20 Jan 2012
First to christen the Beijing rowing course
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Following a spectacular opening ceremony fitting of the first test event for the Beijing Olympics, the 2007 World Rowing Junior Championships got underway at the Shunyi Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing, China. The opening ceremony featured a flow of dancers, acrobats, puppets with a mixture of traditional Chinese themes and a small element of western dance input. |
| Great Britain's men's junior quad prepare |
Today, the junior rowers got down to business to fight it out over 2000m. Weather conditions helped to create glass-like water with an ever-so-slight head wind picking up as the day continued. The rowing scene was back dropped against grandstands on each side of the course with large groups of Chinese supporters being “conducted” in their clapping, waving flags and demonstrations of enthusiasm especially when Chinese boats were on the water. Coaches on blue and yellow bikes followed the races and a moving grandstand offered another spectator option. Forty-one races featured in the heats today with rowers going for advancement to the next round of racing.
Junior Women’s Four (JW4-)
It was fitting that rowing’s junior superpower, Germany, took a win in the opening race of the Beijing World Rowing Junior Championships. These rowers in the first heat of the junior women’s four can now live with the knowledge that they were the first international race to go down the 2000m Beijing Olympic Shunyi Rowing-Canoeing Park course. New Zealand took an early lead rating a high 45 strokes per minute, but they had no reaction when Germany found their pace and came storming through. With just one boat qualifying directly to the final Germany clearly stated their intentions and remained in the lead.
Maybe even more fitting was China taking first place in the second of two heats. The Chinese overtook early leaders Italy then conducted a very close battle to overtake Belarus. The continued Chinese acceleration put them into a clear winning position, finishing several lengths ahead of the rest of the field. China moves directly on to Saturday’s final with easily the fastest qualifying time. They will sit in the middle lane next to Germany. Some artificial applause through the loudspeakers gave China the finish line push.
Junior Men’s Coxed Four (JM4+)
Germany led the way in heat one and held on to this lead position for the entire race. Working their way through from the back of the field New Zealand tried to take on Germany to earn that valuable first qualifying place. But with just 250m left to row New Zealand was running out of water. New Zealand upped the rating but Germany reacted back. Germany advance directly to the final.
Heat two was all about a very clean-looking French crew. They led from the start and remained in that position for the entire race, opening up a bigger and bigger lead as the race progressed. Coming into the final sprint Australia, who had been sitting consistently in second, attacked. But France reacted back and a discouraged Australia took down their stroke rate, contented to finish second and try again in tomorrow’s repechage. In the final sprint the United States tried to come back and got in contact with Australia but will also return for the repechage. South Africa was off the pace.
Junior Women’s Single Sculls (JW1x)
The first of three heats required a top two finish for advancement directly to the semifinal. It started with Nataliya Duvgodoko of Ukraine using a flying start to find the lead. It didn’t last long as Tina Manker of Germany found her stride and pushed past the Ukrainian. Manker won gold last year in the quad and stepping into the single looks to be proving a positive move. Manker was followed closely by Tale Gjoertz of Norway with the remainder of the field doing nothing to challenge the two leading boats.
At her debut international regatta Weiwei Zhu of China used her home course advantage to take the lead out of the start. Zhu used a strong finishing pull to turn her lead into a convincing one as the race progressed. This left the rest of the field to aim for the second qualifying spot with Donata Vistartaite of Lithuania, also at her first international regatta, grabbing this position. Zhu qualifies with the fastest time, breaking the 8 minute mark to finish in 7:56. Heat three featured a more spread out race and slower times with Sarah Cowburn of Great Britain taking a handy lead. She was followed by Ekaterina Yurina of Russia who held on to second for the entire race. These two rowers qualify for the semifinal.
Junior Men’s Single Sculls (JM1x)
As the biggest event of the regatta, with 32 countries lining up, a quarterfinal stage was necessary. This meant that of each of the six heats athletes were required to finish in the top four positions for advancement to the quarterfinal. A large group of New Zealand supporters calling out “Kiwi” helped their representative Henry Poor into the lead. But in this first heat racing was tight and the lead changed several times. A push by Poor at the 1500m mark gave New Zealand the advantage and the first qualifying spot. Lithuania’s Mykolas Masilionis takes second followed by Greece and Serbia, both a good distance back.
