Attention...Go! for 2013 World Rowing Championships

Temperatures pushed into the high 20’s Celsius as the day progressed with humidity a manageable 50 per cent.

Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls (LM1x) – Heats
What a way to start the day! Two of the best single sculler in the world took Heat One to the final stroke. Reigning world champion, Henrik Stephansen of Denmark and World Best Time holder Jeremie Azou of France raced it to the final stroke. Stephansen, who is known for his high rating, fast finishes, was being taken stroke for stroke by Azou. Stephansen, though, took his last stroke at the better time. Stephansen had just beaten Azou on the line by 0.14 of a second. Stephansen’s time was the fastest qualifying time of 6:56.61.

But, in this early round of racing, coming first or second was more a matter of pride and psychology than influence on advancing to the next rounds. With five heats being raced the top four crews in all of the heats would get to advance to the quarterfinals. So from heat one, joining Stephansen and Azou was Rajko Hrvat of Slovenia and Aymen Mejri of Tunisia.

Heat Two was won by Michael Schmid of Switzerland who led from start to finish and looked rather comfortable at a 30 stroke rate when he crossed the bubble line at the finish. Nicholas Pratt of Canada came in second. Pratt has come back to international rowing after taking a five year break and he raced earlier this season at the World Cup where he had a B-final finish. Schmid, Pratt, Vasilev of Bulgaria and Casiraghi of Italy all qualified for the quarterfinals.

Heat Three had under-23 champion for 2013, Andrew Campbell of the United States taking first place ahead of perennial sculler, Jonathan Koch of Germany. Koch led at the start before Campbell took over in the lead and stayed there for the rest of the race. Campbell, Koch, Afentoulis of Greece and Wong of Hong Kong all advance to the quarterfinals.

After a first half lead by Jamie Kirkwood of Great Britain, Peter Galambos of Hungary took over the lead in Heat Four. Both of these scullers felt no need to sprint the finish and they will be joined by crowd pleaser, Hakbeom Lee of Korea who qualified from third and Benjamin Tolention of the Philippines in fourth.

Heat Five had winner of the 2013 Samsung World Rowing Cup series, Pedro Fraga of Portugal in the lead. Fraga comes out of his country’s 2012 Olympic lightweight double and, as Portugal’s sole representative this season, has been doing very well. Mexico’s Alan Eber Armenta Vega came through in second with the final two qualifying places going to Grant of New Zealand and Catalan Flores of Guatemala.

Lightweight Women’s Single Sculls (LW1x) – Heats
Four heats meant that the top two boats only would get to take the direct path to the semifinals. For the majority of the race this meant that the leader would sort themself out early in the piece and then sit on the rest of the field without expending too much energy.

For Heat One Greece’s Aikaterini Nikolaidou had to fight her way past Canada, then Michelle Sechser of the United States, to find the lead. Nikolaidou won gold at this year’s World Rowing Under 23 Championships and she is a definite medal hopeful at this senior level of racing. At the finish Nikolaidou had recorded the fastest qualifying time with Sechser qualifying from second.

Heat Two began with Ruth Walczak of Great Britain getting the fastest start. But Walczak was soon overtaken by the very experienced Michaela Taupe-Traer of Austria. These two scullers left the rest of the field far behind to comfortably take the two qualifying spots.

Originally from South Africa, Ursula Grobler has spent the last few seasons rowing for the United States. Grobler is now back in South Africa and it seems to have done her no harm this season as she won Heat Three with relative ease. Grobler warmed up for these World Rowing Championships with a World Cup medal and she will be a definite contender in the semifinals. Behind Grobler, Alena Kryvasheyenka of Belarus qualified from second. Kryvasheyenka was the silver medallist at this year’s World Rowing Under 23 Championships and was the bronze medallist in this event in 2012.

