More juniors qualify for the finals

Temperatures were around 20 degrees Celsius with practically no wind. The course grandstand stayed full for today’s racing which was all about the juniors trying to keep their racing hopes alive and advance on to the next round of races. For some it meant trying to make it to the semifinals. For others it was a chance to make the final.

Junior Women’s Four (JW4-) – Repechages

These two repechages meant the last chance for crews entered in the junior women’s four to advance to the final and to make it possible boats had to finish in the top two. Repechage one featured last year’s silver medallists, Germany. This year it is a completely new crew and they got out in the lead from the start. Going through the middle of the race Germany stayed in front.

Australia followed in second, underrating Germany by a couple of beats at 34 strokes per minute. Germany and Australia go to the line comfortably in the two qualifying positions.

The second repechage had Great Britain taking off at a cracking pace. The British finished sixth last year and look to be stepping up their game this year. The United States followed Great Britain in second but, by the half-way point, they were a bit far back to make it easy for them to attack Great Britain. Rather, the USA had the Czech Republic breathing down their neck. The United States held them off. Great Britain and the United States advance to the final.

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

The junior men’s coxed four had two repechages lining up and in both repechages a top two place was required to move on to the final. Italy led the way in repechage one. The Italians are the defending World Champions but their crew this year is completely different from the one that won gold last year. Coxed by 12-year-old Enrico D’Aniello, the Italians kept their rating high – 38 strokes per minute through the body of the race – and stayed ahead of France in second. Sitting in third New Zealand had their sights set on France. Sprinting to the line and taking their stroke rate to 39, New Zealand nearly caught France. At the line Italy and France get to move on to the final.

The three boats in repechage two started off neck-and-neck with Ukraine slightly ahead. With half of the race rowed Great Britain had managed to overhaul Ukraine as the United States slipped back in third. Coming through to the final sprint, the United States had dropped completely off the pace. Their technique was smooth but there did not seem to be a lot of power. Meanwhile, Ukraine, in second, charged for the line. They took Great Britain off guard, Ukraine and Great Britain will advance to the final from first and second respectively.

Junior Women’s Single Sculls (JW1x) – Repechages

The four repechages in this event required a top two finish for advancement to the semifinal. All other scullers would race in the C/D semifinal. In repechage one Croatia’s Marcela Milosevic got the edge over Cara Linnenkohl of the United States. This is Milosevic’s third time on Croatia’s junior team and she has always competed in this event. Linnenkohl is at her second junior champs. Last year she competed in the pair. The rest of the field dropped right back as Milosevic and Linnenkohl moved down the course. Going through the middle 1000m Linnenkohl took the lead. Milosevic did not fight back. Linnenkohl takes first to qualify for the semifinal. Milosevic, dropping her rating to 25 near the end, qualifies also from second.

Australia’s Alexandra Hagen led from start to finish in repechage two. After an initial burst by Stefanie Borzacchini of Austria, Hagen broke away to an open-water lead. Hagen goes on to the semifinal from first and Borzacchini takes the second spot by easily finishing ahead of Russia in third.

Hungary’s Judit Tancsik led repechage three at the start. This is Tancsik’s first year competing in the single and she looked on target to move to the semifinal. But then Italy moved, followed closely by Gabriela Mosquera of Paraguay. Tancsik could not hold them off. Coming into the final sprint something clicked for Tancsik. From her third and non-qualifying position, Tancsik attacked. Overtaking Italy, Tancsik went after Mosquera. Mosquera held her off. At the line Mosquera and Tancsik advance to the semifinal.

Nadya Yovcheva of Bulgaria led from start to finish in repechage four. Slovenia’s Anja Sesum slotted into second and Serbia followed in third. The order did not change with Serbia fading out of striking distance. Yovcheva and Sesum go on to the semifinal.

