18 Jan 2012
B Finals Take on New Meaning at World Rowing Champs
It featured exhausted legs, tears and joy amongst these usually sedate seniors. In slight tail wind conditions with temperatures barely making the mid teens Celsius, rowers went for broke. Some would need to finish in the top two. Some would need a top five finish to qualify. Australia found themselves victims of near misses. The Czech Republic showed their style in the men’s four. Germany held on to Olympic qualification by the skin of their teeth.
Men’s Coxed Pair (M2+) – international event
Ukraine opened in the lead of the event known for its big men who like doing loads of leg presses. The United States then took over. Patrick Godfrey, who finished fourth last year, has joined with newcomer Stephen Kaspyrzak and coxswain David Florio. They took the lead with the Czech Republic in hot pursuit. Wearing out the Czech’s, the United States crossed the line in first, well ahead of the rest of the field.
Lightweight Women’s Single (LW1x) – international event
Benedicte Dorfman of France began her international career 17 years ago at the 1990 Tasmanian World Rowing Championships. Since then she has medalled but never taken gold at this level. After a break Dorfman returned aiming for Beijing in the double. The double didn’t fire. Dorfman returned to the single. Today she led the B Final from start to finish and looked comfortable at the head of the field. Switzerland’s Fabiane Albrecht also started the season off in the double with the Olympics her goal. When Albrecht’s partner pulled out she returned, disappointed, to the single. Coming from the back Albrecht pushed through to second ahead of Maria Pertl of Denmark who is considering this to be her last elite season.
Results: FRA, SUI, DEN, GER, ITA, AUT
Lightweight Men’s Single (LM1x) – international event
Jumping out at the start, Timothy Colson of Canada decided this was going to be his race. But Great Britain’s Alasdair Leighton-Crawford was giving him no room to move. Leighton-Crawford started his international career last year claiming fourth in the quad on his home turf, Eton. Now in the single, Leighton-Crawford caught Colson going through the middle of the race. Colson tried to hold on but found his now second place position under threat. Slovenia’s former under 23 champion in this event, Bine Pislar, was doing everything to sprint through. At the line Leighton-Crawford takes first and therefore seventh overall, Pislar takes second, a disappointment after his fourth place finish last year. Colson takes third.
Results: GBR, SLO, CAN, EST, CHN, FIN
Women’s Single Sculls (W1x)
France’s Sophie Balmary is known for her fast start and with Olympic qualification spots up for grabs – the top three boats – Balmary, rating 45, made to most of her opening power. But it was last year’s Under 23 Champion, Julia Michalska of Poland that got out in front. Balmary, the current world record holder on the indoor rowing machine, kept her cool and going through the middle of the race pushed ahead of the young Michalska with Russia’s very experienced Julia Levina back in third and the final Olympic qualifying spot. Going through the third 500m the determined 172cm Swede, Frida Svensson began to drive for that vital qualifying spot. Svensson was the very last qualifier for this event for the 2004 Olympics and finished eighth in Athens.
Levina and Svensson drove for the line. Svensson is off to another Olympic Games. At the start of the season Michalska stated her intentions of aiming for the Olympics but was realistic that her rowing career is just beginning. Today she qualified behind Balmary in first.
Results: FRA, POL, SWE, RUS, ITA, ESP
Men’s Single Scull (M1x)
If you finish last is this race you won’t qualify for the Olympics. All six athletes knew this. All six have Olympic aspirations. Tim Maeyens of Belgium and Santiago Fernandez of Argentina were there in 2004, both racing the A Final to sixth and fourth respectively. Switzerland’s Andre Vonarburg was also there finishing eighth in his bid to follow in the footsteps of Xeno Mueller. Sjoerd Hamburger of the Netherlands was still racing at the under 23 level, and would go on to take gold in this event. Australia’s Peter Hardcastle was there in the double. Bulgaria’s Aleksandar Aleksandrov was 14 years old and had just started rowing.
The fast starting Maeyens started fast as expected rating 44 strokes per minute. Hamburger was not far back with Fernandez also on the pace. Hamburger continued to hold on to Maeyen’s unrelenting pace. Then Vonarburg began to move on Hamburger with Hardcastle and Aleksandrov tussling at the back of the field. At 1500m Maeyens did a piece, Fernandez was chasing him down, Vonarburg held on, Hamburger did all he could. Aleksandrov looked exhausted, giving up with 300m left to row.
Maeyens, Fernandez, Vonarburg, Hamburger and Hardcastle qualify their country for the Olympics.
Andre Vonarburg (SUI): “It’s great to qualify. I had a heart operation just seven weeks ago. I had a hole in my heart and they had to take from my thigh to fix it. I missed the World Cup in Lucerne. I was watching from the shore. So it was great to be here and qualify. Now I have holidays.”
Results: BEL, ARG, SUI, NED, AUS, BUL
Women’s Pair (W2-)
It was all about finishing in the top two positions in this B Final if you want to earn a spot in the Olympics for your country. The reigning World Champions Darcy Marquardt and Dr Jane Rumball of Canada took the lead. Marquardt and Rumball weren’t happy to be in the B Final so wanted to make sure they did everything possible to win. The duo took off in the lead working their way out to a full boat length by the half way point over the United States. American Anna Mickelson has joined up with new partner for this regatta, Portia McGee, after her usual partner got injured and they have quickly clicked.
