Five golds for German under-23 rowers

Close finishes and gold medals to Germany kept the 4,000 plus strong audience on their feet. As the day progressed the tail wind became less pronounced, still the lane change of the morning remained with the best crews getting to race in lanes five and six.

Women’s Single Sculls (BW1x) – Final A

Julia Richter of Germany came to rowing just three years ago after getting her start in sport through swimming. She made it on to Germany’s senior team last year as part of the second quad and at 19 she is a future shining light for German rowing. Today Richter got off to a fast start in the woman’s single and went out to a full boat length lead over the field by the time she’d reached the 1000m mark.

Kristina Stiller of Great Britain gave it her best to try and stay with Richter, but Richter was able to underrate Stiller and stay ahead. Hungary’s Katalin Szabo was third in 2007 and fourth in 2006. Could she get ahead of Stiller and make second this year? The gap was too large. Germany scores their first gold medal of the regatta, Great Britain takes silver and Hungary earns her second bronze medal.

Results: GER, GBR, HUN, BUL, EST, USA

Gold: Julia RICHTER (GER)
“The race was very hard. I liked being in front where I could see everyone and control the race.

Silver: Kristina STILLER (GBR)
“The competition was very fast. It made the race go by very quickly.”

Bronze: Katalin SZABO (HUN)
“The conditions were very good and the girls were all very fast. Or perhaps I am getting older. I think everyone was able to row their absolute best. It was a good race.”

Men’s Single Sculls (BM1x) – Final A

Chile gave it his all to try and go with reigning under-23 champion Joseph Sullivan of New Zealand. But Oscar Vasquez Ochoa, who is off to the Olympic Games next month, could not hold the opening pace. Sullivan, settling into a steady 30 stroke rate pace, looked comfortable. Last year Sullivan raced at the senior Rowing World Cup in the double when New Zealand representative Matthew Trott could not race. Sullivan was put on a plane from New Zealand to Europe and a day after landing raced to an impressive fifth place.

Today Sullivan remained at the head of the field with only Mindaugas Griskonis of Lithuania within striking distance. Griskonis finished second to Sullivan last year and the race was looking to be a 2007 repeat. At the line Sullivan retains his World Championship title, Griskonis earns another silver and Tim Bartels of Germany overtakes Chile to take bronze.

Results: NZL, LTU, GER, RUS, CHI, BLR

Gold: Joseph SULLIVAN (NZL)
“I wanted to be in front right from the start. However Lithuania challenged me very hard. Next year I want to race in the A category.”

Silver: Mindaugas GRISKOSNIS (LTU)
“I’m currently training for the Olmypics. I was hoping for gold, but I’m happy with winning silver.”

Bronze: Tim BARTELS (GER)
“The other crews were very strong. Therefore the race was really hard. You always try to go for gold, but winning a bronze medal is great.”

Women’s Pair (BW2-) – Final A

Romania’s Nicoleta Albu was a silver medallist in this event last year. With her new partner Adelina Cojocariu, the Romanians were the favourites coming into this final. But coming out at the start, Albu and Cojocariu were at the back of the field. Instead it was Australia’s Elizabeth Alderman (second in the four in 2007) and Emily Rose who were in the lead, followed closely by Great Britain and Belarus. By the half-way point Albu and Cojocariu had worked their way up into third with Australia still out in front.

Despite Australia keeping their stroke rate high, Romania continued to make gains. Coming through to the final sprint Albu and Cojocariu had pushed into second and were closing on Australia. Alderman and Rose lifted their stroke rate to 38. It was not enough. Romania cross the line in first. Australia take second and Great Britain earn bronze.

Results: ROU, AUS, GBR, GER, BLR, RUS

Gold: Nicoleta ALBU (ROU)
“We have rowed together for three years from the Junior World Championships to the European Championships to now. The race was very good, especially the last 600 meters when we were able to take the lead. ”

Silver: Elizabeth ALDERMAN (AUS)
“We couldn’t have pulled any harder. It was a good race. We knew the Romanians would be strong the second half of the race. There was nothing more we could have done.”

