Changeable weather on day one of Poznan Rowing World Cup

But throughout the morning of heats the wind would pick up and then die down. The rain would fall and then the sun would shine. The rowers ignored it and raced hard in this final chance to prove themselves before the 2008 Olympic Games.

Lightweight Women’s Single Sculls (LW1x) – Heats

A large field of 18 opened the final regatta of the season. The goal for these scullers was to weigh in at 59kg two hours before racing began. These athletes would have then drank lots of fluids, eaten some easily digestible food and gotten ready to row. Three heats lined up with the goal for advancement to the next round being a top two finish.

In heat one Germany’s Laura Tibitanzl, 23, got out ahead of Denmark to take the lead. It took Tibitanzl until the second half of the race to really dominate. Coming through the third 500m Tibitanzl had opened up a boat length’s lead with Denmark’s Sine Christiansen finding herself being strongly challenged by Orlagh Duddy of Ireland. At the line Tibitanzl had stayed in the lead. Duddy squashes Christiansen to take second. All other boats will return for the repechage.

The Irish have four entries in this event and Ireland One, Sinead Jennings, was the class of heat two. Jennings, a 2001 World Champion, took off at an aggressive 46 stroke rate pace and gained an early lead. Sweden’s Karin Hoegberg sat in second but was nowhere near Jennings’ pace. Jennings takes first to advance to the semifinal with the fastest qualifying time. Hoegberg also advances.

The third and final heat featured Lindsay Jennerich of Canada. Last year at the World Rowing Championships Jennerich qualified the lightweight double for the Olympic Games, but since then she has lost her spot in the Olympic boat to team mate Melanie Kok. Jennerich, thus, is back in the single. She made the best of this final heat and held off a strong finish by Michaela Taupe-Traer of Austria that saw her take the lead momentarily. Jennerich and Taupe-Traer go directly to the semifinal finishing a long way ahead of the rest of the field.

Lindsay JENNERICH (CAN)
“There was a very strong tail wind today, and it’s always nice when a heat is over quickly. I’ve not raced in lane one for a while, so that got some getting used to, but it was good to only have to look in one direction, working with the Austrian – it was fun. I’m hoping for the same conditions in the final.”

Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls (LM1x) – Heats

This event opened with 19 boats spread over four heats. In each of the heats a top two finish was needed for direct advancement to the semifinal which will be raced tomorrow. In heat one Morten Joergensen of Denmark left the starting blocks with Ilias Pappas of Greece. Joergensen already has two World Cup medals from this season but from the lightweight men’s pair. Today, in the single, Joergensen tussled with Pappas, who comes from his country’s lightweight four, down the 2000m course. Coming into the final 200m Joergensen and Pappas had enough of a lead that they were able to take the pressure down. Joergensen and Pappas advance to the semifinal.

The second heat featured reigning World Champion Duncan Grant of New Zealand. Grant was unable to make his country’s Olympic boat, the lightweight double, after he suffered an injury that kept him out of trials. In the single he has earned bronze and silver this season on the World Cup circuit. Today he started his bid for going after gold by leading from the start. The only boat that was in striking distance of Grant was Wouter van der Fraenen of Belgium. Van der Fraenen has been in his country’s lightweight double, but not qualifying for the Olympics has put the Belgian back into the single. Grant kept the pace on crossing in first at a 32 stroke rate pace. Grant and van der Fraenen will go directly to the semifinal.

Jaap Schouten of the Netherlands has been the boat to beat this season and he raced in heat three. He has two Rowing World Cup gold medals from this season and holds the yellow leaders’ jersey and has stated his aim of World Champion gold for this season. Schouten came into the final 500m of the race looking comfortable. A strong finish by Matti Jaeaeskelaeinen of Finland put the pressure on Florian Berg of Austria who had been sitting in second. Berg fought back at a 38 stroke rate and held off Jaeaeskelaeinen. Schouten and Berg go to the semifinal.
Heat four was raced under a small rain shower. Holding tightly to his oar handles was Joerg Lehnigk of Germany. Lehnigk has been in and out of his country’s Olympic boat, the lightweight double. He has missed out on Olympic team selection so, as the next best lightweight sculler, Lehnigk is in the single. Lehnigk held off the very experienced Takahiro Suda of Japan by open water. Lehnigk and Suda make an easy path to the semifinal under no pressure from the rest of the field.

