Swans move aside, many oars are moving fast

Women’s Single Sculls (W1x)

Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic is a regular at the Rowing World Cups and recently a regular second place finisher. But Knapkova, 26, missed the last cup to focus on her training. Today she lined up in heat one toying with Denmark’s Ulla Hvid for the majority of the race. With two semifinal qualifying positions up for grabs Hvid tried to hold on. But the Dane completely ran out of steam letting last year’s Under 23 World Champion, Julia Michalska of Poland, through. Knapkova and Michalska, 21, move on to the semifinal.

No challenge. That must have been Ekaterina Karsten’s comment as she looked at her heat two draw. And the race was no challenge for the Belarusian as she took an open water lead within the first 500m. Despite having to exert much effort Karsten still won easily. A gaping yawn back to Switzerland’s Regina Naunheim in second gave Naunheim a spot in the semifinal.

When Frida Svensson of Sweden sets her mind on a target she doesn’t let go. Today Svensson’s target was the current World Best Time holder, Rumyana Neykova of Bulgaria. Together at the front of the field Svensson and Neykova went head to head. Even though both were easily in qualifying spots, neither would concede. Neykova had the edge and takes first. Svensson qualifies for the semifinal from second and Neykova scores, by just a fraction, the fastest qualifying time.

Sophie Balmary’s start can only be described as flying. The Frenchwoman shot out of the starter's hands and to an open water lead using the power that has made her the current World Record holder on the indoor rowing machine. But the initial effort was not enough to hold off China’s ever improving Xiuyun Zhang. Zhang finished second at the last Rowing World Cup and looks to be clear of any remaining ailment caused by a heart condition that kept her away from the 2004 Olympics. Zhang and Balmary easily qualify for the semifinal with no challenges coming from the rest of the field.

Men’s Single Sculls (M1x)

Olaf Tufte of Norway likes Lucerne. This is where he became the World Champion in the single in 2001. Today Tufte led heat one from start to finish. With four boats moving to the quarterfinal no sculler looked to be pushing it and at the finish line, in unspectacular finishing times, Tufte qualifies from first, Martin Yanakiev of Bulgaria in second, Jaakko Hasu of Finland in third and Bart Poelvoorde of Belgium taking the fourth and final spot.

Heat two had Dutchman Sjoerd Hamburger so far out in front it looked like he was in his own race. Hamburger won at the Under 23 World Rowing Championships two years ago and since then he has been chipping away at the senior level continually trying to break into the A Final – sometimes successfully. Qualifying for the quarterfinal – from way behind Hamburger – was Leonid Gulov of Estonia, Tommi Sahila of Finland and Matej Rodela of Slovenia.

The almost painfully slow times in heat three can only mean these athletes decided to save themselves for this afternoon’s quarterfinal. In front was Marco Geisler of Germany. Geisler is a surprise entry in the single having spent practically his entire 17 year career in the quad. As a senior member of the German sculling squad, one must ask, is this Geisler’s decision in the absence of top sculler Marcel Hacker? At the line Geisler remained in first, Olympic bronze medallist Ivo Yanakiev of Bulgaria takes second and, very surprisingly, current Rowing World Cup yellow jersey leader Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic in third. Is Synek saving himself for what he predicts to be a tough afternoon quarterfinal?

Lassi Karonen of Sweden tussled with Austria’s Ralph Kreibich for the first half of the race pushing the pace and pushing away from France. The scullers then seemed to be happy with their order with France dropping back to the power of a closing sprint by Jonathan Burns of the United States. Karonen, Kreibich and Burns move on to the quarterfinal.

Alan Campbell always likes to give a race a good go. But even Campbell the Brit seemed to be happy not to push it too hard and in heat five he took to the lead and did just enough to sit comfortably there. This left Sweden’s late up-and-comer, Paul Rosenquist a chance to have a battle with Austria’s Christof Uhl. Rosenquist must have wanted it more and takes the second qualifying spot with Uhl also qualifying from third.

