A spread of talents in the junior heats

Those aged under 19 faced cross-tail wind conditions that lessened as the day advanced. Cloudy skies made way for some blue spots and temperatures hovered in the mid-teens Celsius.

Junior Women’s Four (JW4-) – Heats

Two heats lined up with the top boat only from each heat advancing directly to the final. Heat one featured last year’s silver medallists, Germany. Last year China won this event, but in their absence, Germany had decided their chances looked good. They hadn’t, however, accounted for the New Zealanders. After an initial lead by Germany, New Zealand overtook them rating a steady 36 strokes per minute. The smooth rhythm set up by the New Zealanders meant that they were able to move further and further away from Germany. New Zealand advance to the final.

Italy appeared to make easy work of heat two. They got out to a full boat-length lead over Great Britain with only 500m of the race gone. Great Britain held their pace but it was not fast enough to make a dent on Italy’s lead. The British slipped further back and will have to return for a repechage. Italy goes directly to the final in a time just one second faster than New Zealand.

Junior Men’s Coxed Four (JM4+) – Heats

The two heats in this event required crews to be first if they wanted to advance directly to the final. All other positions would have to return for the repechage. Italy are the defending World Champions and they lined up in heat one. But getting off the line first were last year’s bronze medallists, Germany. The Germans, stroked by 17-year-old Alexander-Nicolas Egler who is at his first junior championships, kept their rating at 37 and remained in the lead. Italy held on to second with Great Britain on the pace in third. Coming into the final sprint Germany had managed to get nearly a boat length ahead of Italy. They were not giving up the lead. Germany advances to the final.

An incredibly close battle panned out in heat two. It opened with Ukraine in the lead but there was barely more than a second covering the entire field. By the half-way point Serbia had overtaken Ukraine. Meanwhile a very tight race was going on between New Zealand and France. As these two countries battled, they moved up on Ukraine making it a three-way race, with Serbia very much in the lead. Serbia goes directly to the final while the remainder of the boats will return to race again in the repechage.

Junior Women’s Single Sculls (JW1x) – Heats

The four heats in the junior women’s single required these athletes to finish first if they wanted to go directly to the semifinal. Heat one opened with Slovenia’s Anja Sesum in the lead. But right on her tail was last year’s eighth place finisher, Nataliya Dovgodko of Ukraine. As Sesum maintained a very even pace, Dovogodko picked up the pace coming into the final 500m. This was enough to give Ukraine the lead and a spot in the semifinal.

Mihaela Petrila of Romania took off in the lead of heat two. Petrila raced last year in her country’s quad, but moving to the single looks to be a good choice. As the rest of the field swapped places to be in second, Petrila moved further and further away from them. By the finish, Petrila had a huge 12-second margin over Gabriela Mosquera of Paraguay who, in second, will have to return to race in the repechage.

Sometimes a rower breaks on to the scene and people take notice. Carina Baer of Germany is worth noticing. Last year Baer finished fifth in the double and in her second year as a junior Baer raced in heat three of the women’s single. Already her dominance showed at the start and as the race went on, Baer pulled further and further away from the field. Baer’s finishing time of 7:42.23 would stand her in good stead if she was racing in a senior race. Baer sent a clear message to her competitors. Baer goes directly to the semifinal where she will be noticed.

Baer, however, may have to keep an eye out for Tale Gjoertz of Norway. Gjoertz raced in heat four and, like Baer, Gjoertz led from start to finish creating a huge margin between her and the rest of the field. This is Gjoertz’s second year at the junior champs. Last year she finished fifth in this event. At the end of the race Gjoertz recorded a very respectable time of 7:44.43 to go directly to the semifinal.

Junior Men’s Single Sculls (JM1x) – Heats

This race attracted 27 countries and these numbers meant that under the FISA progression system, quarterfinals were required. Divided into six heats, scullers had to be in the top three positions or be the next fastest qualifying time if they wanted to go to the quarterfinal. This meant that boats coming fourth still had a big incentive to go hard.

