China shows their colours in junior semifinals

On this third day in Beijing, China, athletes returned for the semifinal round. Under cloudy conditions with an opening touch of a slight tail wind and temperatures in the high 20 degrees Celsius, junior rowers from 50 nations returned to the Shunyi Olympic course.

The last two days of heats, followed by repechages, started to sort the wheat from the chaff, the better prepared competitors from the beginners, and today opened with the lesser semifinals.

Today’s programme of 24 races started at 9:30 Beijing time, with the junior men’s single semifinal E/F and C/D. As the biggest event on the junior programme, 32 countries had entries in this event. The fastest qualifying time went to Russia’s Denis Pribyl, at his first international regatta, who finished in 7:14 and with this result will move on to the C Final.

The C/D semifinal of the junior women’s double followed with winners of both semis recording almost identical finishing times. Hungary’s Judit Tancsik and Petra Kelemen will meet winners of the other semi, Machteld Laureyns and Clara Francois of Belgium in the C Final. Unlucky Canada caught a crab early in the race and never recovered, finishing fifth.

Then in the junior men’s double C/D semifinal the second semi produced the fastest time with Gytis Ruzgys and Jonas Karalius of Lithuania finishing in a time of 6:52. But the other semifinal winners, Latvia’s Peteris Buss and Martins Puckurs, were less than a second down in their finishing time.

Facing off in the C/D semifinal of the junior men’s quad Portugal took a flying start and got enough of a lead that they were still in front at the finish. They will go on to the C Final to meet winners of the other semi, Austria.

Junior Women’s Single Sculls (JW1x) – Semifinal 1

Weiwei Zhu of China had such a commanding lead in the first semifinal that it appeared that the rest of the field were in a separate race. Following the race on bicycles, Zhu’s two coaches looked like they had told Zhu to beat the clock as she crossed the finishing line five boat lengths ahead of Tina Manker of Germany in second. Zhu will go to the final as the favourite and with a finishing time of 7:49 her speed is an impressive international standard. Also through to the final is Manker from second and Lauren Wilkinson of Canada from third.

Results: CHN, GER, CAN, UKR, USA, RUS

Weiwei Zhu (CHN) – first
You came in far ahead of the competition, how did the race actually feel?
"Well, it wasn’t too bad. And this is the first chance I’ve had to row at this venue – we weren’t allowed before.”

Junior Women’s Single Sculls (JW1x) – Semifinal 2

In the second semifinal international newcomer, Sarah Cowburn of Great Britain took a small lead at the start but Donata Vistartaite of Lithuania fought back and managed to get her nose in front of the Brit through the middle of the race. Cowburn, however, was unfazed and came back to retake the lead and charge on to the finish at a rating of 35. Vistartaite seemed to be satisfied with second rating a comfortable 30. Both boats qualify for the final along with Tale Gjoertz of Norway who sat comfortably in third for the entire race.

Results: GBR, LTU, NOR, SWE, CRO, JPN

Donata Vistartaite (LTU) – second
How was the race?
"It is never easy, but this race wasn’t too hard since three of the rowers were clearly behind. Last year I won the B Final.”
What about the weather?
“It’s my weather!”

Junior Men’s Single Sculls (JM1x) – Semifinal 1

Aleksandar Aleksandrov of Bulgaria is one of the few returnees to this event and as last year’s silver medallist he must be feeling confident that he is in the running for another medal. The Bulgarian took an early lead and didn’t let go. Adrian Juhasz of Hungary held on to second but found himself under threat from Martin Sinkovic of Croatia who had bolted back from a slow start. Coming into the final sprint, Aleksandrov still had the lead but Sinkovic was gaining. Meanwhile Juhasz found himself under threat from Lithuania’s Mykolas Masilionis.

Despite the loud crowd support for Juhasz, he was unable to push through into third and will return to race the B Final. Aleksandrov, Sinkovic and Masilionis go to the A Final.

