Third Home International appearance for Cowley

Rower Ashley Cowley believes he is finding form at the right time after being selected to compete in his third Home International.

The 21-year-old will feature in three squads at the Rowing Ireland headquarters in Cork this weekend.

The former Newark Rowing Club lightweight rower now trains full-time at Molesey Boat Club, Surrey, and is on the water six days a week in the summer.

He will face the best rowers from Scotland, Ireland and Wales after qualifying for the men’s singles, doubles and quads squads.

Cowley, of Balderton, wasn’t due to compete in the singles, but was convinced to try out for the race after his usual doubles partner was taken ill on the eve of the event.

In the qualification race, he won by more than four seconds to book his place on the squad.

It will be Cowley’s fourth appearance in the Home Nations event — his third as a senior rower.

“Everything is going very well at the moment,” he said.

“I had a bit of ups and downs last year but am feeling on it this year.

“There was one small competition, the Leicester Regatta, that I did with Harry Webster from Newark Rowing Club that brought it all home and reminded me why I do it.

“It is a fantastic course at Cork, and I can’t wait to get back out there and give it my best.”

Cowley recently won a silver and bronze at the Belgium International Championships.

He will be in action later this year at the Royal Canadian Henley.

His aim is a GB spot at the World Under-23 Championships in Greece next year.

“They take the top seven rowers with them and last year I finished tenth,” he said.

“This year has been a lot better for me and I’m confident I will be in a good place by the time I go for that squad again.

“Lightweight rowing is being slowly phased out of the Olympic Games it seems, so I’m not going to look too far into the future.”