OLD Monmothian world medal cox Jack Tottem steered the GB women's rowing 8 to Windermere Cup victory over hosts Washington University and Canada in Seattle on the legendary Montlake Cut.

The 2022 Oxford Boat Race winner was on board as the crew took the curtain-raising Twilight Sprints the night before.

And they then won the 40th hosting of the prestigious Windermere Cup from a multi-national Washington crew containing former Monmouth Comprehensive School pupil Violet Holbrow-Brooksbank.

GB, with six of the 2025 world bronze medal boat and a returning 2024 Olympic medallist, had 1/2L at 500m and nearly a length at half-way as the Huskies just edged Canada in third on the course immortalised in Dan Brown hit book and George Clooney-directed film The Boys In The Boat.

And they came home with a small amount of clear water in 6.10.0, with two-time GB world U19 silver medallist Violet's boat second holding off the Canadians by 1/2L.

Wye cox Jack posted: "Excited to get the season rolling in the 8+. Lots to learn, excited for it.

"Thanks to @windermerecup @washingtonrowing @seattle for having us – such a cool event!"

It proved a good warm-up for last week's first World Cup Regatta on the Seville world championship course in Spain, where Tottem called the same GB crew on to bronze in sizzling hot conditions.

The crew – which included fellow Wales rower Katherine George, daughter of an Old Monmothian – were involved in a four-way scrap for the medals all the way down the 2km course with Australia, the Netherlands and Olympic champions Romania.

It was the east Europeans who stormed out of the blocks to lead at 500m by a canvas from the Aussies with the Dutch feet behind and the Brits a further canvas back.

But by half-way all three chasers had got their bows in front of Romania, with Australia two feet up on the Netherlands and GB another six feet back edging third.

The Aussies, sharp from being fresh off their summer regatta season, had 1/3L from the Dutch at the 1500m mark with the Brits just six feet back now holding 3/4L on the Romanians.

And that was the order on the line, with Australia winning gold by just over 1/2L from the Netherlands followed by GB another 1/4L back in bronze in the same 6.10 time as they did in the US, followed by the east Europeans another 3/4L back and Germany in fifth.

Former Monmouth School rowing captain Tottem posted: "Bronze at World Cup 1 – back in sunny Sevilla for the first time since school,

"Some proper tight eights racing for those that love that kind of thing. Thanks for all the messages of support.

"Time to get our heads down now before Lucerne (World Cup 3) at the end of the month."

Meanwhile Violet has been named in the All Big Ten team – an honour given by the Big Ten Conference, the oldest National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I conference in the United States dating back to the 1890s, and made up mainly of major universities in the Midwest and on the Pacific Coast.

The Monmouth rower, who has been racing in the Washington boat alongside fellow Wales world U19 medallist Katie Gardner, Americans, an Italian, a Kiwi, a Canadian and a British world U23 gold medallist, helped the Huskies win six of seven finals at the Big Ten Championship Regatta in Indianapolis to retain the overall crown from Rutgers in second and Ohio State in third.

The top Varsity 8 grand final saw Washington, with Violet in the key seven seat, jump out quickly to the front of the pack, with Rutgers closest behind.

The Huskies held a 1/2L lead at 500m, and had stretched it to nearly a length at the halfway point.

And although the Scarlet Knights maintained contact with Washington, they couldn't cut into the lead before the ‘Dawgs’ edged out to around a length on the line, crossed in 6:31.01.