By the end of the Henley Women's Regatta that took place over the weekend you could hear people asking if there was something special in the water in Enniskillen. The town was represented by crews and individuals alike rowing for their respective clubs, all of whom made themselves known through their talent, ability and outstanding performances.
The two crews from the local Portora Boat Club both made lasting impressions on the regatta with the eight making it all the way to the final and only missing out on the win by half a boat length. The double of Claire Smith and Aisling McCann whilst getting knocked out after their heat could not have been praised more by the commentators for their grace and technical ability as they raced down the course. The double, after getting off to a slower start than their rival boat, pushed themselves all the way down the 1500m course maintain an appearance of calm and good technique which is often lost in similar situations.
Two of the other home grown rowers competing were Leonora Kennedy and Rebecca Humphreys who each managed a winning finish. Leonora had a tough day on Sunday with three races which allowed very little recovery time between them. Her first race of the day was a semi-final rowing for Thames Rowing Club in a composite elite eight that were able to easily defeat their competition from the Barns Bridge Ladies Rowing Club. Her next race was also in a composite boat in the final of the elite coxless fours event. At the bow of the boat Leonora also held the responsibility of steering her crew down the course which she did flawlessly and ensured that at the end of the race she was the first person over the line. Her crew won the event easily over Vesta Rowing Club in a time of 5:14. Leonora's job then became harder as she had to turn around and then focus again on the final of the elite eight's race against a crew from Yale University in America. Having watched the Yale crew in earlier races it was evident that it was going to be a very tough race one which would be decided in the final few strokes which is exactly what happened, it was the crew from Yale however that managed to get over the line first however only _ of a length in a new course record time of 4:40.
Rebecca Humphreys who rows for the University of London also had great success in the elite coxless quadruple sculls event. Managing a win over Old Collegians Boat Club from Ireland in the semi-final Becky and her crew managed a quick recovery to get back out on the water and take on the other semi-final winner from Mortlake Anglian & Alpha Boat Club. As with the rest of the races that had been rowed that afternoon Becky's race proved to be a tough one however after a good start they were able to power down the course and hold off their competition finishing 1/3 boat length ahead in a fantastic time of 5minutes and 4 seconds, a mere 3 seconds off the course record for the event.
Whilst they may all be from what some people consider small town Enniskillen all of these girls have demonstrated that they are amongst the best around at rowing and won't let anyone put them in their place. They are all certainly names to look out for in the future with much to be expected from all of these talented girls.
