University of London star Pete Wells confirmed his status as one ofBritain's rising young single scullers, bringing home a well-earned silvermedal from the World University Rowing Championships in Nottingham thisweekend.
Wells is finally beginning to control the coeliac disease which has doggedhim all year and led to his weight fluctuating by 14 kilos. He went offbriskly ahead of Swiss Olympian Andre Vonarburg, but could not match theseasoned international's power when Vonarburg pushed through inmid-race. "I knew he had a better basic cruising speed, so I had to getahead", said Wells, whose mature approach to the tough singles eventsuggests he has a very encouraging future.
All four of the other British crews made the finals, two fourth and twofifth places belying a promising national standard at a high-classevent. The women's coxless four rallied brilliantly in the final sprintto take fourth place off rivals Australia, while men's pair JamieBottomley and David Gilbert lay in third place for 1700 metres untilovertaken by the much more powerful Russian pair. The men's eightfinished fifth in the highest-standard event, unsurprisingly beaten byseveral senior international crews but close to the medals, while the women's double were also fifth.
© Copyright Rachel Quarrell 2002.