Junior Men’s Single Sculls (JM1x) – Quarterfinals

The four quarterfinals in the junior men’s single required scullers to finish in the top three if they wanted to advance to the semifinal. Kaur Kuslap of Estonia wanted to in quarterfinal one. Kuslap first competed as a junior back in 2005 when he was 15. He hasn’t made the team again until this year and Kuslap was making a fine effort of it leading over Andrei Brouka of Belarus. Coming into the final sprint Kuslap had a slight lead with a huge fight for second and third going on between three boats: Russia, Japan and Belarus. A better sprint by Russia’s Viacheslav Mikhaylevskiy and Brouka gave them the qualifying spots along with leader Kuslap.

Spain got out to a fast start in quarterfinal two but soon had to give it up to Igor Khmara of Ukraine and Germany’s Hagen Rothe. With attacks and changes of boat speed going on all over the place Khmara then lost his first place position to Rothe with Poland’s Mateusz Zarnowski now moving up. In the final sprint Rothe took first. Zarnowski did a huge sprint to get past Spain and Ukraine and finish second. Khmara take the final qualifying spot with his third-place finish.

Quarterfinal three featured the reigning World Champion, Bulgaria’s Aleksandar Aleksandrov. The very confident Aleksandrov got out in front at the start and did just enough to stay in that position. It was almost like Aleksandrov was playing with Kevin Hermansson of Sweden in second. Behind these two leaders the real fight was going on for third between three crews; Greece, the United States and Tunisia. A better second 1000m by Mohamed Houssem Laouiti of Tunesia got him away from Greece and the United States. Aleksandrov, Hermansson and Laouiti advance to the semifinal.

Australia’s Taylor Wilzcynski is brand new to the international rowing scene, but this did not deter him from having the courage to take the lead in quarterfinal four. Serbia’s Igor Lucic slotted into second and Bernhard Sieber of Austria took over in third. No challenges were made down the 2000m Danube course and at the line Australia, Serbia and Austria will go to the semifinal.

Junior Women’s Pair (JW2-) – Repechages

There were two repechages in the junior women’s pair and a top-two finish was needed if crews wanted to advance to the final. Romania’s Cristina Grigoras and Andreea Boghian completely dominated repechage one. Both Grigoras and Boghian raced last year as juniors with Grigoras picking up gold in the eight and Boghian racing in the quad. They appear to have matched up well this year. Latvia slotted into second with the United States, in third, chasing hard in the first half of the race but lacking energy in the second half. Romania and Latvia advance to the final.

The second repechage was closer but was still reasonably sorted for the top two positions. Katsiaryna Yarmolich and Tatsiana Kukhta of Belarus had the lead with Austria following in second. Poland and Ukraine, meanwhile, battled it out at the back of the field. Belarus and Austria go on to the final.

Junior Men’s Pair (JM2-) – Quarterfinals

The junior men’s pair raced in quarterfinals with the goal to be in the top three positions to advance to the semifinal. Slovenia’s Zan Cvet and Andraz Borstnar Vasle had the lead in quarterfinal one with South Africa tracking them closely. Coming through the middle of the race South Africa were still sticking to Slovenia with Croatia and the United States now moving up. Then the South Africans began to struggle. Austin Brooks and John Paul Hogan of the United States took advantage of the situation and pushed into second rating 34. Croatia followed suit at a 36 stroke rate. At the line Slovenia remain in first, the United States take second and Croatia grab third. These are the three qualifying boats that will advance to the semifinal.

Quarterfinal two opened with Germany in the lead. Frederik Prigge and Lukas Oberhausen of Germany are on the junior national team for the first time and they came through to this race after winning their heat two days ago. Romania followed behind Germany with Latvia in third. Georgia followed in fourth but they were outside that vital third qualifying spot. Coming into the final sprint Germany still had first, Romania still had second but Georgia was barrelling down on Latvia. In a photo finish at the line Latvia misses out. Germany, Romania and Georgia move on to the semifinal.

