Hartpury University and Hartpury College are celebrating the remarkable achievements of their rowers at the highly competitive National Schools Regatta, which took place on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May 2024. The rowers secured Hartpury’s most successful National Schools Regatta ever, building anticipation for the remaining events of the season, notably the Henley Women’s and Henley Royal Regattas.
The National Schools Regatta was held at the prestigious London 2012 Olympic course, Eton Dorney and showcased the exceptional talent and dedication of the Hartpury Rowing Academy.
Leading the charge was Elliott Donovan-Davies (A-levels), who backed up his BUCS championship bronze medal with a win here. Elliott’s outstanding performance began with setting the fastest time in the time trial. He continued to dominate the competition, leading the final from start to finish. In doing so, Elliott not only secured a well-deserved victory but also shattered Charles Cousins’ record, that had stood since 2007. Elliott’s achievement sets the stage for a promising future in the sport. Following in the footsteps of other rowing alumni, Elliott will head to the United States after Hartpury College, having been accepted to Stanford University.
Chloe Sheppard (A-levels and Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE)) and Millie Hurrell (Level 3 Extended Diploma Sports and Exercise Science and DiSE) formed an unstoppable duo in the championship women’s double. Their exceptional teamwork and determination propelled them to victory, taking more than five seconds off the record, which was set by another Hartpury College duo in 2019. Like Elliott, Chloe will head to the USA in September to study at the University of Washington.
The Hartpury University and College Boat Club junior racers also made their mark at the Regatta. The J16 women’s quad made up of Harriett Bray, Tilly Hudson-Hulls, Giulia Costagliola and Lorelei Weir raced with maturity, coming from third place at halfway to push into first, winning the event by over two seconds. Harriet, Tilly, Lorelei and Dan are currently about to complete their final year of high school and will be attending Hartpury to study A-levels if they acquire their predicted grades.
Katie (Catherine) Gardner, a first-year Hartpury College student studying DiSE and A-levels made a significant impact in the women’s single event, winning a silver medal at her first National Schools Regatta. Katie and Millie Hurrell also raced for Great Britain at the European Rowing Championships from 1-2 June, narrowly missing out on medals after finishing in fourth position.
The boy’s quad, made up of A-level and DiSE students Rowan Irving, George Coates and Alex Repton, and J16 racer Dan Page, finished sixth overall. They were joined by Elliott Donovan-Davies for the Metropolitan Regatta earlier in June, where they won the J18 category and placed 6th overall.
Finally, Alex Richardson (A-levels) raced in the championship single and placed 3rd in the B-final – a strong result in a tough field.
Ben Jackson, Head Coach of Hartpury Rowing Academy and GB Performance Development Academy said: “I’m very proud of this team for coming away with two of the weekend’s three records set on Sunday. Seven of the rowers are part of the British Rowing Performance Development Academy based at Hartpury University and College, which aims to identify, recruit and develop future Olympic champions. These results show that these athletes are certainly on the right track and that the support and training pathway we have in place, is working.
“Whilst four of our crews were medalling at Eton Dorney, the next generation of national champions were in action at Monmouth Regatta, winning the J15 open double, J18 open single, senior open double, J16 women’s single, J15 women’s double, J16 open double, and J15 women’s single. These results are extremely exciting for the Hartpury Rowing Academy and lay strong foundations for what’s to come.”
Elsewhere, Hartpury alum Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne qualified for the women’s double at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with partner with Becky Wilde, the duo was coached by Tom Pattichis, head coach at Hartpury until 2018.
Hartpury University and College Boat Club
Hartpury’s Boat Club is always on the lookout to recruit new people to the sport, so if you’re aged 14-18 and are interested in finding out more, contact Ben.Jackson@Hartpury.ac.uk.
Sport at Hartpury University and College
Over 250 international athletes have developed their talents alongside their studies at Hartpury, supported by a professional environment and access to world-class facilities. The dual career pathway is a well-trodden path with students supported to study qualifications including A-levels, a diploma or a degree around their training and competition schedules.
The dual career pathway was attributed in the outcomes of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023) in which Hartpury University was rated triple Gold. Ofsted inspectors also praised the pathway as well as recreational sports opportunities for students in their inspection report, following the news that Hartpury College had retained Ofsted Outstanding.
PHOTO:
People Standing Left to Right
- Tom Jenkinson (Coach)
- Ben Smeeton (Coach)
- Elliott Donovan-Davies (2nd Year College - British Rowing Performance Development Athlete)
- Ben Jackson (Coach)
- Katie Gardner (1st Year College)
- Millie Hurrell (2nd Year College - British Rowing Performance Development Athlete)
- Chloe Sheppard (2nd Year College - British Rowing Performance Development Athlete)
People kneeling Left to Right
- Lorelei Weir (Gloucestershire Pathway Programme)
- Tilly Hudson-Hulls (Gloucestershire Pathway Programme)
- Harriet Bray (Gloucestershire Pathway Programme)
- Giulia Costagliola (Gloucestershire Pathway Programme)