Duncan GRANT (NZL)
“There are very fast conditions out there, it was almost becoming tricky, but it means shorter races.”

Lightweight Men’s Pair (LM2-) – Heats

The top boat in these two heats would earn a spot in the final to be raced Saturday afternoon. Greece’s Nikolaos and Apostolos Gkountoulas were the surprise leaders of heat one. The 23-year-old twins come to this event from their country’s under-23 champion lightweight four. They led over Rowing World Cup bronze medallists, France. A solid race kept the Greeks well in the lead. Italy tried to challenge but coming into the final 500m the Italians must have had a problem and took the pressure right off. The Gkountoulas twins go directly to the final.

Heat two featured three boats but dealt one of the most exciting races of the morning. For the first half of the race, under reasonably choppy conditions, the two Japanese entries and Great Britain remained overlapping. Japan Two then took the pressure off leaving Japan One, Yusuke Imai and Yoshinori Sato, to go head to head with Chris Bartley and Daniel Harte of Great Britain. Harte and Bartley went to 40 strokes per minute, Japan matched them. At the line Great Britain had earned a spot in the final.

Nikolaos GKOUNTOULAS (GRE)
“This is the first time we have been in the pair, and we are pleased. A good race and a good result.”

Chris BARTLEY (GBR)
“This is our first race together, so we wanted to set a marker. We found a good rhythm, but there is definitely more to come. We will just have to see how it goes.”

Women’s Single Sculls (W1x) – Heats

These two heats required a first place finish for a direct path to Sunday’s finals. In heat one, Julia Michalska of Poland took on the best single sculler in the world, Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus. Michalska stuck with Karsten at the start and doing a piece through the 900m mark got ahead of the current World Champion. Karsten looked to play with Michalska for a while before putting her foot down and taking over in the lead. There was nothing Michalska could do. Karsten goes directly to the final on Sunday.

The water became calmer for heat two with Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic in the lead. Knapkova is a regular silver medallist and because of that was seeded in the middle lane. Challenging Knapkova was Emma Twigg of New Zealand. Twigg remained within striking distance of Knapkova but the Czech had the leader’s edge and more push per stroke. Knapkova will have a day off as she goes directly to the final. Twigg will return for tomorrow’s repechage.

Men’s Single Sculls (M1x) – Heats

This event is often the biggest at international regattas and here in Poznan 18 boats were entered, spread over three heats. In each heat a top two finish was necessary for a direct path to the semifinal.

Heat one had Norway’s Olaf Tufte and Sweden’s Lassi Karonen sitting in the centre two lanes. Tufte is aiming to defend his Olympic title in August and this race is part of his preparation. Today Tufte got out into the lead and held on to it through the first half of the race. But coming into the third 500, Ralph Kreibich of Austria did a huge push and got ahead of Tufte. Kreibich just competed in the Olympic Qualification Regatta and in a heartbreaking finish, Kreibich did not qualify for the Olympic Games. Kreibich has fronted up to race today from his heart. Coming into the final 400m Kreibich could not hold the pace and was overtaken by Tufte then by Lassi Karonen of Sweden. Tufte and Karonen advance to the semifinal.

The current yellow jersey holder, Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic, raced in heat two, but found himself behind Switzerland’s Andre Vonarburg and Karsten Brodowski of Germany. Synek remained cool and pushed first past Vonarburg and then Brodowski. At the line Synek and Vonarburg are the two rowers that will go directly to the semifinal.

Heat three featured Belgium’s Tim Maeyens. Maeyens dabbled in the double earlier this season, testing to see if it had Olympic speed. After racing at an earlier World Cup Belgium decided to keep Maeyens in the single, the event he had already qualified for the Olympics in. Today Maeyens used his token fast start to get ahead of current World Champion, Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand. Together these two athletes left the rest of the field behind. Drysdale let Maeyens retain the lead and then pulled out a piece going through the final 500m to take the lead. Both boats crossed the line looking comfortable and both will go directly to the semifinal.

Olaf TUFTE (NOR)
“I am very pleased with the result. It was a tailwind which was nice.”

Ondrej SYNEK (CZE)
“It was a good race, but very wavy with a lot of rain.”

Mahe DRYSDALE (NZL)
“It was an okay performance for a heat, but there is still room for improvement. In terms of preparation for the Olympics, I am just keeping on with the training so I am ready to do the business in Beijing.”

