STRATFORD-upon-Avon Boat Club’s adaptive squad enjoyed a strong outing at the British Rowing Indoor Championships (BRIC) in Birmingham.
The club’s athletes came away with three gold medals and set four new personal best (PB) times at the NEC Arena with over 1,500 rowers competing in total.
Stratford’s Curtis Dickens, part of British Rowing’s GB World Class Rowing Programme, won gold in the PR2 2000m category, powering ahead in the latter stages to take gold in a time of 7 minutes 55 seconds.
And Isaac Clarkson, the youngest PR3 accredited rower in the UK and Stratford’s youngest adaptive rower, won gold in the Year 9 PR3 category before also topping the podium in the Year 9 PR3 one-minute category, setting two new PB times.
Courtland Clarkson said: “It was a superbly organised event with a great atmosphere and lots of friendly rivalry across the clubs and schools. It’s definitely an event for the race calendar from now on.”
Moreover, Jake Blatcher, competing in BRIC for the first time, finished 25th in the Open 2000m race and 16th in the Open 500m event.
Jake completed the 2k race in 7 mins 1 sec, three seconds short of his PB time, before setting a new PB in the 500m race.
Lastly, Ellis Bishop represented Stratford’s participation squad and finished a credible 11th in the 500m Year 11 boys’ race despite only starting to row one year ago
Participation squad coach, Ralph Johnson, said: “Ellis was very nervous this being his first major competition but he followed his race plan perfectly to come through in the last 50m as others around him faded.
“Having doubted himself, Ellis was understandably pleased with his performance which should hopefully stand him in good stead for future races in the New Year.”
