Imogen Grant and her partner Emily Craig remain one of just two unbeaten crews in the world this Olympiad after their victory at last weekend’s World Rowing Cup II.
Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) member Grant and her trusted crew-mate came under some initial pressure from the New Zealand boat in the Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls final in Lucerne, Switzerland.
However, the British duo soon took control of proceedings and eventually crossed the finish line with clear water.
The victory is the latest triumph for Bar Hill-raised Grant and Craig in the build up to this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris. After missing out on a bronze medal in Tokyo three years ago, the duo have combined to win back-to-back World and European Championships in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Speaking after their latest success, former Stephen Perse Foundation and Hills Road Sixth Form College student Grant said: “I feel like at this point we’ve done the result in Tokyo justice.
“We came back with a point to prove and we’ve proven it over the last few seasons. The chance at having another crack at the Olympics is very exciting. But in all honesty, we just want to be proud of how we row and race and so far that’s come every time we’ve raced together this season.
“I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved over the last few years, it’s such a privilege getting to do this together and regardless of the results in a couple of months time I know I’m going to cross the line in floods of tears because we’ll never get to do it again.”
Elsewhere at the same competition, Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George won a second World Cup gold in the men’s pair.
The former Peterhouse and CUBC duo, who will also compete in Paris, maintained their own unbeaten streak this season with the victory.
Wynne-Griffith said: ”It’s nice to be unbeaten, but we don’t want to dwell on that. We don’t want to stop.
“We have learnings to take away and there are parts that we know can be better.”
George added: “We were in control and we are happy with that, but we’re never going to stop and be happy with where we’re at. We’ll keep pushing.
“People keep asking us about expectations and telling us we’re favourites now, it doesn’t really matter.
“We have a lot of training to do and we want to keep pushing to find more speed.”
Meanwhile, another CUBC alumnus – Freddie Davidson – was part of the British men’s four boat that won bronze medals behind the USA and the Netherlands.
The ex-Emmanuel College student said: “Everyone’s come in hungry looking for the big one in Paris.
“We thought that was a good step on from the heat, we’re not over the moon but we’re happy with how we’re progressing and have to keep that going. The next few months will be tough.
“We’ll come away from this and go up the mountain to training camp, slogging out long miles on the machines and on the water.
“It’s tough but we are all looking forward to it. It feels like we’re on the up, we need to keep that rolling and not give ourselves a hard time for this result.”
