07 Dec 2011
Four Seasons in One Day ? World Cup Number Two Begins
20 June 2003
Karsten Junior helps mother Ekaterina and partner Berazniova out of the boat after their heat
Early morning risers around Oberschleissheim would have caught women competing in the lightweight single out for some light jogging before the required weighing-in two hours prior to their 9.30am race start of the heats.
Seven-minute gaps between each race opened up a flurry of activity on the Olympic course in Munich, Germany. The second BearingPoint World Cup began with a mixture of wind, sun and sporadic showers that had supporters and competitors scurrying for cover. By mid-morning the wind had lessened while the rain settled in.
Lightweight Women Single Scull
In cross-tail winds and choppy conditions Mirna Rajle of Croatia led the way finishing with the fastest qualifying time for the semi-final. Rajle opens up her international season in the single after coaching decisions determined this event suited her better than the double. With the top three in each of the three single’s heats Rajle will be joined in the semi-final by the other two heat winners, Switzerland’s Pamela Weisshaupt and Janet Raduenzel of Germany all in their first World Cup of 2003.
Also qualifying for the semi-final is Tunesia, Spain, Denmark, Hungary, Austria and Sweden.
Lightweight Men’s Single Scull
The top three boats in each of the three heats was the way to the semi-final for the men’s lightweight single and Peter Ording of Germany stamped his mark on this event in the absence of Italy. Ording moves to the single from a 2003 fourth place in the double. He needs to prove himself to selectors for a chance of getting back into the Olympic class double event. This adds pressure to some of these rowers especially if their goal is to compete in the Olympic Games next year.
Hungary’s Csaba Denes had an impressive international debut by winning silver last month in Milan and today he goes through to the semi-final by winning his heat ahead of Hong Kong and China who also qualify. Competing a true world-wide qualifying field Spain, Tunisia, Austria and Denmark as well as Germany’s number two crew, Markus Hartung, go through to the semi-final.
Women’s Single Scull
A smaller field lined up in Munich with two heats seeing a race to be first and qualify directly to the final. Miroslava Knapkova of the Czech Republic must have thought her stars were not aligned when she drew World Champion Rumyana Neykova of Bulgaria in her heat. There were no surprises as Neykova led from the start and remained in that position to qualify.
But Neykova won’t be able to sit on her laurels in the final. Russia’s Yulya Levina won the second heat in the same time as Neykova and is improving with every race this season.
Men’s Single Scull
He’s the World Champion, he has the German home-crowd advantage, he is the favourite going into this event, this is his second training home and there were no surprises when he won his heat. Everything is in place in the house of Marcel Hacker. However today Slovenia’s Iztop Cop qualified in the same time as Hacker and is setting the stage for an exciting final.
The men’s single format was three heats with the top three from each heat going on to the semi-final Joining Hacker and Cop by winning the third heat is Argentinean Santiago Fernandez who has been working his way up the ranks with an eighth place finish in 2001 and a seventh in 2002.
Also going on to the semi-finals are Austria, Slovakia, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Belarus. Norway’s Olaf Tufte had to withdraw at the last minute due to illness.
Women’s Coxless Pair
The German pairs may be due for a reshuffle after their third crew recorded the fastest time in the pair. Silke Gunter and Lenka Wech had further incentive to avoid a repechage as they will also compete in the women’s eight. In winning their heat Wech and Gunter beat the experienced Belarusian crew. The other heat was won by Great Britain’s Cath Bishop and Katherine Grainger who continue to have an impact on the women’s pair after their silver win in Milan. All other crews will return to race in the repechage this afternoon.
Men’s Coyless Pair
The impact of the lumpy 2000 metre course on the competitors was evident in the pair’s race as the spray of water off blades was clearly visible. World Champions, Cracknell and Pinsent, of Great Britain hoping to come back from placing third in Milan made easy work of their heat and qualify directly to the final. However the easy work was partly due to the absence from Munich of some of their biggest rivals. The winners from Milan last month, Croatia, had to withdraw at the last minute after stroke, Sinisa Skelin chose not to race due to a recent illness.
But the Brits will still meet tough competition in the final as Germay’s number one crew, Ike Landvoigt and Jan Herzog won their heat with the fastest time of the two heats. All other boats will race the repechage to make up the other spots in the final.
Women’s Double Scull
Two heats and the top two boats qualifying for the final was the formula in the women’s double and it looks to be shaping into a British ? German clash. Debbie Flood and Rebecca Romero of Great Britain were behind the German’s in Milan but today comfortably won their heat to go directly to the final. Meanwhile Kathrin Boron and Britta Oppelt rowing for Germany pulled off a win in the other heat and move on to the final with the fastest qualifying time. All other boats will be back this afternoon to get a second chance in the repechage.
