Rowing: Reedy repaid by London club's success

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Nine-year-old cox makes Henley history

The busiest man at Henley Royal Regatta, which began yesterday, was the Australian Paul Reedy, chief coach of the London Rowing Club. With nine crews racing between 9.00am and 6.45pm in the opening heats and five more entering the fray today, he barely had time for a cup of tea. "I don't leave bay L at the boat tents all day," he said. "I sit here in a deck chair and brief them as they carry their boats past me out to the river."

Reedy, 41, an Olympic silver medallist in 1984, saw seven of his boats qualify safely for today's second round and with three of them selected to reach Sunday's finals, the club is enjoying a resurgence. Their Thames Cup eight recorded the fastest time of the day, 6min 30sec, but were harried all the way by a tenacious Army Rowing Club boasting their best crew for many years.

Yesterday's racing involved only the restricted club, college and schools events with mostly domestic crews contesting the first rounds of the Thames, Temple and Princess Elizabeth Cups for eights and the Wyfold and Britannia Cups for coxless and coxed fours. Nevertheless there were still 19 crews from America and 13 from Ireland in action as well as crews from the Netherlands, France, Norway and South Africa.

Harvard led the American onslaught, ably marshalled by their indomitable coach Harry Parker, celebrating his 40th year in charge, with emphatic victories in the Britannia for both their fours and for their eight in the Temple. Their best crew, the all-conquering Varsity eight, is selected to meet the Boat Race winners Oxford in the final of the Ladies' Plate but do not open their campaign until Saturday.

The top American schools, Tabor and Groton, pose the biggest threat to Britain's top entries, Abingdon and St Paul's, in the Princess Elizabeth Cup.

Abingdon have won the schools' Head of the River and the National Schools' regatta and will be keen to take the third and most coveted title on Sunday. They comfortably disposed of America's Manhattan High School. A number of neighbours and traditional rivals met in the first round, giving one of the arch enemies an early bath. Radley survived a brave onslaught from St Edwards by half a length and Eton had to battle past Westminster after halfway; St Paul's beat Latymer, whose boathouses face each other across the Thames at Hammersmith; and Hampton easily beat Kingston, all in the Princess Elizabeth Cup. Meanwhile Thames Rowing Club's selected Wyfold four beat London D, and Ireland's Galway A put paid to their own B crew's ambitions by half a length in the Britannia.

Today, Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell opening their defence of the Silver Goblets against veterans Ian Watson and David Riches – boatman and teacher respectively at Westminster school who, as past Henley winners with considerable experience, will hope to give the Olympic and double World champions a race – at least to halfway. The main challengers Donovan Cech and Ramon di Clemente, the current world bronze medallists from South Africa, are selected in the other half of the draw.