Rowing: British Olympic gold medalist Tom James meets King’s School Chester students while success is gained at Hampton Head and Head of the Nene meets

Feb 25 2010 by Ben Coulbeck, Chester Chronicle

KING’S School Chester rowers enjoyed capital gains at the weekend while one lucky pupil met two British Olympic gold medalists.

Ten crews from the Wrexham Road school made long journeys to London and Peterborough and returned with three medals and a trophy.

At the Hampton Head meet, which attracts some of the country’s best crews to the capital, the junior 15 first eight took the gold medal and Hampton Head J15 Cup after a stunning victory. Ben Hastings in the stroke seat.

Oliver Crowe was stroke for the J15 second eight who finished up with a silver medal.

Also in the Division One categories, the King’s girls finished in a creditable sixth place overall.

In Division Two, King’s girls’ first eight finished fourth in the under 18 category – a result which surpassed all expectations.

King’s spokeswoman Vicky Titmuss said: “This is the first time the King’s School has boated a girls first eight and it is an encouraging start to beat some established schools in their first race.”

At the Head of the Nene meet in Peterborough, the J16 eight returned victorious taking the gold medal after finishing 15 seconds in front of their counterparts with Tom Stables in the stroke seat.

The J15 first eight raced well to finish third after losing out to Abingdon and Eton school.

Meanwhile, King’s J15 competitor Tom Hall had a day to remember when he met Team GB gold medalist from the Beijing Olympics Tom James.

Former King’s School pupil James signed a blade and then introduced young Tom to British team-mate Andy Triggs-Hodge, who was the stroke man for the victorious British coxless fours in China two years ago.