Winner of the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne this year, Fabiana Beltrame of Brazil led the way in Heat Four. Beltrame was the 2011 winner of the lightweight single but then went into her country’s lightweight double for the London Olympic Games. Back in the single Beltrame is now on her way to the semifinals along with New Zealand’s Louise Ayling who finished second in this heat.
Qualifiers: GRE, USA, AUT, GBR, RSA, BLR, BRA, NZL

Women’s Pair (W2-) – Heats
Three heats lined up with the top three from each heat getting to go directly to the semifinals. Heat One opened with World Cup series winners, Helen Glover and Polly Swann of Great Britain. Glover and Swann joined together as a duo at the start of the season and have not lost a race since.

Together the duo got out to a fast start, but Romania’s Roxana Cogianu and Nicoleta Albu were not letting Glover and Swann get away. Great Britain kept the pressure on right until the end with Romania keeping them honest. Great Britain, Romania and Serbia’s Ivana Filipovic and Iva Obradovic had qualified for the semifinals, Great Britain with the fastest qualifying time.

A full on battle went on between the Netherlands (Elisabeth Hogerwerf and Olivia van Rooijen) and New Zealand (Kayla Pratt and Rebecca Scown) in Heat Two.First the Dutch came out just slightly ahead of New Zealand. Then Pratt and Scown took the lead through the middle of the race – but with never more than half a boat length over the Dutch. Then in the final sprint Hogerwerf and van Rooijen had the better speed to finish first. Pratt and Scown, who were second at the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne, took second and Ukraine qualified from third.

The strength of United States women’s sweep rowing shined in Heat Three. The new 2013 combination of Taylor Goetzinger and Meghan Musnicki led from start to finish with South Africa’s Naydene Smith and Lee-Ann Persse keeping the pressure on from their second-place spot. In the finishing sprint, Goetzinger and Musnicki pushed it through at a 35 stroke rate pace to remain in first. South Africa were second and Germany qualified from third.
Qualifiers: GBR, ROU, SRB, NED, NZL, UKR, USA, RSA, GER

Men’s Pair (M2-) – Heats
The men’s pair had four heats lining up hailing from 21 nations. The goal here was to finish first for a direct path through to the semifinals. Heat One opened with Australia in the lead. But the Australians may have gone out a bit too hard and by the middle of the race they had faded with Marco Di Costanzo and Matteo Castaldo of Italy taking over at the front of the field. Using a high rating stroke strategy, Di Costanzo and Castaldo managed to shake the rest of the field off and no one was able to catch them, even the very fast closing sprint of the Dutch. Italy was the sole qualifiers.

Lining up against New Zealand pretty much seals your fate to racing for second. In Heat Two Great Britain gave it a good shot, but could not manage to get even close to the unbeatable Eric Murray and Hamish Bond of New Zealand. The Olympic and World Champions and World Best Time holders, Bond and Murray raced their own race at the head of the field to cross the line with the fastest qualifying time.

New Zealand, however, may have to keep an eye out for Alexander Sigurbjonsson Benet and Pau Vela Maggi of Spain. In Heat Three the Spanish duo took a flying start and by the middle of the race had built up a handy margin over Poland and Serbia. Spain kept the lead through to the finish by holding a 37 stroke rate pace. Spain had qualified for the semifinals.

Olympic silver medallists, France made easy work of Heat Four. Germain Chardin and Dorian Mortelette of France were the fastest out of the start and spent the rest of the race moving nicely away from South Africa in second. France, rating 26 at the end, easily qualified for the semifinals.
Qualifiers: ITA, NZL, ESP, FRA

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x) – Heats
The formula here was for crews to finish first to ensure a direct path to the semifinals. With four heats lining up, 21 countries were contesting this boat class.

Racing opened with Italy’s new 2013 combination of Andrea Micheletti and Pietro Ruta in the lead of Heat One. Micheletti and Ruta took an absolute flyer of a start at 49 strokes per minute. By the middle of the race, Italy had got a clean water lead over Germany in second. The smooth, long strokes of Micheletti and Ruta made them look like a definite threat to any crew who is going for gold in this event.

Olympic silver medallists from the lightweight four, Peter and Richard Chambers of Great Britain have made the transition to sculling this season. Today they raced in Heat Two. For the first half of the race Greece challenged hard but then let the Chambers brothers get away. Great Britain had qualified for the semifinals.

