ABINGDON School coach Charles Cousins and Oxford Blue Ruth Siddorn won titles at the Amateur Sculling Championships, writes John Wiggins.

Racing a four-and-a-quarter-mile championship course on the London Tideway, this unique

side-by-side race saw the duo add their names to an illustrious list of past winners.

Both are now hopeful of being part of the 2020 Olympic team in Tokyo.

Siddorn took control of her race in the first few minutes, extending her lead steadily over the course to eventually come home 38 seconds ahead of her rival.

Cousins survived some very bouncy conditions and later an encounter with a piece of driftwood that nearly caused a capsize.

But he came through to secure a 20-second winning margin.

City of Oxford RC tried a number of new faces in the men’s squad at the Upper Thames Autumn Head in Henley, tasting success in the Band 2 coxless fours.

Dan Wilkinson and Will Mahoney were in both winning boats, racing with Alex Simmonds and James Watson in the morning, then Simon Kerswell-Jensen and Mat Swiss in the afternoon division.

The club also triumphed in the ladies’ events, Merel Lefferts and Megan Pickering taking the pairs.

Falcon RC were fewer in number but dominated the women’s Masters D quads with the crew of Naomi Sharma, Mary Murray, Susie Smith and Lil Cochrane.

The new director of rowing at Hinksey Sculling School, Bodo Schulenberg, saw Jojo Blith and Harriet Wilson winning the J18 doubles and then, with Jess Foster and Poppy Marshall, the J18 quads.

The Oxford University Women’s squad experimented ahead of the Fours Head next week with their A boat of Linda van Bijsterveldt, Katie Anderson, Lizzie Polgreen, Juliette Allen and cox Michael Hobley finishing only a tenth of a second ahead of the B crew (Anna Murgatroyd, Olivia Pryer, Amelia Standing, Renee Koolshcijn and Cox,Eleanor Shearer ).

Their eight (Sanya Brolih, Kelsey Stoddart, Hannah Coles, Poppy Diver, Elsebine Bolier, Helena Pickford, Heather Tong, Emma Carter and Cox, Jess Buck) was also victorious.

Abingdon RC had wins for Phillip Nelson and Ed Sanders in the men’s pair and in the Masters F four of Andrew Troup, Tim Baker, Simon Keogh and Cuan Ryan, coxed by Karen Baker.