Men’s Double Scull
The Slovenian men’s pair rowed straight into tomorrow’s semi by taking heat 3 in Munich
A slew of new 2003 combinations took to the water in the men’s double with the only known element being Milan Dolecek and Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic. And the duo proved their status by qualifying for the semi-final with the fastest time. But Luka Spik ? back in the double after an impressive third place in the single in Milan ? has teamed up with Matej Prelog and won the third heat. With hair colour matching their Slovenian flag colours, Spik and Prelog won over a very experienced German duo of Andreas Hajek and Christian Schreiber who led the Slovenians for the first half of the race.
The final heat was won by Great Britain’s duo of Ian Lawson who, like Spik, raced impressively in the single last month, but today was back with his doubles partner, Matthew Wells.
Also moving directly to the semis are Sweden, Ukraine, Slovakia, the second German crew and Poland.
Men’s Four
Two heats lined up for the men’s four with the top crew only going directly to the final. Today the number one crew of Germany and Great Britain showed their superiority to win each heat respectively. However Great Britain had a true race on their hands as Slovenia put the pressure on staying within a canvas of Great Britain throughout the race.
The tougher race of Great Britain put them into the final with the fastest qualifying time. Germany had an easier ride into the final, gaining a two second lead over Poland’s number two crew by the half-way point.
All other crews will come back for the repechage. Special mention must be made of the Egyptian crew. It was only in the eleventh hour that they retained visas to come to Munich but then had to withdraw earlier this morning due to illness. Egyptian rowing has been improving over the last couple of years to a stage where they now can boat a competent men’s four as well as a men’s eight.
Lightweight Women’s Double Scull
The only event for lightweight women at the Olympics meant the talent was deep and the field the biggest at Munich ? twenty-two boats lined up for the start of this event. With only first place going directly to the semi-final the pressure was on for these scullers.
A beautiful display of cohesion and synchronized drive by Claudia Blasberg and Marie-Louise Draeger of Germany set the tone in the first of four heats. Blasberg and Draeger also qualify with the fastest time.
Second fastest qualifiers and winners of the second heat were the Dutch that included world best time holder in the lightweight single, Marit van Eupen. Van Eupen has teamed up this year with Kristen van der Kolk and finished with silver in Milan.
The third heat was won by Helen Casey and Tracy Langlands of Great Britain who move into their second season together. They will be joined in the semi-final by winners of the fourth heat, Johanne Thomsen and Juliane Rasmussen of Denmark. The Danish combination are also in their second season together finishing sixth in 2002.
Lightweight Men’s Double Scull
Three heats in this event required the competitors to be in first position to go directly to the semi-final. The bronze medal winners from Milan, Denmark, showed their boat speed today by winning in the fastest qualifying time. Mads Rasmussen and Rasmus Hansen Quist have raced together since 2001 and at the World Championships last year won bronze.
But the times are close between the three heats as winners of the first heat, the United States are less than a second down on the Danes. Steve Tucker and Greg Ruckman were pushed through the first half of the race by Milan’s silver medal winners, Hungary whose smooth strokes could not match the aggressive American style.
In their 2003 international season debut, Ingo Euler and Manuel Brehmer of Germany made an easy race of the third heat to win by over seven seconds. Brehmer is back with his 2001 partner and the combination looks like a medal winning chance as they move onto the semi-final.
Rowing in Chile is still in its infancy but the country boasts two World Champions. Christain Yantani and Miguel Cerda won the lightweight pair last year in Seville and today they join Javier Godoy and Felipe Leal as the crew works towards qualifying in an Olympic event next year. The crew looks to be another step along that path after winning their heat that moves them onto the semi-final. More remarkable is the crew did this in a time within half a second of World Champions, Denmark, who won the first heat.
After an average 2002 season Austria may be back on form. They were World Champions in 2001 but could only manage ninth last year. Today they won their heat and will go on to the semi-final tomorrow along with Denmark and Chile. All other boats will return to race this afternoon’s repechage.
Men’s Quadruple Scull
Two heats in the quad meant the race was on for top position to go straight to the final. With the experience of Andre Wilms in bow, Germany comfortably won the first heat after a flying start that gave them more than a three second lead in the first 500 metres. But it is the winners of the second heat, the Czech Republic, that move onto the final with the fastest qualifying time.
The Czech crew has two new members from its 2002 line-up that finished ninth at last years World Championships.
Men’s Eight
Great Britain’s new line-up complete with the return of Ed Coode to international rowing were the crew to watch and their heat turned out to be the race to watch. In the lane next to Croatia who won bronze last month in Milan, the two crews stayed within a couple of seconds of each other throughout the race. But it was always Croatia with the upper hand. They lead from the start and managed to stay just ahead of the Brits at the line.
This win means Croatia will go directly to the final along with the Germans. Germany, known locally as Telekomexpress, took a handy lead at the start of heat one but had to deal with the steadily improving Danes. Coxed by Oliver Blach, Denmark went from fourth position and a huge seven seconds down on the Germans, to second place with only two seconds in it. The Danes will return for the repechage.