New boat named 'Lucy Edmunds' after York rowing champion

Lucy Edmunds, 22, a former pupil of Huntington School and now a student at Yale University in the USA, had a double sculls named after her by York City Rowing Club to recognise her achievements.

Lucy took her boat out on its maiden voyage on the River Ouse after it was ‘blessed’ by the Reverend Canon Maggie McLean from York Minster, with tributes paid by Phil Press, chairman of York City Rowing Club, and Phil Jones, the club’s junior co-ordinator.

Lucy said: “I am truly honoured to have a boat named after me. When I look at the names of some of the boats in the club, like Phil Jones and Phil Press, who have done so much for the club, I don’t feel I’ve done anything like as much, so I’m genuinely humbled by this honour.

“I would never have thought that when I started rowing at the club at the age of 14 – and fell in on my very first day – that I would be honoured by the club in this way.

“While I want to thank everyone at the club for this honour, I particularly want to thank Phil Jones for all his support and everything he has done for me over the years.”

The club usually names its boats after members who have a significant achievements in the sport. Lucy's first national success was winning bronze at the British Rowing National Junior Championships in Strathclyde in 2015.

She has represented Great Britain five times in Florida, Poland, Germany and Lithuania, winning a string of bronze and silver medals. Closer to home she has scooped the Active York Young Female Sportsperson of the Year for 2017 and 2018, and was made an honorary life member of York City Rowing Club in 2017.

Her passion has followed her to Yale, where she is a member of the Yale Women’s Crew, and has rowed at the Ivy League Championships in New Jersey, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s national championships in Indianapolis.

Lucy added: “If you work hard, train hard and have a little bit of luck then rowing can take you places you might never have dreamed of.”