This summer’s Henley Royal Regatta sees an incredible 768 Entries from 19 nations, including a record 589 domestic Entry and 179 from overseas. 4,367 athletes will compete in 404 races across the six-day Regatta.
Richard Phelps, Chair of the Committee for Henley Royal Regatta, said: “In my first year as Chair, I couldn’t have asked for a more exciting Entry. We have incredible Olympic representation in the Premier events with an eye-watering prospect of seeing the best Olympic rowing nations racing side-by-side down the Henley course. In addition, we are thrilled by such a large domestic Entry, and can’t wait to see which Junior, Student and Club crews are crowned victors come Finals Sunday.
"In my first year as Chair, I couldn't have asked for a more exciting Entry."
“Equally exciting is the Entry in our new Women’s event, ‘The Bridge Challenge Plate’. This new event reinforces Henley Royal Regatta’s commitment to achieving gender parity on the water. This provides a much-needed bridge between the top Premier events and our Club/Student events and it’s great to see so many British clubs raise their game in order to be the first holders of this trophy.”
"This new event reinforces Henley Royal Regatta's commitment to achieving gender parity on the water."
High Five for Zeidler?
As rowing CVs go, Olli Zeidler’s takes some beating. The 6ft 8” German is a 3× World Champion, 3× European Champion, Olympic Gold Medallist and 4× Diamond Challenge Sculls winner. He returns in 2025 to try and secure a fifth win, one shy of the record six wins shared by New Zealand’s Mahé Drysdale and Australia’s Stuart Mackenzie.
Zeidler won’t have it all his own way and will need to overcome strong competition that includes Stefanos Ntouskos, the Olympic gold medallist from Tokyo 2020 that he faced in the final in Paris. New Zealand’s Logan Ulrich will also fancy his chances after his silver medal in Paris in the men’s coxless fours. Not to mention the two scullers from the Netherlands, Twellaar and van Dorp.
Senkuté flying the flag for Lithuania
In The Princess Royal Challenge Cup, a strong field includes Lithuania’s first representation at Henley Royal Regatta since 2016, with Viktorija Senkuté set to compete. Her bronze medal in the single sculls at the 2024 Paris Games was Lithuania’s first in any sport at those Games, making Senkuté a national hero in the process.
Arguably the favourite to win is Great Britain’s Lauren Henry, fresh from a dominating performance at the World Rowing Cup this month, where she won the gold medal by more than eight seconds. She will look to continue a sparkling run of form which has also seen her win gold at the European Rowing Championships. Hoping to cause an upset will be Frida Sanggaard Nielsen, who secured bronze behind Henry at the Euros.
The Grand and The Remenham – world’s best in the Premier eights
This year’s Entry in both The Grand Challenge Cup and The Remenham Challenge Cup are set to be one of the strongest in recent history. In both events, the top nations of Great Britain, Netherlands and Australia will battle it out once again after going head-to-head in the Olympic final.
In the Grand, the victorious Cambridge Boat Race crew have joined the fray adding Tom Ford who stroked the GB gold medal winning crew in Paris last year.
Stonor Challenge Trophy full of Olympic pedigree
The Stonor Challenge Trophy is blessed with some great crews with the expectation of strong performances from the Dutch and Greeks. Emma Twigg is returning to her second year as a Steward of Henley Royal Regatta, racing alongside Australian athlete Grace Sypher. Twigg is an Olympic gold and silver medallist and has competed in a staggering five Olympic Games.
Queen Mother Challenge Cup. An upset on the cards?
Meanwhile, The Queen Mother Challenge Cup will certainly be one to keep an eye on at this year’s event. The Irish entry with two Olympic champions on board, Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan, will be hoping to cause an upset but will face strong competition from the Great Britain and Australian national crews. Meanwhile, Leander Club will be hoping to retain the title they won in 2024.
A family affair in The Stewards’ Challenge Cup
Two sets of Croatian brothers will team up in The Stewards’ Challenge Cup, with the Sinković brothers and Lončarić brothers linking up as a four. Martin and Valent Sinković have won three Olympic golds as a duo – most recently delivering a spectacular victory in the men’s pair at the Paris Games.
The Princess Grace Challenge Cup – A European Affair…
The women’s quadruple sculls will feature entries from the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and Switzerland, of which two are Olympians.
Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip – will Shiplake repeat the double?
In the Junior eights, all eyes will be on Shiplake to see if they can repeat their amazing ‘double’ when they won the boys and girls Championship Eights at The National Schools Regatta, a feat never achieved before. Expect tough resistance from the defending title holders, St. Paul’s and Headington respectively. Also look out for strong US and Australian crews who could upset all domestic school plans.
Temple and Island – can Oxford Brookes defend their 2024 titles?
Strong domestic and overseas Entries will challenge current title holders, Oxford Brookes, in both the Temple and Island Challenge Cups. At BUCS Regatta, Newcastle beat Oxford Brookes in the Women’s Championships Eights and in doing so threw down the gauntlet for Brookes to respond at this year’s Regatta. Other contenders, including UL, Durham, and Aegir from the Netherlands, will also look to test the defending champions.
In the Temple, the spotlight will be on the Harvard lightweights who are undefeated this season as well as the Cambridge University crew which is principally the winning Goldie crew from this year’s Boat Race, and Durham who pushed Brookes in the BUCS final.
Thames Cup and Wargrave Cup – will this year see the end of Thames RC dominance?
In the Wargrave, Molesey have been pushing current title holders, Thames RC, all season. In The Thames Challenge Cup, London RC will look to continue their strong run, while international crews – particularly De Hoop from the Netherlands – will be ones to watch.
The full list of 2025 Entries can be found here.
For events where more Entries have been received than the number of crews permitted, Qualifying Races will be held on the Henley Reach on the afternoon and evening of Friday, 27 June.
The 2025 Draw then takes place at 12 noon on Saturday, 28 June in Henley-on-Thames Town Hall.
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Notes to the editor
For any media enquiries, please contact Henley Royal Regatta’s press office, The PHA Group - press@hrr.co.uk
Background
Henley Royal Regatta, founded in 1839, is the best-known rowing regatta in the world, renowned for its match-racing. It is one of the highlights of the summer sporting and social calendar in the UK, as well as the rowing calendar internationally. Over 400 races are staged at the Regatta, featuring Olympians and emerging stars from around the world. www.hrr.co.uk You can stay up to date with Henley Royal Regatta including race results, schedules and event information on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X and Facebook.
