressive performances throughout the club.
In the J14 single sculls, Josh Batchelor qualified sixth fastest from the time trial before reaching the B Final. Taking the lead from the start, Josh controlled the race superbly, responding to challenges before producing a decisive final 250m to win by a length.
Anna Scott and Esme Walters also reached a B Final after finishing 10th in the time trial and semi-final. They held second place until the 700m mark before slipping back slightly over the closing stages to finish fourth in the B Final, securing 10th place overall.
Several SSRC crews gained valuable championship experience in the minor finals.
Digby Ridgwell impressed in his first season of single sculling by qualifying for the D Final, while senior rowers Esme Walters and Arlo Adds both produced personal best performances in the Club single sculls, improving their previous best times by a minute and 35 seconds respectively.
Championship debutants Martha Eggleton and Alex Collier earned places in the F Final after strong time trials, continuing to increase their boat speed with every race. Evie Crew and Theodora Travers reached the E Final, where they claimed second place in a blanket finish after a closely contested race.
Digby Ridgwell and Isaac King also narrowly missed victory, leading throughout much of their race before finishing second by a length.
Rose, Ella, Isaac, Fin, Tobin and Lottie all performed well in the time trials but, with some events attracting more than 80 competitors, were unable to secure one of the 36 available final places.
Club captain Garry Walters praised the squad’s efforts, saying:
“To win another British Championships gold and gain two B finals in the biggest event in the country was remarkable. For Connie to break the Championship record was the icing on the cake.
“However, strength in depth is really apparent and valued at the club, with so many of our athletes training really hard and learning invaluable lessons from this experience and multi-lane racing.
“We are extremely proud of all our rowers and excited for what the future holds for them.”
