TEENAGE rowing star Eleanor Lawrence Preston stormed to Henley Royal Regatta glory in record-breaking style in her junior girls' quadruple scull, successfully following in the blade puddles of her former Monmouth Comprehensive schoolmate Violet Holbrow-Brooksbank.

But there was final heartache for Old Monmothian Oxford Blue cox Jack Tottem as his GB women's 8 lost a tight Remenham Cup final by 3/4L to the Dutch national boat.

And his former Monmouth School crew mate Robbie Prosser also missed out in a fiercely contested Visitors Cup fours semi-final, with his Molesey/Holstebro Denmark boat leading to beyond half way before being pipped by Oxford Brookes.

Like Violet, now studying and rowing at Washington University in the USA, Wales junior cap Eleanor followed her to Wycliffe on a scholarship to continue her rowing career and education.

Her U18 quadruple scull took Championship silver at the National Schools' Regatta behind London outfit Tideway Scullers in May before making it a hat-trick of Wycliffe wins at Henley Women's Regatta, where they beat Marlow in the final.

But Henley Royal Regatta – the world's most prestigious open regatta dating back to 1839 and raced head-to-head on a timber-boomed straight 2,112m upstream course – is the biggest prize of them all.

And alongside Cassie Anderson, Daisy O'Reilly and Lily Anderson, the defending Diamond Jubilee Cup champions started their campaign with a comfortable win over Oundle in 7 minutes 39 seconds, followed by a 4L quarter-final victory over Maidenhead-based Claires Court in 7.43.

That set up a semi-final clash with National Schools' champions Tideway Scullers who had won by a handy 2L at Nottingham five weeks earlier.

But Eleanor's crew this time seized a 3/4L lead at the Barrier and surged out to 2 3/4L by the Mile.

Scullers then closed to 1 1/2L in front of the packed grandstands, but Wycliffe's feathers were never ruffled, as they crossed in 7.44 to move to the last hurdle of repeating the club’s 2024 success, with Marlow RC their opponents again in the final.

And they raced out to lead by 1L at the Barrier in a course mark record 2.06, before lowering the Fawley record to 3.30, where they then pushed away to pass the Mile 2L to the good.

No mistakes was now the order of the day along the cheering enclosures, and they held on to win by the same margin in a new course best time of 7.16.

Jack Tottem and his European champion GB women's 8 beat the Australian national crew in an epic Remenham Cup semi-final battle.

The Aussies led by a foot at the top of the Island, and GB by the same margin at the 1/4-Mile, with the home crew then passing Fawley with a narrow 1/3L advantage.

Australia took back another three feet before the Mile Post, but that was as close as they got, GB edging back out along the enclosures to cross 2/3L up in 6.52, with the Dutch national 8 containing two Olympic champions awaiting them in the final.

But it was the Netherlands who squeezed out to an early advantage to lead by a canvas at the 1/4-Mile before surging out to 1L at the Barrier.

GB called on by Tottem pushed back to 1/2L approaching the enclosures, but that was as a close as they got, the Dutch crossing 3/4L in front in a course record 6.33.

World U23 gold medallist Robbie Prosser, back from studying and rowing at California Berkeley in the US, joined battle at Henley in a Molesey/Holstebro Denmark four in the Visitors Cup, winning their opener comfortably from a Tideway Scullers/Ever Green USA boat before holding on to win by 1/2L from top London club Thames containing Paris Olympic 8s gold medallist James Rudkin in the quarter-finals.

They then led semi-final opponents Oxford Brookes to beyond half-way, but couldn't hold off their second-half surge, bowing out by 1 1/4L.

Monmouth RC members Evan Whittal-Williams, Harry Dalrymple and Oli Partridge –who won the Thames Cup club 8s with Leander in 2008 – came through the time-trial qualifiers to make the six-day regatta draw with Hereford in the same event.

And they beat River Thames outfit Kingston by 1 3/4L in their opener to make the last 16 before bowing out to seeds Molesey by 1 1/4L.

Old Monmothian James Goodwin also took part in a 30th anniversary row past with his Thames Cup-winning winning Imperial College crew.

And with records tumbling in the fast conditions, they were able to raise a glass to still jointly holding the course record set in 1995 after this year's winners London RC could only equal the time of 6.06.

Action this Saturday (July 26) switches to the Home Countries Regatta at the London 2012 Olympic lake, with Robbie Prosser joining a strong Wales team, alongside the likes of Llandaff RC Henley medallists George Cowley and Kai Schlottmann.

While Eleanor Lawrence Preston is targeting GB selection for the junior world championshios in Lithuania, two-time world junior medallist Violet Holbrow-Brooksbank returns from Seattle to race in the women's senior team alongside the likes of GB world U23 medallists Katherine George and Georgie Robinson Ranger and Henley Royal winner Heloise Wormleighton.

The junior squad to race England, Scotland and Ireland also includes Archie Cowton, Edward Smith, James Wardle, Egor Tseliev, Francesca Tyron-Green and Keilah Greaves from Haberdashers' Monmouth and Barney Shaw and Lola Jones from Monmouth Comprehensive School.

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