A North American fight then went on between the United States and Canada. The lead by Rumball and Marquardt was being eaten up by Mickelson and McGee. McGee began her international career in 1996 as a junior but is yet to go to the Olympics. This may be her year. Both boats had a bit of a steering issue, moving very close to each other in their scramble for the line. Canada went to 39, the United States followed suit. Mickelson and McGee had done it, finishing seventh overall. Canada qualify for the Olympics from eighth.
Carsten Hassing (CAN) – coach of Darcy Marquardt and Jane Rumball: “We are happy to qualify but I’m not content with the result. Things haven’t worked out for us this year, and I take it on my shoulders. The girls worked hard this year. But yes, it’s good to have another boat qualify.”
Results: USA, CAN, NED, DEN, RUS, GBR
Men’s Pair (M2-)
The top 11 boats at these World Rowing Championships would earn a spot at the 2008 Olympic Games. This meant whoever came last in this B Final would miss out. Denmark jumped out to an early lead. The duo have been taken out of the four where they spent the last couple of seasons and, as the strongest two, it is hoped they will qualify this boat for Denmark. Denmark then found themselves under pressure from the Skelin brothers of Croatia who took the lead in the style that earned them silver at the 2004 Olympic Games. But the heat was too much for Croatia. To the crowd’s delight, Germany’s Andreas Penkner and Jochen Urban were coming through. So was Jason Read, gold medallist from the 2004 Olympics, and Kyle Larson of the United States as well as Poland’s Piotr Hojka and Jaroslaw Godek. Who would get to the line first? All of these three boats hit a pace of 39 strokes per minute. Hojka and Godek running on the qualifying success of their eight yesterday, were doing it the best. Poland got there first. Hojka and Godek were absolutely elated. The USA follow in second and Germany take third.
Jaroslaw Godek (POL): “We are very happy for Olympic qualification, and seventh place. Next year is for a medal at Olympic Games.”
Jochen Urban (GER): “It was good to beat Croatia. It was always close in World Cup races before. They are good rowers. We wanted the A final but we’re ok with Olympic qualification.”
Results: POL, USA, GER, CRO, DEN, CAN
Women’s Double Sculls (W2x)
The top two boats in this race would earn an Olympic qualification spot. The top three boats in this race took it to a photo finish. They were Australia’s Amber Bradley with Kerry Hore, Jennifer Kaido and Ala Piotrowski of the United States and Laura Schiavone and Elisabetta Sancassani of Italy.
At the start, Shiavone and Sancassani had the lead. Sancassani finished eighth in this event at the 2004 Olympics and is looking to become Italy’s most decorated woman rower. Together with Shiavone they held the lead not giving an inch to the rest of the field. Meanwhile the United States and Australia were neck and neck, fighting for the remaining Olympic qualifying spot. Australia had the edge. All three crews sprinted for the line. Kaido and Piotrowski had a bit more to give. Piotrowski, in 2004, went to the brutal final qualifying regatta in this event and just missed out. She had those memories on her mind. At the line Italy and the United States had done it. Australia were devastated.
Results: ITA, USA, AUS, HUN, KOR, NOR
Men’s Double Sculls (M2x)
The top five boats in this race would be earning an Olympic qualification spot. At the finish 11th overall for 2007, Stijn Smulders and Christophe Raes of Belgium, showed what it took to get this position. Even after Smulders had cooled down and come into the dock he was still breathing hard, swerving as he walked. It took everything he had to get that step closer to Beijing. Here’s how the race panned out.
At the start Samuel Stitt and Matthew Hughes of the United States jumped to the lead, but there were five boats all on the pace with just Ante Kusurin and Mario Vekic of Croatia a little back. Stitt and Hughes remained the pace setters as Croatia started to gain speed. Coming into the final 500m here was still less than two seconds separating the entire field. As one would miss out, everyone had to sprint. Belgium went to 41, Poland were at 40, Australia struck 39, Croatia found 40.
Vekic and Kusurin cross the line first, Scott Brennan and David Crawshay of Australia take second, with Stitt and Hughes holding on to third. After the race dozens of Croatian coaches and delegates were there to greet the very happy Vekic and Kusurin.
Ante Kusurin (CRO): “It was a race to the first 1000, and then in the 1500 we made it good. It was tough racing. I think its going to be an easier job for next year. So far this year we only had three months training together and I was doing sweep before that. I was at Oxford (doing a masters degree) this year and University of Washington before that. We’ll have a whole year to scull and make the final.”
Stinjn Smulders (BEL): “I’m very happy. We’re still somewhere else. We still need to come back to reality. That took a lot. It’s a very tough field and we had a very bad season so we’re happy. The difference between the C Final and making the A final is very little it’s such a tense field.”
Results: CRO, AUS, USA, GER, BEL, POL
Men’s Four (M4-)
The slight tail wind continued for the six boats all going for the top five spots in this race to be named Olympic qualifiers. The Czech Republic earned the lead at the start under the speed and guidance of stroke Karel Neffe. All six boats remained on the pace with only Australia dropping back a bit going through the second 500m mark – the half way point. Then the Czech’s established themselves clearly in front with only the United States under the magnificent stroking skills of Olympic Champion Bryan Volpenhein, able to hold on to the leaders pace. The Germans then, hearing the thunderous support from the home crowd, charged. At the line Australia was the crew to miss out.
Results: CZE, USA, GER, IRL, BLR, AUS