Germany Leads Nations Cup Medals

Germany has stamped its mark on under-23 rowing with an 11-medal haul at the Nations Cup regatta in Ottensheim, near Linz, Austria yesterday.

But several smaller rowing nations showed that they were developing strong teams for the future, with 23 countries taking home medals.

Many of the rowers who had made impressions at the 2001 Zurich Rowing World Cup regattas were in action – proof of the young teams being put forward by many countries in the post-Olympic year.

Germany took gold in four events – the men’s quad, the lightweight men’s quad, the lightweight men’s double and the lightweight men’s coxless four.

Australia and France were close behind with three gold medals each.

Australia took gold in the women’s double, the women’s quad and the women’s coxless four along with a silver and two bronzes.

The French women’s coxless pair and the men’s coxed four took their races while Vincent Gazam and Vincent Millet look set to follow in the footsteps of their Olympic champion countrymen, taking gold in the men’s coxless pair.

Gazam and Millet defeated 2000 junior champions Neil Dennis and Stefan Szczurowski who will represent Australia at the World Championships in Lucerne next month.

Other elite level rowers in action included Volha Berazniova of Belarus who kept up her nation’s reputation in the women’s single sculls with a 7.44 second win over Latvia’s Kristiana Rode.

Berazniova rowed with Olympic single sculls champion Ekaterina Karsten at the final World Cup regatta in Munich this month, finishing second behind Germany.

World Cup lightweight women’s double sculls champions Monica Stan and Irina Ascinte of Romania took their event with a five second margin over familiar World Cup rivals Barbara Pirker and Martina Miessgang of Austria.

Davor Mizerit, the Slovenian rower who accompanied world champion Luka Spik in the men’s double at Munich was in action in the men’s quad. His crew finished second behind Germany but ahead of an Australian combination containing half of the elite men’s quad – Tom Laurich and Brendan Long.

Canada took it’s only medal in style with a gold in the men’s eight. The Canadian eight fought off a strong USA challenge for the length of the course and finished 1.48 seconds ahead. Australia mounted a late charge at Poland for the bronze but missed out by 0.09 seconds.

Poland was fourth on the medal table with two golds and two bronzes while Yugoslavia showed it was developing as a rowing power, winning two golds and a bronze.

Greece seemed to have its sights set firmly on the Athens Olympics with a solid performance, taking bronze in the women’s single earning finals spots in three other boat classes.

The Nations Cup regatta is administered by an independent governance committee elected directly by the member national federations of FISA.