Truis Albert of Norway gave it his all in the first half of the race at his first ever international regatta. Pushing Albert, Martin Sinkovic of Croatia who comes from his country’s eight, moved up as the race progressed wearing out Albert and pushing him into second. Russia and Spain also qualify – both a distance back. Mathias Rocher of Germany was in an absolute class of his own in heat three. Rocher raced last year in the four earning a silver medal and now in the single he was asserting a psychological advantage over the rest of the field. Easily leading Bram Dubois of Belgium, Rocher did not have to lift his rating to take first and comfortably make the fastest qualifying time of the six heats. The third and fourth qualifying spots were taken by an Asian double-header, Hong Kong China and Japan.
Heat four must have been tricky for Aleksandar Aleksandrov of Bulgaria on lane one and Andrej Pavkovic of Slovenia on the other side of the course in lane five. They were the two leading boats but the spacing made it difficult for them to keep a close watch on each other. This didn’t seem to affect Aleksandrov’s resolve. The Bulgarian could be considered a bit of a favourite in the event having finished second last year. He powered off the start and after shaking off Pavkovic in the second half of the race was able to enjoy not having to sprint the finish, instead rating an easy 25 strokes per minute. Pavkovic made a last attempt at Aleksandrov into the finish, but the Bulgarian had far too much energy left. Qualifiers: Aleksandar Aleksandrov in first, Adrian Juhasz of Hungary in second, Andrej Pavkovic in third and Australia’s Taylor Wilczynski from fourth.
The Chinese crowd loved heat five with international newcomer Fei Li in the lead. Fifteen year old Li is the youngest competitor at this regatta but still showed his racing maturity by taking off strongly and being confident enough to take his rating down in the close of the race. In an exciting finish, behind Li three boats held a line: the long rowing style of Estonia’s Martin Neerot in second, the high rating Dane, Steffen Jensen finishing in third and Paraguay taking fourth.
An ever so slight headwind still allowed for flat water in heat six with Danilo Franggi Vignolo of Uruguay taking a flying start. Franggi could not sustain it and as the race progressed the order changed. Georgia’s Miheil Ejoshvili worked to hold the lead but was worn down by James Hill of the United States in the second half of the race. Thijs van Luijk of the Netherlands sprints to second with Turkey and Georgia also qualifying.
H2, Daniel Sigurjoersson Benet ESP – 4th Place
The start was easy because I am light, only 69kgs, so I started fast. At 1300m I was third, but with 200m to go I was overtaken, however I held onto fourth place.
Arturo Rivarola Trappe PAR – 4th Place
It was difficult because the water feels really strange being so warm – the water is like oil!
How did you get chosen for this event? Every year in Paraguay there is a national race to determine who will come to the event. I am the only one representing my country.
Junior Women’s Pair (JW2-)
Sitting in the stroke seat of China’s entry, Chaoqun Ni was named fortuitously by her parents, “always the best”. Behind Ni in bow, Yuanyuan Hao was helping keep her boat in the lead and out of danger from any potential rivals. With only the first crew advancing directly to the final, the number one spot was all important. China held this position but a boat weighing after the race found that China was underweight. They will be relegated to last place with Romania becoming the qualifying boat.
Perhaps a name of the future, 15 year old Luiya-Mariya Svilenova Rusinova was stroking the boat for Bulgaria with partner Iskra Angelova sitting in bow. Perhaps their higher rating down the course will hold them in good stead throughout this regatta. But Angelova and Rusinova could not hold off the stronger German’s. Nadja Drygalla and Ulrike Sennewald of Germany qualify directly for the final.
Junior Men’s Pair (JM2-)
Anthony Jacob and Conlin McCabe of Canada are back together again. They finished fourth in this event last year which gives them a handy advantage over other crews. Jacob and McCabe took a comfortable advantage in the first of two heats with the knowledge that a top two finish was necessary for advancement to the semifinal. This left a fight for second between Great Britain and Belgium. The stress of racing must have been getting to Matthew Tarrant and Matthew Anker of Great Britain as they became less synchronized coming into the final sprint. Belgium’s Emmanuel Van Duyse and Augustin Heinz qualify in second. Russia, in fifth, got relegated to last place due to an underweight boat.
In heat two Romania’s Ionut Minea and Ciprian Focariu make up the most experienced duo in this race and they made it clear that they would use this experience to their advantage. Focariu already has a junior gold medal from the men’s coxed four. The duo held off Germany’s Lukas Benner and Michael Waschto with both boats advancing to the semifinal.
