OLYMPIC medallists and Welsh Rowing graduates Tom Barras and Josh Bugajski signed off 2021 with more glory in the end-of-year Fours Head, reports NICK HARTLAND.

Tokyo quad sculler Barras helped Leander’s top quad to pole position in the 420-boat event with Harry Leask, John Collins and Seb Devereux.

Going off first, the quartet covered the 4 1/4-mile Chiswick to Putney course in 17 mins 49.8 secs to win by 8.8 secs from the chasing Nottingham/Tideway Scullers/Twickenham boat.

Olympic 8s medallist Bugakski joined fellow Cardiff University student and Welsh Rowing product Sam Bannister to land the championship coxed four title in an Oxford Brookes boat coxed by Wales’ Harry Brightmore.

Brookes came home 13th overall on time in 18.46.6 to beat the Cambridge University boat of Welsh rower Ollie Wynne Griffth - a Tokyo crewmate of Bugajski’s - by 4.9 secs.

Wales’ Matt Aldridge’s Brookes boat was third in championship coxless fours in ninth overall in 18.35.3, 14.2secs behind Leander’s winning crew of Olympc medallists and finalists.

Fellow Welsh GB World Cup cap Matt Rowe’s Brookes coxless four was seventh in class in 18.53, while former Home Countries winner Stephen Griffiths finished 13th in the category with Upper Thames in 19.36.        

Old Monmothian Robbie Prosser-Wrench finished fifth with Llandaff Rc twins Rob and John Davies in the coxed championship class rowing for Bristol University, racing home in 19.49.2.

Wales cap Issy Powell was third in women’s championships coxless fours in 20.28, while Welsh Tokyo Olympian Beccy Muzerie was fifth in a Molesey club boat in 20.37.

Henley medallist and world U23 finalist Alice Davies helped her Leander women’s coxed four to championship glory, beating Oxford University Women by 13 seconds in 20.20.

And former Wales HIR singles champion Alice Baatz joined 2019 GB world championship sculler Ruth Siddorn in Leander’s fifth-placed boat crossing in 21.06, five seconds behind OUBC’s B boat in third

Wales HIR lightweight doubles winner Sean Blake was on board the London RC boat that won club quads in 19.13, 13 secs ahead of Agecroft.

Athens Olympian Tim Male, who is now rowing for and coaching at Monmouth RC after moving to south-east Wales, raced home second with Tideway Scullers in club fours, just five seconds behind winners London, with Cardiff City flying the flag for Welsh clubs crossing in 22.05.

Llandaff RC product and world championship finalist Dave Luke was also celebrating after daughter Della helped her Henley RC boat take girls’ quads by 11 seconds from Marlow before she headed off to study and row at Cal Berkeley in the US.

In the Veterans’ Fours Head over the same course the following day, Monmouth Rowing Club’s MD and ME coxless men’s fours both placed second in their categories, with just one second between them.

The D over-50 boat crossed in 21.08.2 to finish just under seven seconds behind the Upper Thames boat of Old Monmothian Stewart Bell.

Their E over-55 club mates crossed in 21.09.5 as London RC claimed the age-group title in 20.41.4.

Monmouth’s women’s E coxed four also came fifth in class in 26.02.7.

Fours Head pics Jet Photographic, Vets Head pics Ben Rodford.