Four Durham rowers, Calum Betteley, Oliver Pearson, Dominic Newton and Levin Gräf were selected to represent England in the coxless 4 and the coxed 8 at the 2023 Home International Regatta. After a long rowing season with much success for these athletes, including an immense medal haul at both BUCS regatta and BUCS head, the opportunity to step on to the International scene presented itself and they rowed a stellar 1500 metre time trial, winning the selection regatta by 13 seconds to secure selection in emphatic style.

The weekend itself was a wet and windy affair in the north-west of the Republic of Ireland at the recently developed rowing course on Lough Rynn. The first task for the four Durham athletes was the coxless 4 on Saturday morning. A strong first 500 metres positioned the England four 3 lengths ahead of the rest of the field, this was the story throughout the remaining 1500 metres and the lead extended to 6 lengths by the finish line leaving the Durham athletes with their first International medal of the weekend.

(From left to right) Levin, Dom, Calum and Ollie.

The next challenge was stepping into the eight. This was made up of the four Durham rowers as well as a mixture of London based clubs including London RC, Vesta and Marlow. This offered a different challenge as different rowing styles came into play. However, this didn’t stop the England crew from asserting their dominance yet again, winning both the 2000m race and 500m race by clear water. Calum, Oliver, Dom and Levin left Ireland with 3 gold medals from 3 events at their first senior International regatta showing the strength that the Durham programme, headed by Rob Dauncey and the support of Team Durham, has when placed on the International stage. Congratulations to these four athletes!