Filippi crews delivered a dominant set of results at the April GB Rowing Team Senior and U23 Trials, with category sweeps, overall victories and standout individual performances across the sculling and sweep events. From the A-final of the women’s double through to the para single, the trials underlined the depth of Filippi’s presence at the highest level of British rowing.
The April trials represent one of the most important selection events on the GB Rowing calendar, with places in the national squad and international representation at stake across both the senior and under-23 programmes. Racing over the 2000-metre course, crews are tested across time trials and finals across multiple days of competition. For Filippi, the results this year were particularly encouraging: a dominant performance in the women’s double sculls and strong showings throughout the sculling events provided compelling evidence of where the sport’s fastest athletes are placing their trust.
The standout story of the trials for Team Filippi came in the women’s double, where Filippi shells filled five of the six A-final spots and seven of the ten boats across both A and B-finals. The clean sweep at the top of the event was led by Lauren Henry and Imogen Grant, who took victory in a commanding 6:50.29. Henry, racing out of Leicester RC, and Grant (Upper Thames RC / Cambridge University BC) produced a controlled and authoritative row to take the win.
Behind them, Lola Anderson and Becky Wilde (Leander Club / Newcastle University BC and Leander Club / Bath University BC) took second place in 7:04.12, with Rebekah Court and Ellie Dash (Bath University BC / Hartpury University and College BC) rounding out the podium in third at 7:11.55. Fourth place also went to a Filippi crew, with Ellie Cooke and Poppy Baker (Reading University BC / Nottingham RC) finishing in 7:15.08. Sixth in the A-final was claimed by Grace Dawson and Lara Grant (Edinburgh University BC / Molesey BC) in 7:23.05, also in a Filippi hull, meaning only the fifth-placed boat across both finals raced in a different shell.
The men’s double offered further cause for celebration, with Filippi crews taking the top three places in the A-final and four of the six spots overall. Tobias Schroder and Cedol Dafydd (Leander Club / Oxford University BC and Leander Club / Crewbath) took victory in a quick 6:16.13, with James Cartwright and Jamie Gare (Leander Club / City of Cambridge RC) finishing second in 6:20.72. Edward Fuller and Matt Long (Reading University BC / Kingston RC) completed the Filippi podium in third at 6:22.86.
Across both A and B finals, seven of the 13 entries raced in Filippi shells, a majority share of the field that reflects the boat’s reputation in the men’s sculling programme.
In the women’s pair, Sarah Marshall and Heidi Long of Oxford University BC took second place in the A-final with a time of 7:08.74, finishing just 1.35 seconds behind the event winners. After winning The Boat Race just a week before, these results underline the credentials of the Dark Blue programme. Additionally, Holly Youd and Katherine George (Molesey BC / Leander Club and Princeton University) claimed third in the A-final in 7:09.28, with George’s U23 status making them the fastest under-23 pair at the trials.
In the PR1 men’s single sculls, both finalists raced in Filippi shells, with Paralympic champion Benjamin Pritchard of City of Swansea RC taking victory in 9:12.50 ahead of Jake Woods of Strathclyde Park RC in 9:16.91. That both athletes contesting the final chose Filippi is a meaningful statement about the boat’s suitability for adaptive rowing, and we take considerable pride in it.
Across both the senior and U23 programmes, these results point to a Filippi fleet at the very front of Great Britain’s international selection process. Three event wins, multiple podium finishes, and dominant boat counts in both the men’s and women’s doubles make this one of the strongest trials performances for Team Filippi in recent seasons. With the international calendar now approaching and selection decisions pending, we wish every crew the very best as they push for GB vests over the months ahead.