Junior Women’s Double Sculls (JW2x)
Dutch supporters love a good race and love to show their orange colours. Today they got the opportunity in the first of six heats. Kirsten Wielaard and Charlotte Slabbers of the Netherlands led from start to finish ahead of Sweden. Emma Fred of Sweden demonstrated a maybe a bit too lengthy a catch but it was enough to hold them in second. With the top three boats going to the quarterfinal and then the next fastest time, Latvia and Croatia also make the cut.
China’s Rui Xu and Yangyang Zhang created a comfortable lead for themselves in heat two and controlled the race over Kristina Loefman and Frida Schneider of Norway. These two boats had a huge lead over the rest of the field who huddled close together with South Africa and Canada being the qualifying crews at the line. Julia Lepke and Carina Bar of Germany set the standard in heat three. They opened up a huge lead and, despite not being pushed, qualify with the fastest time. Estonia, in second, saw Switzerland come back at the end and did just enough to stay in position. Switzerland and Belgium also qualify.
Heat four opened with Austria in first at the start. Birgit Puehringer and Lisa Farthofer of Austria had to keep the speed on as Serbia remained overlapping. But as the end of the race came into sight Austria looked in control holding a steady tempo of 29 – 30 throughout the race. Serbia also looked in control clearly ahead of Romania who also qualify for the quarterfinal. Valeria Franzin and Eleonora Trivella of Italy both raced last year as juniors but in different boats. Today in heat five they came together to lead their race in the double. Greece gave it a good shot to close in on Italy, taking their rating to 37. Italy remained at 31 and still kept the lead looking quite calm in the close of the race. Italy, Greece and North Korea qualify for the quarterfinal.
Denmark held the lead for the majority of heat six. But nothing is ever decided until the final buzzer and Australia made the decision. Brittany Mann and Alana Monson of Australia hauled in Denmark and then overtook the Danes coming into the final sprint. Qualifiers: Australia, Denmark and the United States. Hungary, at the back of the field, upped their rating at the end, but could not catch the United States. Thus completed the biggest event for women at the regatta.
H3 Lea Schlaeppi and Katja Hauser SUI
Well, we aren't jet-lagged anymore, but it's very hot. We're not suprised though, we were prepared.
What is your impression of the regatta? The organisation has been fantastic, very good. It's a fantastic venue.
H6 Brittany Mann and Alana Monson AUS – 1st Place
How did you acclimatise to the heat to prepare for Beijing?
Monson: 'We had a heat room back in Sydney that was hotter than this, and that really helped. It's hard to adjust to the humidity though. It's 13 degrees back home, and that's during the day!'
What was the most difficult part of the race today?
Mann: 'We were down on the start. A combination of nerves and the heat stresses you out. But we managed to pick it up and rate comfortably and win.'
Junior Men’s Double Sculls (JM2x)
China did it again in heat one of three heats. Wei Han and Xiaotao of China needed a first place finish for a direct path to the semifinal and their race plan must have been to get out fast, establish a lead and stay there using a strong 33 strokes per minute. Slovenia put up a strong challenge, staying very much in touch with Han and Xiaotao, but the Slovenians will have to return for the repechage. China qualifies with the fastest time of the three heats.
Germany was in a class of their own in heat two. Hagen Rothe and Sebastian Peter of Germany had such a huge, clear water lead that it looked like they were in their own race. Italy in second did not challenge. Rothe and Peter go on to the semifinal. The final heat got the orange-clad supporters out again. In the lead from the start was Wilem Sprokholt and Lucas Uittenbogaard of the Netherlands. They took an early lead and remained relaxed throughout the race to be the sole qualifying crew, winning by 100m and rating what looked like a comfortable 33 strokes per minute.
H3 Willem Sprokholt NED – 1st Place
We got here last Monday, so we've had quite a long time to adjust to the heat, but the humidity is a big factor. We had lung tests in Holland before we came here, and we've been having them everyday here, and you can just see it decline – it makes it really hard to breathe.
Junior Men’s Four (JM4-)
Three heats in this event meant that crews had to finish in the top three to qualify for the semifinal. Canada led at the start of heat one but they couldn’t maintain the pace and by the first 500m mark had slipped into third. Great Britain, all members at their first international regatta except for George Nash in three seat, slipped into first with Germany following in second. The order did not change for the entire race. Great Britain, Germany and Canada move on to Friday’s semifinal.
