SEVENTEEN rowers from St Peter's School, York, raced at the Belgian National Rowing Championships last Sunday and returned with four medal-winning crews.

Racing went on for nine hours on Saturday and Sunday over the 2km, five-lane international rowing course in Ghent.

Crews from eight nations contested the championships for juniors with many countries using it as their trials for national selection.

Gold medals went to Rory MacLeod and Kieren Emery (Tyne Rowing Club) who are going for GB selection this year.

They rowed with great maturity in the heat and controlled a nerve-racking race in which the Belgians led them until half way. A big effort at middle distance saw the British pair take a lead of length, which they held until the finish.

On the second day the pair won the bronze medal with a slightly different race but once again in a good time.

Silver went to St Peter's girls coxless four of Annabel Robertson, Gussy Aiken, Clarissa Aiken and Rebecca Sparling. This relatively inexperienced combination, two of whom only started rowing last September, startled themselves with a good performance on Saturday followed up by a tremendous silver medal on Sunday.

They raced with maturity and confidence against girls who had been rowing for many more years.

The final race of the championships saw the St Peter's eight race against good opposition.

For Richard Swan, Danny Bellion (LRGS), James Turner, Aleks Hughes, Alastair Springgay, Nick Hall, Rory MacLeod and Kieren Emery, expertly coxed by Esther Smyth, this was their sixth race of the championships.

However, they showed real Yorkshire grit and determination, dug deep and beat off the attacks of nine other crews to end up as bronze medallists.

Several other crews performed very well. The two most notable were in single sculls events. Gussy Aiken, in the Under 16s came seventh out of 30 scullers, a tantalising two seconds away from the bronze medal. Some of girls she was racing against were nearly two years older than her.

Springgay, a relatively inexperienced sculler, was fifth out of 25 in the U16 boys' sculls. He used the knowledge he had gained on the first day of the regatta and was only ten seconds away from the bronze.