17 September 2020

Records tumble as rowing returns to Canberra

| Rowing ACT
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Cara Grzeskowiak

CRC’s Cara Grzeskowiak on her way to a new Winter Time Trial course record. Photos: Sarah Davoren.

Almost 100 rowers headed out last weekend for the first Winter Time Trial of the season, where Canberra Rowing Club’s (CRC) Cara Grzeskowiak broke a 24-year-old record on Saturday, recording a time of 15:59.47.

In beating Adair Ferguson’s 1996 record of 16:09, Cara became the first female single sculler to complete the course in under 16 minutes. Next fastest across the line were ANU’s Anneke and Lilli Reardon in second and fourth, with Capital Lakes’ Madeline Vagg third. ANU’s Catherine Khan leads the handicap placings ahead of Madeline and Cara.

It was the first competitive rowing meet in the ACT since February.

The other notable performance came from CRC’s Cormac Hayes. Cormac set a junior record with his time of 15:22.38, the fourth-fastest around the course, behind only Black Mountain’s Luke Letcher, CRC’s Thomas Perry and Capital Lakes’ Harry Glackin. Cormac, Thomas, and Dermot Balaam made it a CRC top three on handicap placings.

Cormac Hayes

Canberra Rowing Club’s Cormac Hayes at the first 2020 Winter Time Trial.

Canberra Rowing Club also had the fastest men’s pair, with Josh Watson and Alvar Closas setting the fastest overall time and the fastest on handicap.

In the women’s pairs, sisters Harriet and Georgina Wallace (ANU & CGGS) set a slightly faster time than veterans Sarah Tynan and Dearne Grant (ANU), although the latter finished ahead once handicaps were applied.

Sunday racing saw Harriet and Georgina set the fastest women’s doubles time, while Cormac Hayes and Rafael Priest were the fastest overall. The quickest on handicap was the visiting Drummoyne pairing of Maggie Smith and Scott Bickford, while the fastest mixed double on handicap were Capital Lakes’ Mal Rimes and Kirsten Peterson.

In the quads, ANU’s Anneke Reardon, Catherine Khan, Lilli Reardon and Dearne Grant set the fastest women’s time, and the fastest overall on handicap. Radford College’s Damien Schroder, Will Gregory, Sam Roberts and Ethan Tocsan had the fastest overall and fastest men’s time, while Capital Lakes’ Jennie Yaxley, Gillian Dingley, Richard Swinbourne and Geoff Nichols were the fastest mixed crew.

A strong CRC men’s crew of Matt Norton, Nicholas Latimer, Joshua Watson, Alvar Closas, Henry Bridgewater, Sebastian Lang, Timothy Hodge, Cameron O’Neil and coxed by Jessica Winnall set the fastest eights time on Sunday, but Mark Wadie, Ryan Willemsen-Bell, Rohan Jayawardene, Richard Vagg, Ashley Pagett, Ben Farinazzo, Alan Carey, David Barrett and James McKay (cox) were the fastest on handicap.

In the women’s eights an ANU composite boat set the fastest time overall and on handicap, with the crew of Jordan Crooks, Jerushah Bull, Eloise Lambden, Teah Kneipp, Sarelle Woodward, Fiona Blackwell, Anna Cicognani, Elaine Bissaker and Sarah Davoren (cox) getting around ahead of the CRC composite.

The second Rowing ACT Winter Time Trial for 2020 is scheduled for the weekend of 15-16 August, with the final round of the abridged series on 12-13 September.

To find out more, visit Rowing ACT.

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