Harvard men and Waikato women take advantage at Indoor Row

For Immediate Release

10 September 2015

Hamilton, NZ

Harvard men and Waikato women take advantage at Indoor Row

Hundreds were in attendance last night at the traditional 'Indoor Row' to witness one of the most closely contested races in recent memory, with Harvard miraculously equalling last year’s fastest time and beating Waikato by just 1.1 seconds in the process.

The result meant that Harvard was awarded first pick of river starting positions for Sunday's big race, with the crew deciding that mid-stream would offer them a tactical advantage. With second pick, Waikato chose to start on the West side of the river, with Cambridge left to start on the East.

Ben Lynton, Kiwi coach of the Harvard crew said he was pleased with the result.

“It’s pretty key to the actual race because it takes a whole lot of work to come up with an effective plan to take the pressure off the start. In the middle, if you’re quick enough, you can get yourself in the best position for the first corner, rather than deal with the variables on the outside start lanes.

A driving force for Lynton and the Harvard crew is not just to make up for last year’s defeat, but to represent themselves and Harvard well on the day. “As an alumni crew we may never row together again, so it’s always for the boys”.

Captain of the Waikato University men’s crew said he was disappointed that they missed out on the win. “Obviously we’re a bit disappointed but the great thing about this race is that you can win from anywhere and the boys are looking forward to getting up for it on Sunday”.

However, their final duo, U23 NZ silver medallists Cameron Webster and Drikus Conradie but sent Harvard and Cambridge a warning when they made up time and became the fastest duo of the night.

The women's race was dominated by Waikato, which took a decent lead of 13.7 seconds over Sydney. With their pick, Waikato chose to start mid-stream. Sydney then chose West, leaving Melbourne with East.

Tarina Fordham from the Waikato crew said the they were pleased with the result.

“It was mint, we’re really happy. We chose mid-stream on our coxswain, Morgan’s advice because it can set you up for the race a bit better. The win definitely means a confidence boost for the crew, but we’re not getting ahead of ourselves, we’re focussed and ready to bring it on Sunday”.

A free, family friendly event, spectators can enjoy the Gallagher Great Race on the big screen and entertainment at Event HQ on Sunday 13 September, Grantham St Hamilton, from 9am.

Results:

Men

Harvard University – 328.2sec

University of Waikato – 329.3sec

University of Cambridge – 331.6sec

Women

University of Waikato – 391.7sec

University of Sydney – 408.4sec

University of Melbourne – 427.9sec

ENDS

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