Bronze: Hannah ELSY (GBR)
“Brandenburg is our favourite regatta. The conditions were very good for racing.”

Men’s Pair (BM2-) – Final A

Ioannis Tsilis and Georgios Tziallas of Greece are the defending under-23 champions and their road to today’s final gave every indication that they had what it would take to defend successfully. But coming out in the lead at the start was Joaquin Iwan and Diego Lopez of Argentina. The confident Greeks let Iwan and Lopez have a small piece of glory before taking over in the lead with a steady and consistent 38 stroke rate. Now in the lead, Tsilis and Tziallas moved into what the course commentator called a “staggering lead.”

Meanwhile, last year’s bronze medallist Charles Burkitt of Great Britain with new partner Ben Smith, was trying to close the gap on Germany who held third. Pulling out a 41 stroke rate sprint, Burkitt and Smith pulled ahead of Germany, but there was not enough race left for the Brits to close on Argentina in second. Remaining at a 38 stroke rate, Greece take gold.

Results: GRE, ARG, GBR, GER, SRB, CAN

Gold: Ioannis TSILIS (GRE)
“The repechage was no problem at all for us. We simply had one bad race. Today the plan was to start off hard and then go directly to full race pace.”

Bronze: Charles BURKITT (GBR)
“The race went as well as we could hope. We haven’t rowed together that much recently. Therefore we are very happy with winning a bronze medal.”

Women’s Double Sculls (BW2x) – Final A

Progressing through to today’s final, Sophie Dunsing and Tina Manker of Germany had been looking strong. The duo were feeling confident and this came out as they got off to a fast start to take the lead. Poland’s Magdalena Fularczyk (2007 bronze medallist) and new partner Natalia Madaj were the closest to the Germans and tried to hold the pace. Meanwhile, the two-time defending champions, Jitka Antosova and Gabriela Varekova of the Czech Republic sat back in third. Antosova and Varekova are off to the Beijing Olympics next month and they looked up to the form that earned them the Olympic spot.

Coming into the final sprint Germany remained in the lead with Antosova and Varekova closing fast. The Czechs ran out of course. Germany earn gold, the Czech Republic take silver and Poland get bronze.

Results: GER, CZE, POL, GBR, UKR, NED

Gold: Sophie DUNSING (GER)
“We were a little surprised to have a big lead in the beginning of the race. We expected the competition to be stronger at first. It was very exciting by the end.”

Silver: Gabriela VAREKOVA (CZE)
“The race was very tough. We are a little disappointed with second, but that’s ok. We are training for Beijing. Now we have a better idea about some of the things we will need to work on over the next three weeks.”

Men’s Double Sculls (BM2x) – Final A

At the finish of the race, three crews that had medalled sat slumped over their oars. No one moved. In one of the closest finishes of the afternoon exhaustion ruled. At the start Martin and Valent Sinkovic rowing for Croatia had the advantage. The Sinkovic brothers warmed up for this regatta by racing at the senior Rowing World Cup. Going into the middle of the race the Sinkovics remained in the lead with Great Britain’s 2007 bronze medallists Charles Cousins and Bill Lucas almost ahead of the Croatians.

Germany and Greece were both also very much on the pace as Cousins and Lucas pushed ahead of the Sinkovics to take the lead. The sprint was on. Germany’s Karl Schulze and Tim Grohmann charged. Croatia and Great Britain did all that they could to hold on. At the line Great Britain had done it. Croatia take second and Germany earn bronze.

Results: GBR, CRO, GER, GRE, ITA, LTU

Gold: Charles COUSINS (GBR)
“We knew we have a strong finish. Therefore we knew we could win the race if we were level or in front at the 1000m mark.”

Silver: Martin SINKOVIC (CRO)
“Winning a silver medal as brothers is amazing. It was our first race at World Championships. We are very happy about the result. Next year we’ll try to go for gold.”

Bronze: Tim GROHMANN (GER)
“This year it was a way tougher race than last year. Especially the first 1000m were really hard due to the cross wind. Winning in bronze medal in this race therefore means a lot for us. On a long-term basis we are focusing on the Olympics in 2012.”

