It’s all about Great Britain

By the end of the day Great Britain had 9 of the 14 gold medals available.

Conditions built from calm waters to head wind conditions as the day continued. By the time the lightweight men’s four came around conditions on the water at the start were decidedly rough and remaining tricky for the first 250m of the race.

Women’s Double Sculls (W2x)

The women’s double opened the Finals at the first Rowing World Cup for 2009. Usually the women’s single is the starting race, but as the British duo of Annie Vernon and Anna Bebington are doubling up and racing the quad later today, organisers decided to put the double first to allow for recovery time. Bebington medalled in this event at the Beijing Olympics while Vernon took a silver in the quad at Beijing. Coming together in the double Vernon and Bebington took the lead over Belarus and pushed away as the race continued.

Behind Great Britain the positions were changing regularly. Belarus had slipped back letting Poland’s Julia Michalska and Agata Gramatyka come through with Laura Schiavone and Elisabetta Sancassani of Italy also moving up. Great Britain had settled into a solid 35 stroke rate and remained in the lead with Poland being the closest challenger.

In the final sprint Schiavone and Sancassani, who have been together since 2005, threw down the gauntlet. At the line Vernon and Bebington remained in first, Schiavone and Sancassani come through to second and Michalska and Gramatyka hold on to third.

Results: GBR1, ITA, POL1, POL2, GBR2, BLR

Anna Bebbington (GBR) – Gold
“It’s the first time I’ll double up A Finals and I already feel much better after the first one is done.  We took a strong start and focused on the middle of the part.  We wanted to get a good rhythm and move away.”

Laura Schiavone (ITA) – Silver
“We raced the race we planned, we always build it up this way.  I will go to Luzern but don’t know yet in which boat.”

Julia Michalska (POL) – Bronze
“It is very good to be in the double. It is something new for me and I am happy about it. We don´t know what will do in the next regatta, maybe change the double or single.”

Women’s Pair (W2-)

The women’s pair event moved up to the second race of the Finals to accommodate the British pair of Louisa Reeve and Olivia Whitlam who are doubling up and racing in the eight later today. With only two boats in the eight there was every indication that Reeve and Whitlam would be putting their energies into this race. And that is exactly what they did.

Reeve is used to doubling up. She raced both the pair and eight at the Beijing Olympics while Whitlam joined her in the Olympic pair. The British left the starting blocks in the lead ahead of Mayya Zhuchkova and Alevtina Podvyazkina of Russia. The Russians are newly out of under-23 racing and have an unknown quality to them. Today only Russia was in striking distance of Great Britain.

Going through the half-way point, less than a second separated the top two crews with Italy’s Samanta Molina and Enrica Marasca back in third. Coming into the final sprint, Great Britain had pushed out slightly away from Russia, but the Russians continued to hold on. At the line the order had not changed.

Results: GBR1, RUS, ITA, FRA, GBR2

Olivia Whitlam (GBR) – Gold
“We felt we had the control in the last 500 metres, and we did it.“

Mayya Zhuchkova (RUS) – Silver
“We were both here in the World Juniors in 2004 in JW8+ and also took silver, so this is a lucky place!  We feel so happy!”

Samanta Molina (ITA) – Bronze
“We are very happy of our race and we hope to get other medals this season. We made a lot of progess with our new coach Josy.”
 

Men’s Pair (M2-)

It is hard to imagine that this is the first race of the season when a crew comes out at a 51 stroke rate pace. The Gkountoulas brothers from Greece did exactly that and it, not surprisingly, gave them the early lead. But what would they have remaining for the rest of the race? By the 700m mark Shaun Keeling and Ramon Di Clemente of South Africa had moved into the lead settling on a 37 stroke rate pace.