Results: BUL, CRO, LTU, HUN, SLO, AUS

Aleksandar Aleksandrov (BUL) – first
Is it your first time at a world championship?
"Last year I rowed in the eight. This time I row in the single. As I row in the
single almost all of the time the switch was not too hard from the eight to the single.”
Do you like the weather here in Shunyi?
“It is very hot, and my heart rate is much higher than usual. We arrived 7 days before the start of the competition to get used to the weather.”

Junior Men’s Single Sculls (JM1x) – Semifinal 2

Germany’s Mathias Rocher has been demonstrating some classy rowing through the heats and quarterfinals but his slow starts mean that he often has to work his way into the lead. It didn’t take him long in semifinal 2. As the fast starting Georgian faded, Rocher worked his way into the lead with New Zealand’s Henry Poor trying desperately to go with Rocher. The stamina of Rocher and Poor paid off as they maintained first and second respectively. But Stergios Papachristos of Greece was charging through from the back of the field. The charge was successful and Papachristos denies Norway of a spot in the final.

Results: GER, NZL, GRE, NOR, BEL, GEO

Henry Poor (NZL) – second
How was the race?
"I knew the German sculler was fast and I knew he was going to win, so I tried to stay with him and it worked. These are my first World Rowing Junior Championships.”
Do you like the rowing course in Shunyi?
“It’s the best course I have ever seen.”

Mykolas Masilionis (LTU) – third
How was the race?
"It was a very, very, very hard race. I think the level is very high and it was a very tight race until the very end. There was not much difference between the four first boats.”

Junior Men’s Pair (JM2-) – Semifinal 1

In semifinal one Canada and Romania set up their own battle at the head of the field. Jacob Anthony and Conlin McCabe for Canada came out of the starters hands in second with the more experienced Ionut Minea and Ciprian Focariu of Romania taking the lead. Minea is in his third year on the junior team and won gold last year with Focariu in the coxed four. Going coxless seems to be suiting them as they continued to lead through the middle of the race. But Anthony and McCabe had more to give. At the end Anthony and McCabe qualify for the final in first, Minea and Focariu take second and a 44 finishing stroke rate gives the Czech Republic the third and final qualifying spot. All six crews looked like they had given this race their all.

Results: CAN, ROU, CZE, DEN, UKR, ITA

 

Junior Men’s Pair (JM2-) – Semifinal 2

The second semifinal recorded the fastest qualifying time when Shengjun Jin and Feng Xue of China shot out of the start and continued to build their lead through the first half of the race. Germany’s Lukas Benner and Michael Waschto took up chase but couldn’t hold the pace of the Chinese duo. Instead Benner and Waschto had their work cut out to stay ahead of Michael Stichauner and Alexander Chernikov of Austria. China continued to move away from the rest of the field as Germany and Austria found themselves under threat from Belgium coming into the closing sprint. Belgium ran out of water.

Xue and Jin, in the lead, take the fastest qualifying time to go into the final of their international debut. Benner and Waschto take second and Austria qualify from third.

Results: CHN, GER, AUT, BEL, GBR, TUR

Xue Feng (CHN) – first
Is it your first World Rowing Junior Championship?
"Yes”
What is the hardest part of racing here?
“I think it is the weather, it has been really hot. Today hasn’t been too bad and we will just have to hope for tomorrow.”

Lukas Benner (GER) – second
What is your impression of the Shunyi course?
“It is very impressive. It is a great event.”
Who do you think will be your main competition in the finals tomorrow?
“All of them are difficult to beat!”

Michael Stichauner (AUT) – third
How long have you been rowing together as a crew?
“We have been rowing together for about 5 years, but only for the last 2-3 years in the pair.”

Junior Women’s Double Sculls (JW2x) – Semifinal 1

In semifinal 1 Austria’s Birgit Puehringer and Lisa Farthofer got off to a flying start but were closely chased with the top five boats still in a practical line going through the first 500m mark. Then Rui Xu and Yangyang Zhang of China pushed through leaving Austria and Kaisa Pajusalu and Jevgenia Rondina of Estonia to go head to head. With Xu and Zhang well established in the lead, Estonia had the better push. China, Estonia and Austria will meet again in the final.

