22 October 2007 By Graham Croker
Sydney University Boat Club rower Bronwen Watson justified her decision to come out of retirement when she won a gold medal in the women’s lightweight quad at the recent 2007 World Championships held in Munich.
Watson teamed with Tara Kelly of Queensland, Alice McNamara of Victoria and Miranda Bennett of NSW to win the lightweight quad scull in 6:35.85 ahead of Germany and Italy. The Australians led from start to finish to win gold.
“It worked out exactly as we had planned,” said Watson, who officially retired after winning a bronze medal in the same event at the 2003 World Championships in Milan.
“We benefited in every way from a solid preparation, fantastic coach, and great crew dynamic. We had fun in the heat, had a smile at the start line and it was just great.”
The World Championship title is the end to a fairytale year for Watson who only returned to the sport 12 months ago.
“I had been out of boats for about 12 months then took it up again socially in England in 2005 – which gave me the chance to race at Women’s and Royal Henley plus an international regatta in Belgium,” she said.
“But when I came back to Australia to take up a head coaching position at a girls school I found sitting in the speed boat a really frustrating way to be on the water so I starting doing a bit of paddling. Before I knew it I was spending more time in lycra and training six days a week!
“I returned with a really positive attitude and initially only returned with the intention of regaining some fitness. I just set myself the goal of having a good time and possibly having a hit out at the State Championships.
“Summer training camp in Jindabyne was a test but I thrived in the full-time training environment and started thinking about the possibility of trailing for selection.”
As they say, the rest is history. Watson will now be looking to gain a seat in the lightweight double for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
SUBC was also represented at the World Championships by Brooke Pratley, who finished 7th in the heavyweight quad. In a tough event the Australians managed to come back after slow times in the heats and repechages to qualify the boat for the Olympics.
With seats up for grabs, Pratley will now be looking to race well to gain a spot in the quad for Beijing.
SUBC rower Fergus Pragnell and coxswain Marty Rabjohns were just beaten for the bronze medal in finishing fourth in the coxed pair. Poland won in a time of 7.00.10 with Italy and Canada rounding out the medallists.
Unfortunately the men’s eight and four did not share in the same success, with Matt Ryan, Jeremy Stevenson and Francis Hegerty failing to qualify either boat for the Olympics.
The eight finished a disappointing 8th while the four came 12th, each boat missing qualification by just one place.
Australia finished third on the overall medal tally, ending with three gold, two silver and two bronze.