Page 8 - Abingdon News

SPORT
8 September 2012
Rowing’s Triumphs
Having won the Schools’ Head of the River in March and the Queen Elizabeth the Queen
Mother’s Cup for Championship Eights at the National Schools’ Regatta in May, Abingdon’s
1st VIII achieved rowing’s illustrious ‘Triple’ when they won the prestigious Princess Elizabeth
Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in June – a magnificent achievement by a dedicated
and talented crew: Neil McKenzie, James Richards, Joel Cooper, Andrew Halls, Matthew
Carter, Thomas Pagel, Alex Fisher, William Horlock and Felix Newman. Nor were the 1st VIII
alone in their achievements. The 2nd VIII won the National Schools’ Elsenham Cup and also
qualified for the Wyfold cup at Henley; the J14As won the octos at Marlow Regatta, where the
J16A VIII also won their event and the J14s won both the octos and the quads at Reading. n
1st and 2nd VIII at the National Schools’ Regatta
National and
International Karate
Successes
At the Irish International
Open Karate
Championships in
May, Joshua Valentine
won the Champions
Cup for captaining the
winning team against
the Russian squad in
the sparring section.
Jack Bevan, who lost
in the semi-final by
just half a point, won
a bronze medal in the
Boys Individual Kumite
Under 5ft event at the British National Karate
Championships, beating a number of Black
Belt opponents on the way. n
Swimming’s Silver Medallists
At the Bromsgrove Relays, Abingdon teams
won silver medals in all four events – superb
results against very fierce competition, which
resulted in some very close finishes.
Michael Esnouf, representing the South
East Schools, won silver medals in both
the Intermediate Boys breaststroke and
4 x 100m medley relay at the English
Schools’ Swimming Association National
Championships on 30 June – a great tribute
to both his talent and his commitment. n
Representing GB
Fynn Ryley, third from left, was one of
the four members of the British Schools’
Shooting team competing last March in
Dortmund at ISAS International, which
attracts top shooters from around the
world. His score of 584 earned him
27th place – 11 points behind the
winner. n
Fencing’s Bronze
Medallists
At the British Youth Championships in May,
for which five Abingdon boys qualified – in
itself a great achievement – Bernard Ng
won bronze in the U18 and Herman Chan
bronze in the U16 of the Boys’ Epée. n
Photograph - Ben Rodford