Women’s Pair (W2-) – Race For Lanes

The German selectors have decided that Lenka Wech and Maren Derlien will go to the Olympic Games in the pair and the eight. This duo showed their worth by dominating this race for lanes. This left reigning Olympic Champions Romania to struggle in second before being overtaken by New Zealand who used a 40 stroke rate to move into second. There is no doubt, however, that Wech and Derlien will be the crew to beat in the final.

Men’s Pair (M2-) – Heats

The men’s pair had 12 entries divided into two heats with the top boat of each heat earning a spot in the final. In heat one the ever-improving South Africans took on France’s best (Erwan Peron and Laurent Cadot). Ramon Di Clemente and Shaun Keeling of South Africa came together earlier this year after regular team mate of Di Clemente’s, Don Cech, moved away from rowing. With every race Di Clemente and Keeling have been improving. Today they stuck with France before overtaking through the third 500 and leaving the French in their wake. South Africa go directly to the final on Sunday.

An all-out fight for the line in heat two meant that New Zealand’s Nathan Twaddle and George Bridgewater go to the final with the fastest qualifying time. Twaddle and Bridgewater took the lead at the start followed closely by Australia’s second boat. As Australia faded France’s second boat, Germain Chardin and Dorian Mortelette moved into second and closed on the New Zealanders. Chardin and Mortelette are the stroke pair of their country’s four. Coming through the third 500 Chardin and Mortelette took the lead. The sprint was on to the line. Twaddle and Bridgewater took their rating to 41. Chardin and Mortelette reacted back with 45. New Zealand had more power. In the last couple of strokes Twaddle and Bridgewater find the lead to move directly to the final on Sunday.

Shaun KEELING (RSA)
“We are very pleased with that race. This is a new combination: we are stepping our way up and just want to keep going.”

George BRIDGEWATER (NZL)
“We certainly were not rowing at our best. We had a bit of a surprise from the second French crew, but not a total surprise. We knew they would be fast from their recent results in the nationals.”

Women’s Double Sculls (W2x) – Heats

Two heats lined up with the requirement for these athletes being a first place finish for a direct path to the final. Heat one featured Great Britain’s crew of Elise Laverick and Anna Bebington. Laverick is an Olympic medallist in this event and with her new partner Anna Bebington they led this heat. But right on the British tail was Gabriela Varekova and Jitka Antosova of the Czech Republic. The British could not shake them.

A piece through the third 500m gave the Czechs the lead. Great Britain fought back. Both boats were not giving up the chance of a direct path to the final. A better sprint by Laverick and Bebington, using a pace of 39 strokes per minute gave them the spot in the final. Just 0.20 seconds back, the Czech Republic will have to return to race in the repechage.

Heat two opened with Laura Schiavone and Elisabetta Sancassani of Italy in the lead. This was quite a surprise as this Italian duo finished back in 10th at the first Rowing World Cup this season. But there they were ahead of the New Zealand Olympic Champions and the double for Finland that will row at the Olympics this year in the lightweight class. Schiavone and Sancassani remained in the lead and go directly to the final on Sunday.

Elise LAVERICK (GBR)
“It was good to win the heat, but on Sunday in the final we will all start level again.”

Anna BEBINGTON (GBR)
“The conditions were worse in our warm-up than our race.”

Laura SCHIAVONE (ITA)
“We are pleased with the race. Today was a tailwind which favours us because we are a lighter crew. In the final, if it is the same conditions we will row the same race, but if it is a head wind we will have to change something.”

Men’s Double Sculls (M2x) – Heats

Two heats of quality boats lined up on the Malta Regatta Course in Poznan, Poland. The top boat only from each heat would go directly to the final. Taking off in the lead of heat one was Rob Waddell and Nathan Cohen of New Zealand. Waddell and Cohen are New Zealand’s new doubles line-up and together they burst onto the international scene by taking gold at the Lucerne Rowing World Cup. Today Waddell and Cohen led 2000 Olympic Champions Luka Spik and Iztok Cop of Slovenia and 2004 Olympic Champion Adrien Hardy of France with new partner since 2006, Jean-Baptiste Macquet. At the line New Zealand remained comfortably in the lead rating 35 strokes per minute. They will go directly to the final. Slovenia in second and France in third will return for the repechage tomorrow.

The second heat recorded a faster finishing time when 42-year-old Jueri Jaanson and Tonu Endrekson of Estonia led the field. This is Jaanson and Endrekson’s first race for this season. They finished third last year at the World Rowing Championships. Estonia continued to lead the field with only Germany Two getting within striking distance of the Estonians. Jaanson and Endrekson will go directly to Sunday’s final.