Meanwhile, Pete Reed and Andy Triggs Hodge of Great Britain were confidently biding their time on a 36 stroke rate. Moving into the third 500m, Reed and Triggs Hodge retained their rating and powered into the lead. The smaller Keeling and Di Clemente grimly held on. The Greeks had now slipped back allowing Canada’s new combination of James Dunaway and Derek O’Farrell to come through. South Africa did a final attack, rating 40, in the final sprint. But Reed and Triggs Hodge easily held them off.

The British duo finish first and prove to their coach, Juergen Grobler, that they are a worthy flagship boat. South Africa’s only crew at this regatta earn a silver medal and Canada take third.

Results: GBR, RSA, CAN, SRB1, GRE, FRA1

Andrew Triggs Hodge (GBR) – Gold
“It was a really good race, a challenge. We were very quick, with a good rhythm, it was really exciting. Experience always helps.”

Ramon di Clemente (RSA) – Silver
“We worked hard in the last six months and we are getting there, it was a good race.  We’ll be in Henley Royal Regatta and hope to beat the GBR crew there!”

Derek O‘Farrell (CAN) – Bronze
“We had a good race, especially since we trained only three weeks in the pair. We go back to Canada now and we will race in Lucerne; probably in the pair.”

Men’s Double Sculls (M2x)

France and Great Britain held the middle two favoured lanes. But at the start it was France’s third crew that had the lead. This did not last long as France1 of Julien Bahain and Cedric Berrest took over in the lead. Bahain and Berrest are the top two single scullers in France and for that reason have been put in the number one boat. Former world champions (2006), France3 then slipped right back.

Great Britain’s Matthew Wells and Stephen Rowbotham then started to move up towards Bahain and Berrest. Wells and Rowbotham medalled in this event at the Beijing Olympics and are in their fourth year of rowing together.

Coming into the final 500m Bahain and Berrest remained in the lead, but by just a fraction over Wells and Rowbotham with two Croatian crews also right there. This was going to be a close sprint to the finish. Croatia1 of Martin and Valent Sinkovic had moved into an all-out sprint. Their rating went to 41 strokes per minute. Great Britain reacted back with 40 and France1 held on. At the line there was nothing in it.

The score board flashed up a British win with France in second and Croatia taking third.

Results: GBR, FRA1, CRO1, CRO2, USA, FRA3

Stephen Rowbotham (GBR) – Gold
“We have had a good race, the start was quite easy. This lake is so beautiful and also the landscape. We had a nice breakfast so we were ready to win.”

Cédric Berrest (FRA) – Silver
“They overtook us and it was hard, we tried to react but couldn’t as we wanted.  But it’s the beginning of the season and it’s good to be so close to the GBR team who has lots of references.  We rowed four years together in the men’s quadruple sculls and got to know each other much better now. See you in Poznan!”

Valent Sinkovic (CRO) – Bronze
“It was our first A Final at senior level. We knew that we had to do a good start to stay with the head of the race and that we can accelerate at the end. For Munich we will probably try the men’s quadruple sculls with the other Croatian men’s double sculls.”

Men’s Four (M4-)

Great Britain are the Olympic Champions in this event and have put together an entirely new combination. Today they were able to truly test the line-up. Stroked by Matthew Langridge, the British took off in the lead settling into a 36 stroke rate for the body of the race. Three of the British crew finished second at the Beijing Olympics in the eight with Alex Gregory the only non-Olympian.

Croatia followed the British out but soon slipped down under the pressure of the Czech Republic, Spain and Greece. Coming into the final sprint Great Britain had built up a full boat length lead over the Czech Republic in second with Greece now pushing through to third and putting the pressure on the Czechs. The Czech Republic held them off but could not catch up to Great Britain.

Results: GBR, CZE, GRE, ESP, FRA1, CRO

Matthew Langridge (GBR) – Gold
“We could take an easy rhythm throughout the race; we were prepared to give more but fortunately did not need to.”

Milan Bruncvik (CZE) – Silver
“At the beginning we started faster than the other crews and after the 1000 m we pushed even harder. I was afraid some days before, because it was windy, but finally we have had nice weather and conditions.”