Heat one featured defending World Champion, Bulgaria’s Aleksandar Aleksandrov, but at the start of the race it was Kaur Kuslap of Estonia in the lead. This didn’t last long. Aleksandrov took over at the front and then appeared to play with Kuslap. Aleksandrov has the ability to take his rating up high if he needs to, but today it was not necessary. At the line Bulgaria qualifies for the quarterfinal with the quickest time.

Spain’s Daniel Sigurjoersson Benet grabbed the lead in heat two and by the half-way point Sigurjoersson had nearly a boat length over Hungary in second. Coming through the third 500 of the race the spread across the field closed remarkably. Coming into the final sprint there was nothing between four boats, with only Hungary dropping off the pace. The pace was intense. Four crews finished in less than a second of each other. Brazil finished first on the line.

Heat three opened with Ziga Krek of Slovenia in the lead with Croatia’s Ivan Rom right on Krek’s tail. Keeping close to Krek paid off for Rom. Doing a piece through the third 500m helped Rom gain the lead as Krek faded. This is Rom’s second time on the Croatian junior team, but first time racing in the single. He will go directly to the quarterfinal.

The 45th race at this regatta, heat four featured Austrian Bernhard Sieber. Could the full grandstand held this local representative home? At the start Sieber was at the back of the field, but by the half-way point he had worked his way up and into the lead. Sieber’s leading margin, however, was slight. The low-rating, strong Mohamed Houssem Laouiti of Tunisia was pushing past. At the line Laouiti finishes first and gets a spot in the quarterfinal. So does Ukraine from second. Austria holds on to finish third and also gets a spot in the quarterfinal.

Heat five covered the continents with United States getting out in front. This is Kynan Reelick’s second time on the junior national team. Last year Reelick finished 23rd in the quad. Slotting in behind Reelick was Russia’s Viacheslav Mikhaylevskiy. But the Russian wanted more and did a piece that took him into the lead. Reelick seemed to be unconcerned. Coming into the last quarter of the race Reelick dropped his stroke rate down to 27. Mikhaylevskiy also seemed content to reduce the pressure. Russia, the United States and Iran all go to the quarterfinal.

Germany has a tradition of success in this event and this year seems to be no exception. In heat six Germany’s Hagen Rothe was in the lead. Rothe became a junior World Champion when he won the double last year. Now in the single Rothe stayed at the head of heat six and it appeared that the rest of the field did not have the speed to catch him. At the line Germany, Australia and Japan all advance to the quarterfinal from first, second and third respectively.

Junior Women’s Pair (JW2-) – Heats

Two heats in the women’s pair required rowers to finish first if they wanted to go directly to the final. Germany wanted it the most in heat one. Anja Broders and Ronja Schuette of Germany kept their stroke rate at a clipping 36 strokes per minute to retain the lead. Romania put up a good fight and stayed with the Germans. Coming into the final sprint Romania took their rating to 38. But Broders and Schuette continued to rate high, also going to 38. The Germans crossed the line first and will go to the final.

Bulgaria’s Petya Mavrova and Luiza-Mariya Rusinova dominated heat two. They took the lead at the start over Austria and remained there for the entire race pulling further and further away from everyone else in the race. With this effort Bulgaria goes directly to the final.

Junior Men’s Pair (JM2-) – Heats

The junior men’s pair featured 25 nations. They were divided into six heats with the top three boats in each heat, plus the next fastest time, advancing to the quarterfinal. France owned the lead in heat one. Clement Duret and Edouard Jonville are at their first international regatta and they look to have what it takes to move up. Duret and Jonville kept their stroke rate at a high 36 to 38 strokes per minute to retain the lead. Meanwhile Georgia slotted into second and right to the line no change occurred in the order.

