#ARC25 Day Five Wrap – 'Best birthday present ever' - Smith snags Open’s glory

By Nick Jones at the Lake Barrington International Rowing Course

On day five of the 2025 Australian Rowing Championships at the Lake Barrington International Rowing Course, the Open events delivered quality racing and trademark interstate rivalry, with the looming King’s and Queen’s Cups casting a long and exciting shadow.

Open Men’s Coxless Four

Nick Smith (MUBC / RBNTC) got the best possible birthday gift – a Gold Medal in the Open Men’s Coxless Four. Racing alongside Austin Reinehr (Mercantile RC / RBNTC), Angus Widdicombe (Mercantile RC) and Fergus Hamilton (Mercantile RC / RBNTC), the Mercantile/MUBC composite led from the front to win in 5:59.71.

“Yeah, it was good fun,” Smith said. “Best birthday present ever.

“I don’t know, I felt like I was struggling to keep up. But yeah, it was pretty good from the warm-up, [from] stroke one. 

“I think it was just a battle keeping everyone off the buoy line at the end... Angus [Widdicombe] was pulling everyone around.”

The race showcased the strength of the Reinhold Batschi NTC sweep squad as they were chased hard by the KAND/Sydney crew in 6:04.45, with North Esk rounding out the top three in 6:18.81. 

Open Women’s Double Scull

In the Open Women’s Double Scull, 2024 World Rowing Under 23 Champion Grace Sypher (Sydney Rowing Club) and Catherine Khan (ANU Boat Club) were calm and composed from stroke one, leading the field from wire-to-wire to take the win in 7:18.75.

The Double held off a late challenge from Mercantile’s Freya Axten and Sophie Reinehr, who finished second in 7:23.16, while ANU’s second crew crossed for Bronze in 7:28.79.

“We got out well,” Sypher said. “It was a quick start with everyone but then we stuck to our plan and pushed through that middle kilometre.”

The win was that much sweeter for Sypher given she just returned from injury. 

“To be racing here a little bit special in itself,” Sypher said. “To come away with this [win] is awesome.”

Khan said she couldn’t have asked for a better crew mate: “We’ve had a great time rowing together.”

Open Men’s Double Scull

Adelaide Rowing Club’s Oscar McGuinness and Mitchell Reinhard stole the show in the Open Men’s Double Scull, laying down a clinical performance to win in 6:22.11.

“Winning by your self’s good,” McGuinness said. “Winning with your best mate is way better.”

Reinhard laughed: “My stroke coach ran out and Oscar didn’t really know what was going on, so he just let me do the work like he said in that last 500m.”

The fast-closing 2024 World Rowing Under 23 Silver Medal winners Nick Blackman (AUBC) and Dominic Frederico (Mercantile RC) took the Silver by 1.25s, with the Surfers Paradise/ANU crew rounding out the podium in 6:27.45.

Blackman and Frederico gave the Adelaide RC Double a little more of a fright than they would’ve liked.

“You never want to be anywhere near that guy [Nick Blackman] in the last 500m,” McGuinness said. “You’ve got to give him credit for that.”

McGuinness is already eyeing the main event.

“The big one is the King’s Cup. Obviously, we’re down on Alex Hill but I reckon we’ve got enough talent and enough guys that want to race. We can pull something off pretty special.”

Open Women’s Coxless Four

The HPNTC-stacked University of WA composite crew delivered a powerful win in the Open Women’s Coxless Four, stopping the clock at 6:33.63.

With names like Jacqui Swick (Swan River RC / HPNTC), Ella Bramwell (Adelaide RC / HPNTC), Georgie Rowe OLY (UTS Haberfield RC / HPNTC) and Bronwyn Cox (UWA Boat Club) on board, they were always going to be a hard crew to beat.

“I think we had a pretty good race. We only jumped in together this morning,” Rowe said.

“It’s great just to be out there with your mates having a crack.”

Melbourne University BC placed second in 6:38.61, and Sydney Rowing Club crossed third in 6:40.93.

“It was kind of just the leftovers of the group really,” Swick said. “Our clubs didn’t really have any senior Fours put together, so we said, 'let’s all go together and get Bronnie [Bronwyn Cox] onboard too'.”

With the Queen’s Cup only two days away, the crew was already shifting their focus. 

“It’s Victoria versus the rest of the country,” Rowe said.

Para racing brings energy and class

Day five also saw elite Para-rowing performances across multiple classes, with several NTC crews and Rowsellas turning in dominant showings.

In the PR3 Mixed Double Scull, Isobel Egan (Radford College) and Sam Stunell (Adelaide Rowing Club) led from start to finish to win in 7:28.65, with Stunell backing up later to win the PR3 Men’s Pair with Nick Bartlett (Mercantile Rowing Club) in 7:25.99.

Rowsellas Susannah Lutze and Alexandra Viney of Banks-NTC and Barwon powered home in the PR3 Women’s Pair in 8:14.26, while four-time Paralympic medallist Erik Horrie OAM PLY (Sydney Rowing Club) was once again untouchable in the PR1 Men’s Single Scull, winning in 8:55.64.

Open Lightweight Eights Bring Depth, Speed - and a Historic First

The Open Lightweight Women’s Eight took centre stage for a special milestone, marking the first time the event has featured at the Australian Rowing Championships.

The inaugural title was claimed by the Buckingham Composite crew, who surged to victory in 6:39.76 after a commanding middle 1km.

The crew, featuring athletes from Banks RC, Sydney RC, Toowong RC, ANUBC, and others, combined well under pressure and handled the historic moment with composure.

Their closest challengers, an Adelaide Composite crew, crossed in 6:47.56, followed by the Banks Composite in third with 6:53.24.

In the Open Lightweight Men’s Eight, the visiting Army Rowing Node of India turned heads with a dominant row from start to finish, clocking 5:47.77 and holding off a strong Barwon Composite crew that finished in 5:52.52.

North Esk Composite rounded out the top three in 5:53.83, just ahead of Black Mountain Composite in a tightly contested field.

The international win from the Indian crew was a standout, while the inclusion of the lightweight women’s eight marked a historic and exciting new chapter for ARC regatta programming.

As #ARC25 moves toward its conclusion, the attention now turns to the Interstate Regatta.