Pavlos Gavrilidis (GRE) – Bronze
“We did it well. We have been working hard. The place is very good, the water is also really nice.”

Women’s Single Sculls (W1x)

Current world champion, Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus is here at the course and will be watching this race intently, but is not racing as she recovers from injury. Instead, the six boat line-up is practically a clean slate. These scullers raced for lanes yesterday and Great Britain’s Katherine Grainger earned a clear win.

Grainger comes to the single after spending her long and illustrious rowing career in team boats. Last year she earned silver in the Olympic quad and winning British singles trials gave Grainger the opportunity to compete in the single. Today Grainger got out in the lead rating a 35 stroke rated and by the half-way point had built up a tidy two-second lead over Brett Sickler of the United States. But in single sculling two seconds is nothing and Grainger continued to push on now stroking at 32.

With 500m left to row, Grainger had a full boat length lead over Sickler while Spain’s Nuria Dominguez and Frida Svensson of Sweden battled it out stroke-for-stroke for third. Sickler seemed to miss out on the battle as Svensson and Dominguez caught up on her.

At the line Grainger earned gold with less than half a second separating second, third and fourth. To the delight of the crowd, Dominguez had earned bronze – Dominguez’s first medal since 2003. Svensson takes silver.

Results: GBR, SWE, ESP, USA, NED, FRA

Katherine Grainger (GBR) – Gold
“I wanted to have more races in the single, but it was only a straight Final. I am happy about this first in the single.”

Frida Svensson (SWE) – Silver
“It was a good race. We have been following Great Britain so hard…The weather was nice. We love this place.”

Nuria Dominguez (ESP) – Bronze
“I did not know until the end if I had gotten the bronze medal. I could hear clearly the support from my people in the stand.“

Men’s Single Sculls (M1x)

Alan Campbell of Great Britain managed to beat Olympic Champion Olaf Tufte (NOR) in yesterday’s semifinal and he must have been feeling fired up for today’s race. Campbell leapt out at the start, as expected, but instead of the fast starting Tim Maeyens (BEL) being right on his tail, it was Stanislau Shcharbachenia of Belarus.

This order did not last long. New to the single, Shcharbachenia soon slipped back with Maeyens coming through into second followed closely by Tufte. Campbell had settled into a 34 stroke rate for the body of the race with Tufte on a powerful 33, while Maeyens held an aggressive 36 strokes per minute.

Coming into the final 500m Tufte had managed to squeeze past Maeyens with Campbell a full boat length out in front. Maeyens fought back taking his rating to 39 with Tufte now on 35. At the line Campbell had held on to first, Tufte takes second and Maeyens earns bronze. This is Maeyen’s first international medal since 2004.

Results: GBR1, NOR1, BEL1, CUB, BLR1, GRE

Alan Campbell (GBR) – Gold
“It was strong, feeling that you are competing with big champions. We had excellent weather too. I have had bad times so I had to ensure my form, and today has been a really nice test.”

Olaf Tufte (NOR) – Silver
“You fat bastard”, with a big smile to Alan Campbell!  “My race was quite OK, I did not take the best start but was pacing hard and dying towards the end.”

Tim Maeyens (BEL) – Bronze
“It was a good fight with Olaf, it’s a good start of the season and I can build on this. We hate each other on the water but are friends on shore!“

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (LW2x)

Surprisingly Germany has a very small squad here in Banyoles. Just two crews have been sent and one of them raced in this event. Olympian Marie-Louise Draeger and partner Anja Noske wanted to make the most of this trip and took off in the lead. By the half-way point Draeger and Noske had moved out to a handy boat length lead.

Pushing through from a slow start, Spain’s Teresa Mas De Xaxars and Ursula Grobler had worked their way up into second. Mas De Xaxars has been plugging away at the international level for 10 years now and for the first time this season she joins up with Grobler. This is Grobler’s first international race. Originally from South Africa, Grobler now trains in Spain.

