GB Rowing Select Old Blues for Rio Olympics

The GB Rowing Team have selected their crews ahead of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this summer.

Constantine Louloudis and George Nash have been selected in the men’s four, GB’s top selected men’s crew. Louloudis raced for Oxford four times (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015), including as President in 2015, winning on all four occasions. Nash raced in three Boat Races for Cambridge (2010, 2011, 2013), as President in 2013, and has since won three world championship gold medals. Both won bronze medals in London in 2012 and will look to go one step further alongside fellow 2012 bronze medallist Mo Sbihi and reigning Olympic champion Alex Gregory.

The men’s eight features no less than four former Boat Race athletes, with Pete Reed (Oxford 2005, 2006), Paul Bennett (Oxford 2013), Tom Ransley (Cambridge 2008, 2009) and Andrew Triggs Hodge (Oxford 2005). Reed and Triggs Hodge are both double Olympic champions from the 2008 and 2012 men’s four. Ransley won bronze alongside Constantine Louloudis in London and enters this racing season with consecutive world championship gold medals. This summer would be a first Olympic Games for Paul Bennett, who also has two world championship gold medals to his name. With both the four and the eight having won the world championships for the last two years, the eight too will be looking to take the top step on the podium this summer.

Zoe Lee (Oxford 2008) will stroke the women’s eight with Zoe de Toledo (Oxford 2012) as cox. Lee won her Boat Race by half a length in Henley-on-Thames, whilst de Toldeo was part of the disrupted 2012 men’s Boat Race. The GB women’s eight was within a second of the podium at the 2015 world championships.

The Boat Races wish them every success in Rio.