2023 HENLEY REGATTA
Before we start our recap, The Rowing Association would like to acknowledge the generous support from parents and alums that made it possible for Stanford to be at Henley this year. Cheers of "Go Stanford" were very audible in the videos - we know there were a lot of supportive fans on-site. One of the livestream announcers mentioned this was a once-every-few years trip for the team, and we're hoping to make it as often as possible!
As usual, before reading our recap, first make sure to view the replay of each race, if you missed them earlier!
The Stanford W4- today raced Leander Club, with a boathouse just beyond the finish line of Henley and a site of GB national team development. This being an open event, the team may also have included some post-college athletes. With these things in mind, Stanford's W4- did incredibly well, making it to semi-final day at Henley and actually leading the race for a good portion. The Leander team rowed steady and edged out Stanford by only a 1/2 length (equivalent to a few seats in an 8+) over 2,112 meters. We're incredibly proud of these athletes to represent Stanford so well against international competition after rowing all year in a different format (W8+).
The Stanford W8+ raced a familiar college competitor on Saturday, the Quakers from Penn, whose 1V8 placed 4th at NCAAs. The livestream announcers, including Aquil Abdullah (Henley Steward from the US), give a lot of commentary on the boat lineups to put things into context, so we would highly recommend watching the replay. This was going to be a great competition for Stanford, and they performed extremely well, including rising sophomore Alice Baker only having four days in the stroke seat!
Reaching the semi-finals, holding close for much of it, and only falling by 1 1/2 lengths was a great achievement. The W8+ had a great week of racing at Henley and the result is an exciting precursor to the 23/24 season!
On a final note, for those who want to see how the M2- semis turned out for the Yale pair, at least watch the first minute of the Geffen/Beeson v. Wynne-Griffith/George M2- race. It shows how tough and heartbreaking Henley can be for uncoxed sweep events!
We're looking forward to seeing Stanford athletes in international competition this summer as well as the season next year.