Slovenia’s Zan Cvet and Andraz Borstnar Vasle led heat two at their first ever international regatta. The duo stayed easily in front of Turkey in second with Latvia pushing past Great Britain to follow in third. The boats came through the final 500m in a spread-out procession. Slovenia, Turkey and Latvia all advance to the quarterfinal.

Heat three had Australia take off in the lead followed very closely by South Africa. But by the half-way point it was Germany that had taken over in the lead. The Germans (Frederik Prigge and Lukas Oberhausen) then pulled away into a safe and comfortable position. Australia, rating 34, followed in second with South Africa dropping back. At the line Germany was still first, Australia take second and South Africa qualifies for the quarterfinal from third. Germany’s time of 6:56 gives them the fastest qualifying time of the six heats.

Lithuania shot out at the start of heat four followed just a fraction back by Romania. Romania earned bronze last year but this year’s crew is completely new, made up of George Murgu and Leon Pop. A piece by the Romanians going through the second 500m brought them into the lead. But the push may have been a bit much. Lithuania’s Marius Ralickas and Dovydas Balsys pushed back into the lead and that is where they stayed. Then a huge push by Croatia got them ahead of Romania. At the line Lithuania, Croatia and Romania all advance to the quarterfinal.

Greece took off at a cracking pace in heat five and they didn’t let up. Vasileios Ntalamagkas and Apostolos Lampridis kept their rating at a high 38 strokes per minute through the body of the race. It may not have been the prettiest rowing, but the Greeks were staying in the lead. The United States followed in second with Serbia back in third. Greece, having done all of their hard work earlier in the race, were able to drop their rating to 27 coming through the last 500m of the race. Greece, the United States and Serbia all qualify for the quarterfinal.

The sixth and final heat was all about Denmark. At the start Nikolaj Hoegsted and Jonas Fich of Denmark got into the lead. Poland followed closely behind. This order remained the same through the middle of the race. But then around the 1250m mark stroke for Poland, Jakub Kocerka looked to be in trouble. The crew stopped rowing. The rescue boat headed over. Denmark rowed on taking first. Hungary and Russia, in the absence of Poland, both qualify for the quarterfinal. Poland did not finish.

Junior Women’s Double Sculls (JW2x) – Heats

The junior women’s double featured three heats and it was the aim of these crews to finish in the top two spots of each heat. This would earn a direct path to the semifinal. In heat one Poland’s Marta Rychert and Agnieszka Kobus grabbed the leader’s position. Hungary followed closely. By the half-way point Rychert and Kobus had built up a huge lead over the rest of the field. In the second half of the race everything changed. Hungary appeared to completely run out of steam and they started to slip back in the field. Meanwhile Toni Boteva and Rosita Boncheva of Bulgaria, who had been sitting way back in third, did a huge piece and closed on Poland. Stroke Boncheva is just 14 years old and she was going for it. At the line Bulgaria had first place with Poland holding on to second. These two crews advance directly to the semifinal.

Heat two had Germany leading. Clara Karches and Mareike Adams of Germany both raced in the quad last year and have a gold medal from it for their efforts. Today in the double, Karches and Adams were showing their experience. Working their way out to an open-water lead, it appeared that no other crew would be able to challenge them. No other crew did challenge them. Germany finish first and the Czech Republic, with Lenka Antosova in stroke, take second.

The third and final heat opened with Spain in the lead, but margins were close. Australia took advantage of this closeness and with half the race rowed Australia took over from Spain. Meanwhile Austria’s Lisa Farthofer and Magdalena Lobnig were moving up. Last year Austria won bronze in this event with Farthofer racing and now with new partner Lobnig they are doing well. Hearing the support of the crowd Farthofer and Lobnig went for broke. Overtaking Australia, Austria finish first and earn a spot in the semifinal. Australia take the second qualifying spot.

