McIntyre and Cox Selected for U23 World Champs

WA rowers Annabelle McIntyre and Bronwyn Cox have earned selection for the Australian U23 squad for July’s World Championships in Bulgaria.

The duo will compete as Australia’s U23 coxless pair at the world titles in Plovdiv and will be coached by Rhett Ayliffe, who also oversees the WAIS Rowing Program.

In further encouraging results for WA rowing, Swan River Rowing Club coach Antonio Maurogiovanni was selected to lead the men’s coxless four crew, whilst five local athletes earned call-ups for the Australian U21 squad to contest the two-part Trans-Tasman Regatta series with New Zealand.

Chase Deitner (West Australian Rowing Club) and Patrick Boere (Swan River Rowing Club) will compete in the men’s lightweight single scull, West Australian Rowing Club members Gabi Morris and Giorgia Patten will partner in the women’s coxless pairs and fellow club member Sienna Zamin will row the women’s single scull.

West Australian Rowing Club coach Joseph Tamigi earned a call up as part of the U21 coaching staff for Australia, with the series starting in Penrith from June 29 – July 1, before moving to Lake Karapiro in New Zealand from August 24-26.

McIntyre (Fremantle Rowing Club) and Cox (University of WA Boat Club) pressed their selection claims over a busy domestic campaign that saw the WA athletes impress at the Sydney International Rowing Regatta in Penrith, where they won the coxless pair title before taking further success in the women’s eight and women’s four, whilst McIntyre also added gold in the quad scull. 

Selection trials followed in Penrith with the athletes securing their representative spots, which will see them compete at U23 level for the first time, having made the progression from U21 ranks in 2016.

Ayliffe said the selection was a justified result for a reliable summer campaign from McIntyre and Cox.

“They both put in a strong and consistent series of performances and deserve their chance,” he said.

“There’s plenty of development and upside ahead. At Worlds, they’ll target a final and look to fight hard for a medal.”

Rowing Australia’s selections also saw Ayliffe chosen to coach men’s U23 single scull athlete Caleb Antill, who in 2016 was part of Australia’s gold medal winning U23 men’s quad scull crew.

Caleb (ACT) will relocate to Perth to prepare for the World Championships with Ayliffe, as will Maurogiovanni’s coxless four crew, which consists of; Harley Moore (QLD), Adam Bakker (QLD), Liam Donald (VIC) and Rob Black (NSW).