Men’s Four (BM4-) – Final A

Defending their title in this race, but with a completely new line-up, was Germany. Stroked by Mathis Jessen, Germany got off in the lead followed by Croatia and Great Britain. By the half way point last year’s silver medallists, Italy had pushed up into second. But in the meantime the Germans had moved to a bigger lead. Croatia then pulled out a piece and got their nose in front of the Italians. Italy, who did not make the final last year, fought back. It looked like it was going to be a four-way sprint to the line.

Australia took their stroke rate to 44 in a huge attempt to get into a medal spot. Italy also raised their stroke rate. Germany and Croatia held on. At the line Germany had retained the lead. Italy takes second and Croatia takes third.

Results: GER, ITA, CRO, AUS, NZL, GBR

Gold: Mathis JESSEN (GER)
“In spite of our early lead, we knew Italy had a fast start. We had a good rhythm. When we held our lead to the 1000m mark, we knew we could win.”

Silver: Matteo MOTTA (ITA)
“We had a very quick start with Germany and Croatia. At the 1000, we attacked and kept strong to the finish. Before leaving Italy, we didn’t know how we would do. After each day of racing, we had a better idea that we could be successful.”

Bronze: Josip STOJCEVIC (CRO)
“We would have liked to do better, but we have only been rowing together for two weeks. This was a great result.”

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (BLW2x) – Final A

Weighing in two hours before this race, these 12 athletes were now ready for 2000m of tough racing. Greece’s Triantafyllia Kalampoka and Christina Giazitzidou got off to a fast start. The duo have been rowing together since racing in the quad as juniors in 2006. Today their fast start was soon lost to a very strong German crew of Anja Noske and Julia Kroeger.

The Greeks continued to lose ground as Switzerland’s Eliane Waser and Olivia Wyss moved up. Greece, seeing their medal chances slipping away, fought back. Going to the line Germany earn gold, Greece get back into the silver spot and Switzerland earn their only medal of the regatta, bronze.

Results: GER, GRE, SUI, FRA, RUS, GBR

Gold: Julia KROEGER (GER)
“After the German championships we were put together in the double. Both of us already competed last year in different boats.”

Silver: Christina GIAZITZIDOU (GRE)
“We are very happy winning a silver medal. So far we don’t have concrete plans for next year. We might carry on rowing together.”

Bronze: Eliane WASER (CRO)
“Just a week ago we started to row together. During the championships we realized how fast we are. With that experience we hoped for a medal. Winning bronze is great.”

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (BLM2x) – Final A

Coming into this final Tamas C. Varga and Peter Galambos of Hungary looked to be the favourites. They had finished second last year and, in the absence of France, had the best pedigree to go for gold. Coming out at the start, however, Varga and Galambos were last. But last in this very tight race was less than a second and a half down. With this in mind, Hungary worked at overtaking boats. First they got their nose ahead of Slovenia and Germany, then Greece to move into third behind Bulgaria and the leading crew, Italy. Davide Riccardi and Francesco Rigon of Italy were fourth in 2007 and they had been leading this race from the start. Hungary continued to sprint.

At the line Italy had remained in first. Hungary had worked their way into silver and Bulgaria’s Zlatko Karaivanov and Vassil Vitanov held on to bronze.

Results: ITA, HUN, BUL, GER, GRE, SLO

Gold: Francesco RIGON (ITA)
“We finished third in the double last year. It was a very good result to win this year.”

Silver: Tamas C. VARGA (HUN)
“The first 500 was not so good, but we had a very good finish.”

Bronze: Zlatko KARAIVANOV (BUL)
“We had a very good race here! In 2007, we were 7th in the double. To finish 3rd this year was fantastic.”

Lightweight Men’s Four (BLM4-) – Final A

In fine Italian style, Italy jumped out into the lead of the lightweight men’s four racing in the 185th race of this regatta. Italy, however, soon lost their lead as Germany moved up and ahead along with Spain. The Spanish then moved into the lead with their sights set on a medal for their country at this regatta. This incentive must have been working as, no matter what Germany did, they could not catch the Spaniards. Ruben Alvarez, Ramon Llosa, Juan Luis Fernandez and Andreu Castella take gold for Spain at the line. Germany hold on to silver and France get themselves ahead of Italy to take bronze.

