Thames wins the Amstelbeker

Both our men’s and women’s crews performed well against classy opposition at the Amstelbeker regatta in Amsterdam in mid-September with the men triumphing in the ‘Palmbeker’ for the overall men’s trophy.

The men’s 8 set out their stall in the club 8s time trial, emerging nearly 3 seconds quicker than the second-placed crew in the race over 750m. They duly went on to win the semi-final and final, beating Dutch club Hoop.

That win took them through to the Palmbeker, against the student champions Nereus – a crew packed full of Dutch internationals. However the Thames men held their nerve and won by 1.4 seconds to take the trophy.

The women had a tougher time trial, which put them through to a semi against a Willem III crew including several former and current internationals. They pushed their opponents to the fastest race of the day, finishing 3.1 seconds down in a time which would have won the other semi-final.

In the B final against Hoop the Thames women stepped on again and won in a tight contest. Willem III, meanwhile, won the club event and the women’s overall title.