Junior Men’s Double Sculls (JM2x) – Heats

A large field of 32 nations were spread over six heats. This meant that a top-four finish was needed for crews to advance on to the quarterfinals. Heat one had the Serbian double of Jovan Jovanovic and Dusan Bogicevic in the lead. This is where the Serbians remained for the rest of the race. This was not without a fight. After coming out in third at the start, Denmark moved into second and moved closer and closer to the Serbians. Despite a huge effort, Denmark ran out of race and will have to be happy with second. Serbia, Denmark, USA and Austria all go to the quarterfinal.

Heat two opened with Estonia’s Sten-erik Anderson and Madis Mosarov in the lead. But this didn’t last long. By the half-way point Australia had moved ahead. Australia’s Nicholas Barnier has raced before on the junior team, while partner Sasha Belonogoff is in his first year on the team. The field then appeared to let Australia go. Barnier and Belonogoff moved out to a huge lead and finished 10 seconds ahead of Estonia in second. The quarterfinal qualifiers in this heat were Australia, Estonia, Ukraine and Slovakia.

The third heat was all about Bjoern-Jostein Singstad and Kjetil Borch of Norway. The duo went out fast and remained in the lead leaving the exciting racing to go on behind them. This is a big improvement for Singstad and Borch who both raced last year in the quad and finished 22nd overall. The excitement was from Greece. The Greeks spent the first half of the race at the back of the field. They were still at the back with 500m left to race. Then a spark struck and the duo decided that they wanted to be in the quarterfinal. The Greeks charged for the line and not only qualified but they got themselves ahead of Turkey and Bulgaria to take third. The qualifiers for the quarterfinal are: Norway, Belarus, Greece and Turkey.

After a fast-opener by Switzerland, Croatia pulled into the lead in heat four. Marino Dragicevic and Mijo Rudelj of Croatia remained in the lead and it was only a last-minute huge push by Belgium, rating 40, that put their position under threat. Belgium had left the push a little too late to get into first, but it was enough to take them from the back of the field, past Israel, past Switzerland, past the Czech Republic and into second. Croatia, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Switzerland advance to the quarterfinal.

Heat five opened with Germany in the lead. The Germans are World Champions in this event but have a new double combination this year of Martin Menger and Lauritz Schoof. Menger and Schoof remained in the lead for half of the race before Slovenia, who had been following very closely, took over. Germany must have given up heart and did not attack back. At the line Slovenia take first to qualify for the quarterfinal. Also qualifying are Germany, Lithuania and New Zealand.

The final heat, heat six, featured Romania’s Marius Feru and Laurentiu Grecu in the lead. Italy held on to the Romanian’s pace at the start, but then seemed content to hang back in second. Georgia, in third, appeared to be no real threat to Italy and the status quo remained the same until the line. Romania, Italy, Georgia and Finland go to the quarterfinal.

Junior Men’s Four (JM4-) – Heats

The four had three heats and asked for crews to be in the top three if they wanted to advance directly to the semifinal. Heat one featured Australia in the lead. At the Olympic level Australia’s four is looking good and it looks like their junior four is also a force to be reckoned with. Australia moved further and further away from the rest of the field leaving the four other boats to fight it out for second and third. The Czech Republic had second for half of the race but then ran out of steam. This gave Spain the opportunity to come through. At the line Spain and Italy qualify for the semifinal along with Australia.

Germany may have taken silver last year in this event. But this year, in heat two, the Germans found themselves trailing Romania. Germany, stroked by Bastian Bechler, tried to hold on to the Romanians. They couldn’t match the pace. At the line Romania take first, Germany take second and Bulgaria finish in third. These three boats go to the semifinal.

Defending World Champions in this event are Great Britain. They lined up in heat three and showed that they may well have what it takes to defend successfully this year. Great Britain left the start in the lead. But Greece were not going to let Great Britain get away. Attacking the British down the 2000m Danube course, Greece remained overlapping with Great Britain. At the line the Brits had held on to first, but only just over Greece. Croatia finish in third. These are the three countries that get to go directly to the semifinal.