Cox – James Zimaras; Stroke – Charlotte Hallam; 3 – Léa Gansser-Potts; 2 – Pippa Sayers; Bow – Kate Attfield; Coaches – Lisa Silk, Paul Knights
Buoyed by our success at Cambridge Winter Head (where we won our division), W1 knew all was to play for as we approached our final race as a crew. We were starting just behind Jesus W1, who earlier in term had won University Fours by a good thirty seconds. A speedy, if somewhat messy, start had Queens’ powering away from Jesus Boathouse.
A ‘commit’ call under Elizabeth Way bridge had the crew settle at a strong rate 31/32, with gritty determination to give this race our absolute all. Soon after Green Dragon bridge we heard the call of ‘we’re gaining on Jesus’ for the first time! Going onto the Reach it was time to dig deep, but a term of hard work was paying off and with gutsy resolve the split dropped further. A final push from bowside brought us round the final corner onto Plough Reach for the final 20 strokes of the race. With every last bit of energy that could be mustered the boat surged towards the finish line.
It wasn’t until the times were released that we realised just how well we’d done – we had beaten all the women’s IVs (including the invitational Cantabs crew), as well as 5 men’s crews, an earned ourselves blades! Another win for Queens’ 1st IV in the G. A. Hayter and the crew are ecstatic. It’s been a real joy to row with and captain this boat, and I hope the success continues throughout the rest of the year!