Heat two featured a Danish crew with exactly the same line up that raced the B Final at last year’s junior championships. But they were not in the lead. Instead it was Italy that dominated with the Netherlands slipping into second. Meanwhile Denmark found themselves in a very close tussle for the third qualifying spot with Croatia. At the line Italy take first, the Dutch second and Croatia get the upper hand over Denmark, who was giving it their all, to earn the final qualifying spot.
Poland had the lead at the start of heat three. But it was only a small lead. Right on their tails were the French and right on France’s tail was China. As crews began to spread out going through the middle of the race, China had worked their way through to first with France going with them. Both France and China were rating 37 coming into the final sprint. China earn first, France takes second and Poland qualifies from third.
H2 Andrea Corti ITA – 1st Place
That was a tough race, but we came first! We've made it to the final and we are very happy about that, so we've just have to see how we do. It's very hot!
Junior Women’s Quad (JW4x)
This event had just two heats with the top boat alone from each heat advancing directly to the final. Italy opened with the lead, but there was not much in it between the Italians and Greece. Greece have been together already for a year and all of them are 18 years old being on the upper edge of the junior field. They planned their race perfectly. Coming through the third 500 Greece took the lead from Italy. Italy could not respond. Greece qualify. New Zealand did a strong push at the end to move into second but they will have to return for tomorrow’s repechage.
A very controlled and smooth looking German crew took the lead and then lengthened it over Belarus in second in heat two. Although the German’s made the race look effortless, the heat and humidity took its toll and at the end one of the crew members needed help. But they will now get two days of rest as they go directly to the final – and with easily the fastest qualifying time.
Junior Men’s Quadruple Sculls (JM4x)
Four heats in the junior men’s quad meant that first place only would advance to the semifinal and in heat one Latvia took this challenge seriously. They took the lead at the start holding a slight edge over China. This edge extended out to a boat length. But China fought back with France also holding the pace. This pace pushed the strong and powerful looking Latvia to the end and into the qualifying spot. Latvia move on to the semifinal with the fastest time.
After an opening burst by Portugal in heat two, Slovenia moved into the lead. The Slovenians are made up of three members that finished sixth in 2006 and as Portugal slipped back Slovenia’s biggest threat came from Ukraine. Ukraine tried to overtake using a 36 stroke rate. Slovenia responded successfully. Slovenia take the number one spot. In heat three Great Britain had to work their way through first Italy and then Spain, in the last 100m, to find the lead. Described by the commentators as a “storming” performance, Great Britain could not rest as Spain fought back. At the line Great Britain had qualified for the semifinal.
The final heat was all about Germany. Right from the start Germany made their intentions clear and spent the body of the race rating a comfortable 32 strokes per minute. Australia tried to hold on, then Serbia gave it a go, but Germany’s win was convincing.
Junior Women’s Eight (JW8+)
The power coming from the middle of the United States eight was obvious as they pushed into the lead at the start and remained comfortably there in heat one of two heats. As only the first boat would qualify directly for the final, the United States, helped by vocal supporters, made sure no other entry got close enough to challenge their leading position. Regular rivals, Romania, gave it a go but in the end had to concede to the US speed. Romania will race the repechage tomorrow.
Germany followed the mould of the United States in heat two. They took the lead, rating 34 through the body of the race, and moved away from the rest of the field. China tried their best to hold the German’s pace encouraged by a large group of supporters, but Germany had first place wrapped up. Germany earn two days of rest to return to race against the United States in the final on Saturday.
Junior Men’s Eight (JM8+)
Two heats of the men’s eight opened with last year’s winner, New Zealand in control. This crew included three members who return from last year’s gold medal crew, but with a new coxswain, Robert Salvesen. By the half way point New Zealand had opened up a full boat length lead over the United States in second. Like the women’s eight only one boat would qualify directly for the final and New Zealand was making sure they were the ones. Despite the New Zealanders looking a bit rougher than the US crew, the Kiwis remained in the lead and move on to the final.
In heat two Germany brought with them the very experienced Ben-Jack Drese as coxswain. Drese is in his third year as a junior representative and already has a gold and silver medal in his collection. The Germans took to the lead at the start with Great Britain taking chase. Through the middle of the race Great Britain held on to Germany’s pace. Going into the final sprint Great Britain raised their rate to 36, Germany responded going up to 39 coming into the finish. Germany earns a spot in the final. Great Britain finish second with China, in third, right on their tail.