High gold stakes at under-23 champs

Despite the heat, the high standard of competition had many crews get alarmingly close to the under-23 World Best Times. The closest came in the men’s single sculls when Hubert Trzybinski of Germany clocked a time of 6:49 – less than three seconds outside of the World Best Time.
 
Medals were spread across nations with Germany’s two single scullers helping them pull in the most gold medals (a total of three) for any one country.  

Lightweight Women's Single Sculls (BLW1x) – Final
Yesterday’s semifinals signaled that former heavyweight rower, Aikaterini Nikolaidou of Greece was the one to beat. In that knowledge, Nikolaidou got out in front at the start foiling the usually fast starting Ayami Oishi of Japan. Once in front Nikolaidou began to dominate. Where was the defending World Champion, Alena Kryvasheyenka of Belarus? Kryvasheyenka is known as a careful racer who will often work her way through the field. Would she do that today?
 

Coming into the final 500m Nikolaidou still had the lead with Kryvasheyenka pushing past Oishi to get into second and close on the leader. In the final sprint both Nikolaidou and Kryvasheyenka looked absolutely exhausted. The Greek mananged to squeeze out a 32 stroke rate with Belarus at 29. In third, however, Oishi looked remarkably lively and was bouncing along in the high 30s. It was not enough to close the gap on the leaders. Three extremely well deserved medals were handed out with 180cm tall Nikolaidou managing to go under the eight minute mark and become an under-23 World Champion.
Results: GRE, BLR, JAP, BEL, AUT, IRL
 
B-final
Starting off as one of the biggest fields of this regatta had been narrowed down to those now racing for seventh to 12th position and France’s Julie Marechal tried to make the best of it. But margins, going through the middle of the race, remained incredibly tight with just two and a half seconds separating the field. Then Marechal and Helen Pavokovic of Croatia managed to form a small break. It was a sprint to the line and to the shouts of ‘hopp Schwiiz’ Juliette Jeannet of Switzerland had got there first.
Results: SUI, CRO, FRA, CAN, GER

Aikaterini Nikolaidou (GRE) – Gold
“I was in first place after 300 metres then I worked a lot to keep the lead. That was my race plan. I would like to continue the results of Alexandra Tsiavou.”

Alena Kryvasheyenka (BLR) – Silver
“This race was really hard. Not only the air is hot but also the water. I have been a bit dehydrated in the last days and this made it even harder to row today. I will go to Korea and I expect to row a better time there.”

Ayami Oishi (JPN) – Bronze
“The race was good and I enjoyed it!”

Women’s Double Sculls (BW2x) – Final
Coming through from Thursday’s heats, Romania’s Ionela-Madalina Rusu and Laura Oprea had the fastest qualifying time. All eyes were on them in lane three. But it was repechage winners, France who had the lead at the start. Margins, however, were excruciatingly close and the race, really, had only just begun.
 
At the 1000m mark five boats formed a practical line across the lanes with only Norway just slightly off the pace. None of these boats had raced in the final a year ago so it was anyone’s bet who would pull off the win today.
 
Romania and Denmark then got their nose ahead of the rest of the field with Romania rating 38 in an attempt to shake Anne Andersen and Hedvig Rasmussen of Denmark. The third 500 saw Rusu and Oprea do a huge piece which gave them a nice little edge over Denmark who seemed to have no response.
 
As the sounds of the finishing grandstand crowd rose, Romania were doing just enough to stay in front. Denmark, meanwhile, at a 34 stroke rate had found a bit of extra steam with the Czech Republic’s Lenka Antosova and Denisa Cvancarova steaming down the outside. An extremely happy Romanian crew punched the air. Denmark and the Czechs looked satisfied. A special mention must be made of Germany. Their huge sprint to the line had nearly earned them bronze. Their effort was evident after they crossed the finish line.  
Results: ROU, DEN, CZE, GER, NOR, FRA
 
B-final
The Netherlands missed out on qualifying for the A-final by just 0.06 of a second. But at the start, surprisingly they were not the leading boat. Instead it was Venezuela who had the fastest start. Then Elizabeth Youngling and Leigh Archer of the United States did a big push and led through the middle of the race. Would the US hold it in the final sprint? Yes! Using a 36 stroke rate pace the Youngling and Archer held off a huge late charge by the Netherlands.
Results: USA, NED, ITA, LAT, VEN

Laura Oprea (ROU) – Gold
“Our race plan was to get gold and we did it. It was a tough race though and we had to give everything.”