Tonu ENDREKSON (EST)
“We are pleased with the result and we had no problem with the conditions. It is our first time here, so we were a little nervous. We will have to see how it goes in the final.”

Men’s Four (M4-) – Heats

The two heats in this event that were lining up at the start of the 2000m course required a first place finish for the crew to advance directly to the final. Heat one featured Great Britain’s Olympic line-up. This is the first time this selected line-up has raced internationally. At the last two Rowing World Cups bow man Tom James had not been able to race due to injury. Given a clean bill of health, James is racing here in Poznan. The British took off in the lead and aimed to dominate the race. Italy put up a strong challenge with Belarus and New Zealand also pushing towards the British. Great Britain crossed the line comfortably in first and will go directly to the final.

The faster of the two races was heat two after a very tight race developed between four crews. The Czech Republic was in the lead, the Netherlands were only a fraction back in second while Germany and Slovenia also were right on the pace. As the tail wind continued to push the crews along, the Czech Republic held on to a slight lead. Coming into the final sprint it looked as though the Czech Republic or the Netherlands would gain first. But then Germany came sprinting down in lane one. Overtaking Slovenia, then the Netherlands, Germany was closing on the Czechs. A photo finish at the line gave Germany first by a tiny 0.01 second. Germany go directly to the final.

Tom JAMES (GBR)
“We were quite rusty, but we controlled the race and did what we wanted to do. I expect the final will be much harder.”

Urs KAEUFER (GER)
“We like rowing in the tailwind. We did well today, although we had some problems in the third 500m, but we had a strong finish. That is our strength.”

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (LW2x) – Heats

This event had two heats with the first finishing boat from both heats going directly to the final. Missing out on the repechage is a bonus for these rowers as it will mean one less time to have to weigh in at the 57kg required weight. In heat one reigning World Champions Amber Halliday and Marguerite Houston of Australia got ahead of Germany and did their best to stay ahead of Berit Carow and Marie-Louise Draeger of Germany. At the 2004 Olympic Games Halliday finished a soul-shattering fourth in the final. She vowed to come back and make amends in 2008. Today, with her new partner, Houston, Halliday looks to be on course for the Olympic medal dream. Coming into the line the Australians rated a comfortable-looking 32 stroke rate with their oars long through the water. Halliday and Houston go directly to the final on Sunday.

Melanie Kok and Tracy Cameron of Canada led heat two from start to finish. The duo finished third at the Lucerne Rowing World Cup and there’s every indication that they have to speed to again be in the medals here at Poznan. Behind the Canadians Greece tried to hold on but were never able to get their boat overlapping with the leading Canadians. Kok and Cameron earn a spot in the final.

Amber HALLIDAY (AUS)
“Did the race go to plan? Well, if the plan was to go straight to the final, than yes it was. It is almost unheard of for there not to be a semi-final in the lightweight women’s double, so it is a novelty to go straight to the final. As for dealing with the conditions, well, we didn’t fall out! Seriously though, the conditions were okay for our race.”

Tracy CAMERON (CAN)
“We had a good race. The conditions were tough but I thought we dealt with them well. We are just excited to be here, and excited to see what speed we’ve found since Lucerne.”

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x) – Heats

Always a well-represented event, 18 boats lined up here at Poznan making up three heats with the top two boats in each heat going directly to tomorrow’s semifinal. The remainder of the field would have to return for a repechage this afternoon.

Greece led the way in heat one. Vasileios Polymeros and Dimitrios Mougios have been together since 2007 and there has been marked improvement the longer they row together. Polymeros is a bronze medallist from the 2004 Olympic Games and also a World Champion in the lightweight single. Today they got out in front but not by much over Australia and Italy’s yet-to-be-chosen Olympic line-up of Marcello Miani and Elia Luini. Through the middle of the race these three boats remained in the leading bunch with Austria and France also very much still holding the pace. As Austria and France began to fade and Australia began to tire, Greece and Italy established their dominance on the two qualifying spots. At the line Greece and Italy will go directly to tomorrow’s semifinal.

