Chris competed in a 'head' race - a long-distance time trial - along 3,000 metres of the River Trent in Nottingham against several other university rowing teams including Birmingham, Exeter, Loughborough and Bristol.

The British Universities Rowing (BUR) head competition featured the two fastest British student crews amongst an entry of over 1,100 athletes. Despite the competition being in just its third year, 186 crews represented a total of 35 national universities and made it the largest student head race in Europe and one of the major student sports events in the UK.

Chris has practised rowing for nine years and has formerly achieved a bronze medal in the 2002 British Rowing Championships.

"It was very nerve-racking to be the university's sole rowing representative, especially since I was competing against many other established rowing clubs from other universities," said Chris.

The University of Lincoln already has a canoe club, but Chris hopes to help establish a university rowing club in the future to help develop student interest in the sport. "The problem with rowing is the expenses involved. A boat costs around £2,000 and maintenance and transport are also very costly," he said.

The university's AU and Societies President Phil Bell is very pleased with Chris' success. "It is impressive to see that the University of Lincoln can compete in such a diverse range of sports," he said. "Chris has demonstrated that he is an elite athlete and we look forward to seeing his future achievements at forthcoming BUSA competitions."