Anne Andersen (DEN) – Silver
"We held our game plan and it was the toughest race in my life. We have been in the Senior’s A women’s quad and we only had a week and a half in the double together. It was very up and down – mostly down. We weren’t at all medal candidates so it’s an awesome surprise for the Danish team.”

Denisa Cvancarova (CZE) – Bronze
"We are really happy, I don’t even have words to explain how happy I am. It was super hard because we raced in Kazaan at the Universiade just two weeks ago and had pretty hard races there as well. So at the start we didn’t expect anything and in the middle of the race we realized it might be enough for a medal.”
 

Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls (BLM1x) – Final
This boat class began as a huge field so just making the final was a big accomplishment. Alan Campbell of the United States and Franciscus Goutier of the Netherlands were the favourites having won their respective semifinals yesterday. But today was a new day and a lot would come down to who could handle the rising temperatures the best.

Campbell, who took bronze last year at the senior level, was the fastest out at the start and had a small lead over Goutier at the first 500m mark. Goutier finished fourth in this event last year and seventh the year before and he was matching Campbell’s 32 stroke rate through the second 500 of the 2000m race. Ireland’s very classy Paul O’Donovan followed in third.

This order remained the same coming into the final sprint with Campbell able to pull clean away from his competition leaving Goutier and O’Donovan to scrap it out for second with New Zealand’s Adam Ling now charging down the outside. Campbell, looking completely in control, watched the action behind him as he crossed the line in first. Goutier took silver and in a fight to the line between Ireland and New Zealand, Ireland prevailed.

Campbell had made history again with their first ever gold in the lightweight men’s single at the under-23 level.
Results: USA, NED, IRL, NZL, TUR, GBR

B-final
It is always a surprise to see the reigning World Champions in a B-final, but that was the case today with Greece’s Spyridon Giannaros just missing out on the A-final in yesterday’s semifinals. Today Giannaros led from start to finish keeping his stroke rate in the low 30s to hold on to the lead. Italy followed in second.
Results: GRE, ITA, SUI, AUS, HUN, GER

Andrew Campbell Jr (USA) – Gold
“This is my first gold medal. I felt so proud when I heard the national anthem. I am going step by step. I take every race serious – no matter if it’s a heat or a semifinal. If you don’t succeed in the first races, you are out. I worked hard to win this medal but I work hard at every race just to win it.”

Franciscus Goutier (NED) – Silver
“I feel great. It was a pretty close race and I did my best to get on the podium – it’s my last year at under-23 level.”

Paul O’Donovan (IRL) – Bronze
“I was just trying to stay with the rest of the field for the race. At this regatta I learned as much as I could. New Zealand was close at the end but I just kept pushing to the line.”

Men’s Pair (BM2-) – Final
Through the heats and semifinals this was shaping up to be a South African – Australian showdown. Getting off the line the quickest were David Hunt and Vincent Breet of South Africa using a 44 stroke rate. Hunt and Breet finished second in this event last year and warmed up for Linz-Ottensheim by racing in the men’s pair final at the Henley Royal Regatta against the Olympic Champion New Zealanders.

Hunt and Breet remained at a high 40 stroke rate and let the Australian’s (Angus Moore and Alexander Hill) play catch up. Moore and Hill will move on to their country’s senior men’s eight after this regatta and what a warm-up it has been for them.

Half way through the race Hunt and Breet had more than a boat length lead with this race turning into a veritable procession. Hunt and Breet had now settled to 35 with Moore and Hill at 36 to stay ahead of Milos Vasic and Radoje Deric of Serbia who were in third.

