HENLEY-ON-THAMES, England – The Y Quad Cities Women’s Junior Rowing Quad defeated the Henley Rowing Club on July 6 to move on to the semi-finals in the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup.
“This is a really big deal that we came from behind and won!” Amy Johnson, Bass Street YMCA Branch and Sports Senior Director, said in an email.
This cup, which is a quadruple scull event, pits two teams of four women against each other on a straight stretch of the Thames River. All the participants must be under the age of 18.
“There’s some real quality and pedigree in this American quad up against the strongest contender, I think, from the United Kingdom, the Henley quad,” one of the announcers said.
According to the video, this race took place on the Henley team’s home stretch.
“[The Henley team] are four-time national champions in the sculls,” another announcer said. “This is an experienced boat. They’ve all won Henley before.”
The Henley team took an early lead and stayed a more than a length ahead of the Quad Cities team for a majority of the race. However, with a minute and a half to the finish line, the Quad Cities team began to gain.
“They’ve taken the lead,” one of the announcers said. “They’ve raced an awesome race, really, because Henley had massive control over them, and they were able to steer across in front of them, and they must be so mentally strong.”
“Very good composure for the Quad Cities to be down a length and not to rattle.”
