Ross Rowing Club took three crews to the prestigious Interregional Regatta at Holme Pierrepont in Nottingham on Saturday to represent the West Midlands region, and came away with a coveted bronze medal.

First to race was Elsa Sykes in the WJ16 single scull event and raced very well against top opposition to finish eighth overall.

Next, the WJ15 double scull of Lara Banks-Martin and Daisy Phillips won their first heat. They looked certain to pick up a medal in the A Final, only to be pipped, agonisingly on the line, by 0.5 seconds, into fourth place. The girls took great heart from this promising result and are now training hard to better this ranking in the Junior Sculling Regatta at Dorney Lake in three week’s time.

The club was also represented in a composite WJ16 eight in which Ella Eagle-Davies, Beth Morris and Lydia Russell joined forces with rowers from Worcester and Birmingham and rowed a technically good race to come fifth in their final.

The climax of the day, however, was in the J14 double sculls in which Cameron Roberts and Ben Clatworthy won their heat and then sculled heroically to finish third in the final and win a wonderful bronze medal. This achievement is remarkable because both of these athletes only started rowing less than a year ago, and have made outstanding progress in that short time.