The third quarterfinal was led by Ryan Edwards and Matthew Dignan of Australia. They opened with a slight lead over Denmark with France also very much on the pace. With half the race rowed these top three crews remained on top of one another and in the process had left everyone else behind. The final sprint was in sight and Serbia, in fourth, decided to do a huge push. This put France, in third, under threat. France reacted back and charged for the line rating 39. At the line the semifinal qualifiers are Australia, Denmark and France.

Greece’s Vasileios Ntalamagkas and Apostolos Lampridis had the lead in quarterfinal four and it looked like they did not want to give it up. Lithuania followed in second with Turkey slotting into third. By the middle of the race it looked like these top three crews would not be put under any threat by the remaining three crews. But this is junior racing at its best and anything can happen. Turkey decided to make it happen. Closing on Lithuania, Turkey pulled out a huge sprint to overtake the Lithuanians. But this move was purely academic with the top three crews qualifying. Greece, Turkey and Lithuania move on to the semifinal.

Junior Women’s Double Sculls (JW2x) – Repechages

The two repechages in the junior women’s double required a top three finish for crews to move on to the semifinal. Italy had the edge at the start of repechage one with Great Britain’s Olivia Oakes and Rachel Gamble-Flint following very closely. Italy did all that they could to hold on to first and hold the British off. Coming into the final sprint Italy still had the lead. But as Italy faded, Great Britain picked up the pace. At the line Oakes and Gamble-Flint take first, Italy hold on to second and the United States earn third. These three boats will advance to the semifinal.

Repechage two was the faster of the two repechages with Spain and France going neck-and-neck at the head of the field. Helene Lefebvre and Elena Kieffer of France held the edge at the start while Elena Leon and Esperanza Castejon of Spain remained within spitting distance. A piece in the second 500m earned Leon and Castejon the lead. France fought back. They remained neck-and-neck. At the line Spain take first, France takes second and Denmark takes third. These are the three crews that will go to the semifinal.

Junior Men’s Double Sculls (JM2x) – Quarterfinals

This event had 24 countries lining up today in the quarterfinals. Their aim was to be in the top three if they wanted to make it through to the semifinal. In the 102nd race of this regatta, quarterfinal one had Ales Zupan and Ziga Legat of Slovenia in the lead. Zupan and Legat won their heat yesterday and today they remained ahead of Denmark in second. Slovenia retained a solid 35 stroke rate through the body of the race to remain in first and the duo felt comfortable to drop this down to 32 strokes per minute in the final sprint. Slovenia cross the line in first, Denmark take second and Ukraine also qualify for the semifinal in third.

Lithuania did not make the final last year. Today, in quarterfinal two, it looked as though Nerijus Vasiliauskas and Algirdas Bendaravicius of Lithuania were going to change this situation. The Lithuanians took the lead and remained there for the entire race. This left a tight battle for the remaining two spots going on between Belgium, Estonia, Romania and the United States. Estonia had second place for the majority of the race but coming into the last 100m of the race, Estonia caught an epic crab. The duo had to stop rowing and watch the entire field pass them. Romania got through into second and the United States earn third. Lithuania, Romania and the United States will advance to the semifinal.

Germany’s Martin Menger and Lauritz Schoof set a high standard in quarterfinal three. This event was won last year by Germany and the two new rowers Menger and Schoof hope to defend this title. After overtaking a fast-starting Serbia, Germany grabbed the lead and raced Croatia’s Marino Dragicevic and Mijo Rudelj to the line. This very tight and close race meant that Germany can now claim the fastest qualifying time. Germany, Croatia and Serbia advance to the semifinal.

Four crews went head-to-head at the start of quarterfinal four. They were Norway, Australia, Austria and the Czech Republic. Soon Austria and the Czech Republic found that they could not sustain this fast opening pace and they slipped to the back of the field. Australia’s Nicholas Barnier and Sasha Belonogoff then made the biggest dent on the field and going through the third 500m they had taken the lead. Norway tried to hold on with Italy slipping right back in third. This order remained the same at the line. Australia earn the fastest qualifying time, just a fraction faster than Germany in the previous race. Norway and Italy also qualify for the semifinal from second and third respectively.