Having broken the field up, Hunt and Breet had to do just enough to hold the lead in the final sprint. They had done it. Gold to South Africa, silver to Australia and bronze to Serbia.
Results: RSA, AUS, SRB, AZE, GRE, GER

B-final
The Netherlands missed out on making the A-final by just 0.13 of a second and they wanted to stamp their dominance on today’s B-final. University students Jasper Tissen and Reinier Spillenaar Bilgen had a handy two second lead by the middle of the race but Slovenia was holding on tightly, keeping the Dutch honest. Getting up to a 38 stroke rate the Dutch crossed the line in first.
Results: NED, HUN, SLO, IRL, UKR, LTU

David Hunt (RSA) – Gold
“We are proud and it feels amazing to win, but that was the hardest race ever in my life. It nearly killed me. The Australians were pushing us a lot.”

Angus Moore (AUS) – Silver
"We have been training the Senior A-eight for Australia so we haven’t much time in the men’s pair. But coming here was a good learning experience and we are eligible for another year so we might be back next year to have another go."

Men’s Double Sculls (BM2x) – Final
Last year Lithuania finished fifth in the men’s double. This year they had been recording some great times through the heats and semifinals to come to this A-final. All six crews got off the line together with no crew really showing domiance until the 250m mark with Spain earning a tiny edge. By the 500m mark Dominykas Jancionis and Aurimas Adomavicius of Lithuania had drawn into the lead. Margins, however, remained miniscule and the Czech Republic’s Michal Plocek and Jan Andrle then got their nose in front going through the middle of the race with a one second lead over Lithuania.
 
Plocek, last year’s junior World Champion in the single, and Andrle won their semifinal yesterday and they were looking good. But still there was very little in it. With 500m left to row just four seconds separated the top five crews. The pace was frantic. Absolute heart and soul was going into this sprint.
 
Rating 36 Lithuania were overtaking the Czechs with Spain’s Pau Franquet Montfort and Ruben Padilla Camara performing and absolute flyer at 44 down the outside with Hungary in hot pursuit. At the line margins were tight. Lithuania, the Czechs and a very happy Spain had rowed themselves to medals.
Results: LTU, CZE, ESP, HUN, GER, BUL
 
B-final
From yesterday’s semifinals it looked like Romania would be the top crew in this B-final. But Azerbaijan had other ideas. Azerbaijan did not have a good semi, finishing at the back of their race, but they were making no mistakes today. After overtaking Austria, Ivan Antov and Boris Yotov of Azerbaijan pushed into the lead. But the race was far from over. Coming into the final sprint the entire field closed on Azerbaijan. A very happy Toger Rasmussen and Sverri Nielsen of Denmark let out a primal cry at the end of the race. They had sprinted through to the best finish.
Results: DEN, AZE, LAT, AUT, ROU, CAN

Aurimas Adomavicius (LTU) – Gold
“We are super happy because we will hear the Lithuanian anthem for the first time here at this event. Even though all our fans believed in us we didn’t expect to win.”

Jan Andrle (CZE) – Silver
“We felt a little bit startled but it was a great race. It’s a great improvement since we have only been rowing together for three months as well as it being our last year in the under-23 category.”

Pau Franquet Monfort (ESP) – Bronze
“Unbelievable – we were so sure that we came fourth so we were actually preparing to row back to the boat park. When we were asked to come to the victory ceremony pontoon we couldn’t believe it.”

Lightweight Men’s Four (BLM4-) – Final
The reigning World Champions Italy looked back on form this year but it also looked like Spain would give them a run for their money following Thursday’s heats. It was Great Britain that jumped out first and proceeded to hold the leading margin through the body of the race.
 
Coming into the final sprint, however, there was nothing in it – only four seconds separated the entire field. Stroke rates went into the forties. Italy was charging. The Italians had absolutely dominated this event in recent years and they were not about to give it up. Stefano Oppo, Petru Zaharia, Guido Gravina and Paolo Di Girolamo, rating 42, were in the lead. Great Britain, at 38, were desperately hanging on to second while Spain, at 44 was going for the photo finish with France. At the line Italy had defended their title, Great Britain had won the silver and France had taken bronze by just 0.32 of a second over Spain.
 
