Reading rows to Championship success – University of Reading
04 May 2005
The University of Reading enjoyed a weekend of sporting success after finishing second overall in the British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) Rowing Championships, which were held in Nottingham. Reading won a total of 12 medals: 7 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze. Reading came away with a rare double by winning both men's and women's single sculls title. Olympic silver medallist Debbie Flood won the single sculls, and teamed up with Natasha Page to win the double sculls and the coxless rowing pairs. Not to be outdone, the men's squad produced similarly outstanding results winning gold in the single, pair and lightweight doubles. Reading literally left many of the established rowing universities – such as Oxford, Cambridge, London and Imperial College – in their wake. In total, Reading entered 19 crews and a remarkable 17 made it into the finals. Reading's Director of Rowing, Will Rand, said: "It was a great overall team performance, as all of the crews that made the finals scored points for the overall championships." A number of Reading's rowers are part of the Great Britain squads and Debbie Flood, who won a silver medal at the Athens Olympics, was delighted to take part and row for Reading. She said: "It was fantastic to be able to support my university at the BUSA Championships. There's a great team spirit at the boat club and I'm sure we'll go from strength to strength." End Notes for editors -For media enquiries, please contact Craig Hillsley, the University's press officer, on (tel) 0118 378 7388 or (email) c.hillsley@rdg.ac.uk