Filippi enjoyed a sensational Henley Royal Regatta 2025, recording 11 wins across 27 Trophies and emerging as one of the most decorated boatbuilders across the course of the week. With temperatures soaring in the early stages of racing before Finals Day was greeted with storms rolling in from the East, the Regatta’s racing reflected the changing mood in the sky with a series of incredible contests.
All of our victories came in the Regatta’s ‘Premier’ categories, reserved for the fastest crews on the planet. Our two flagship wins came in The Grand and Remenham Challenge Cups for open and women’s Premier eights. In The Grand Challenge Cup, Rowing Australia took to the water in a new-look combination which featured the four athletes who won the Lucerne World Rowing Cup in the coxless four. Stroked by veteran and Olympic gold medallist, Alex Hill, this combination took down both the British (on home water) before striding out in the final to defeat the Dutch national eight.
In The Remenham Challenge Cup, the Netherlands, rowing as Hollandia Roeiclub, reversed the result from the European Rowing Championships just over a month ago to beat the British. What made this all the more impressive was the fact that four of these athletes had already beaten off British interest in The Town Challenge Cup for women’s Premier coxless fours earlier in the day. The strength of the Dutch rowing programme was in evidence across the Regatta, as they picked up a further three victories, as displayed below.
In The Princess Grace Challenge Cup for women’s Premier quads, the Dutch again emerged victorious ahead of the German bronze medallist outfit from the Paris Olympic Games, whilst the Rienks brothers collected The Silver Goblets and Nickalls’ Challenge Cup for open Premier coxless pairs in impressive fashion, seeing off a stubborn combination from Princeton University.
The final Dutch win came in The Diamond Challenge Sculls for open Premier single sculls, which was arguably the most competitive Trophy at this year’s Regatta. The starting grid contained no less than 16 full internationals, including reigning Olympic gold medallist Oliver Zeidler, Olympic bronze medallist Simon Van Dorp, Lucerne World Rowing Cup winner, Logan Ullrich and two-time Olympic silver medallist Melvin Twellaar.
In the end, it was Twellaar who emerged at the top of the pile, outflanking a spirited Finn Hamill in Sunday’s last race of the day. Hamill had already doubled up to compete in and win The Double Sculls Challenge Cup (in a Filippi for Rowing New Zealand) so his performances at the Regatta were an outstanding reflection on his current status in World Rowing’s hierachy.
Elsewhere, we enjoyed an all-Filippi final in The Stonor Challenge Trophy for women’s Premier double sculls. The Dutch combination of Olympic champion Benthe Boonstra and Roos De Jong faced up against the Greek pairing of Evangelia Anastasiadou and Zoi Fitsiou of Nautical Club of Kastoria and Nautical Club of Mavrochori, Greece. This race went to the wire, with the Dutch leading for practically the entire course before being overhauled by the fast-finishing Greeks in the last couple of strokes.
The star-studded Henley Royal Regatta roster would not have been complete without the Sinkovic brothers, who arrived in their new-look coxless four to compete for The Stewards’ Challenge Cup for open Premier coxless fours. Alongside the Loncaric siblings and racing for Croatian Rowing, they dispatached both the British national four and a development combination from Canada to take the victory.
In The Hambleden Pairs Challenge Cup for women’s Premier coxless pairs, Madeline Wanamaker and Claire Collins (racing as New York Athletic Club, U.S.A.)went on a brilliant run to the Trophy, defeating the Croatian national pair and a strong combination from Great Britain on the Sunday and Saturday, respectively.
Our final win came in The Princess Royal Challenge Cup for women’s Premier single sculls courtesy of the peerless Lauren Henry. Having already been crowned a European champion in the single to go alongside her two World Rowing Cup wins in June, Henry (racing for Leicester Rowing Club) arrived into Henley as the overwhelming favourite and made good on her potential, winning the final by several lengths in a record time. All eyes will now turn to the World Rowing Championships in September and whethe Henry – who won Olympic gold in the quad last summer – can complete a stunning 14 months of competition with the world title.
