15 Dec 2011
What did they say?
WOMEN'S SINGLE SCULLS (W1X)
Ekaterina Karsten (BLR) – gold medallist
Was it a good race?
Yes very good.
Rather technical?
No, at this point of the world cup it was just necessary to get the result – it’s the last step before Eton.
Mirka Knapkova (CZE) – silver medallist
Was it hard?
Yes – very hard. The change of weather – first it was cold, then very warm.
Did you see the others?
Just in the middle I saw Karsten but I couldn’t get her.
How was the race?
The first 500m were just technical. Then I tried to get Karsten, “the Russian girl”, but she was just too hard and the finish was very hard.
Where are you going for training?
First to CR then going also back to Switzerland for training.
MEN'S SINGLE SCULLS (M1x)
Olaf Tufte (NOR) – gold medallist
Was it tough to beat the world champion?
Yes – it was tough. I knew I could come back. I knew I had to believe it. Yesterday I did the best race this year. I was dreaming about this finish but I couldn’t expect it. I'm really, really pleased to be back. Even getting old, I’m still dangerous. At 30 I am an old man.
Ondrej Synek (CZE) – bronze medallist
How was the race?
Good. I thought that the boats would be much closer but the two of them were just away. At the last 500m I was already alone. I knew I’d not get to them. This year I didn’t do well up to now. It’s just now getting better. I’m going back to CR where we will prepare for Eton.
WOMEN'S PAIRS (W2-)
Megan Cooke (USA) – gold medallist
WR: Was this your first race in Europe?
Cooke: No – we already raced in Munich
WR: You were very close to Germany – was it a surprise?
Cooke: I know they are fast at first. I was kind of shocked when I saw them so near.
WR: Do you want to win in Eton?
Cooke: Of course but it is still 6 weeks away.
MEN'S PAIRS (M2-)
Nathan Twaddle (NZL) – gold medallist
“We are very happy to have won. It was a big challenge for us because we were world champions in 2005 and we wanted to remain that way this year. “
“For training we will fist go to the Czech Republic and then to Hazewinkel just after the World Rowing Under 23 Championships are fininshed there. We want to go to Hazewinkel because the weather there is very similar to Eton.”
Colin Smith (GBR) – silver medallist
“It was a really tough race. We had a good start. Germany pushed hard to 1000m. It was very difficult to know when to start fighting back. At 250m I thought we would really catch New Zealand. We followed them for a little bit but in the last meters they came back. We’ve been 4 to 5 weeks together now and this was the first race. There’s not a lot of time left now.”
Jochen Urban & Andreas Penkner (GER) – bronze medallists
“It [the race] was not optimal but the result was good. New Zealand was stronger and we were surprised by Great Britain.”
Are you happy to be in the M2-?
“Yes we have always been wishing to do the pair because you learn more in the pair than in the eight. We hope to improve technically so that when we go back to the eight. What we learned will help there.”
What are Germany’s plans for crews?
“Now we are preparing for Bejing. We think that the M8+, M4- and the M2- have chances to medal in Bejing.”
Are the chances better for the M2- or the M8+?
“The pair is more at risk because if one if has a bad day, that is 50% of the boat vs one person with a bad day in the M8+.”
Was it really your wish to go the M2- and did you have to fight for it or did your coach also want that?
“Really it was agreed between all of us. The coach wanted to try all possible combinations this year because next year we will already be preparing for Bejing and we cannot experiment more. This year we will continue to row in the pair.”
WOMEN'S DOUBLE SCULLS (W2X )
Georgina Evers-Swindell (NZL) – Gold Medallist
“Most surprising was the last part of the race [when GBR almost caught up].
Training is so competitive. If you train tough you can get even stronger.”
Annie Vernon & Anna Bebington (GBR) – Silver Medallists
World Rowing: How was the season?
Annie Vernon: “This is the first season as a double. Only part of the work is done, the challenge is still ahead.”
WR: Did you expect the race to be so close? How have you prepared?
Anna Bebington: “Between Poznan in Poland and now we have trained very hard. I think it has paid off.”
WR: Do you want to win at home in Britain?
Anna Bebington: “Yes of course. All our friends will be there!”
What was the hardest part?
Anna Bebington: “The finish was the hardest part. We knew that we have a strong finish but it was still the hardest.”
Volha Berazniova & Yuliya Bichyk (BLR) – Bronze Medallists
WR: Were you surprised when the Czech Republic attacked you?
“Yes of course – we’ll have to train our finish!”
WR: How long have you been in the boat together?
“It is the second year now but last year we did not have much time together and went only to Japan where we were 9th. “
WR: Where are you going to prepare for Eton?
“We are always training at Brest in Belorussia. Only in winter we usually go once to Spain. They are building a new canal in Brest so maybe in 2008 they may organize an international regatta there.”