Pritchard adds to British medal tally in Poland

Ben Pritchard expressed sympathy for his British Rowing teammate Andrew Houghton after pipping him to a World Rowing Cup II bronze medal in Poznan.

The Para rower stood atop the podium to receive the bronze medal in the PR1 men’s single sculls.

Pritchard finished the 2000m race in 10.56.780 behind Ukraine’s Roman Polianskyi and Australian Erik Horrie, 25 seconds ahead of fellow Brit Houghton.

And amid the joy of winning Great Britain’s second medal at the World Rowing Cup II, the 27-year-old was able to spare a thought for the disappointment of his compatriot.

“I feel for my teammate Andy, but this is a really good benchmark for us,” said Pritchard.

“This is a great achievement for me! This race is part of the World Rowing Championship selection, so I had to just focus on myself.”

The Polish waters had already seen one GB Para rower climb the podium when Paralympic champion Lauren Rowles won silver in the PR2 women’s single scull.

Speaking after her event, Rowles revealed she intends to learn from her performance having been forced into a late switch of event prior to competition.

“This regatta’s been awesome,” said Rowles. “I always love Poznan, it’s a great course and I love the atmosphere here. It’s unfortunate not to come away with the win.

“I really did hope that I would but you’ve got to take lessons from your losses and that’s what I’m going to implement in training as we go towards World Championships.”

(Image credit: British Rowing, Ken Pritchard)

Sportsbeat 2019