In a well run event hosted by Norwich Canoe Club, University of Nottingham athletes took on a host of paddlers from universities across the country at the 2024 BUCS Canoe Sprint Championships. Held on the weeked of the 16-17 March, the University of Nottingham had entries across multiple disciplines in both the men's and women's competitions - delivering great success on the water.
The weekend belonged to our female competitors with four events resulting in all Nottingham podiums as the #GreenandGold took gold, silver, and bronze in the Women's 200m Relay, 200m, K2 500m, and the K2 200m. Amy Green took gold ahead of Katie Pocklington and Kate Hipkins in the Women's 200m, whilst Green and Pocklington combined to finish on the top step of the podium in the 200m Relay, alongside Bea Clark and Kate Hipkins, and Lucy Guest and Elise Montagna - in second and third respectively. The same three teams would also finish as the top three in the K2 500m but with Guest and Montagna switching places with Clark and Hipkins to claim silver and bronze behind the duo of Green and Pocklington. However, in the K2 200m the dominance of Green and Pocklington would end as Clark and Hipkins delivered a superb performance to move ahead of the pair into first, with Guest and Montagna in third.
In the remaining two women's singles events, Amy Green would add yet another gold to her weekend's collection in the K1 500m, beating team mate Pocklington in second, whilst Lucy Guest and Elise Montagna narrowly missed out on a medal this time around in fourth and fifth. However, Guest and Montagna would be the highest Nottingham finishers in the Women's 5K registering two places on the podium to win a silver and bronze respectively.
Reflecting on the incredible achievements of Nottingham's female athletes, Amy Green said: "The weekend was really successful with lots of medals and close racing. The girls had 4 all UoN podiums which was great to achieve. Having achieved 4 gold medals and a close second I am very happy with my performances -it's a great way to start the season. The team had a great time together and the atmosphere was so encouraging and supportive. The turn out this year was great with more paddlers from more unis competing. I’m looking forward to the season ahead after this great start.”
Alongside this phenomenal success, Nottingham's men's athletes were also in action in similar disciplines. Finn Cadell's performances stood out amongst the Nottingham pack as he claimed gold in the Men's 5K, and added a silver medal in the K1 500m. Cadell rounded out his weekend by teaming with Michael Motha to win bronze in the K2 500m, with the pair registering fourth place finishes in both the K2 200m and the 200m relay.
Cadell spoke on Nottingham's success by saying "the men’s team, missing 5 medal winners from last year who have graduated, featured new faces in Michael, Finn, and Will, alongside myself. The new comers definitely stepped up, and I was especially happy to improve on my bronze medal from last year to win gold ahead of two Trent paddlers in the 5K. Having broken away in a group of 3 off the start I managed to go clear with about 1km to go and held my speed till the finish."
The 200m relay saw Nottingham's Finn Johnson and Will Eyles finish in the top five, repeating their feat in the K2 500m.
Overall, the University of Nottingham delivered 19 BUCS medals at the championships in what Katie Pocklington described as a "really successful weekend for the University of Nottingham, and an exciting start to the racing season with the team." We congratulate everyone involved in this hugely fruitful weekend for the university, and look forward to seeing our paddlers achieve even more success across their season.
Find out more about the
Performance Canoe programme at the University of Nottingham here, as well as our
scholarship programme here.
Posted on Monday 25th March 2024