New Zealand Breaks Holland Beker Records

Karsten breaks course record
© HJ Kaufman

Whirling windmills turned out to be a blessing for New Zealand in Amsterdam at the annual Holland Beker regatta over the weekend.

Using the Holland Beker as a warm up race for Athens, three of New Zealand’s crews broke course records as they took advantage of the tail wind conditions on the Bosbaan regatta course. The men’s four, men’s pair and women’s pair all set new 2004 standards over the two day regatta. 

New Zealand’s men’s four of Donald Leach, Carl Meyer, Eric Murray and Mahe Drysdale set a course record by overtaking Denmark’s lightweight men’s four. Denmark  slipped to third after being unable to hold the pace in the second half of the race which allowed Australia’s lightweight Olympic crew to slip past into second, four seconds behind New Zealand.

A new course record was also set by winner of the Ladies’ Trophy for the senior women’s single, Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus. Karsten overtook New Zealand’s Sonia Waddell in the last 500 metres of the race by putting on a sprint that had her rating in the high thirties. Karsten’s winning time broke the record held by Silken Laumann since 1991. This was Karsten’s fourth win at the Holland Beker.

After recently qualifying for the Olympics last month, Belgium’s Tim Maeyens proved he was on the pace by winning the men’s single ? the prized Holland Beker trophy. Maeyens got out to an early lead ahead of Sean Casey of Ireland and World Champion Olaf Tufte of Norway. ?I had nothing to lose,? said Maeyens, a bioengineering student from Gent who takes home substantial prize money for his win. Casey and Tufte, in second and third place respectively, also win cash. Medal favourite Jueri Jaanson of Estonia never made it to the finish line after flipping his single at the 500 metre mark.

The men’s senior double was won by Milan Dolecek and Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic. Dolecek and Synek were challenged by Denmark’s lightweight Olympic entry of Mads Rasmussen and Rasmus Quist but the Czech’s stayed just enough ahead to finish first. Rasmussen and Quist’s second place put them ahead of two open weight Olympic crews from Lithuania and Norway who finished third and fourth respectively.

The women’s eight was competition between the Netherlands and Australia with the Netherlands finishing ahead. These two crews will meet again at Athens.

The international schedule for the Bosbaan continues with the Under 23 regatta in 2005 followed by the Junior World Championships in 2006.

For more results please go to: www.hollandbeker.nl/