Germany, rating 32 for the body of the race, had moved further away from their competition and had no need to sprint the finish. Spain kept a wary eye on Canada’s Lindsay Jennerich and Sheryl Preston who sat in third. This is how they ended the race to the supportive yells from the Spanish majority in the finish line grandstand.

Results: GER, ESP, CAN, GBR1, POL2, GRE

Marie Louise Draeger (GER) – Gold
“It was hard, with cross head wind which also pushed us over.  We used the first 1000m to get away from the field and then we could relatively control the second half.”

Ursula Grobler (ESP) – Silver
“We have been rowing hard from the first moment onwards. We are satisfied. We have been training together since January. Competing in a place like this is always pleasant.”

Lindsay Jennerich & Sheryl Preston (CAN) – Bronze
“This is the first year that we train with Mike Spracklen. We trained a lot and we knew that we could keep the pace. We tried to stay with Germany because it is a good refrence. We will now go back to Canada and hopefully race again in the double in Lucerne.”

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x)

Italy’s Elia Luini can be considered the most experienced sculler in this race. He has three Olympic Games under his belt and an Olympic silver from this event. Luini teamed up with his Beijing Olympic partner Marcello Miani, coming out of the start just down on Canada’s Beijing Olympic duo of Douglas Vandor and Cameron Sylvester.

Illness kept Vandor and Sylvester from finishing at Beijing and they now live with the feeling of unfinished business. They now appear to be looking towards the London Olympics and have moved to join the Canadian sweep coach, Mike Spracklen, to increase their medal chances. Passing through the half-way point Vandor and Sylvester still had the edge over Luini and Miani with France’s Brice Menet and Pierre-Etienne Pollez following in third.

Italy then opened up and overtook the Canadians as the final sprint came into view. Canada slipped back slightly with a cautious eye being kept on France. At the line Italy earn gold, Canada silver and France’s number two double take third ahead of their number one double (back in fifth). This will give French selectors something to think about.

Results: ITA1, CAN, FRA2, GBR, FRA1, ITA2

Lightweight Men’s Four (LM4-)

The second of two German boats competing at this regatta lined up in this event with the combination of two brothers, two of them twins. The Germans took off in the lead, but going through the first 500m mark there was very little between the entire field – less than three seconds.

As Spain and Great Britain dropped off the pace, Germany continued to lead building a one-second margin over Denmark in second. Denmark is the reigning Olympic Champion in this event and have retained just Morten Joergensen from that winning crew. Joergensen sat in stroke seat.

Coming into the final sprint Italy’s number two crew upped their rating to 41 and managed to catch up to Germany and inch ahead of them. Denmark followed suit and these three crews went to the line head to head. An impressive sprint by Denmark powered the crew ahead of both Germany and Italy to take the gold. Germany held on to silver and Italy earn bronze.

Results: DEN, GER, ITA2, ITA1, GBR, ESP

Women’s Quadruple Sculls (W4x)

These three crews raced for lanes yesterday with Great Britain showing the way. Today Great Britain did the same thing, taking off in the start and building up a huge open water lead with just 500m rowed. The first 250m of the race presented challenging rough conditions and once through this the British settled into a solid 30 stroke rate pace for the majority of the race. Meanwhile Italy had the edge over the Netherlands, but the Dutch were holding on.

Great Britain continued with their commanding lead and had no reason to sprint the finish. It was another story for the Italians and the Dutch. Italy’s early advantage was slowly being whittled away by the Netherlands and coming into the final sprint the two boats were side by side. A better sprint by the Netherlands gave them the silver at the line.

Results: GBR, NED, ITA

Annie Vernon (GBR) – Gold
“We had difficult conditions, harder than the others. We had a very good start. I love this place, it has been my favourite course.”

