EVESHAM Rowing Club struck gold at the National Championships last weekend with a superb win for the J15 duo of Rory Sullivan and Oliver Staite and bronze for the J14 boys coxed quad.

Sullivan and Staite, competing in the Laufen Bathrooms double scull, won their gold medal in a tough final that saw several of the country's top crews vying for a place on the podium.

The event was rowed over a 2K course on a lake at Strathclyde Country Park near Glasgow.

The boys had cruised through their semi-final winning with a length to spare over crews from Maidenhead, Warrington, Claire's Court and Marlow.

Sunday's final pitted them against a strong crew from Maidstone Invicta who had won gold at the Nationals Schools Regatta in May and travelled to Scotland with high hopes of a repeat. It wasn't to be!

Rocket-like

A rocket-like start saw them shoot straight into the lead and complete the first 500 metres in an extremely fast one minute and 38 seconds.

With Invicta pressurising them all the way, the Evesham boys knew they had to stay ahead. With 600 metres to go they pushed for home and then gave another extra spurt in the last 350 crossing the line around half a length in front of the Kent crew.

Maidenhead who had also pushed for a place at the front had to be content with bronze. The boys had rowed the distance in a time of 7.09, just a second off the Championship record.

For coach and Oli's dad Neil, the triumph brought back happy memories of rowing at Strathclyde where, 20 years ago, he had won gold at the Commonwealth Games.

There was a medal too for the coxed quad of Ben and Jon Farrar, Tom Noble and Rob Barnett and cox Jack Lazenby.

They came second in their semi-final that put them straight through to Sunday's final won by Tideway Scullers from George Watsons.

Meanwhile, the Evesham boys were battling it out for bronze against Marlow. They held on and put on a push in the last 500 metres that put them across the line four seconds ahead at the finish.

The J16 coxless quad of Tom Walker, James Crumpton, Will Tew and Josh Pendry provided the crowd with a tense finish.

Gold and silver places were snapped up by Marlow and Windsor but there was a real tussle for bronze with the Evesham boys putting on a tremendous spurt in the last 500 metres to catch up their rivals, a composite crew from Claire's Court School and Marlow Boat Club. The crew raced neck and neck to the line with the finish being decided by a photo which put the Evesham boys into fourth place, just 0.45 seconds adrift.

While they were disappointed, they have every reason to be optimistic for next year with three of the boys in the boat still 15 and racing up a year.