29/05/2026
Welsh students prove class acts at BUCS
WELSH rowers filled their boats with medals at the four-day British Universities and Colleges Championships at Nottingham's National Water Sports Centre, reports NICK HARTLAND.
Llandaff RC's Kai Schlottmann and Cari Meredith were both on fire winning two golds and a silver each, while Meg Knight scored two golds with Reading University, who proved first-ever joint men's and women's Victor Ludorum winners under the guidance of Welsh Olympic medal head coach Chris Bartley.
Schlottmann helped Oxford Brookes retain the Championship men's 8s title with fellow Welsh rower Carwyn Davies, beating Durham into silver by just over a length in 5.52.70.
And the Taff graduate, who helped Wales win the men's coxless fours at last year's Home Countries, was then on board the Brookes 4- that overhauled the Wear outfit in the final 500m to again win by clear water in 6.20.14, with Oxford University 1/2L back in bronze and Wales team mates Gwilym Johnson and Finlay Thomson fourth with Newcastle, who also placed fifth in the Ch 8s and Ch 4+.
Welsh GB U23 cap Knight and her Reading A boat had 2L too much power for their B boat in the WCh 4x- A final (6.51.75).
And then with Zara Povey she went head to head all the way with quad crew mates Ellie Cooke and Franny Hunt Davies in the W Ch2x medal race, holding on to score a second gold by 1/4L in 7.10.81.
Cari Meredith's Birmingham University boat also took WCh Ltw 4- gold by 1L (7.27.56) from Cambridge's Light Blues, with Llandaff club mate Eve Tanguay fifth with Nottingham, while Old Monmothian cox Ben Jennery steered Durham to WCh 4+ gold (7.26.87) by 1 1/2L from Brookes with Cambridge third.
Gwilym Johnson also struck Ch 2- silver with Ed Ridley (6.54.29) 1L behind Durham's winners.
And Cardiff City graduate Megan Hadfield and Jennery were also on board Durham's bronze medal-winning WCh 8, overhauling Cambridge in the second half to finish 2L behind London in gold, 1L behind Brookes in silver and the same margin up on the Light Blues.
In the Intermediate events, Wales cap Millie Hurrell took gold with Brookes in her women's 8, overhauling Bath in the last quarter to come home 1/2L up in 6.52.97, with Cambridge in bronze a further canvas back.
Cari Meredith was also on the gold standard again in the WLtw IM 2- with Emily Fergusson, crossing a full 5L clear of Queen's Belfast in 8.19.82.
And she also struck silver in the WIM Ltw 4x in 7.02.76, leading to half way before coming home just over 1L behind Reading.
Llandaff club mate Schlottman also showed he's handy with two blades, taking IM 4x silver with Brookes a length behind Reading, with Strathclyde a similar distance back in bronze.
Hadfield was a double WIM silver medallist in the pairs and fours, coming with a rush from fifth with Durham partner Molly Vondrak in the former to take second on the line from Nottingham 2L behind Cambridge in 8.11.97.
And her four then caught London on the line by five-hundreds of a second with Cambridge just 1/3L up in gold.
Fin Thompson also teamed up with Lucas Bowes to take IM2- silver for Newcastle just over a length behind London in 6.56.53 – quick enough for bronze in Ch 2- – with fellow Welsh rower and club mate Dan Coupe taking bronze 1/2L back.
There were also some near misses, with A final showings from Meg Knight finishing fourth in WCh 1x, Alfie Wynter (Reading) fifth in Ch 4x, Tom Powell (Imperial) sixth in Ch 4+, Megan Hadfield fourth (Durham) in WIM 2x, Bath's Will Stradling and cox Freya Laws sixth in IM 4+ and Reading's Alex Repton sixth in IM 4x.
And Maddie Jones and Rae Bennett raced to fifth for Cardiff Met in the Women's Beginners' 2x only a couple of lengths off a medal, while club mate Grace Chaffy was sixth in the W Beg 1x.
Swansea University also made an A final placing fifth in the men's Beg 4+.
Meanwhile, Tom Powell's Imperial 8 won the Ch B final for seventh, matched by Carwyn Davies' Brookes boat in the Ch 4+, cox Scarlett Dundas in the Newcastle WIM 8 and Dan Coupe in the latter's IM 4+
Brookes' Sienna Taylor placed second for 8th in the WIM 8s, matched by Bath's Stradling and Laws in IM8s, who pipped Archie Jones and George Coates by one place in the Durham 8.
Cardiff University overturned the Varsity result edging out Swansea to B final victory for seventh overall in Beg 8, leading through every marker to win by a length (7.22.63), with the Tawe outfit holding off Warwick in second by 0.8secs.
But Swansea repeated their Welsh Boat Race success finishing fourth in the WBeg 8 B final for 10th overall, 2L and two places ahead of Cardiff.
The Taff students scored two more B final showings as well, Beth Weaver, Keira Delaney, Lucy Jones and Menna Sutton placing fourth in the WIM B 4x final for 10th (7.37.29) and their Beg 4+ third for ninth overall, while Swansea were 10th in WBeg 4+.
Eve Tanguay was also third for ninth overall with Nottingham in WCh Ltw 2x, while Swansea's Lydia Hunter-Tod impressed winning the C final of WCh Ltw 1x (9.11.01) for 13th overall, finishing 10 seconds clear of her nearest Nottingham Trent rival.
Mica Hird and Seren Van De Horst were also 14th in Exeter's WIM 8, Llandaff's Will Parry and Kier Palmer were 16th in Birmingham's IM4+ and 17th in the IM 2-, and Will Letten 17th in the Queen's Belfast IM 4+.
Cardiff University's other results were WIM 8 20th (also overturning their Varsity loss), IM 4x 26th, WBeg 4+ 28th, WIM 4+ 35th, Thomas Hargreaves IM1x 34th and Abdirahman Hassan 39th, who was a place ahead of Cardiff Met's Zach Salmon.
Other Swansea placings were Beg 4x 21st, WIM 4+ 25th with E final victory, matched by Daniel Bates in the IM1x and the WIM 8, WIM 2x 29th and 40th, WIM 2- 38th, IM 4+ 41st, and IM 8 42nd.
Cardiff Met's Beg 4+ also placed 15th, Tommy Dack won the Beg 1x D final for 19th, with Amelia Eldridge 27th in WIM 1x also winning the WIM 2x F final with Grace Chaffey for 31st, and the IM 4x 35th.
Bangor's results were Beg 2x 22nd, WBeg 4x 24th, WBeg 2x 31st with victory in the F final (Emma Croucher, Rachael Stanton), and IM2x 40th.
Full results at https://results.bucsrowing.org.uk/regatta26
