Filippi enjoyed another successful Henley Royal Regatta, claiming four Trophies and supporting dozens of boat clubs in their campaigns to secure silverware. Despite shockingly poor conditions – with many stating that 2024 was the wettest Regatta on record – crews performed admirably throughout the six days of competition and the racing was top-notch.
In the fourth race of a jam-packed Final Day, Jamie Gare and Cedol Dafydd of Leander Club took a convincing win in The Double Sculls Challenge Cup, beating their American opposition of Penn Athletic Club Rowing Association and Saugatuck Rowing Club, U.S.A. – who were also in a Filippi – by two lengths.
Our second win came via a brilliant and brave performance from Marlow Rowing Club, who took The Wyfold Challenge Cup for club coxless fours in breathtaking fashion. Despite being led for much of the 2112m course, the boys in red – featuring 2019 Diamond Challenge Sculls hero Matt Brigham – held strong and charged down a resilient Thames Rowing Club through the Enclosures. Despite a late clash in neutral water, Marlow drifted over the line in the lead to secure a historic win.
Our third and fourth victories came back-to-back, starting with Shawnigan Lake School of Canada securing The Princess Grace Challenge Cup for open women’s quad sculls. Racing against a composite from Canada and Switzerland, they led at every timing marker to win by three quarters of a length. Jeannine Gmelin – who was racing at Henley Royal Regatta after failing to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games – was in the losing finalist crew.
To round off the day, Niki Van Sprang & Guillaume Krommenhoek of Hollandia Roeiclub, Netherlands took home The Silver Goblets and Nickalls’ Challenge Cup, defeating the pairing from Berliner Ruderclub and Frankfurter Rudergesellschaft Germania 1869 e.V., Germany easily. Niki and Guillaume are spares for the Dutch Olympic team in 2024 after narrowly missing out on qualifying their pair for the regatta itself. Their victory on the Henley stretch was Niki’s second and showcased the power of Henley as an antidote to recent disappointment.
Elsewhere, Marlow Rowing Club enjoyed a stunning Regatta, reaching two further finals in both junior quad categories. Although they lost both contests, the strength of their squad is not to be underestimated. Filippi boats were present throughout the business end of the event, including in The Remenham Challenge Cup final (a race which Oxford Brookes won over Princeton Training Center and Advanced Rowing Initiative of the Northeast, U.S.A) and The Britannia Challenge Cup, where Royal Chester narrowly lost out to Thames Rowing Club (who claimed their third successive Trophy).
Attention now turns to the 2024 Olympic Rowing Regatta, as nations from across the world descend on Paris in the hope of winning gold on the grandest stage of them all. Over half of the boats on the starting grid will be Filippi and we are so excited to see how this festival of world-class talent unfolds.