Heat two featured World Cup leaders Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter of Great Britain. Purchase and Hunter have won both World Cups this season and are aiming for a hat trick. The duo gained a small starting lead over Germany with Denmark’s World Champions, Mads Rasmussen and Rasmus Quist also very much on the pace. Coming through the 1000m mark Rasmussen and Quist pushed ahead of the Germans and began to close in on Purchase and Hunter. Great Britain lifted their rating. The Danes did not match them. Great Britain crosses the line first and Denmark second. Both advance to the semifinal. Algeria, at the back of the field, lose their position when their boat comes in under weight.

Heat three featured Italy’s number two crew that are aiming to prove themselves and, thus, get chosen as the Olympic rowers for their country. Daniele Gilardoni and Loreno Bertini of Italy took off at a solid pace slipping in just behind 2005 World Champions, Tamas Varga and Zsolt Hirling of Hungary. These two boats had superior speed over the remainder of the field and by the half-way point had open water over everyone else. A piece at the 1400m mark gave the Italians a lift and the lead. Hungary wanted to win and tried to react back but coming into the final sprint, Hungary resigned themselves to second. Italy and Hungary go directly to the semifinal.

Zac PURCHASE (GBR)
“We are confident, we had a good heat. We will have to see for the final for the rest of the competition.”

Daniele GILARDONI (ITA2)
“This has been a good month for us. National selection for the Olympics is still going on so we are hoping that we will be the ones there representing Italy.”

Lightweight Men’s Four (LM4-) – Heats

This event had two heats with the top boat in each heat earning a direct path to the final. This direct path must have appealed to the Australians who took off in the lead of heat one. This leading position looks to be a step up for the Australians who finished seventh at the Lucerne Rowing World Cup at the start of the month. Todd Skipworth, Benjamin Cureton, Anthony Edwards and Roderick Chisholm still had the lead through the middle of the race with Italy and Denmark the crews within the closest striking position. Australia fought off any challenge, having to take their rating to 39 through some of the last sprint to ensure the lead. Australia will be the one boat from this heat going directly to the final.

Heat two featured Great Britain and France. These two crews have been racing each other all season with the results going either way. Today 2007 World Champions Great Britain took the lead at the start. By the half way point 2005 World Champions France had moved into the lead. Great Britain fought back. Both boats had almost identical stroke rates, but France seemed to have just a bit more energy. France takes the one qualifying spot to move directly to Sunday’s final.

Anthony EDWARDS (AUS)
“This is a different course, and you have to race to the conditions. It is a quality field so you have to treat it like a final. We are very confident. We are here to finish off our European campaign before going back to Australia and give it a ‘red-hot go’ in Beijing.”

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (M4x) – Heats

The two heats in this event required crews to get in the top spot for a direct path to Sunday’s final. Germany already has two medals from this season, a bronze and a silver making them one of the better crews on paper in this event. But after a fast start, Germany conceded the lead to France. The French held on to this position with Germany trying to fight their way back to the front. But, after a strong attack by the Czech Republic, the Germans must have decided the repechage was the way to go and they brought the pressure down. So did Estonia. France goes directly to the final. The Czech Republic’s strong finish gives them second, but they will have to return for the repechage tomorrow.

Heat two featured three-time World Champions Poland. The Poles lost their three-year winning streak at the Lucerne Rowing World Cup three weeks ago. What could they do today in front of the home crowd? At the start, one of Russia’s two boats that will be going to the Olympics, got out in front. The Russians couldn’t keep the pace conceding to Italy and Poland, Italy in front. Surprisingly, coming into the second half of the race, Italy moved cleanly away from Poland and, with Russia fading right back, Poland looked frazzled. Italy had no challengers. Italy go directly to the final. Poland, way back in second, catch a crab on the line and will have to return for the repechage tomorrow.

Julien BAHAIN (FRA)
“It was very windy and hard to row, and we didn’t row very well. This is a new combination, so actually this was a good race. As for Sunday, it is hard to predict. The Polish have just been beaten by the Italians, the Czechs are also looking strong, there are four or five good boats so we will have to see.”

Simone VERNIER (ITA)
“This is the first time for us in this combination, but this was a good start. We beat the Polish, but that doesn’t mean anything, but this win has given us confidence.”

Lightweight Men’s Eight (LM8+) – Race for Lanes

Italy is often the best boat in this event. They are able to call upon a huge stable of lightweight men to make up this boat that must average a weight of 70kg. Coxed by Vincenzo Di Palma, Italy was in the lead right from the start with a close race going on behind them between Austria and Poland. At the line Italy take first and Poland take second.