Poplar, Blackwell & District Rowing Club members enjoyed success at the Maidstone Head of the River event

Bev Reid tasted victory on her maiden voyage in an open regatta at the Maidstone Head of the River event and several of her club-mates were also among the medals on Sunday.

Reid, racing for Poplar, Blackwell & District Rowing Club, fought off the challenge from nine other south-east clubs in the women’s masters race to cross the line in first place.

She said: “I’m delighted with my performance and I know I still have more to give.”

There was success too for Reid’s club-mates Harry Joynes, Dan Bartlett, Chris Le Neve Foster and Joe Hollier, who won the elite men’s coxed fours over a challenging 2,600m course, pipping their nearest challenger by two seconds.

And Bartlett and Joynes were back in action to win the Division Two men’s double sculling title.

Best time

? Poplar member Ian Sampson competed in the gruelling 31-mile Boston Marathon in last week.

The Lincolnshire-based race, the longest in the UK, was Sampson’s third attempt and he beat his best time – finishing in five hours 20 minutes.