RA Media Release, 7 March - Australian Rowing Team announced for 2015

Media Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Canberra, 7 March 2015

Australian Rowing Team announced for 2015

Rowing Australia today announced the Senior Australian Rowing Team that will compete in 2015.

Crews have been selected to represent Australia at the 2015 World Rowing Cup 2 (Varese, Italy), World Rowing Cup 3 (Lucerne, Switzerland) and the 2015 World Rowing Championships (Aiguebelette, France). However, subject to results at the first two events (WRC 2 and 3), selectors will continuously review crews and their performances before final confirmation of the 2015 World Rowing Championships team.

The squad includes 2014 World Championships medallists and London Olympians Kimberley Crow, Joshua Dunkley-Smith, Sally Kehoe and James McRae, while Olympic medallists Karsten Forsterling and Matthew Ryan return to the senior team for the first time since the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, Olympic gold medallist David Crawshay returns to the sculling ranks in the Men’s Quadruple scull joined by David Watts, Cameron Girdlestone and Forsterling.

A number of 2014 World Rowing Championship medallists are back in the team this year, including double World Rowing Champions Erik Horrie (ASM1x), Kathryn Ross and Gavin Bellis (both TAMix2x) plus bronze medallists Kehoe and Olympia Aldersey (both W2x) as well as Alexander Belonogoff and McRae (both M2x).

The team also sees a number of rowers stepping up from the U23 category including 2014 U23 World Rowing Championship silver medallists Nick Wheatley and Jack Hargreaves, plus 2014 U23 World Championship bronze medallist Genevieve Horton.

Wheatley and Hargreaves will compete in the Men’s Coxless Pair this season, while Horton will be joined by Molly Goodman in the Women’s Pair.

The Lightweight Women’s Quadruple Scull, the Women’s Coxed Eight and the LTA Mixed Coxed Four are listed as trialling squads in this release and are subject to further scrutiny.

Keen historians will also note the inclusion of a number of athletes whose parents have represented Australia. Rosemary ‘Rosie’ Popa’s parents, Susan Chapman-Popa and Ion Popa have both represented Australia at an Olympics with Susan winning a bronze in the Women’s Coxed Four in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Madeleine Edmunds’ (W4x) father, Ian, was also in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, winning bronze in the Men’s Coxed Eight.

The Men’s Four has seen two new crew members join 2014 representatives Alexander Lloyd and Spencer Turrin. South Australian Alexander Hill and London 2012 silver medallist William Lockwood will make up the Men’s Coxless Four this year with Lloyd and Turrin.

Fergus Pragnell and Joshua Dunkley-Smith, who won bronze in the Men’s Four last year in Amsterdam at the 2014 World Rowing Championships, have been selected into the Men’s Coxed Eight, joined by Joshua Booth, Matthew Ryan, Samuel Hookway, Nicholas Purnell, Scott Laidler, James Chapman and coxswain David Webster; the crew will be coached by Tim McLaren.

High Performance Director, Chris O’Brien: “This year’s World Rowing Championships are the primary qualification mechanism for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

“We are excited by a number of crews that have been selected which include a healthy mix of Olympic and World Championships medallists together with athletes who have come through the Under 23 and US athlete pathways.”

