.png?width=200&height=111&name=RA%20Logo%20450%20x%20250%20(4).png)
.png?width=450&height=250&name=RA%20Logo%20450%20x%20250%20(4).png)
By Nick Jones at the Lake Barrington International Rowing Course
The sun has set on an unforgettable #ARC25 in Tasmania as the blue-riband Interstate Regatta delivered drama, pride and some seriously gritty rowing once again.
Victoria went back-to-back in the King's Cup while New South Wales broke a three-year drought to reclaim the Queen’s Cup.
Victoria also claimed the overall Interstate point score and with it the John Coates AC Cup, wrenching it back from New South Wales, while Sydney Rowing Club cemented their dominance with the Club Point score.
The Queen’s and King’s Cups were headline acts, but every race from PR3 Singles to Youth Eights had its flair.
King’s Cup: Victoria go back-to-back
The Rosemary Richardson hull lived up to its name as Victoria surged to a back-to-back King’s Cup win.
Coxed by James Rook and featuring Paris Olympian Fergus Hamilton, Angus Widdicombe, and Jack Robertson, the crew executed to perfection.
“It means everything,” Hamilton said. “Winning one is special but winning two? You can’t beat that. I said at the start of the week: Victoria’s going to win it – and we did.”
Victoria clocked a 5:31.33, holding off NSW and Queensland in a relentless contest.
Queen’s Cup: NSW break through the barrier
After three long years, New South Wales reclaimed the Queen’s Cup in dominant style.
They led from start to finish, crossing the line in 6:13.45, almost nine seconds clear of Victoria.
“It was just about getting out as hard as we possibly could and then just trying to hold on,” NSW’s Isabella Scammell said.“There’s a lot of pride in the New South Wales zootie and this was particularly special today.”
Tara Rigney, the birthday girl and now four-time Nell Slatter Trophy winner, was instrumental in the Eight, backing up her Women’s Single Sculls title earlier in the day.
“You never go in expecting anything,” Rigney said. “I just love it. The racing, the people, the atmosphere. That’s what rowing’s about.”
Rigney celebrates with another sculling crown
Rigney continued her Single Scull supremacy, clinching her fourth consecutive Nell Slatter Trophy in a time of 8:12.38.
Western Australia’s Bronwyn Cox and Victoria’s Romy Cantwell rounded out the podium.
South Australia's Oscar McGuinness made history in the President’s Cup, becoming the first rower to win medals in all four able-bodied Interstate events.
His time of 7:16.29 earned South Australia the top spot, with VIC and ACT chasing.
“This is something I’ve wanted for ages,” McGuinness said. “The stars aligned, having the right people at the right time have lifted me up along to way.”
Para pride for Lutze
Victoria’s Susannah Lutze put in a gutsy performance to take out the PR3 Women’s Single in 8:42.08 after a comeback from injury.
“It’s a really special experience… it brings everyone together. I’m really excited for the season ahead,” Lutze said.
In the PR3 Men’s Single, NSW’s Flynn Wilkinson had to “change gears” halfway through to power home in 7:37.95.
“It sounds like an Oscars speech, but I’ve got so many people to thank,” Wilkinson said.
Youth Eights: Future looks bright
The NSW Women’s Youth Eight was on a mission, and it showed.
They charged out to an early lead and never looked back, taking out the Bicentennial Cup in 6:27.42.
Coxswain Chloe Jureta summed it up: “We just knew we were going to leave it all out on that water right from the beginning.”
The Victorian Men’s Youth Eight brought home the Noel F. Wilkinson Trophy in style.
A blistering 5:40.33 saw them hold off WA and NSW in a race that had everything.
“A lot of the boys I’ve rowed with for many years,” Victoria’s Alex Marrow said. “Where else would you want to be but Victoria?”
Lightweight firepower
Tasmania made the most of home water advantage, with Verayna Zilm and her crew grabbing gold in the Women’s Lightweight Quad. It was her first win in the Victoria Cup and an emotional performance.
Victoria showed strength in the Men’s Lightweight Four, executing their race plan to perfection to take the win by just over a second ahead of Tasmania.
.jpg?width=290&name=ARC%20Headshots%20(29).jpg)
COMMENTS