Veterans race to Head of the River

Led by Imperial’s Head of Rowing, a veteran crew proved they are still Head of the River at the annual race from Chiswick Bridge to Putney Pier

A team of sporting heroes took to the water on Sunday 21 March 2009 for the annual Veterans Head of the River rowing race organised by Imperial College’s Boat Club.

The team was made up of four gold medallists from the men’s eights team at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, Simon Dennis (Biology 1997), Louis Attrill (Civil Engineering 1997), Steve Trapmore (Head of Rowing at Imperial College) and Kieran West, as well as Henley Royal Regatta winner in 2004 and 2008 George Whittaker (Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology 2004), John Dick (Department of Materials postgraduate student), Bronze World Rowing Champion Dan Ouseley, and a member of GBR Challenge's sailing team Iain Weighell. Seb Pearce (Mechanical Engineering 2005) completed the team, as cox.

Competing against over 200 veteran crews from rowing clubs all over the UK, the 20-minute race from Chiswick Bridge to Putney Pier was quite a challenge for those crew members who hadn’t raced for four or five years.

Describing the race, the Imperial College Boat Club said: “The first minute was flawless, sharp clean catches and a steady 36 strokes per minute pace and by Barnes Bridge the crew had overtaken Alexandra Boat Club, but were struggling to hold a steady rate. Cox Seb Pearce realised very early on that fitness was going to be a major issue for the performance. With core stability the first to give way, Seb quite suddenly had a clear view of the river as each member had slumped down into their seat. The race-plan was altered, telling the crew repeatedly and with little effect, to sit-up.

Despite the challenge the team won outright, in a time of 19:40:12, five seconds ahead of Danske Studenters Roklub.

The veteran’s race was preceded by the Men’s Head of the River Race; the Imperial team comprised four student crews of eight. The first, second, third and fourth crews ranked 12th, 70th, 76th and 187th respectively out of the 409 crews competing.

More information about the Imperial College Boat Club and their alumni activities can be found at www.imperialboatclub.co.uk/icbc-alumni.html.