Eighteen Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) athletes have been named in the Australian rowing team following the 2011 National Selection Trials which were held in Penrith last month.

The 53-strong Australian rowing team has its sights set on competing at the 2011 World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia, from 28 August to 4 September, in a bid to qualify for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

AIS athletes and Olympic gold medallists David Crawshay and Scott Brennan will team up in the men’s double scull event, which they won at the Beijing 2008 Games, one of 11 Olympic-class boats that Australia will contest at the world championships.

Brennan took a break from the sport after his Olympic triumph in 2008, while Crawshay was a member of the men’s quad scull crew that won silver and bronze medals at the 2009 and 2010 world championships respectively.

Australia’s second Olympic gold medallists from the Beijing Games, Drew Ginn and Duncan Free, will pair up with AIS athletes Joshua Dunkley Smith and Nicholas Purnell in the men’s coxless four crew.

Australia has selected a strong and experienced line-up in the men’s eight with AIS athletes Fergus Pragnell, Tom Swann, Bryn Coudraye, Matt Ryan, Sam Loch and Toby Lister (Cox) joining James Marburg, Josh Booth and Francis Hegerty (Victorian Institute of Sport).

All members of the men’s eight crew have competed at either Olympic or world championship level.

AIS athletes Kerry Hore and Kim Crow were re-selected in the women’s double scull after winning silver at the 2010 world championships, while AIS team-mates Sarah Cook and Sally Kehoe will team up with Amy Ives and Brooke Pratley (NSW Institute of Sport).

Rowing Australia national high performance director Andrew Matheson said the national selectors were impressed across the board with all athletes.

‘The competition for places in every single boat category this year was a marked improvement from 2010,’ Matheson said.

‘The selectors faced a number of really difficult decisions across the trials and the athletic ability of all athletes was really noticeable.

‘2011 is a very important year for Australian rowing and all the athletes are raring to go for the next training block and then the international competition later in the year.

‘We are really starting to see the benefits of the National Talent Identification and Development (NTID) program filter into the under-23 team, and this is going to pay dividends in the future.’

The Australian rowing team will compete at the Henley Royal Regatta in England (29 June-3 July) and World Cup 3 in Lucerne, Switzerland (8-10 July), before attending a national camp at the Australian Institute of Sport’s  European Training Centre in Varese, Italy, in preparation for the world championships.

2011 Australian rowing team

Olympic boat categories

Men’s coxless pair

• John Linke (AIS)
• Tom Larkins (AIS)

Men’s coxless four

• Joshua Dunkley Smith (AIS)
• Nicholas Purnell (AIS)
• Duncan Free (QAS)
• Drew Ginn (VIS)

Men’s coxed eight

• Fergus Pragnell (AIS)
• Tom Swann (AIS)
• Bryn Coudraye (AIS)
• Matt Ryan (AIS)
• James Marburg (VIS)
• Josh Booth (VIS)
• Francis Hegerty (VIS)
• Sam Loch (AIS)
• Toby Lister (Cox) AIS

Men’s single scull

• Nicholas Hudson (AIS)

Men’s double scull

• Scott Brennan (AIS)
• David Crawshay (AIS)

Men’s quad scull

• Daniel Noonan (NSWIS)
• Karsten Forsterling (VIS)
• James McRae (SASI)
• Chris Morgan (SASI)

Men’s lightweight coxless four

• Todd Skipworth (WAIS)
• Ben Cureton (WAIS)
• Sam Beltz (TIS)
• Anthony Edwards (TIS)

Women’s pair

• Phoebe Stanley (VIS)
• Sarah Tait (VIS)

Women’s double scull

• Kim Crow (AIS)
• Kerry Hore (AIS)

Women’s quad scull

• Amy Ives (NSWIS)
• Brooke Pratley (NSWIS)
• Sarah Cook (AIS)
• Sally Kehoe (AIS)

Women’s lightweight double scull

• Hannah Every-Hall (AIS)
• Alice McNamara (AIS)

Non-Olympic boat categories

Men’s coxed pair

• Cameron McKenzie-McHarg (VIS)
• James Chapman (NSWIS)
• David Webster (Cox) (VIS)

Men’s lightweight coxless eight

• Tom Gibson (AIS)
• Blair Tunevitsch (TIS)
• Rod Chisholm (NSWIS)
• Ali Foot (TIS)
• Darryn Purcell (QAS)
• Nick Baker (VIS)
• Perry Ward (WAIS)
• Ross Brown (WAIS)
• David Webster (VIS)

Men’s lightweight pair

• Tom Gibson (TIS)
• Blair Tunevitsch (TIS)

Men’s lightweight pair

• Rod Chisholm (NSWIS)
• Ali Foot (TIS)

Women’s coxless four

• Kate Hornsey (TIS)
• Pauline Frasca (VIS)
• Renee Chatterton (AIS NTID) 
• Olympia Aldersey (SASI)

Women’s lightweight quad scull

• Kylie Duff
• Ella Flecker (TIS)
• Maia Simmonds
• Alexandra Hayes (WAIS)