A report of the week, written by athlete Izzy Sellers.
After a year of hard work and 4 sets of progressive trials, 5 members of DUBC were selected to represent GB as part of the team going to the U23 World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria: Evelyna Davies and Anna Grace in the Women’s 8+, Andrew Mettrick in the Men’s 8+, Phillipa Emery in the Women’s 4-, and Izzy Sellers in the Lightweight Women’s 2x.
We first moved straight into a hotel and spent a week in a residential training camp at Caversham getting used to rowing with our crewmates and doing speed tests to get a sense of our pace, before flying out to Bulgaria with the team 5 days before the champs. The weather in Plovdiv was between 36-38 degrees celcius, meaning we trained early in the mornings to avoid the worst of the heat, and had to be extra careful to cover up from UV, rehydrate constantly, and acclimatise our lungs to rowing in those temperatures for the 4 days of training at the lake we had before the event started. Racing was immensely tough in the heat, just making it through the 2k race felt like an achievement but we had an amazing support team who rushed over to the pontoons with ice jackets, water, electrolytes and umbrellas post-race.
Our racing started on Thursday with heats. Both the men’s and women’s eights won their heats comfortably, progressing straight to their A finals. Phillipa in the 4- and Izzy in the Lwt2x missed out on straight progression, and instead took on the repecharges on Friday. Both crews won comfortably, Phillipa going straight to the A final and Izzy making it to the semi-finals on Saturday. In the Lwt2x semi-final, Izzy came up against the eventual top 3 medal winners of the event, and so after coming a close 4th place, missed out on qualifying for the A final.
Finals day on Sunday saw 38-degree temperatures and some incredibly tough racing in all events. First, in the Lwt2x B final, Izzy took a demanding win, putting down a time that would have placed them 4th in the A final, showing their pedigree despite an unlucky draw in a competitive event. Phillipa and the 4- showed a strong performance in their A final, ultimately placing 4th in a fast field. Evelyna and Anna fought until the line in the women’s 8 final, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal with a photo-finish by just 0.06 seconds after an incredible final sprint. Andrew and the men’s 8 stormed through the field in the second half of their A final, leaving their competition behind in the last 500m and taking gold, earning the title of U23 World Champion.
Andrew - 2023 men’s eight World Champion
Having 5 athletes represent our country at these championships is not only an incredible achievement for DUBC and a testament to the hard work and abilities of the club, but was an invaluable and enjoyable experiences for all of us there. All of the athletes performed outstandingly, but special credit must go to Andrew and his crew for their emphatic gold. A memory he is sure to take with him for the rest of his life.