Tasmanian rowers Henry Youl and Anneka Reardon reach finals at Henley Royal Regatta

Both were in crews which finished second on the River Thames but were able to savour the experience of the world's best-known regatta which spans six days and involves more than 300 races.

Tamar Rowing Club captain Youl was in the bow of the Australian men's eight which lost out to Oxford Brookes University and Leander Club by nearly three lengths in the Grand Challenge Cup final.

Meanwhile, in the previous race on Sunday, Reardon and NSW crewmate Lucy Coleman went down by two lengths to an American crew in the final of the Stonor Challenge Cup for women's double sculls.

It was an impressive achievement for the Australian lightweights to reach the final of an open-weight event.

Reporting on their semi-final success, Rowing Australia said they "delighted the crowds with their dominant performance".

It added: "The lightweight duo pulled away from the Ukranian/Polish combination early out of the start and continued to pull away to win easily over their opponents. The key to their success, they said, was staying relaxed."

Hailing from a rowing family in Plenty, Reardon took up the sport at the age of 14 and was coached by her dad, Mick Reardon at Lindisfarne Rowing Club after which she also had a year with Sandy Bay.

A multiple state champion and Tasmanian junior oarswomen of the year in 2015, she has been a part of the Tasmanian lightweight women's quad which won the last three national titles with Georgia Nesbitt, Eve Mure, Kate Hall and Hannah Tippett.

In 2019, Reardon moved to Canberra to join her sister Lilli at the Australian National University Boat Club.

At national championships in March, Reardon won three gold (open lightweight double, quad and Tasmanian lightweight quad) and two silver (open lightweight single scull and quad) medals.

Selected to represent Australia in the World Cup series leading into September's world championships, Reardon and Coleman marked their international rowing debut together with a silver medal in the lightweight double scull at World Cup 2 in Poznan.

Being held on the same weekend as World Cup 2, the Women's Henley regatta saw Mure win the lightweight double with Reardon's double partner, Sophie Jerapetritis (ACT) from ANU.

The pair put in a strong performance to claim the Haslam Trophy, beating national title-holder crews from Germany and Great Britain and cutting two seconds off the race record.

Mure also competed at the Henley Royal Regatta, in the quad scull, while her Huon clubmate Sarah Hawe contested the coxless four.

Taking a post-Olympic break from the national team, Hawe represented Sydney Rowing Club in a crew which won their Town Challenge Cup opener against Cambridge and Leander but lost the semi-final to eventual winners Waiariki Rowing Club, of New Zealand.

"It was our first hit-out so bit of a confidence boost to get the win," Hawe said after the first-round victory.

"I thought I'd take a step back from the Australian team this year. Have a bit of a reset and refresh. But I'm always keen to come to Henley, it's such a great event with a really great atmosphere and I'm excited to be here."

The Australian Rowing Team, which also includes Nesbitt, of Huon RC, will next race at World Cup 3 in Lucerne, Switzerland this weekend.

The team will then compete at the World Championships in Racice, Czech Republic, from September 18-25.

Meanwhile, young Tasmanians Kate Oliver and Sophie Robinson will compete at the under-19 and under-23 world championships in Varese, Italy, later this month.