Despite injury and illness ruling out three of their first choice rowers, the Sydney University Boat Club (SUBC) has won their fifth consecutive Gold Cup Eights title on the Lane Cove River on Saturday.
Having to substitute Ryan Edwards, Sasha Belonogoff (illness) and Tom Sacre (recovering from a push bike accident) proved no obstacle for the SUBC men’s eight (4:03.80) as they defeated the Sydney Rowing Club (4:07.23) by two seconds in Sydney’s oldest harbour regatta – the 129th Gold Cup.
Sydney Uni stormed through their heats and semi-final to line up against fellow favourites Sydney (who were missing Chris Morgan) in the final in scorching conditions tempered at times by a light sea breeze.
As expected Sydney Uni and Sydney moved out of the start quickly, leaving St Ignatius Riverview and Kings behind. At the 200m mark, it seemed that Sydney Uni might moved to the lead as the crew settled at 40 strokes per minute with Jonny Rundle in seat six backing up the rhythm from Fergus Pragnell, who come up from Melbourne on Thursday to train with the eight and take the stroke seat.
Between the 500m and 850m marks both crews fought for the lead. This was before Sydney Uni surged to a lead of three quarters of a length.
As the crew rounded the pile and straightened for home it was Sydney Uni, upping the rate to 41 strokes per minute, who moved out to clear water to take the win by approximately three and a half seconds (a length and a quarter) ahead of Sydney, followed by St Ignatius Riverview and Kings.
Sydney University Women’s Rowing Club (SUWRC) eight were defeated by 11 seconds by Mosman.
