Report by Leander Press Officer Robert Treharne Jones
More details can be found on the Fullers' Fours Head website

All our crews will appreciate your support at the ARA boathouse and from all the usual vantage points along the course!

The nine Leander crews entered for this year's Fours Head will be looking to better last year's performance when our crews won the pennants for both men's and women's elite coxless fours.

But the usual crop of autumn viruses and injuries among the squad means that some familiar faces won't be taking part. They include Colin Smith and also Olympic champion Steve Williams, whose crewmates Alex Partridge and Pete Reed will team up with Rick Egington and Marcus Bateman in their attempt to regain the coxed fours pennant they lost to Cambridge University in last year's race.

Racing as Leander I will be the club's top quad, a crew which includes lightweight world medallist Mark Hunter in the bow seat, with former world bronze medallists Matt Wells and Steve Rowbotham forming the stern pair. Tideway Scullers beat Leander into second place in last year's race and in a bid to retain the headship Scullers have once again gathered a cosmopolitan crew, including Mahe Drysdale, the world champion from New Zealand, and Slovenian Iztok Cop, world champion in double sculls, who will compete with GB single sculler Alan Campbell.

Our top women's boat will be the quad, stroked by world champion Debbie Flood, who had to miss last year's race due to injury. The crew also includes Lou Reeve and Georgina Menheneott, bronze medallists in the GB women's eight at this year's world championships in Munich, with world lightweight silver medallist Jane Hall at bow. The crew face opposition from Debbie's fellow world champions, all of whom have returned to their clubs for the event, while Tideway Scullers have recruited world class scullers Sophie Balmary from France and Frida Svensson of Sweden to help strengthen their challenge.

Among the three Senior 2 quads will be many of the development athletes who joined the club on a trial basis in September and who will be looking to put in a strong performance to retain their place in the Leander squad.

After an early morning outing at 7.00am all Leander crews will boat, starting at about 9.30am from the ARA at Hammersmith.

The race itself starts at 10.30 am over the Championship course from Mortlake to Putney.