Christ's College Wins Maadi Cup
29 Mar 2021
Christ’s College proved far too strong in the premier event at the National Secondary Schools Rowing Championships, powering to victory in the prestigious Maadi Cup for a record 13th time.
In total, College won six medals at the week-long event on Lake Karapiro, near Cambridge.
The College U18 eight left runner-up Auckland Grammar School in its wake on Saturday, crossing the finish line more than six seconds ahead to win the flagship race in 6:06.47.
Guided by senior coaches Malcolm McIntyre, Will Satch and Henry Smith, the U18 crew of stroke Archie Batchelor, Gus Orr, Liam Alexander, Louie Bethell, Johnny Lee, Angus Wynn-Williams, George Trolove, Thomas McEwan and cox Hamish McCulloch sped straight to the lead.
For the coaches – along with Team Manager Chris Sellars – the Maadi Cup win was the culmination of four years of preparation, as well as overcoming a trying environment of lockdowns and cancelled events.
Henry described the win as “a truly remarkable performance from a special group of boys”.
College narrowly missed the golden triple, with the U17 eight – Edward Botherway (stroke), Oscar Todhunter, Abe McArthur, George Clarke, Johnny Lee, Raymond Brooks, Toby Beresford, Hamish Grigg and Jake Cutler (cox) – winning silver in 5:55.03.
The U16 eight – Tom Picton-Warlow (stroke), Luke James, Oscar Todhunter, George Cochrane, George Clarke, Max Harris, Charlie Poulter, Alex Speight and Luke Menzies (cox) – also secured silver in 6:14.45.
