Henley Royal Regatta 2008
Henley Royal Regatta 2008 was held from Wednesday 2 July to Sunday 6 July on the Thames at Henley-on-Thames. Nineteen trophies were decided on finals day, and eight of them went overseas.
It was an Olympic summer, with the Beijing Games a month away. Canadian crews took three of the eights trophies: the Grand, the Temple and the Princess Elizabeth.
Finals
| Trophy | Boat | Winner | Runner-up | Verdict | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Challenge Cup | Men’s eight | Victoria City R.C. and Kingston R.C., Canada | University of Southern California, USA | 2 lengths | 6:29 |
| Stewards’ Challenge Cup | Men’s coxless four | Cambridge University | O.E.A. and N.A.V. Volos and N.C. Thessaloniki, Greece | 3 1/2 lengths | 7:09 |
| Queen Mother Challenge Cup | Men’s quadruple scull | R.C. Viljandi and R.C. Narva Energia, Estonia | California R.C., USA | 2 1/4 lengths | 6:47 |
| Silver Goblets and Nickalls’ Challenge Cup | Men’s pair | S.B. Keeling and R.P. Di Clemente, South Africa | O.L.E. Rueckbrodt and F. Otto, Germany | 4 3/4 lengths | 7:47 |
| Double Sculls Challenge Cup | Men’s double scull | W.D. Piermarini and E.M. Hovey, USA | P.F. Graves and T.H. Graves, USA | 1 1/4 lengths | 7:35 |
| Diamond Challenge Sculls | Men’s single scull | I.J. Lawson, Leander Club | S.M. Jacob, Ireland | Easily | 8:10 |
| Remenham Challenge Cup | Women’s eight | Leander Club and Wallingford R.C. | Furnivall S.C. and Leander Club | 3 lengths | 7:31 |
| Princess Grace Challenge Cup | Women’s quadruple scull | Wallingford R.C. and Reading University | Upper Thames R.C. | Easily | 7:54 |
| Princess Royal Challenge Cup | Women’s single scull | C. Ryan, Ireland | M.H. Pauls | 3 1/2 lengths | 9:18 |
| Ladies’ Challenge Plate | Men’s eight | Leander Club | R.S.V.U. Okeanos and D.S.R. Laga, Netherlands | 2/3 length | 6:36 |
| Visitors’ Challenge Cup | Men’s coxless four | Imperial College London and Kingston R.C. | Martyrs B.C. and Christ Church, Oxford | 1 1/4 lengths | 7:08 |
| Prince of Wales Challenge Cup | Men’s quadruple scull | California R.C., USA | Leander Club and London R.C. | 1 1/4 lengths | 6:52 |
| Thames Challenge Cup | Men’s eight | Leander Club | Tideway Scullers’ School | Canvas | 6:47 |
| Wyfold Challenge Cup | Men’s coxless four | Tyne R.C. | London R.C. ‘B’ | 1 length | 7:26 |
| Britannia Challenge Cup | Men’s coxed four | Molesey B.C. | Ortner B.C. | 2 1/2 lengths | 7:26 |
| Temple Challenge Cup | Men’s eight | University of Western Ontario, Canada | Trinity College, Hartford, USA | 2 3/4 lengths | 6:42 |
| Prince Albert Challenge Cup | Men’s coxed four | Newcastle University | University of the West of England | 2 lengths | 7:39 |
| Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup | Junior men’s eight | Shawnigan Lake School, Canada | Eton College | 3/4 length | 6:48 |
| Fawley Challenge Cup | Junior men’s quadruple scull | Peterborough City R.C. and Nottingham R.C. | Marlow R.C. ‘A’ | 1 length | 7:10 |
Reading the table
A verdict is the winning margin as judged at the finish. “Easily” means the gap was too large to be worth measuring. A “canvas” is the length of the covered bow section of the boat, and it was all that separated Leander from Tideway Scullers in the Thames Cup.
Times are for the full course of 1 mile 550 yards. They depend heavily on wind and stream, so they are a poor guide when comparing one year with another.
Notes on the finals
- The Grand went to a Canadian crew for the second year running. Canada’s national eight had won it in 2007 under club names.
- The Prince of Wales Challenge Cup was presented for the first time. The event for men’s quadruple sculls had been raced before without a named trophy.
- Shawnigan Lake School’s win in the Princess Elizabeth was the first by a Canadian school since 1998.
- Leander Club won three finals: the Ladies’ Plate, the Thames Cup and, with Wallingford, the Remenham.