07 Dec 2011
International Rowing Season Begins in Seville
The 2002 International Rowing season is off to a flying start with 13 Olympic champions and 25 World champions taking part in the 8th FISA Team Cup in Seville, Spain this week-end.
Athletes from twenty one countries have made the journey to the sunny Andalusian city to test their streghths on the 1000 metre course in 13 boat classes.
10 crews are entered the lightweight men’s double sculls. The race will see world famous Italian crew Elia Luini and Leonardo Pettinari fight for a medal against two dutch crews, the Danes Rasmus Quist and Mads Rasmussen- 6th in Lucerne last year – and six Spanish crews.
With 23 entries, the women’s single sculls promises to be one of the most interesting races. The races will oppose 12 strong Germans – favourites Peggy Waleska, Britta Oppelt, Marita Scholz, Janet Radunzel, Claudia Blasberg, Kerstin El Qalqili (Kowalski), Manuela Lutze, Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski and Manja Kowalski will all be part of the clan. They will be up against other top rowers Volha Berazniova and Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus, Dane Astrid Jespersen, British sculler Frances Houghton, Norwegian Anniken Johansen and Fridia Svensson from Sweden.
A surprise among the men’s four entries are the two Dutch crews which have been put together from the former men’s quad crew Diederik Simon, Geert Cirkel and Michael Bartman who were 2nd in Lucerne last year. The new combination is said to have planned to race in the four through until Athens. Their main rivals will be the two British crews.
Also in this race is world silver medallists in the lightweight four in 2001 – the Danish crew of Thomas Ebert, Soren Madsen, Eskild Ebbesen and Hans Thor Kristensen.
The women’s pair will see world silver medallists from Belarus – Volha Tratsevskaya and Yulia Bichyk up against Romanian Susanu Viorica – women’s pair world champion. Susanu is joined by new partner Maria Florea Rodica. The two strong teams will be racing against South African scullers Rika Geiser and Colleen Orsmond as well as a new Greek crew.
In the lightweight women’s double sculls World Champions Janet Radunzel and Claudia Blasberg will be testing their winter training against 11 other crews from the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Norway and Sweden.
The men’s pair promises few surprises, as unbeaten duo Cracknell and Pinsent will be on the starting blocks as favourites, taking on a field of six Spanish crews and crews from Argentina, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands and Turkey.
Another strong Italian crew promises to make for an exciting race in the men’s double sculls. Rossano Galtarossa and Alessio Sartori will be up against a new British crew containing Matt Landridge, world junior single sculls champion in 2001 and Pete Gardner. Matthew Wells – who had a strong season in the single last year – and Simon Cottle will make up the second British crew of the field.
Ekaterina Karsten and Volha Berazniova are doubling up for the women’s double sculls. The two, who had already doubled up for a bronze medal last years World Championships will be taking on two strong German crews – one made up of world doubles champion Kerstin El Qalqili (Kowalski) together with world quad champion Manuela Lutze, and and the other of world quad champions Manja Kowalski and singles champion Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski
The men’s single will see Belgian sculler Bjorn Hendrickx member of the first ever Belgian gold medalling crew at the Zurich Rowing World Cup in Princeton last year against a field of 14 scullers including five Swedes.
An interesting men’s eight race will see Great Britain as strong favourites. The crew holds world champions Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell as well as Ian Lawson, Henry Adams, Joe Von Maltzahn, Alex Partridge, Stephen Williams and Sydney olympian Luka Grubor. They will face the Danes, the Irish and the Spaniards on the field.
Seville is also host to the 8th International Andalusian Regatta, which will take place on Sunday. Most of the international squads entered for the Team Cup will also participate in the 13 Sunday events.
WorldRowing.com will bring you results and reports from the events next week.