We are now into Friday and with it the third day of Summer Eights 2014. Now at the mid-point of the competition, Cherwell Sport is taking a look at all of the rises and falls that the college crews have seen so far.
On day one at the top of the Men’s divisions, Pembroke rowed over and managed to retain their position at Head of the River, whilst Oriel bumped Christ Church to go up to second.
Unfortunately for Pembroke, they could only retain their place at the top for one day. Oriel, who went into the competition with high expectations, bumped them to take the top spot. Christ Church rowed over to stay in third position.
The top of the Women’s position saw an uneventful first day, with all three boats (St. John’s, Wadham and Teddy Hall) retaining their positions and rowing over. Day two brought more action though, with Wadham managing to bump St. John’s to take the Headship.
To the surprise of the rowing fanatics, Keble M1 failed to bump despite their decorated crew of international and Olympic rowers, including Tim Foster of the Sydney 2000 GB Gold Medal winning four.
This year’s Blues stroke rower, and next year’s OUBC President, Constantine Louloudis, pulled out of the competition through injury, but his crew Trinity M1 showed their strength in depth, managing to bump without their star man.
Day one saw lots of bumps in division two for both the Men and Women, with Jesus W1 bumping St. Catz to take third place. They managed to retain this on day two by rowing over and are looking to advance in the second half of the competition.
Jesus M1 kept the historic Turl Street rivalry alive by managing to bump their college rivals, Exeter, to go into 9th place in division two. Members of the Jesus M1 crew still maintain that they are the most fashionable Men’s first boat to grace the Isis, wearing matching sun glasses and green arm sleeves, a level of accessorisation not matched by any other crew in the competition.
In other news, in the Men’s 7th division, Keble M5 managed to snap the bow off their boat.
The second half of the competition is set to be exciting with real competition between the crews in the top divisions. Can Wadham’s Women defend their Headship? Can Christ Church catch Pembroke? Can Trinity continue their climb up division one? Cherwell Sport will bring you the latest from Summer Eights.