Current World Champion, Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand has been having a bit of a rough season. He missed the podium at the last Rowing World Cup and then got beaten in the final round of the Henley Royal Regatta last weekend. Today he led heat six but had to shake off an enthusiastic challenge from Tim Maeyens of Belgium that went on for nearly three-quarters of the race. Choosing not to sprint Maeyens finishes in second and way back in third Gabor Bencsik of Hungary qualifies from third.

Women’s Pair (W2-)

With two heats in the women’s pair and only the top crew qualifying directly for the final, the pressure was on these athletes. Megan Cooke and Anna Mickelson of the United States made no mistakes in heat one. Cooke and Mickelson took the lead and stayed easily ahead of Great Britain in second. The Americans come into this event as one of the favoured crews. They finished second at the first Rowing World Cup and are part of the World Champion eight. Cooke and Mickelson go directly to the final.

Leaders of heat two New Zealand’s Juliette Haigh and Nicky Coles did not have it so easy. Coles and Haigh found themselves up against the return of 2004 Olympic Champions, Georgeta Andrunache and Viorica Susanu of Romania. Andrunache and Susanu retired after winning two golds in Athens (the eight and pair) and this is their first international race as they do a pre-Beijing Olympic comeback. Although pushing the New Zealanders, Andrunache and Susanu could not match their pace.

Coles and Haigh earn a day off by going directly to Sunday’s finals.

Men’s Pair (M2-)

Last year’s World Champions, Drew Ginn and Duncan Free of Australia arrive back on the international scene for the first time this year today in heat one of the men’s pair. The goal of being in the top two to earn a direct path to the semifinal seemed very achievable for the Aussies. And it was. The only near challenge came from former coxed pair racers, Ted Farwell and Micah Boyd of the United States. Australia and the United States move easily on to the semifinal.

In one of the first major upsets of the day, heat two handed Great Britain’s Colin Smith and Matthew Langridge a repechage return. Smith and Langridge won the first World Cup but last weekend pulled out of Henley due to injury. Was the injury still a problem? Instead this season’s twice silver medallists Sinisa and Niksa Skelin of Croatia were in the lead. But the pace was on as both Poland and Germany were pushing them hard. Jaroslaw Godek and Piotr Hojka of Poland were having a very tight tussle with Penkner and Urban of Germany. The Germans ran out of steam and Poland moves to the semifinal along with the Skelins.

France’s Erwan Peron and Laurent Cadot have showed this season that they love to start fast. Today they did just that in heat three leaving winners of the last Rowing World Cup George Bridgewater and Nathan Twaddle of New Zealand in second. But the gutsy New Zealanders held on and at the half-way point had a slight edge. But the French pushed back. The two crews kept the heat on each other despite both being easily inside the two qualifying spots. Coming into the final sprint New Zealand decided to let it go and take second, France goes through to the semifinal from first.

Women’s Double Sculls (W2x)

Germany’s women’s sculling coach Jutta Lau always uses the World Cup season to try out varying combinations. Today she has mixed lightweight champion Daniela Reimer into the heavyweight mix, teaming her up with Britta Oppelt. Together they hit heat one with gusto taking the lead from the very experienced Russian combination of Julia Levina and Larisa Merk. Although all of the top three crews would advance to the semifinal, Levina and Merk still pushed hard from their second spot, continuing to challenge the Germans down the 2000m Rotsee course. Meanwhile junior phenomena Jitka Antosova and Gabriela Varekova of the Czech Republic held on tightly from third. In a tight finish Germany, Russia and the Czech Republic move on to the semifinal.

In a country that only breeds a small group of top women rowers, Laura Schiavone and Elisabetta Sancassani of Italy are near the top. Today the Italian duo took on former World Champions, Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell of New Zealand. The Evers-Swindells hold the World Best Time in this event and love to race from the front of the field. But Schiavone and Sancassani did their best to hold on with Jennifer Kaido and Ala Piotrowski of the United States also on the pace. At the line New Zealand felt safe enough to take the pressure off, still finishing first. Italy earn second and the United States qualify from third.