In one of the fastest times of the day, Italy had come within four seconds of the World Best Time.
Results: ITA, GBR, FRA, ESP, GER, USA
 
B-final
Russia and the Netherlands just missed out through Friday’s repechage and it was the Netherlands that made the best of it in this B-final. The Dutch got out in front at the start and held it through to a clear winning finish. Hungary followed in second holding off Russia for the entire race.
Results: NED, HUN, RUS, POL, SUI, AUS

Paolo di Girolamo (ITA) – Gold
“Good race!! Great Britain had a very good start and they were really strong so they were leading. But we kept pushing to keep up on them. In the last 500 metres we finally overtook them. We can go home with another medal now.”

Joel Cassells (GBR) – Silver
“In the lightweight category it is a really even playing field and we rowed the best race we could. It was a fantastic race with fantastic conditions and it’s a great venue despite the difficulties they had due to the flooding. This heat can really be deadly, especially when we are racing. So we made sure we had plenty of water,  wore tops soaked in water and we stayed out of the sun as much as we could.”

Clement Duret (FRA) – Bronze
“What a hard race! Our start was good but I could see the Spanish team come closer. We are usually very good at the start but then need to be careful not to lose the advantage. So our plan was to give everything at the end. I already have a gold medal and a silver medal in the U23 and since this is my last U23 year I was able to get the full range of medals.”

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (BLW2x) – Final
From yesterday’s semifinals it looked as this would be an extremely tight race between Great Britain and Romania. At the start Eleanor Piggott and Brianna Stubbs of Great Britain had the best speed and keeping a 38 stroke rate Piggott and Stubbs began to inch away.
 

Romania’s Ionela-Livia Lehaci and Andreea Asoltanei then, matching the British stroke rate, began to close the gap on the leaders. At the half-way point there was only a four second spread covering the entire field. It would take the second half of the race to really sort out the medallists.
 
Great Britain remained in front but still could not shake the rest of the field. New Zealand’s Sophie MacKenzie and Lisa Owen were now doing a huge push and they had overtaken a slowing Romania with Fabienne Knoke and Leonie Pieper of Germany hanging right in there.
 
The final sprint looked brutal for these lightweight rowers. The crowd was on their feet. The huge contingent of British supporters who had made the trip to Linz were going wild. Holding it together until the end, Piggott and Stubbs had pulled off the gold. Knoke and Pieper had grabbed the silver and MacKenzie and Owen were extremely happy with the bronze. Romania had missed out on a medal by just half a second.
Results: GBR, GER, NZL, ROU, AUS, SUI
 
B-final
Following yesterday’s semifinal, Poland and Hungary looked to have dibs on this race. Through the first half of the race Poland led Hungary and together they broke away from the field. But then the Czech Republic moved up to challenge the leaders with the Netherlands following suit. The race was far from over. The Czechs then seemed to run out of steam with Poland’s Monika Kowalska and Joanna Dorociak upping their rating to stay ahead. Hungary, at 38, continued to challenge but the Poles remained in command.
Results: POL, HUN, NED, CZE, ITA, NOR

Brianna Stubbs (GBR) – Gold
“It’s not really hot today – there was a nice breeze. We had good fun racing. But still when crossing the line we couldn’t believe we would win.”

Leonie Pieper (GER) – Silver
"I feel awesome. These are my first Under 23 Championships and I had never expected such a result. My club and my family support me and they are sitting in the grandstand. It is a great feeling to know they are there.”

Lisa Owen (NZL) – Bronze
"We use our  senior lightweight double crew as training partners. That has been a good help. Every aspect of rowing, like racing or nutrition we can talk to them about and get their advice.”

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (BLM2x) – Final
Going by yesterday’s semifinals it looked as though France had this race all but wrapped up. But today was a new, and hotter, day and there were five other fired-up crews on the Linz-Ottensheim regatta course.
 
