College rowers make indoor mark

Rossiter claims bronze at Velodrome

PANGBOURNE College’s Edward Digby won a gold medal at the British Indoor Rowing Championships at the Olympic Velodrome in Lea Valley at the weekend.

He won the Sixth Form Boys event in 6:13.5 for the 2k a full second ahead of Adam Stephenson from Twickenham Rowing Club with Dom Sullivan from RSSNC a further 6.5 seconds adrift in third.

Digby had enough time to recover and join his teammates, Philip Garnier, Ian Blanch and John Pan for the final race of the event which was the junior boys’ eight minute relay. Competing under the team name “One stroke too many”, Pangbourne’s quartet led almost from the first stroke to beat Bedford Modern School Boat Club, which had won this event for the previous two years.

Also in action and topping the best season of his career so far was Donnington's World Cup winner Matt Rossiter, who claimed bronze in the open event behind two other GB rowing team members Adam Neill, who reclaimed his title from 2016 in a time of 5:48.2, and Tom Jeffrey in 5:53.0.

Rossiter's time was just 0.3 behind to take the bronze with another GB rower Calum McBrierty in fourth place, another five seconds adrift.

All the pre-race publicity had surrounded former Olympic cycling champion Bradley Wiggins, who had publicly stated his intention to claim a spot at the Tokyo Olympics in the GB Rowing Team and said he was “not there to compete against the man from Tesco's but to take on the GB rowers”. He finished 21st in 6:22.5.