Results: CHN, EST, AUT, ITA, DEN, SRB

Zhang Yangyang (CHN) – first
What do you hope for tomorrow?
“For now, I dare not say!”
What is the hardest part of this competition?
“Ourselves, our own expectations.”

Kaisa Pajusalu (EST) – second
Is it your first Junior Championships?
“No, It is my fourth time. We won in the double last year, and I rowed in the W1x the years before.”
How was the race?
“It wasn’t our best race, but we will focus on tomorrow and try to beat China.”

Valeria Franzin (ITA) – fourth
Is it your first World Rowing Junior Championship?
“No, It is our second time at the Junior World Rowing Championships, but in a new boat composition.”
Do you like the Shunyi rowing course?
“It is too hot here, but Shunyi is a very nice rowing course.”
What is the hardest part of this competition?
“The center part of the race was hard. We are sad we were not able to stay with the Chinese boat. The Chinese boat is very good.”

Junior Women’s Double Sculls (JW2x) – Semifinal 2

Germany absolutely dominated semifinal 2. Even off the start line, Julia Lepke and Carina Bar demonstrated more power. This is Lepke’s second junior team. Last year she finished fifth in the double and teaming up with first timer Bar they are setting themselves up for a medal chance in the final. Behind the speedy Germans Kristina Loefman and Frida Schneider of Norway grabbed second and worked to move away from a tussle going on between the Netherlands and Greece. Coming into the line Germany take first, Norway second and the high rating Greeks take third. Efthymia Chatziignatiadou and Konstantina Kourkoumpa of Greece showed their joy in qualifying for the A Final at the finish, throwing their hands into the air.

This is shaping up to be an exciting final as both China and Germany finished their semis with practically identical times.

Results: GER, NOR, GRE, NED, AUS, ROU

Frida Schneider (NOR) – second
How was the race?
“It was a good race, we had it all under control. We got a little nervous at 1750 meters, when the Greeks tried to get back, and it was a really good feeling at the finish when we beat them.”
What about the weather?
“Today was a lot better than the days before, but we try not to think about the heat and concentrate on the rowing, and also do everything to keep our body temperature low, like drinking a lot of water.”

Junior Men’s Double Sculls (JM2x) – Semifinal 1

Semifinal 1 was unrelenting for the two leaders – China’s Wei Han and Xiaotao and Germany’s Hagen Rothe and Sebastian Peter. The two boats left the starting blocks together and were still neck and neck going through the middle of the race. This battle moved China and Germany away from the rest of the field with Serbia under no threat in third. Coming into the final sprint the German supporters rose to their feet as Rothe and Peter take first with easily the fastest qualifying time. China take second and Serbia earn a spot in the final from third.

Results: GER, CHN, SRB, CAN, FRA, SUI

Hagen Rothe (GER) – first
Do you like it here, in Shunyi?
"It is a very nice racing course."
Who do you think your main competitor will be in the finals?
“China.”

Junior Men’s Double Sculls (JM2x) – Semifinal 2

The Netherlands opened with speed but going through the middle of the race Matteo Rosetti and Giuseppe Vicari of Italy had pushed through. The Dutch tried to hold on to second as Dejan Sandic and Ziga Pirih of Slovenia picked up the pace taking Ukraine with them. A mad four-way dash at the finish had Italy, Slovenia and Ukraine qualify for the final ahead of a tiring Dutch duo. The Slovenians looked the happiest while the Dutch slumped in disappointment at the finish.

Results: ITA, SLO, UKR, NED, CRO, EST

Ziga Pirih (SLO) – second
How was the race?
"We tried to apply the tactic our coach told us. Try to stay in touch the first 1000 meters, and then do 15 hard strokes every 250 meters. We were surprised that Italy were so good. We have to beat them tomorrow.”
Is it your first time at the World Rowing Junior Championships?
“As a rower, yes, but I was a cox in 2002 in Sevilla for my brothers.”