Germany add another boat to the semifinal by winning heat three. Christiane Huth and Peggy Waleska, as Germany’s number one crew, overtook Elise Laverick and Anna Bebington of Great Britain to lead the field. Great Britain held the leaders pace with Romania’s new doubles combination of Ana Maria Apachitei and Simona Musat sitting back in third. These three crews retained the same order to the line and all go through to the semifinal. Surprisingly, at the back of the field, the comeback of Romania’s great (four-time Olympic gold medallist) Doina Ignat started off slowly. Ignat will have to return with her partner for the repechage.

Men’s Double Sculls (M2x)

The goal in the men’s double was to finish in the top two positions in each of the three heats. Starting out in heat one current World Champions France’s Adrien Hardy and Jean-Baptiste Macquet led the way. Hardy and Macquet are having a sub-par season and will want to do something to change this trend. Today they took off at the front of the field but could never shake off Tonu Endrekson and Jueri Jaanson of Estonia – winners of the Amsterdam Rowing World Cup. In a more controlled, even race, Jaanson and Endrekson finish in first and the French had to be satisfied with second, but also qualify.

Greece took off in the lead of heat two. But that didn’t last as they found the pace too hot letting Matthew Trott and Nathan Cohen of New Zealand take over the lead. This is Trott’s first international race this season after an injury, and subsequent operation, to his hand took him out of rowing action for Amsterdam. Back in the boat Trott and Cohen were soon overtaken by the very well built Matthew Wells and Stephen Rowbotham of Great Britain. The New Zealanders held on, but Wells and Rowbotham finish in first. Trott and Cohen take second and also qualify for the semifinal.

It was no wonder to see Slovenia’s Iztok Cop and Luka Spik taking over the lead in heat three. Cop and Spik already have a gold and silver Olympic medal in this event and they have worked out the formula to make medals. After an initial dash by Italy, Lithuania’s Kestutis Keblys and Mindaugas Griskonis moved into second and the order remained the same up to the finish line. Slovenia and Lithuania move on to the semifinal.

Men’s Four (M4-)

Back in fours action the unbeaten boat from Great Britain has one change to its line-up. An injured Alex Partridge has been replaced by Tom James in three seat. This didn’t stop them from jumping into the lead of heat one and remaining there. With two qualifying spots up for grabs, Slovenia overtook Ireland to slip into second and remain there. At the line Great Britain and Slovenia qualify for the semifinal.

The Netherlands were hoping to win in front of their home crowd at last month’s Rowing World Cup in Amsterdam, but a fired-up New Zealand denied them of this success. Today they led heat two from start to finish. Behind them the Czech Republic went head to head with Canada for the second spot. Canada, however, ran out of steam and the Czechs become the qualifying boat.

Italy finished second in the men’s eight last year but failed to fire this season. So head coach Coppola has decided to break up the eight and prioritise the four. Today the new-look four came together in heat three including former sculling star Alessio Sartori in two seat. The Italians stuck to winners of the last Rowing World Cup New Zealand who led for the entire race. The two boats in their tussle at the head of the field moved away and both will advance to the semifinal.

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (LW2x)

Always extremely competitive the lightweight women’s double had three heats with only the top two from each heat advancing to the semifinal. In heat one this led to a very close four-boat race between Poland, Germany, Finland and Australia. This is Australia’s first international race for the season and despite throwing out a good challenge they could never get into the two important spots. Instead it was Berit Carow and Marie-Louise Draeger of Germany and Poland’s Magdalena Kemnitz and Ilona Mokronowska fighting it out in the second half of the race for the lead. Finland tried to hold on but Germany and Poland will qualify.