2015 Australian Rowing Team

Boat type, athlete and coach	Athlete Club/ Athlete State - Athlete SIS/SAS
Women’s Scull
Women’s Single Scull Kimberley Crow Coach – Lyall McCarthy	Melbourne University BC/VIC – NTC-Canberra NTC-Canberra
Women’s Double Scull Olympia Aldersey Sally Kehoe Coach – Jason Lane	Adelaide RC/SA – SASI Sydney Uni Women’s RC/QLD – SASI SASI
Women’s Quadruple Scull Jennifer Cleary Jessica Hall Kerry Hore Madeleine Edmunds Coach – Tom Westgarth Women’s Scull Reserve Fiona Albert	Mercantile RC/VIC – VIS Brisbane & GPS/QLD – QAS Huon RC/TAS – TIS Commercial RC/QLD – QAS QAS Mercantile RC/QLD - VIS
Women’s Lightweight Double Scull Alice McNamara Ella Flecker Coach – Mark Fangen-Hall	Melbourne University BC/VIC – VIS Huon RC/TAS – NTC-Canberra NTC-Canberra
Women’s Lightweight Quadruple Scull (SQUAD – further trialling) Laura Dunn Sarah Pound Maia Simmonds Georgia Miansarow Georgia Nesbitt Coach – Ellen Randell	UTS RC/NSW – NSWIS UTS RC/NSW – NSWIS University of WA/WA – NTC-Canberra Mosman RC/NSW – NTC-Canberra Huon RC/TAS – TIS UTS RC
Men’s Scull
Men’s Double Scull Alexander Belonogoff James McRae Coach – Rhett Ayliffe	Sydney University BC/NSW – SASI Murray Bridge RC/SA – SASI WAIS
Men’s Quadruple Scull Cameron Girdlestone David Crawshay David Watts Karsten Forsterling Coach – John Driessen	Sydney University BC/NSW – NSWIS Mercantile RC/VIC – VIS Swan River RC/WA – NTC-Canberra Melbourne University BC/VIC – VIS Huon RC
Women’s Sweep
Women’s Coxless Pair Molly Goodman Genevieve Horton Coach – Bill Tait	Adelaide RC/SA – NTC Canberra Mosman RC/NSW – NSWIS VIS
Women’s Coxed Eight (SQUAD – further trialling) Alexandra Hagan Charlotte Sutherland Hannah Vermeersch Katrina Bateman Meaghan Volker Renee Chatterton Rosemary Popa Sophie Sutherland Jessie Allen Lucy Stephan Sarah Banting © Coach – Andrew Randell	Swan River RC/WA – WAIS Mercantile RC/VIC – NTC-Canberra WARC/WA – WAIS Mercantile RC/VIC Buckingham RC/TAS Adelaide RC/SA – SASI Banks RC/VIC Mercantile RC/VIC Mosman RC/NSW – NTC-Canberra Melbourne University BC/VIC – NTC-Canberra Mercantile RC/VIC ACTAS
Men’s Sweep
Men’s Coxless Pair Jack Hargreaves Nicholas Wheatley Coach – Thomas Laurich	Sydney University BC/NSW – NTC-Canberra Sydney University BC/NSW – NTC-Canberra VIS
Men’s Coxless Four Alexander Hill Alexander Lloyd Spencer Turrin William Lockwood Coach – Simon Cox	Adelaide RC/SA – NTC-Canberra Sydney RC/NSW – NTC-Canberra Sydney RC/NSW – NTC-Canberra Melbourne University BC/VIC – NTC Canberra NTC-Canberra
Men’s Coxed Eight Fergus Pragnell James Chapman Joshua Dunkley-Smith Joshua Booth Matthew Ryan Nicholas Purnell Samuel Hookway Scott Laidler David Webster © Coach – Timothy McLaren	Sydney University BC/NSW – VIS Sydney RC/NSW – NSWIS Mercantile RC/VIC – VIS Melbourne University BC/VIC – VIS Sydney University BC/NSW -VIS Sydney University BC/NSW – NSWIS Melbourne University BC/VIC Dutton Park RC/QLD – NTC-Canberra Melbourne University BC/VIC – VIS UTS RC
Men’s Lightweight Coxless Four Darryn Purcell Nicholas Silcox Perry Ward Timothy McDonnell Coach – Brett Crow	Toowong RC/QLD – TIS Toowong RC/QLD – TIS Swan River/WA – WAIS Toowong RC/QLD TIS
Para-Rowing
Para-Rowing – Arms, Shoulders Men’s Single Scull Erik Horrie Coach – Jason Baker	Sydney RC/QLD – NSWIS Sydney RC
Para-Rowing – Trunk and Arms Mixed Double Scull Gavin Bellis Kathryn Ross Coach – Gordon Marcks	Powerhouse RC/VIC – NTC-Canberra ANU/VIC – NTC-Canberra NTC-Canberra
Para-Rowing – Legs, Trunk and Arms Mixed Coxed Four (SQUAD – further trialling) Cameron Crombie Jeremy McGrath Kathleen Murdoch Kathleen O’Kelly-Kennedy Sara Waitzer Josephine Burnard Coach – Gordon Marcks	Canberra RC/ACT – ACTAS Balmain RC/NSW – NSWIS Nepean RC/NSW – NSWIS West Australian RC/WA Tasmania University BC/TAS Mosman RC/NSW NTC-Canberra

-ENDS-

For more information, please contact:
Lucy Benjamin
Rowing Australia – Media and Communications Manager
Mob: +61 457 744 434
Email: lbenjamin@rowingaustralia.com.au

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