Carline Bouw (NED) – Silver
“We‘ve only rowed together for two weeks now.  We were lying far behind because we are so unexperienced and had problems rowing in the waves.  But it was really very exciting!”

Cristina Pozzan (ITA) – Bronze
“There was such a hard lateral wind! In the first part we were second and wanted to maintain this but we unfortunately couldn’t.”

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (M4x)

Perhaps the classiest crew at this regatta, Poland sat in the rough water at the starting blocks looking solemn. Konrad Wasielewski, Marek Kolbowicz, Michal Jelinski and Adam Korol have been together as a crew since 2005 when they won their first World Championship title. They then continued on a winning spree that lasted until one slip-up in 2008. The Poles came back to win the Olympics and are continuing on together in 2009, their sights set on racing in front of a home crowd at this year’s World Rowing Championships.

Poland won yesterday’s race for lanes, but had yet to meet the Canadians who chose not to race yesterday. Today Poland took off in the lead, water splashing everywhere as an indication of the rough water. Canada followed right on Poland’s pace. By the half-way point the British had overtaken Canada with Poland remaining in the lead sitting on a relatively low 33 stroke rate.

Coming through to the final sprint Great Britain threw down the gauntlet and went after the Poles. Poland held on. At the line barely half a second separated the two boats. Poland had only just retained first.

Results: POL, GBR, CAN, RUS

Adam Korol (POL) – Gold
“It is our first competition. We are tired. The weather conditions were not good.”

Sam Townsend (GBR) – Silver
"We had the sense we were working hard. We are very pleased. Althought it was windy we feel pretty good.”

Steven Vanknotsenburg & Andre Brynes (CAN) – Bronze
“It was a tough race, the conditions were challenging. We had a good start but then we had trouble to find a good rhythm. It was decent but we could do better.”

Women’s Eight (W8+)

These two crews raced for lanes yesterday with Great Britain easily winning. Today they lined up again and Great Britain presented the Poles with such a pounding that at the finish line a huge 17 seconds had to be counted before Poland crossed the line. In these tricky conditions, Britain came out of the start at a splashy 38 stroke rate pace. Poland handled the conditions with 36 strokes per minute. The British then spent the rest of the race moving away from Poland and were already thinking ahead to the next Rowing World Cup three weeks from now in Munich, Germany.

Results: GBR, POL

Caroline O‘Connor (GBR) – Gold
“It was quite tricky at the start with waves crashing over the riggers but once we got the pace and got into it, it went right.  It’s a good start of the season, see you in Munich!”

Kamila Socko (POL) – Silver
“It is our first Rowing World Cup. It was so windy…and it was hot but we are glad.”

Men’s Eight (M8+)

In 1992 Italy’s Raffaello Leonardo raced at the Barcelona Olympics on this very course, racing in the Italian eight and finishing ninth overall. Since that race Leonardo has competed at four more Olympic Games. Today Leonardo sat in seven seat of his country’s eight on the very same 1992 Olympic course racing again. Seventeen years of memories must have been going through his mind.

At the start of the race the young British crew jumped out into the lead. In a rather unusual selection move, lightweight rower James Clarke sat in stroke seat. Clarke must have been keeping the rating high and aggressive as his crew remained in the lead through the 600m mark. Then the confident Italians took over, pushing Great Britain into second.

Italy continued to lead leaving Great Britain to battle with Poland. The Poles had been sitting at the back of the field and must have saved a bit of energy for the final sprint. They upped their rating to 40 to overtake Great Britain and bare down on Italy. The Italians, however, had too much of a lead. Leonardo wins a gold medal on Lake Banyoles, 17 years later.

Results: ITA, POL, GBR, NED

Niccolo Mornati (ITA) – Gold
"It was a long race. We had a nice rhythm. Our crew is new. We're glad!"

Thomas Ransley (GBR) – Bronze
"I feel good. The conditions were not good, but it was a fantastic race."