The only female in the boat has made her mark on the River Trent by joining the men’s crew in claiming first place in the Autumn Head Race.
The crew managed to out-row seven other teams and completed the 3,700-meter downstream course in just 12 minutes and 36.3 seconds.
The race, held on 19 October, was hosted at Nottingham Rowing Club and drew clubs in from across the region.
This early-season head race marked the transition from the shorter sprint-focused summer season to longer endurance winter challenges.
Gold medallist Alex Glasspool, 22, was the only female a part of the winning boat.
She explained how the crew’s preparation focused heavily on rebuilding endurance after the summer.
She said: “To prepare for the race we did lots of practice on the water, practising our endurance and really focused on getting our fitness levels up from summer.
“It was raining heavily which wasn’t ideal for our eye-sight, but rain makes the water flatter, so to some degree it helped.”
For this third-year Nottingham Trent student, it was her first race back in over a year and a half, she said: “It was pretty nerve-wracking, but I was excited to be back on the water racing with my crew.
“I was honoured to be the only female selected to row alongside the boys as they are such successful rowers and it felt amazing to win with them.”
Although, despite powering towards victory, things weren’t always smooth sailing.
Halfway through the race, the crew collided with a boys’ school crew ahead of them while taking a bend on the course.
“They didn’t move out of the way and it slowed us down slightly,” said Glasspool.
“But nonetheless, we still managed to take the win!
“A lot of the race is mind over matter so we did well to not let this deter us from our end goal too much,” she added.
Nottingham Rowing Club captain, Harry Phillips, 25, echoed this by emphasising that a strong positive mindset is essential for races like these, but said that motivation came naturally for his crews competing on home waters.
He said: “With it being a home event, and having strong competition, everyone was naturally keen to perform.
“The focus was simply on sticking to the plan and executing on the day.”
Phillips praised both the athletes and the behind-the-scenes work that made the weekend a success, he said: “It feels incredibly rewarding to be the captain of the winning club this weekend.
“There’s so much hard work that goes on behind the scenes, not just in training on the water and in the gym, but also in the logistics and setup that athletes themselves help manage.
“That effort often goes unnoticed, so to see it all come together and result in a win on our home river makes you feel proud to represent the club.”
The victory has boosted confidence across the Nottingham rowing community as the club turns its focus to the upcoming Fours Head Race on the Tideway in London in a few weeks’ time.
