Defending The Title
Hanlan was an active champion, accepting frequent challenges and racing often against the larger fields of non-title regattas. Defending his United States title against the latest American hope was particularly lucrative. In 1878 he had won an unprecedented $10,000 by defeating Charles Edward Courtney at Lachine, Que. Two years later Hanlan beat him again in Washington, D.C., winning $6,000. Although it was the champion’s prerogative to veto the site of any match, he never insisted on home advantage.
On the 14th of February 1881 he defended his World Title against another Australian, Elias C. Laycock, on the Thames on the Championship Course. This race also carried the Championship of England and the "Sportsman's" (magazine) Challenge Cup. Hanlan won easily by about four lengths. His next defence was on 3 April 1882 against Englishman Robert W Boyd but this time the race was on the Tyne. The race was fairly close at the start but Hanlan was never troubled and won by seven lengths. His time was 21m.06s and he created a Tyne record for covering the first mile in 5m.45s.
Just a month or so later on 1 May he met Trickett again on the Thames. Trickett used a new boat weighing only twenty-nine pounds. The stake was £500 a side. However, the race was very one sided and Hanlan won so far ahead that he then turned around and rowed back to Trickett, turned around again and beat him a second time to the finish line. Hanlan was well known for these sorts of pranks which often humiliated his opponents.
The following year, (1883) after a bout with typhoid which had led to reports of his death, Hanlan turned back challenges in the United States from James Kennedy, an American, (on 30 May), and Wallace Ross of Canada, (on 18 July). There is some debate about these two races as they are not recorded in the list of Championship Races such as the one published in 1930 by the British Rowing Almanac nor in other publications. There is no doubt that the races took place. The Kennedy match was for $2500 a side and was rowed in Boston over three miles (5 km). Wallace Ross had beaten Hanlan in an earlier non-title match and thus claimed to be the unofficial World Champion. To try to make it official Ross challenged Hanlan and the match took place in New York. Hanlan won and made a record time in the process by taking fifty seconds off the previous best time for the four mile (6 km) course. These two matches were the only World Championship matches ever held in the USA other than one in 1932.
In 1884 Hanlan again beat Laycock, this time on the Nepean River, near Sydney in New South Wales. Again Hanlan was not seriously tested and kept his boat in front just enough to win in a time of 22m.45s. Strangely enough, of the twelve Championship races that Hanlan rowed none of them were raced in Canada. For further details of his Championship races see World Sculling Championship.
Read more about this topic: Ned Hanlan
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