At the start Moritz Moos and Jason Osborne of Germany had the fastest start. These 19-year-olds had won their semifinal yesterday and all eyes were on what they could do today. In 2012 Germany took bronze in this boat class and they were after a brighter medal colour this year. France’s Damien Piqueras and Pierre Houin followed Germany as the order of racers started to be sorted out.
 
Moos and Osborne then managed to pull out to a boat length lead by the middle of the race with France now under threat from Leone Barbaro and Simone Molteni of Italy. The third 500 would have to be used to really sort out the talent. And talent was shining through at the head of the field. Moos and Osborne were continuing to pull away.  Could they hold it in the final sprint?
 
Rating 39 Germany were having to hold off a flying fleet. France were also at 39 while the Dutch were giving it their all at 46. At the finish Houin stood up in his boat. He was ready to celebrate. They had rowed to a well-earned silver. Moos and Osborne had demonstrated what it takes to win gold and a vey happy Bart Lukkes and Daan Klomp of the Netherlands had come from the back of the field to take bronze.
Results: GER, FRA, NED, HUN, ITA, ESP
 
B-final
Denmark only just missed out on the A-final in yesterday’s semifinal and came into this race as the favourites to take first. And they lived up to the challenge. Denmark’s Peter Noerlem and Mathias Larsen had a great start and established themselves in the lead. Rating 34 at the end, Demark looked very comfortable. Meanwhile, Poland and Lithuania went all out to be the second crew. Poland prevailed.
Results: DEN, POL, LTU, GBR, NOR, IRL

Moritz Moos (GER) – Gold
"This is my first international gold medal. Winning this gold medal being 19 years old is amazing and hard to top.”

Damien Piqueras (FRA) – Silver
"We have been rowing together for six months, so quiet a while. We wanted to have a good start and keep close to the German team. At 1000 metres we did a big piece and thenit was 'Go! Go! Go!' to the finish.”

Bart Lukkes (NED) – Bronze
"Daan (Klomp) is very famous for his finishes so we call the last 500 metres ‘The Klomp’”

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (BM4x) – Final
Switzerland had the fastest time coming through from yesterday’s semifinal. But semifinal times were closely packed and this was shaping up to be an incredibly tight race. It was the reigning World Champions, Ukraine, that jumped out first rating a huge 50 strokes per minute. But their lead didn’t last long. Roeoesli, Maillefer, Stahlberg and Delarze of Switzerland had pushed ahead and, rating 35, it looked like they planned to dominate for the entire race.

Going through the middle of the race Switzerland had earned a handy two second margin over Germany who had pushed into second as Ukraine appeared to run out of steam. Then New Zealand started to come back from a very slow start. Had the New Zealanders stuttered at the start, or was this a tactic? A huge piece by New Zealand, rating 39, in the third 500 enabled them to close the gap on the Swiss. Could Switzerland hold on?
 
The race had become all about Switzerland and New Zealand. Both boats charged for the line. Switzerland were at 40, New Zealand at 40. Then New Zealand went to 45. The line got closerr. The winner was decided by the final surge. Switzerland had done it. Gold to Switzerland, silver to New Zealand and Germany took the bronze.
 
The chic Swiss had rowed to a time just four seconds outside of the under-23 World Best Time.
Results: SUI, NZL, GER, GBR, FRA, UKR
 
B-final
On paper Australia looked like the crew to beat. At the start, however, it was the high rating Italians in the lead. They were then caught and overtaken by Poland with margins remaining tight. In a flurry of sculls and swing, Poland, rating 40 crossed the line in first. Italy, at 42, took second and the lower rating Australians had to settle for third.
 
Results: POL, ITA, AUS, NOR, EST, BLR

Barnabe Delarze (SUI) – Gold
“We had a good start and we knew the Ukranian crew were World Champions and that New Zealand have big finishes. At 1,000m we could build up a big gap between us and the other boats but we expected the Kiwis to come closer.”

Jeffrey Francis (NZL) – Silver
“In that last bit of the race I was thinking we just had to push as hard as we could. Actually, not too much goes through your head in the last few strokes.”

