Cara Grzeskowiak of Capital Lakes Rowing Club had great racing results at the Sydney International Rowing Regatta held at Penrith over the last week with multiple wins in the Open Women’s Quad Scull, the under 23 Women’s Quad Scull, and the under 23 Women’s Double Scull Championships. In these crews Cara teamed up with best of Australia’s women’s rowers from across the country.
Perhaps the most intrigueing of Cara’s results were her single sculls races where she was raging favourite for the under 23 Single Scull Championship, and was surprised by Toowong lightweight Amy James. Cara led most of the race, as has usually happened and then was challenged by the Queenslander over the closing stages of the race. Cara’s surprising loss was a great prelude to the Inter-State Women’s Single Sculls event where Amy and Cara represented their states along with Olympians Kim Crow (Victoria) and Kerry Hore (Tasmania). Crow and Hore had a great battle for first with Crow winning by about a length, but a much closer battle for third was happening throughout the race, with less than a second between Queensland and the ACT, this time with Amy James leading for most of the race, and continually responding to Cara’s challenges. In the last 100m of the race Cara pushed hard and just caught Amy to win by 0.09 of a second. This third place behind the Olympic legends was a great result and put the ACT on the Inter-State podium for the first time since 2006.
Other great performances over the week long regatta included Luke Letcher of Black Mountain winning the Under 23 Single, Double and Quad Sculls Championships, Tom Perry of Canberra won Lightweight Double and Quad Sculls, and came second in the Lightweight Single Sculls Championships, ANU crew of Tom Collins and Caleb Antill won the under 21 Double Sculls Championship and para rowers Kathryn Ross of ANU with wins in the TA Women’s Single and Mixed Double Championships, and Cam Crombie of Canberra in the LTA Single, Mixed Double and Mixed Coxed Fours Championships.