West Norfolk pair claim bronze in double sculls

West Norfolk Rowing Club tasted success at the regional Spring Regatta at Peterborough.The event showcases all ages of adult rowers, and boats from single sculls to eights.More than 400 crews competed over the day in tightly scheduled four-lane side-by-side races every four minutes on the purpose-built 1 kilometre rowing lake at Thorpe Meadows.WNRC had six members take to the water.It was a windy day, which is testing for balance, steering and speed, especially in smaller boats.The club’s supporters were thrilled to watch Helen Pryer and Liz Palmer win a hard-fought heat in the women’s Masters F double sculls with a 1km time of 4 mins 30 secs.This meant they had to wait and race again at 6pm.They had a tricky start in the final but were cheered on by a bankside crowd of West Norfolk members, and with 100m to go, found enough drive to overtake the WMasF.2x crew from Maidstone Invicta club to finish their event in bronze medal position. Simon Prior and Robert John raced in the Open Masters E double category and, despite some preparation setbacks, finished their event final in third place with a solid time of 4 mins 05 secs. Matt Parle and Owen Lewis had trained consistently for this event, but a freak on-water incident with one of their riggers caused them to drop out of competition during their Masters C double sculls race.It was frustrating, but this RAF/WNRC crew have other racing events to target this summer.The same boat was re-rigged as a pair for Thomas Williamson and Hamish Russell to race for their first time together.They are both student members at West Norfolk, coming to the club in Uni breaks to keep up their respective college rowing training. The Op.2- category was very competitive, and they did not make it through to the final this time, but stayed to support other crews.Peterborough is always a well-run event and an exciting spectacle to watch. WNRC look forward to more regional regatta competitions over the summer.Any enquiries to wnrc.club@gmail.com