Long after most Harvard students left Cambridge for the summer, rowers from the freshman heavyweight boat and the varsity lightweight boat remained to train for the Henley Royal Regatta. The rowers endured grueling practices out of Newell Boathouse until June 24, when they packed their bags and gear for Henley-on-Thames, England.

The work and the time paid off, as the Harvard freshman heavyweight boat captured the Temple Challenge Cup and the Crimson lightweight varsity boat rowed to the quarterfinal in the same event of the five-day regatta, which drew a quarter of a million spectators from July 4-8.

As the most famous regatta in the world, the Henley Royal Regatta attracts rowers and spectators from all regions of the globe. This year, 504 crews entered into the 17 events, 111 from overseas and 393 from England.

“The crews at Henley are the top people in their category in the world,” said freshman Justin Webb, a graduate of Radley College in London.

The Henley Royal Regatta was founded in 1836 and has been raced every year since then outside of the two World Wars. The regatta is termed “royal” because it received royal patronage from Prince Albert in 1851 and the ruling monarch has served as patron in the years since.

“It’s a thrill to have your school send you across the ocean,” said freshman Jonathan Lehe.

The Crimson freshman heavyweight boat earned its place on the Thames River by winning the crown at Eastern Sprints with a time of 5:35.98, a new freshman course record on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, MA. Harvard then closed out its season in the U.S. with a solid sweep over Yale in the Harvard-Yale regatta on June 3. With an amazing season under their belts, the freshmen were ready to travel over the Atlantic to tackle international foes in the Temple Challenge Cup.

While Harvard may have been prepared to row the Thames course well, it faced a racing format entirely different from that used during the dual season. Henley is arranged in a single elimination, head-to-head bracket format, where a draw determines the placement of all 32 crews.