Denmark’s Katrin Olsen and Juliane Rasmussen took the event by storm with their win at the first Rowing World Cup in Linz/Ottensheim. Today, back together in heat two, they found themselves in a close race with Canada’s Lindsay Jennerich and Tracy Cameron and Italy. With only two boats qualifying none of these crews could give up. The sprint was on to the end. Despite a huge effort by Italy, they just miss out in a photo finish and Denmark and Canada move on to the semifinal with Denmark having, by far, the fastest qualifying time.

New to the international scene Wendy Tripician and Jana Heere of the United States showed their strength by finishing with bronze at the last Rowing World Cup. Today the duo showed it wasn’t a fluke leading heat three over Helen Casey and Hester Goodsell of Great Britain. The United States and Great Britain had an open water lead over the rest of the field but still continued to race each other despite both being in qualifying positions. A better sprint gave Casey and Goodsell the first places with Tripician and Heere qualifying from second.

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x)

Opening with 20 boats the lightweight men’s double had four heats and a top two position required for advancement to the semifinal. In heat one Takahiro Suda and Daisaku Takeda of Japan led the way. But Russia’s Denis Moiseev and Vladimir Varfolomeev were not giving the Japanese much room to maneuver. Russia held on to Japan’s pace right to the finish line so that the finishing commentator had to look twice to work out who had won. Suda and the smiling Takeda had first with Russia qualifying from second.

Hungary’s 2005 World Champions Zsolt Hirling and Tamas Varga took off with a flying start with Amsterdam Rowing World Cup silver medallists, Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter of Great Britain in hot pursuit. Hirling and Varga have not done a lot on the medals front since their 2005 win, but they look like their back in the picture taking on the tough Purchase-Hunter combination. Coming into the final 500m the British had taken over the lead with Hirling and Varga looking content just to qualify from second. Both boats go on to the semifinal.

They are the reigning World Champions and now the World Best Time holders. Denmark’s Mads Rasmussen and Rasmus Quist made no mistakes – again – when they led heat three from start to finish. But rather than putting on a dominating display, the Danes looked happy to stay just comfortably ahead of Greece in second. Greece contains the very accomplished Vasileios Polymeros in bow. Polymeros is a former World Champion in the lightweight single and is also the first Greek to medal in rowing at the Olympics (Athens, bronze in the lightweight men’s double). Denmark and Greece move on to the semifinal.

A three way fight went on in the fifth and final heat between France, Australia and the Czech Republic. France’s Fabrice Moreau and Frederic Dufour took an early lead. But Australia’s Sam Beltz and Tom Gibson fought back grabbing the lead going into the final 500m. Moreau and Dufour fought back with the Czech Republic giving it away in the final sprint. France and Australia advance directly to the semifinal, France taking out the fastest qualifying time.

Lightweight Men’s Four (LM4-)

In heat one (of four heats totalling 24 boats or 96 athletes and the second biggest number of entries at this regatta) Great Britain took the lead at the start. The British, stroked by James Clarke, are becoming well-known for their fast starts. Canada tried to hold the pace but soon slipped back. With only one boat qualifying from each of the four heats, this event must be considered one of the toughest on the programme. Egypt have good memories of Lucerne after finishing fourth here last year and they pushed hard to try and catch Great Britain. But Britain remained in the lead to become the sole qualifying boat.

Back on the international scene Australia took to the water in heat two. Sitting in two seat was 34-year-old Anthony Edwards. Edwards, along with three seat Ben Cureton, won silver at the 2004 Olympics, but, unlike Cureton, Edwards took a post-Olympic break. Back in the boat Edwards is aiming for Olympics number four. Today they finished at the head of the field giving the rest of the boats little choice about who was going to qualify. Poland gave it a feeble shot but it will be Australia that moves directly to the semifinal.

The Netherlands have been rearranging their fours all season and it looks like they may be heading towards the right combination. With accomplished single sculler Gerard van der Linden in stroke, the Netherlands took off at the front of the field with Germany trying to keep up in second. Despite giving it a solid effort Germany could not reach the valuable first place position and the Dutch will advance directly to the semifinal.

