Over 300 crews took to the water at a somewhat wet and soggy Schools’ Head of the River over the weekend to race over the reverse Championship course in London.
Among the hundreds of junior rowers were seven crews from Bedford School, who, with very little racing under their belts due to weather disruption, had no real idea of how fast they were. It turns out they were very fast indeed.
Despite the dire weather conditions, the boys should be thoroughly pleased with what turned out to be a brilliant day of racing, securing a win in every first eight age group category (three golds in total).
The performance of the day must go to the 1st VIII who competed in the School Boys First Eights. The race was a runaway two-part train, with the Bedford boys head to head with St Joseph’s College, Ireland for most of the race – almost 30 seconds ahead of everyone else in the group. It was a tense race, but in the end it was the Bedford eight who crossed the line first – four seconds ahead of St Joseph’s. This was the Bedford School Boat Club’s first win in this event since 2018, placing Bedford 12th overall, ahead of Hampton and Abingdon’s 1st VIIIs.
Pete Mulkerrins, Director of Rowing, praised the crew, saying: “I am lucky to work with a great group of coaches who have helped develop a technical model that is used by all year groups. This year’s athletes have dedicated themselves to the program, and I am immensely pleased that they achieved the results they deserved.”
Meanwhile, the Colts won the Junior 16 1st eights category, and the Junior 15 A won the Junior 15 1st eights category. While these are second tier categories, both crews finished sixth in their year groups and, in doing so, place themselves in a strong position of reaching a much-coveted final position at the National Schools Regatta in May.
The B crews all rowed well too, with the second eight finishing 14th, the Colts B 7th, Junior 15 B 8th and Junior 15 C 20th.
This is first time the Junior 15s have won the 1st eights event, the second time the Colts have won and the third time the 1st eight have won. However, it is definitely the first time the school has won all three in the same year!
