WORLD U23 rowing gold medallist Robbie Prosser and his California Berkeley crew battled to bronze in one of the biggest regatta races in America – the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championship Varsity 8s.

The Crickhowell rower, who took up the sport at Monmouth School and raced to World U23 GB coxed four glory in 2022 in a new age-group world record time, is currently studying in California after completing an applied anatomy degree at Bristol University.

Robbie Prosser, third from right, with his medal-winning Cal Berkeley boat
Robbie Prosser, third from right, with his medal-winning Cal Berkeley boat (Cal Crew)

The Golden Bears had won the two previous Blue Riband titles at the 130-year-old IRA event, with Robbie's former Monmouth crew mate Iwan Hadfield in the stroke seat.

But in the year of George Clooney's Boys in the Boat film homage to Washington University’s 1936 Olympic champion crew, it was the Seattle-based Huskies who lived up to the golden reputation of their forebears by lifting the coveted Ivy League rowing crown this time, in front of thousands watching at New Jersey's Mercer Lake, with Harvard holding off Cal for silver.

Rowing is mainly a university sport in the US, with lucrative educational scholarships attracting international talent from across north America and further afield.

In the final race of the 2km regatta for the top 8s title, Cal and Washington got out ahead of the six-boat pack early on, but Harvard crept up to take second at the 500m mark by four seats.

By the midway point, Cal were in a battle for third with Yale who pulled nearly level.

But the Bears, with Robbie in the three seat, resisted them to move clear again and take bronze 1 1/3L behind Washington and 3/4L back on Harvard in a still world class time of 5.30.

Princeton came through to take fourth by feet nearly 2L back, with Yale fifth and Syracuse a further length back in sixth.

Meanwhile, back in the UK on the London 2012 Olympic lake, it was the turn of Monmouth world junior silver medallist Violet Holsbrow-Brooksbank to shine again, taking National Schools’ Championship gold by nearly 4L with her Wycliffe girls’ quadruple scull.

Having already won the Schools' Head on the Thames and the Junior Sculling Head at Dorney in March, the former Monmouth Comprehensive School pupil's crew proved unstoppable again in their six-boat 2,000m final.

Henley Women's Regatta - where 18-year-old Violet won with Wycliffe last year - is up next, followed by Henley Royal at the start of July, where they reached the final in 2023.

Violet raced for Wales in 2022 while rowing on the Wye, and stepped up to the GB U19 team last year, taking World U19 fours silver on the Paris Olympic lake.

Her former Monmouth Comprehensive doubles partner Seren Van Der Horst and club mate Eleanor Lawrence-Preston also made the championship final of the girls’ pairs in London - the school’s first sweep oar boat to do so - finishing sixth.