Image Credit: AllMarkOne
Filippi enjoyed a great start to the GBRT 2024/25 trialling process, taking one overall win out of three on offer and consolidating a variety of top-ten finishes. With hundreds of athletes shipping up to Boston to take on a weekend of indoor and outdoor racing in the first national action since the conclusion of an epic summer of sport, the stakes were high and performances overseen by selectors.
Our stand-out result was a category win for George Bourne of Cambridge University in the men’s single. The British international – who made several World Rowing A-finals during his stint at the men’s single sculler throughout the 2024 season – is now plying his trade under Rob Baker at Cambridge and will be deep in preparation for The Boat Race. He won by around half a second of Cedol Dafydd of Leander Club. “It was awesome to race a Filippi at GB trials this November and come away with a narrow victory,” said George. “I had watched Filippi boats do incredibly well at the Paris Olympic Games, especially across the small boat fields, and I was keen to try one myself. I was lucky enough to race in an F14 hull, which was incredibly smooth and stable. The boat mould is beautiful and feels incredibly sleek and racey to use. I was delighted to come away with the win at this first trial of the season, and I hope to partner with Filippi again in the future.”
Rory Harris placed third overall, Oliver Costley finished sixth, and Stephen Hughes placed 11th, narrowly outside the top ten. All three raced in Filippi shells in Leander Club colours.
On the women’s side, Olympic gold medallist Lauren Henry claimed the overall win, dominating the field and triumphing by 40 seconds. Our highest finisher was Zara Povey of Reading University, who had a brilliant row to place sixth overall and finish as the fastest U23 athlete. Three places behind her was Vwaire Obukohwo, who finished ninth in Twickenham Rowing Club colours. Cam Nyland was 11th, racing for Leander Club.
Only the men raced in pairs this season, and it was the duo of Josh Burke and Max Deering from Thames Rowing Club who finished third overall and placed highest in Filippi colours. Noam Mouelle and Luca Ferraro, 2024 Boat Race winners, were fifth overall whilst representing Cambridge University, seven seconds back on the winning pairing from fierce rivals Oxford University. Tom Cross and Zachariah Oblesby were eighth in London Rowing Club colours, slightly ahead of Durham University’s Charles Warren and William Morgan-Jones, who closed out the top ten.