Ole Daberkow (GER) – Bronze
"We didn’t have a good start and had to do more work to catch up with the French crew. At the end we worked to move faster to get by the British. Our crew has been together for three weeks. But Kai and I were in a pair before.”
 

Men’s Single Sculls (BM1x) – Final
Last year Hubert Trzybinski of Germany took the silver in this event. This year, following the preliminary rounds, Trzybinski looked ready to win the gold. But the German knew that he was up against a talented field. At the start it was Trzybinski that jumped out the fastest at a punishing pace of just 1:40 for the first 500m.

There was, however, a storm brewing behind Trzybinski. Francesco Cardaioli of Italy had come flying down the outside. Cardaioli’s pace had pulled him ahead of the favoured German and given him a very small lead. Trzybinski held on and so did Cardaioli. Would the Italian have enough left to sprint?

Meanwhile, Hannes Obreno of Belgium was pressing away and making good speed. Obreno finishing fourth in this event a year ago and he was conducting a very controlled race to stay with the leader.

In the sprint to the line Trzybinski again pressed back into the lead with Cardaioli now under threat from Obreno. Trzybinski, at a 36 stroke rate, had won. Obreno took silver and Cardaioli was the bronze medallist. These three scullers all got very close to the under-23 World Best Time, set by Trzybinski in 2011. Trzybinski’s time was just three seconds outside of it.
Results: GER, BEL, ITA, ROU, LTU, MEX

B-final
The huge starting field in the men’s single sculls had been narrowed down to those racing for spots seven to 11 at these under-23 championships. Greece’s Dionysios Angelopoulos had the fastest time from yesterday’s semifinal and after overtaking a fast starting France, Angelopoulos got the lead and tried to shake his competition. Rating a steady 33, Angelopoulos remained in front with Andre Redr of Slovakia now really finding his rhythm and moving up. Redr continued to power on, but Angelopoulos was able to hold him off.
Results: GRE, SLO, UKR, FRA, NOR, CAN

Hubert Trzybinski (GER) – Gold
“It’s nice to come first. I have realised in the last years how hard it is to get on the podium and to get a medal – especially a gold medal. I’m very happy. I’ll go now on holidays.”

Hannes Obreno (BEL) – Silver
“I had a surprisingly good race. Our national team is very small this year here.”

Francesco Cardioli (ITA) – Bronze
“The race was very fast since there is a slight tail wind. Nevertheless this race was less harder then the semifinal. Usually I’m not very good at the finish but I try to save as much power as possible in the first 1000m to have enough strength. I will now prepare for the World Championships in Korea.”

Women’s Single Sculls (BW1x) – Final
To the joy of the crowd, Austria’s Lisa Farthofer leapt out into the lead of this women’s dingle sculls final. But it didn’t last long as definite favourite to win this race, Lisa Schmidla of Germany pulled ahead. Once in the lead Schmidla, who is a regular on Germany’s senior national team, moved clean away from the rest of the field.

The battle was now on for second and Olympic Champion from the quad, Nataliya Dovgodko of Ukraine had slipped into that position with Latvia’s Elza Gulbe chasing hard. Then Carling Zeeman of Canada began to show that she had the stamina. From fourth place, Zeeman was closing on the Latvian – Ukraine battle.

As Schmidla powered home in the lead, Zeeman, rating 35 came storming through to take the silver by just centimetres over Gulbe as Dovgodko faded into fourth. Schmidla’s finishing time was just three seconds outside of the under-23 World Best Time.
Results: GER, CAN, LAT, UKR, BEL, AUT

B-final
Yale University student, Madison Lips of the United States jumped out in front before being overtaken by Greece’s Elani Diamanti. Diamanti then managed to pull away to a very small lead with Lips and Denmark chasing hard. In the last sprint Diamanti had no guarantees as the field closed on her. Hungary’s Krisztina Gyimes was at 37 strokes per minute and flying. Diamanti looked exhausted, desperately trying to hold on, managing 32 strokes per minute. Hungary had pulled off a win.
Results: HUN, GRE, DEN, SUI, USA, SWE

Lisa Schmidla (GER) – Gold
“I’m very happy and relieved. I like this course – the conditions are great here. Through the last 500 metres I was wondering whether I might be able to set a new World Best Time. I realised the distance between me and the other crews and knew I was the winner.”

