6:45pm Sunday 6th July 2008
MATT Beechey suffered Henley heartache in dramatic conditions after lightning and torrential rain hit the start of his quad sculls’ final.
The Worcester Rowing Club star’s Great Britain lightweight quad scull lost out by a length and a quarter to their four-stone-a-man heavier California opponents after both crews had earlier been forced to scramble to the bank when the heavens opened.
Both boats were on the stake boat waiting for six-time Oxford Boat Race winner Boris Rankov to start the race from the umpire’s launch when lightning flashed overhead and a rainstorm hit the Thames.
Rankov said: “I don’t like this, it’s looking dangerous,” and ordered the boats to get to the bank as quickly as possible.
Beechey and his crew were drenched by the deluge as they scrambled into a tent, and the Worcester man’s father lent him his blazer, complete with buttonhole flower, to try and stay warm while the storm passed overhead.
Beechey and GB crewmates Simon Jones, Rob Williams and Alistair Leighton-Crawford then had to tip six inches of water out of their boat before climbing on board and trying to warm up again.
The race was finally started 40 minutes late as strokeman Beechey, 31, chased his first Henley medal.
He drove his crew off the blocks at 41 strokes-a-minute and they grabbed a quick six-feet lead.
Settling to 35 and racing into the teeth of the gale, they still had a couple of feet at the top of Temple Island, but the boats were level at the quarter-mile mark.
The Americans’ heavier weight started to pay dividends as they led by two feet at the 600-metre barrier mark reached in one minute 58 seconds.
They squeezed out to a quarter of a length at the half-way Fawley mark reached in 3.19 and had a three-quarter length lead at the three-quarter mile signal.
Beechey dug in, though, in the atrocious conditions and his crew still held an overlap at the mile post as they hit the enclosures and were lifted by the 10,000-strong crowd roaring them home.
There was still three-quarters of a length in it at the mile and an eighth as they pushed the rate to the limit.
But there was to be no way back as the giant Americans drove for home and powered over the line to win by a length-and-a-quarter.
It was gut-wrenching for Beechey, who heads to the world championships in Linz later this month.
“I feel really sorry for him,” said dad Alan after following the race.
“He trains so hard and he’s never won a Henley medal and I just hoped he could do it this time. They really had a good go in very difficult circumstances, but it wasn’t quite enough.”
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