Junior Men’s Four (JM4-) – Repechage

One repechage and the aim was to be in the top three. Austria is getting a reputation for fast starts and then fading completely. They did just that in this 106th race of the regatta. By the half-way point the Czech Republic had taken over in the lead. But the margin between the five crews was slight. This margin was still slight with 1500m of the race rowed. This race was turning into a huge sprint to the line. And what a sprint it was. At the line less than one and a half seconds separated the top four crews. Belarus had missed out. Poland takes first, the Czech Republic earn second and France come from the back of the field to take third.

Junior Women’s Quadruple Sculls (JW4x) – Repechage

The one repechage meant that crews had to be in the top three to advance to the semifinal. Ukraine took off in the lead but they had soon slipped back, out of qualifying contention, by the half-way point. Instead Hungary had taken over in the lead with Russia and South Africa both very much on the leader’s pace. As Ukraine continued to lose ground, Hungary, Russia and South Africa looked secure in their qualifying positions. Russia, however, were not content to sit in second. Coming into the final sprint the Russians attacked. Hungary reacted, taking their stroke rate to 40. Russia could not catch them. Hungary, Russia and South Africa qualify for the semifinal.

Junior Men’s Quadruple Sculls (JM4x) – Repechages

Four repechages in the junior men’s quad required a top two finish for advancement to the semifinal and in repechage one Switzerland looked to have the race wrapped up. Slovenia followed in second and these two crews moved further and further away from the rest of the field. Switzerland and Slovenia move on to the semifinal.

Repechage two recorded the fastest qualifying time when the Netherlands decided not just to take the lead, but completely dominate. The Dutch were in front at the start with Croatia and Russia in second moving practically side by side. Croatia then managed to shake Russia to secure the second spot. But Poland caught up with Croatia and tailed them until the line. The Netherlands crossed the finish nearly eight seconds ahead of Croatia, who also qualify.

France finished fourth last year and they are looking to get into the medals this year. They seem to be on the right track as they got a taste of leading in repechage three. Hungary slotted right behind France in second. These two crews remained close but the order did not change. France and Hungary advance to the semifinal.

Repechage four saw an incredibly tight race between Australia and Latvia. Latvia finished third last year and have an entirely new crew this year. Puckurs and Buss both raced in the double in 2007, while teammates Laudams and Boitmanis are new to the junior team. Latvia opened in the lead but Australia fought back and held first through the middle of the race. Latvia, however, was having none of this and moved back into first. Australia held on. Neither of them were prepared for the massive sprint by the Japanese. The finish became a three-way fight. Japan had just missed out. Latvia and Australia advance to the semifinal.

Junior Women’s Eight (JW8+) – Race for Lanes

With five crews entered in this event, today was a race for lanes in preparation for Saturday’s final. Last year’s bronze medallists, the United States took on last year’s silver medallists, Germany and last year’s gold medallists, Romania, and won. The commentator noted the sheer power of the USA and they thundered to the line in first. Germany, who opened in the lead, had to be satisfied with second and Romania, who spent most of the race in second, slipped to third.

Junior Men’s Eight (JM8+) – Repechages

The two repechages required a top two finish for crews to move on to the final. Repechage one played out as a tight three-way race between the Czech Republic, Great Britain and New Zealand. The Czechs opened in the lead and remained there through the middle of the race. But then a piece by the New Zealanders advanced them into the front with Great Britain following the example of the New Zealanders. At the line New Zealand take first and Great Britain take second. These are the two countries that will get to advance to the final.

Italy took off at a cracking pace in repechage two. Rating 45 stroke per minute at the start, Italy built up a slight lead over Spain. By the half-way point Russia was still on the pace of the two leaders, Italy and Spain. Then Russia began to slip back. At the line Italy and Spain get to move on to the final.