Holly Hill earns silver medal at European Rowing Championships
Light Blue rower is part of GB eight that finishes second in Glasgow
Holly Hill helped Great Britain secure a silver medal in the women’s eight at the European Rowing Championships in Glasgow.
It was a small but select entry for the category, with only three crews taking their place on the start, but the British eight were able to take some confidence going into the world championships in September.
Former Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club member Hill was joined in the eight by Anastasia Chitty, Katherine Douglas, Rebecca Girling, Fiona Gammond, Holly Norton, Karen Bennett, Rebecca Shorten and cox Matilda Horn.
Up against the Netherlands and Romania, they were down at the halfway point, but they rallied to produce an impressive finish, rowing through the Netherlands to beat them on the line by a canvas to take the silver medal in 6min 10.09sec, with the Dutch clocking 6.10.78.
Romania won gold in 6.08.98.
Fellow old Blue Melissa Wilson was in the final of the women’s quadruple sculls, and they narrowly missed out on a place on the podium.
It was a strong finish that saw them pass Romania in the last quarter to take fourth, in 6.26.03. They were half a length down on bronze medallists the Netherlands, who finished in 6.24.05.
Former Light Blues Tom Ransley and cox Henry Fieldman were part of the men’s eight in the final.
There was a late change to the crew as Rio Olympic gold medallist Moe Sbihi had to drop out through illness, and he was replaced by James Rudkin.
They ended up finishing in fifth place in 5.31.95, 1.79sec behind bronze medallists Romania.
Overall, Britain won two silver medals and two bronze at the regatta.
Brendan Purcell, British Rowing’s director of performance, said: “Our performances in this regatta have given us good clarity as to where our training focus needs to be ahead of the world championships in September.
“The chief coaches and athletes will use this focus in the training camps, to get the specific training required under their belts, and come back stronger for the racing in Plovdiv.”
