FIFTEEEN-year-old Ellie Sadler coxed St Neots Rowing Club’s men’s Masters Category C four team to gold in the annual Leicester Regatta on Sunday.

The race was a 700 metre sprint along the Grand Union Canal in Leicester city centre and the crew of Clive Emmerson, Graham Mailer, Mick Staddon and Kevin Sadler were coxed superbly by Ellie, the daughter of Kevin.

St Neots were drawn in a straight final against opposition from Burton Leander and took the initiative straight from the off, putting in a blistering start to open up a commanding lead in the first 100 metres. St Neots’ rating of 40 strokes per minute off the line proved too much for the opposition who never recovered.

Settling into a steady rhythm of 34 strokes per minute, they finished with a push 150 metres from the finishing line and crossed it with a comfortable two-length lead.

The Leicester race was one in a series of warm up races before the National Masters Championships begin in late May.

Meanwhile, the club had 16 crews taking part in the Bedford Rowing Club Small Boats Head of the River the previous weekend.

The most successful crew on the day was Nick Shorten and Adam Williams who beat two others crews in the novice pair event. Natasha Wilson and Mia Hartwell also did extremely well in the women’s novice double coming fourth out of nine crews.