The fastest qualifying time came in Heat Three when Simon Schuerch and Mario Gyr of Switzerland held a close battle with Kristoffer Brun and Are Strandli of Norway. Schuerch and Gyr, like the Chambers brothers, come out of the Olympic lightweight four where they finished fifth. Last month at the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne, Schuerch and Gyr finished third where Norway was not in attendance due to injury. Schuerch and Gyr now take their place in the semifinals after keeping the pressure on right to the end over Norway.

Twins, Vincent and Tycho Muda of the Netherlands nearly recorded the fastest qualifying time in Heat Four, but ended up half a second slower than the Swiss in the previous heat. Still, the Muda brothers made a real race of it and came through at the finish rating 38 strokes per minute to finish first. Behind the Dutch, the Polish double was receiving huge crowd support and although they went hard until the line, the Poles would have to return for the repechage.
Qualifiers: ITA, GBR, SUI, NED
 

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (LW2x) – Heats
This event had attracted a field of three heats which meant that to advance directly to the semifinals, a top two finish was needed. Coming through from a very successful 2013 unbeaten season Laura Milani and Elisabetta Sancassani of Italy are the hot favourites of this event. Milani and Sancassani led from start to finish in Heat One crossing the line in the fastest qualifying time. Behind the Italians, Germany (Noske and Mueller) managed to hold off Australia to take the second qualifying spot.

Heat Two opened with Elisabeth Woerner and Maaike Head of the Netherlands out in front. They were chased hard through the middle of the race by the United States and South Africa. Kristin Hedstrom and Kathleen Bertko of the United States then got their nose in front, upped their stroke rate and charged for the line. Behind the US it was a picture of contrast as the Dutch, in second, slotted into a rather sedate rhythm to cross the line in second. These were the two qualifying crews.

Three crews sped away at the start in Heat Three – New Zealand, Denmark and Great Britain – with Julia Edward and Lucy Strack of New Zealand having a very slight edge. By the middle of the race Denmark had dropped back leaving New Zealand and Great Britain’s Kathryn Twyman and Imogen Walsh to fight it out at the head of the field. The battle remained to the line with Twyman and Walsh getting the finishing edge. Great Britain and New Zealand had earned spots in the semifinals for their effort.
Qualifiers: ITA, GER, USA, NED, GBR, NZL

Men’s Four (M4-) – Heats
A solid field of three heats lined up in the men’s four with the top two boats in each heat getting to go directly to the semifinals. Opening the racing was a fight between Italy and the Netherlands in Heat One. Last month at the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne, Italy and the Netherlands had finished third and fourth respectively. Today Italy took an early lead with the Netherlands on attack. In the final sprint the Dutch (Luecken, Versluis, Hendriks and Meylink) had a more solid sprint and more energy in the tank to cross the line in first. Italy, in second, also qualified for the semifinals.

Winners of the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne, the United States led the way from start to finish in Heat Two. Grant James, Seth Weil, Henrik Rummel and Michael Gennaro of the United States had earned an open water lead coming through the middle of the race. Then in the final sprint Great Britain c

ame flying through. But the Americans were in control and held off Great Britain. These were the two qualifying crews with the United States recording the fastest qualifying time.

 At the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne, Australia finished second and today, in Heat Three they showed that the last few weeks of training had served them well. Australia’s Lockwood, Lloyd, Turrin and Dunkley-Smith led from start to finish. Behind them Serbia and Belarus challenged hard. Then Serbia took the pressure off. Australia and Belarus became the two qualifying times.
Qualifiers: NED, ITA, USA, GBR, AUS, BLR

Women’s Quadruple Sculls (W4x) – Heats
Two heats meant that the top boat alone would get to go directly to Saturday’s final. Winners of the World Cup series, Germany made relative easy work of Heat One. Thiele, Baer, Richter and Oppelt of Germany seemed to be doing just enough to stay in the lead with the Netherlands being the closest threat. The Germans were classy enough to hold off any move by the Netherlands and thus get to move on to the final to take up one of the favoured middle lanes.