France won gold at the 2005 World Rowing Championships and at that stage it looked like they had started their next Olympic cycle in style. Since then the Chinese have risen and other countries have pulled through. But maybe France is back. In heat four they led from start to finish with the United States, in second, being unable to fully answer the challenge. Ireland tried as well, but it will be France, stroked by Fabien Tilliet, that advance directly to the semifinal.

Women’s Quadruple Sculls (W4x)

There was no joy on the face of the British when they finished second to China at the last Rowing World Cup. With China not racing at Lucerne, Great Britain took control of the first of two heats and never let Romania close enough to do any damage. The British were also confident enough that they didn’t feel the need to sprint the final 500m. As only one boat qualifies directly for the final, Romania will have to return for the repechage.

Taking out the faster of the two heats – just – Germany, with Kathrin Boron now sitting in bow seat, led from start to finish. This left Australia, debuting for the first time internationally in 2007, to race their own race in second spot. Germany advance directly to the final.

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (M4x)

Russia were the surprise gold medallists at the Athens Olympics, but since 2004 they have been very inconsistent with their international results. Today they lined up in heat one of three heats aiming for a top two spot for qualification directly into the semifinal. Today the Russians held a close race with Italy and came off best. The Italians, who are hoping to repeat their 2000 Olympic performance when they took gold, stuck with the Russians but had to be content with second. Both boats advance to the semifinal.

There was nothing in it between France and Germany in heat two. France, who took bronze at the last Rowing World Cup, had a slight lead, but Germany remained overlapping and entirely within touch. Side-by-side these two crews were practically equal for 1500 metres of the race. France, stroked by Julien Bahain, continued to sprint to the finish with Germany looking like they had resigned themselves to the second spot. France and Germany qualify for the semifinal.

The final, and third, heat recorded the fastest qualifying time with silver medallists from the Amsterdam Rowing World Cup featuring in the lead position – the Czech Republic. Behind the Czechs a very close race was going on between the rest of the field: Germany, Romania, the United States and Estonia. Even after 1000 metres there was still nothing in it for that second qualifying spot. Then the US dropped off the pace. Then Romania dropped back. Then Estonia pulled out an almighty sprint. Estonia, along with the Czech Republic move on to the semifinal with the two fastest qualifying times.

Men’s Eight (M8+)

The Netherlands took off at a solid pace in heat one of three heats, only to be reeled back in by Russia, with Croatia in hot pursuit. Croatia has scratched their fours entries to focus on this eight and it looked like a good choice as they pulled into the third position; the final qualifying spot. But the race was not over. With cow bells ringing, Switzerland was not going to let the home crowd down. All four boats charged for the finish line.

A dead heat.

Russia and the Netherlands both finish in a time of 5:40.36. Both qualify for the semifinal. Switzerland crosses the line just ahead of Croatia to earn the final qualifying spot. New Zealand, at the back of the field, were off the pace.

Canada, in heat two, come to Lucerne following a Henley Royal Regatta win last weekend. They have added Jake Wetzel to the middle of the boat. Wetzel started off the season in the double with Derek Porter, but a decision was made not to continue and Wetzel is now adding his power to the eight. The crew took to the lead and turned it into an open water lead by the half-way point. This left Poland and Italy to pace each other in the second and third spots. Italy, stroked by former lightweight champion, Leonardo Pettinari, held on to Poland in the hope to show Italian coaches that even though they are not the priority boat, they still have a lot of talent. At the line Canada took first, Poland second and Italy qualify from third.

The fastest race was the last race. Heat three featured current World Champions, Germany in the lead. Great Britain, boosted by a third place finish at the last Rowing World Cup, stayed with the Germans with Australia also very much on the pace. Going through the half-way point, Australia had a slight edge over Great Britain, but a piece from the British accelerated them not only past Australia but also ahead Germany. The Germans came back. At the line Germany, Great Britain and Asutralia – in that order – qualify for the semifinal.