On Saturday the 8 December, Danes Hill sent several Year 7 and 8 pupils to the Olympic Park Velodrome to compete in the British Indoor Rowing Championships. Just under 2000 competitors took part, from 11-years-olds competing for the first time to seasoned British champions, Olympians, and Paralympians, all competing to break world records and to be crowned as British Champion.
After fuelling up with a hearty brunch, the day followed with 500m sprints for all, and 2-minute sprints for Year 7s, and 3-minute sprints for Year 8s. The girls produced great times in the 500m sprint, with some achieving personal bests; E Pitts placed 6th, L Ingles 7th, and A Drake 8th. C OByrne, Year 7, initially led his 500m sprint, ultimately finishing 3rd and bringing home a bronze medal for his efforts with a personal best time of 1 minute 59 seconds.
The 2- and 3-minute sprints also saw excellent performances. E Stevenson finished in 8th position for her race, and C O’Byrne in a real nail biter of a race 6th out of 30 in his, with a distance of 486m and only 3 strokes behind the gold medallist.
It was wonderful to see former Danes Hill pupil and one of C O’Byrne’s best friends, J Weeks, win gold in the 500m sprint and silver in the two-minute race for Reigate Grammar School; whilst the boys are now at different schools, they celebrated their sporting successes together.
Well done to all the pupils who travelled on Saturday to compete, you did yourself and Danes Hill very proud!