OXFORD’S student rowers came away from Shanghai with a host of medals, writes John Wiggins.

The British team topped the medal table with their best-ever performance at the World University Rowing Championships last weekend.

With eligibility extending to those who graduated up to a year ago, the team included past and present students from both of Oxford’s universities.

Gold was won by both the men’s eight and four, each half-filled by Brookes rowers.

In the four, Morgan Bolding and Rory Gibbs starred, while the eight had the familiar stern combination of James Stanhope, at stroke, and Henry Swarbrick along with Michael Glover and Matt Hnatiw further back in the boat.

The other Oxfordshire connection was cox Harry Brightmore, a Brookes graduate.

The women’s eight also captured gold medals with a crew containing former Headington School rower Lydia Currie and coxed by Oxford University’s Morgan Baynham-Williams.

Brookes also featured with Susie Dear picking up a silver medal as part of the pair that was only half a length from victory.

The men’s pair had no such problem, winning by eight seconds with former Cherwell School pupil and City of Oxford RC rower Sholto Carnegie on board.

All the Britain crews reached the A finals, though Brookes’ Ben Reeves and Alex Styles (Oxford University) had to settle for sixth place in both the men’s and women’s lightweight doubles respectively.

At the World Junior Rowing Championships in Racice, Czech Republic, the strong tailwind created a fine line between fast times and hazardous conditions.

Several records were broken but also the occasional and rare capsize of single sculls was witnessed.

Neither applied to the Headington schoolgirl, Lucy Pullinger rowing in the four – though in the tough semi-final conditions, her crew, coached by Headington’s Ryan Demaine, just missed qualification for the A final and finished third in the B final.

This weekend, the annual Oxford City Royal Regatta anticipates around 500 crews racing on the River Isis over the two days from the start alongside Christ Church Meadow to the finish at Long Bridges.