Results: ESP, GER, FRA, ITA, ARG, BEL

Gold: Juan Luis FERNANDEZ TOMAS (ESP)
“We worked very hard this year. Winning a gold medal is such a good feeling!”

Silver: Robby GERHARDT (GER)
“We showed everybody what a fast boat we are. Tonight we are going to celebrate a lot.”

Bronze: Charles BRESCHET (FRA)
“We had some problems at the start. Coming back into the race was therefore really hard. However, our finish was really good.”

Women’s Quadruple Sculls (BW4x) – Final A

In a race of many changes, Australia opened in the lead with only New Zealand and Russia able to match the Australians’ opening pace. But it looked like all three of these crews had gone out a bit too hard. First Russia faltered and fell back into last. Then New Zealand struggled and found themselves in fourth. Then Australia got challenged. Romania and Germany had been waiting patiently for their opportunity to attack. Coming through the middle of the race they did just that.

The attack brought Romania into the lead and Germany into second. Australia held on. At the line Romania had earned gold, Germany took second and Australia hung on to third.

Results: ROU, GER, AUS, UKR, NZL, RUS

Silver: Lena MOEBUS (GER)
“The race was very fast. The Romanians were just stronger. We felt our race was very good.”

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (BM4x) – Final A

Ukraine got off the line first but there was very little in it with all six crews forming almost a straight line across the course. The first 500m had been rowed and still barely a second and a half separated the entire field. Coming into the middle of the race Ukraine remained in the lead with only France slipping off the pace.

Last year’s winners Germany then did a big push and got their nose ahead of Ukraine. Ukraine held on, but Germany had found a great rhythm and were starting to break loose and move away. Coming into the line Germany was still in the lead followed by Ukraine. Meanwhile a very tight race was going on between Australia, Russia and Poland for third. Poland took their stroke rate to 37 then 38 then 39 then 40. Russia and Australia couldn’t match it. A fine effort by Poland earned them bronze.

Results: GER, UKR, POL, RUS, AUS, FRA

Gold: Mathias ROCHER (GER)
“Winning the gold medal here is an amazing feeling. Tonight we are going to celebrate a lot!”

Bronze: Artur SLEDZIK (POL)
“We haven’t won a medal in the last three years. Winning a bronze one now is very satisfying after all the hard work during the last year. It was a hard fight but our finish was really strong.”

Women’s Eight (BW8+) – Final A

Poland is not well-known for their women’s eights. But last year they finished sixth and this year, at the start of the race, they were in the lead. Sitting patiently in second, however, was the United States. The USA can call on a huge number of collegiate rowers whenever they make up their under-23 eight and they are very used to doing well.

By the half-way point the United States had the lead. But the gutsy Poles were doing everything to hold on and in the process these two crews moved cleanly away from the rest of the field. Last year’s gold medallists Belarus then pushed through to third, but they were well off the leaders’ pace. Coming into the line the USA was nicely in front with Poland following a boat length back. At the line the United States had earned their first medal of the regatta. Poland take a well-deserved silver and Belarus come through to bronze.

Results: USA, POL, BLR, CAN, GER, RUS

Gold: Suzanne VAN FLEET (USA)
“This was the most amazing race. It exceeded our expectations. We’re so excited to be under-23 World Champions.”

Men’s Eight (BM8+) – Final A

Poland must have been inspired by the success of their women in the previous race. They took off in the lead. But they had not fully accounted for the power of the USA. Also inspired by the previous race, the United States took over in the lead as the boats went through the middle of the race. Then Canada began to move. This forced the Poles to lift their rating in an attempt to hold on to a medal spot.

Meanwhile the United States had broken away to a sizeable lead. Canada went after them. Poland held on. The United States made it a double-header in the eights taking their second medal of the regatta. Canada earned their first and only medal and a very happy Poland held on to bronze. Last year’s champions Estonia manage only sixth.

Results: USA, CAN, POL, GER, GBR, EST