Rowing: Searles eclipsed as Leander and Henley win comfortably

There was a time when a Molesey crew containing J W C Searle and G M P Searle would have ignited a roar to be heard from Oxford to London as they stormed along the enclosures, but alas no more. Yesterday Jonny and Greg Searle, 1992 Olympic champions and 1993 world champions in coxed pairs, trailed behind a Leander and Henley RC combination in the Prince of Wales Cup to virtual indifference from the Henley crowd.

The Searles, sandwiched between James Stephenson in the bow and 18-stone Peter Wells of London University in the stroke seat, were a long way from their magic moments of old. Leander and Henley won the race by a length and a half, to polite applause.

The South Africans Shaun Keeling and Ramon Di Clementé, two of only four athletes at Henley who are competing at the Olympics next month, had no trouble in the next race, beating Alex Macpherson and Sam Cooper of the Army.

Nathaniel Reilly-O'Donnell, aged 20, performed one of yesterday's few acts of giant-killing by removing 32-year-old Patrick O'Hea from the Diamond Sculls. Giant-killing on paper, that is. O'Hea's club, California RC, specialises in sculling, but his competitive record is less distinguished than London student Reilly-O'Donnell's history as a junior and under-23 international in sweep-oared boats.

The draw produced a rare meeting between Glasgow and Edinburgh universities in the Prince Albert Cup, with Glasgow victorious.