Junior Men’s Four (JM4-) – Semifinal 1

There’s no doubt that Great Britain feels like they own this event – both here and at the senior level. The crew have three newcomers to the world of international racing plus George Nash who competed last year in the fourth-placed men’s eight. The Dutch also feel pretty confident in this event and the Chinese are coming through all over the show. These three countries led semifinal 1 with Great Britain showing the way. Coming into the final sprint Poland tried to push into one of the three qualifying spots but their technique let them down. Great Britain, the Netherlands and China earn a spot in the final.

Results: GBR, NED, CHN, POL, CAN, SRB

 

Junior Men’s Four (JM4-) – Semifinal 2

Germany also feel a kind of ownership of this event and in semifinal 2 they took to the lead and inched their way away from Bulgaria in second. Coming through from a slow start Italy started to eat away at Bulgaria’s spot and go after Germany. Coming into the final sprint France joined in a four-way tussle rating 38. The heat was on. At the line Germany held on to first, Italy got second and a photo finish gave Bulgaria the qualifying spot over France.

Results: GER, ITA, BUL, FRA, CRO, DEN

Mario Jadatz (GER) – first
How long have you been in China?
“We arrived two weeks ago”
What do you expect for tomorrow?
“The competition will come from China and Great Britain.”
How was your race today?
“It was hard at the 1500 meters, because we were only half-a-length ahead of our competitors and were afraid they would come back on us."
How long have you been rowing together as a crew?
“Since the beginning of the season, in March.”
Do you like it here in Shunyi?
“It is one of the best places for rowing I have ever been to.”

Andrea Corti (ITA) – second
How did you prepare the races?
"We trained for 40 days in the Italian national training center, and arrived in Shunyi the first of august. Our aim was to reach the finals, which is now done. We will try to be on the podium tomorrow. We know that the competition during the final will come from Germany and China. Today we had trouble with staying in the center of our lane in the first half of the race, but we will do better tomorrow. We are very happy to be here and to race on the future Olympic course.”

Junior Men’s Quadruple Sculls (JM4x) – Semifinal 1

The 94th race of this regatta, semifinal 1 in the men’s quad featured tight competition between Latvia and France. Latvia had the initial advantage but could do nothing to shake off the French one lane over. Meanwhile Italy and Great Britain had their own head-to-head battle going for the third and final qualifying spot. Coming into the final sprint four boats charged. France take first, Latvia just behind in second and Great Britain out-sprint Italy to earn a spot in the final.

Results: FRA, LAT, GBR, ITA, JPN, CZE

Jérémie Azou (FRA) – first
How was the race?
"I am very happy, we tried to be better at the start than for the other races. Since we are not very tall, our strategy was to attack in the second 1000 meters. Tomorrow, everything is possible, but we believe we can be on the podium."
Is it your first time at the World Rowing Junior Championships?
"Two of us were in Amsterdam last year, but it is the first time we made it to the final.”

Junior Men’s Quadruple Sculls (JM4x) – Semifinal 2

The day of racing finished with semifinal two and China out in front. The Chinese, stroked by Haijiao Shan, settled to a 37 rate and going through the middle of the race stretched out to 34 strokes per minute. Behind them Slovenia and Germany, in the two centre lanes, were pacing each other and in the process moving away from Ukraine and Australia who were right on each other’s tail. At the line China qualify with the fastest time, Slovenia take second, less than a second behind China, and Germany move on to the final in third.

Results: CHN, SLO, GER, UKR, AUS, SRB

Matevz Kaiser (SLO) – second
How was the race?
"The hardest part of the race was the start, because we were fourth, and had to really push hard to come back.”
Is it your first time at the World Rowing Junior Championships?
"No, it is our second time. We were 6th in Amsterdam last year, so this year we expected to be in the final, but we knew it was going to be hard."

The question going into tomorrow’s final must be, will China be able to overtake Germany as top junior rowing nation?