Grainger: rowing to Beijing Olympics

OLYMPIC hopeful Katherine Grainger will be among those battling for places in the Beijing when the GB Rowing senior trials take place in Hazewinkel, Belgium, on Sunday and Monday.



The top open-weight women will compete in Belgium in
single sculls.  
Marlow’s Grainger is the defending champion, and with Sarah Winckless returning to the sport after a year-long absence through injury, there are now five world champions - Grainger, Winckless, Fran Houghton, Debbie Flood and Annie Vernon -  amongst those vying for places in headline boats this season.
Olympic medallist Elise Laverick is also in the frame. Only Anna Bebington, from the top sculling group, is missing through injury.
Andy Hodge and Peter Reed defend their men's pair title and
will face challenges from their Camelot-sponsored men's four colleagues Steve Williams, racing with Matt Langridge, and Alex Partridge, racing with Rick Egington.
Colin Smith, winner of a world bronze with Matt Langridge
last year, and Tom James, a world finalist with Smith in 2006, will also be a pair to watch.
They are fabled "boat-movers" and came second to Hodge and Reed at the last Winter Assessment Trials over 5km in Boston.
Similar and intense rivalry is also expected at the top of
the lightweight men's single scull event with only six
Olympic places available.
Siemens-backed world lightweight men's four champions - from the sweep oar squad -  James Clarke, James Lindsay-Fynn, Paul Mattick and Richard Chambers are all competing.
It will be interesting to see if any can push sculler Mark Hunter, winner of a bronze in the lightweight double scull at last year's worlds.  
Only Marlow’s Zac Purchase, the former U23 world single scull champion, is missing as he is still recovering from a winter training injury.
Alan Campbell, winner of world cup medals last year in the
men's single scull will start favourite to win the open-weight men's single scull title.
Victory would bring up his hat-trick.
Stephen Rowbotham, 2006 world double scull medallist, could
be his main challenger after Matt Wells withdrew with an injury.
Helen Casey, Hester Goodsell, Jane Hall, Sophie
Hosking and Andrea Dennis should be among the leading
contenders for the women's lightweight single scull.