STRATFORD-upon-Avon Boat Club’s adaptive squad won a host of medals and broke a world record at the British Rowing Indoor Championships.
Adaptive athletes Jess Dowdeswell, Ricky Clutterbuck, Curtis Dickens and Isaac Clarkson competed for Stratford at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham.
More than 1,800 athletes took part in the Championships.
Dowdeswell convincingly won gold in the WPR1 four-minute category with a distance of 729 metres in her first indoor event.
And Clutterbuck then won his first indoor event, the IAR5 open 2k, as he dominated to take gold in 7 minutes 55 seconds.
Dickens unfortunately had to withdraw from the PR2 open 2k event at the start line due to illness.
And Clarkson then won gold in the PR3 year 10 boys five-minute category with a distance of 1,299m which saw him place 24th out of 45 competitors in the mainstream year 10 boys’ competition.
Clarkson continued his fine form to win gold in the PR3 year 10 one-minute race while Dowdeswell also took gold in the WPR1 one-minute race.
Dowdeswell also set a new world record, surpassing the previous world record holder by 97 metres.
Clutterbuck led the IAR5 one-minute race until the final 10 seconds before he came off his ergo seat but continued to row perched on the rail with only his arms and came away with a silver medal.
Stratford’s newly-qualified L2 adaptive coach, Courtland Clarkson said: “It was great fun for athletes and families, with big crowds, pumping music and plenty of well-earned metal to take home.”
