All Star Rowing Team Beat Oxford (2008 crew) by 31 Seconds!

It was a gallant battle, but weighing in at an average of just 8st 3lb each, it was always going to be an uphill task for the first ever flat jockeys rowing team to give the weight away to an all-star ensemble from Durham Amateur Rowing Club (weighing almost double the jockeys combined weight), in the inaugural William Hill Lincoln Boat race at Doncaster Race course on Saturday.

Accumulatively, the five of us weighed in at a little over 40 stone said team captain Dale Gibson, So, it was a bit daunting to see the Durham AFC squad, which apparently consisted of 3 indoor Gold medallist, a world record holder and a 2012 Olympic prospect never mind being 6f' 7" and weighing twice as much as we did!

Using Concept2 Indoor Rowers, the flat jockeys team of Gibson, Tom Eaves, Darren Williams, Paul Mulrennan and Philip Makin, took on a star-studded team from Durham Amateur Rowing Club and to race against the 2008 Oxford and Cambridge crews in a computer re-run of last year's Boat Race - won by Oxford in a time of 20 minutes and 53 seconds.

With a winning time of 20mins 22seconds the Durham squad not only beat the jockeys handsomely, but shaved 31seconds off the winning time of the 2008 Oxford Boat Race crew, and thus ensured William Hill donated £3000 to various charities, including a £1000 to the Injured Jockeys Fund.

The jockeys completed the course in 24mins 52 seconds for the 4 miles 374 yards of the Boat Race distance, earning both the plaudits and the respect of their more experienced rivals, who rallied round to cheer them home.

“They have rowed brilliantly for novices”, said Garath Archer the 6ft 7in former Newcastle Falcons and England Rugby player, who since taking up rowing has won two British Gold medals, “They were pulling 34 strokes a minute at some points which is exactly the rhythm we aim for, the problem of course, is that their strokes are a lot shorter than ours. But this event has been great fun and the spirit and competitiveness of the jockeys has been made this a terrific event to take part in.”

**The Durham Rowing Club **drew on the talents of several former Rugby stars now pulling out all the stops in the world of indoor rowing:

**Garath Archer (34): **Former Newcastle Falcons and Bristol Rugby player, Capped for England 1996-2000. He retired in 2004 at 29, because of back injury, and has since taken up rowing winning  the 2008 British Gold (30+) and the 2009 English Open Gold, at the British Rowing Championships.

**Steve Bainbridge (52): **is a former England international rugby union player 1982-1987. He played amongst other teams for club rugby for Gosforth and Orrell and played for the British Lions 1983, Since taking up indoor rowing, Steve has won the 2006 British Gold (50-54), 2007 British Silver (50-54), 2007 World Silver (50-54).

**Gill Prescott (50): **Gold medal at the World Indoor Rowing Championships held in Boston, USA on 24th Feburary 2008. Gill's world class time in the Women's 50-54 category was 7:20.6 and over the 2000 metres. Her other indoor rowing achievements include;  2006/7 Gold medals at the British, Scottish and European Indoor Rowing Championships.