Carling Zeeman (CAN) – Silver
“At the start line I was already pouring with sweat and I could feel my heart pounding. It becomes a different race when the temperature is that high but it’s part of the sport. I was behind at the 1000 metres so I had to start my sprint from 750 metres. It was a huge push to catch these guys. Now I’m completely exhausted.”

Elza Gulbe (LAT) – Bronze
“The race was pretty hard due to the heat. With my bright skin and the blond hair I need to be careful in these conditions. My next step will be the World Championships in Chungju.”

Women’s Eight (BW8+) – Final
In the heats two days ago the United States proved to be the dominating crew and today they lived up to that expectation. The United States had a World Champion title to defend and with a crew full of top university rowers, the United States led from start to finish.
 
Behind the US, Great Britain slotted into second with the real battle going on for the bronze medal. Germany and Australia were pacing each other stroke for stroke with Australia earning the early advantage. But the Germany got the better of this battle and not only overtook the Australians, but they managed to pull away.
 
The rest of the race was now going to be a procession. The United States had the lead, Great Britain was comfortably in second and Germany had an easy third. The US had defended their title.
Results: USA, GBR, GER, AUS, CAN, NED 

Kendall Schmidt (USA) – Gold
"It feels good to go back to back and win again this year. At the 1500 metres mark there was a call to breathe, relax and trust. We trusted in each other, in the base fitness and so it was all about that trust.”

Morgan Baynham-Williams (GBR) – Silver
“Today the British women’s eight re-wrote history with this result. The race plan was to go off hard, hold pace at the 1000 metres to go and then sprint from 500 metres to go. This crew has been together since middle of June.”

Charlotte Reinhardt (GER) – Bronze
"I am completely happy with this result. At the beginning I didn’t expect this to come but during the race I got more and more self confident.”
 

Men’s Eight (BM8+) – Final
Spain, in their outside lane, had the best start with mid 40s strokes per minute the chosen pace of all of the boats. Poland then began to show. Where were the reigning World Champions, the United States? Poland and Spain remained the leading boats through the first 500m mark, but then at the 750m mark the fastest qualifying crew, New Zealand got themselves into the lead.

With that New Zealand never looked back. The reigning World Champions the United States, meanwhile, was slowly working their way up through the pack following the a slow start. Poland now tried to hold on to the Americans. The pace was intense.

Coming into the final sprint New Zealand were on fire. They had the lead, but they wanted more. There was nothing the United States in second could do. The first two medals were sorted. Who would take the bronze? Poland had done it and there was no hiding their medal excitement at the end.

New Zealand’s time of 5:28 was just four seconds outside the under-23 World Best time. Is this the crew that could be on their way to Rio 2016?
Results: NZL, USA, POL, ESP, GBR, GER

B-final
The Czech Republic only just missed out on the A-final through the repechage, thus lining up in a middle lane in today’s b-final. The Czech’s got out to a very small lead before Italy took over in front. The Czechs, racing their own race, then got the better of Italy and with every stroke they were able to inch away from the field. With that the Czech Republic began to dominate. Italy had no reply. The Czechs had out-rowed and out-classed the field and finish this regatta in seventh place overall.
Results: CZE, BLR, ITA, AUS, NED, RUS

Caleb Shepherd (NZL) – Gold
“Hopefully this win is the start of something. We did what we wanted in the race to improve on the heat.”

Carter Crowe (USA) – Silver
"We have been training together five weeks but the final selection was only made two and a half weeks ago from a group of 17 rowers. The race plan was to come out strong, stay solid and consistent. Throughout the race we kept our eyes on Poland and New Zealand.”

Karol Leszczynski (POL) – Bronze
"The race was very painful and very fast. We had very good results and training at the trainings camp. Damian (Fehlau) came into the boat three weeks before our departure for Linz, replacing Szymon Kuczkowski.”