The big surprise came in Heat Two. Canada boated a new line-up that included three members of the crew that finished fifth at the World Rowing Cup in Sydney back in March. Coming into the boat and into stroke seat was Antje von Seydlitz-Kurzbach and the move made sense as she took her crew into the lead. By the end of the race Canada had not only won, but they had also recorded the fastest qualifying time. Canada had made the final.
Qualifiers: GER, CAN

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (M4x) – Heats
Crews from 18 nations were divided into three heats with the top two boats from each heat getting to go directly to the semifinals. The racing opened with Olympic Champions, Germany racing in Heat One. After a fast start got Ukraine into the lead, Germany got their nose in front as these two crews fought it out to be the leaders. This fight moved them away from the rest of the field. In the final sprint both boats looked comfortable with Germany crossing the line ahead of Ukraine.

Winners of the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne, Croatia looked classy and in control in Heat Two. Sain, Martin and the Sinkovic brothers displayed the form of a crew that has been together for many years – in Croatia’s case since 2009. Today they crossed the line easily in front and with the fastest qualifying time. Switzerland crossed in second to also qualify for the semifinals.

Estonia and Great Britain finished third and fourth respectively at last month’s World Rowing Cup in Lucerne. Today they met again in Heat Three and conducted a race of their own at the head of the field. Estonia, who were fourth at the London Olympics, held the edge through the majority of the race but then seemed content not to really sprint hard. This gave Great Britain the winning edge with both of these countries advancing to the semifinals.
Qualifiers: GER, UKR, CRO, SUI, GBR, EST

Men’s Single Sculls (M1x) – Heats
The biggest field at this regatta, the men’s single sculls had 32 countries racing, divided into six heats. The goal in each heat was to be in the top three to secure a spot in the quarterfinals. Olympic Champion, Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand got the ball rolling in Heat One. Drysdale took extended leave after last year’s Olympic Games but still kept active. Today, Drysdale had a rather slow start and amongst lesser competition he managed muster up enough speed to cross the line in first. Behind Drysdale, Petru Codau of Romania qualified from second and Domonkos Szell of Hungary was third.

Racing a very solid and steady race, Mindaugas Griskonis of Lithuania was in the lead from start to finish in Heat Two. Griskonis raced in the double at the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne and finished third, but he was his country’s single sculler at the London Olympics. At the finish Griskonis, who kept his strokes long and smooth, had recorded the fastest qualifying time of 6:53. Also qualifying from this heat was Roel Braas of the Netherlands and Roman Roeoesli of Switzerland.

World Cup series winner, Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic raced until about the half-way point in Heat Three before taking the pressure off. For the rest of the race Synek, who was second at the London Olympics, did just enough to remain in front. Meanwhile, India’s Sawarn Singh and Dani Fridman of Israel held a two way battle in which Singh prevailed. Singh and Fridman advance to the quarterfinals from second and third respectively.

Alan Campbell of Great Britain was the London Olympic bronze medallist but has had a bit of a rocky 2013 season so far. Today, in Heat Four, Campbell looked relatively at ease at the head of the field. Rating a very comfortable 31 strokes per minute, Campbell crossed the line in first to qualify for the quarterfinals. Qualifying from second and third respectively was Nicholas Purnell of Australia and Georgi Bozhilov of Bulgaria.

At the start of Heat Five, Azerbaijan’s Aleksandar Aleksandrov had the lead before he was pushed into second by Angel Fournier Rodriguez of Cuba. Olympic finalist, Aleksandrov seemed content with second as the race turned into a procession to the line. The powerful-looking Fournier took an easy first, Aleksandrov qualified from second and Vladislav Yakovlev of Kazakhstan earned his spot in the quarterfinal by finishing third.

Heat Six followed a similar style as heat five with the race sorting out the finishing order very early on. Marcel Hacker of Germany got his nose in front at the start with only Luka Spik of Slovenia anywhere near Hacker’s pace. By the middle of the race Hacker had pulled away from his competition with Spik slotting into second ahead of Artem Kosov of Russia. This order did not change for the rest of the race with Hacker looking like he was out for a training row as he took his boat towards the finish line. Hacker, Spik and Kosov had qualified for the quarterfinals.