 Williams and Partridge have plenty of experience rowing together |
British rowing has begun the long road to the Beijing Olympics with the formation of several new crews. Top men's boat is the coxless four in which Athens gold medallist Steve Williams is joined by Alex Partridge, Peter Reed and Andy Hodge.
The top women's boat is the quad scull featuring Athens medallists Rebecca Romero, Sarah Winckless, Frances Houghton and Katherine Grainger.
British fans will first see the crews at the World Cup at Eton on 26-28 May.
Williams was part of the successful men's four in Athens, along with Matthew Pinsent, James Cracknell and Ed Coode.
Partridge was originally in that boat but had to withdraw a month before the Olympics with a collapsed lung.
 | Rowing World Cup
Saturday 28 May
BBC One, 1215 |
Cracknell is taking a year out from the sport but assuming he returns to the sport, he is likely to be back in the reckoning for a place in the four for Beijing. Reed and Hodge were members of the victorious Oxford's Boat Race-winning crew.
Hodge, who was also part of the GB Olympic eight in 2004, will stroke the boat.
The women's quad is an experienced boat with all four members having won Olympic medals.
Grainger was part of the silver-winning women's pair while Houghton and Romero were part of the coxless quadruple skulls that also won a silver medal and Winckless won bronze in the double skulls.
Meanwhile, Kieran West, Olympic gold medallist in the eight in Sydney in 2000, will compete in a pair with his unrelated namesake Josh West, who was world silver medallist in the four in 2002 and 2003.
The World Cup event, which will be covered by BBC Television, will also feature the National Lottery Legends Sprint during which Sir Steve Redgrave, Sir Matthew Pinsent, Cracknell and Tim Foster will re-enact the Sydney final.
The race will be in aid of the Tsunami Appeal.
OPEN TEAMS
MEN
Pair: Josh West/Kieran West
Four: Steve Williams/Peter Reed/Alex Partridge/Andy Hodge
Eight: Tom Broadway/Tom Stallard/Tom Parker/Phil Simmons/Jonno Devlin/Richard Egington/Simon Fieldhouse/Henry Bailhache-Webb/Acer Nethercott (cox)
Single scull: Colin Smith
Quadruple scull: Alan Campbell/Steven Rowbotham/Alex Gregory/Matt Langridge
WOMEN
Pair: Beth Rodford/Alison Knowles
Eight: Names to be confirmed at a later date
Single scull: Debbie Flood
Double scull: Elise Laverick/Annie Vernon
Quadruple scull: Rebecca Romero/Sarah Winckless/Frances Houghton/Katherine Grainger
MMIX
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