Iran’s under-23 rower makes the Final

In an afternoon of slow times and relatively low stroke rates, the best under-23 rowers in the world battled it out in the semifinals. Their aim was to be in the top three so that they would have a spot in tomorrow’s Final. Iran’s Mohsen Shadi Naghadeh got one position closer to making history when he made the A Final of the lightweight men’s single.

Lightweight Women's Single Sculls (BLW1x) – Semifinals

Ireland’s Orla Hayes took off in the lead of semifinal one. She couldn’t, however, maintain her opening pace and Germany’s Helke Nieschlag soon pushed ahead. The 19-year-old Nieschlag is at her first international event and she follows a long heritage of strong German under-23 rowing. Nieschlag remained in the lead as Hayes struggled to retain her boat speed under the threat of Paschalina Karamytiliou of Greece. A high-rating Hayes sprinted to the line. Nieschlag held her off. Nieschlag, Hayes and Karamytiliou qualify, in that order, for the final.

Semifinal two opened with Carly Cottam of Australia in front. This is Cottam’s second time on the Australian under-23 team and she comes to the semifinal after winning her heat. But Cottam’s lead was slim and going through the middle of the race Elise Maurin of France took over with Hanna Bandarevich of Belarus, coming back from a shaky start, also very much on the pace. These three scullers left the rest of the field far behind. With the top three going on to the final it was purely academic the order they would finish in. But the race remained intense with Bandarevich then taking over in the lead. A fast finish by Cottam gave her the edge in the last couple of strokes over Bandarevich who takes second. Maurin also qualifies for the final by finishing third.

Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls (BLM1x) – Semifinals

Graham Oberlin-Brown of New Zealand completely dominated his heat two days ago. Today Oberlin-Brown faced a much faster field. Amongst them was Germany’s Marco Weber. But taking off in the lead, Oberlin-Brown sought to gain the advantage of being able to look back over the field. With Weber following in second Oberlin-Brown did just enough to remain in front. Florian Berg of Austria, meanwhile, sat well back in third. Rating a comfortable 27 strokes per minute, Oberlin-Brown crossed the line in first. Weber finished second and Berg qualifies by taking third.

Iran’s Mohsen Shadi Naghadeh surprised everyone in the heats by winning. Naghadeh is part of a very new rowing programme and he has been coming along in leaps and bounds with this his first international regatta. Lining up in semifinal two, Naghadeh left the start in second behind a very swift Joris Pijs of the Netherlands. Coming through the middle of the race Naghadeh closed the gap in Pijs, and as Pijs faded, Naghadeh took the lead. Pijs looked happy not to fight back and Naghadeh goes one step closer to making rowing history for Iran with his first place finish and also recording the fastest qualifying time. Pijs qualifies from second and way back in third Rajko Hrvat of Slovenia takes third and therefore makes the final.

Women’s Single Sculls (BW1x) – Semifinals

Semifinal one opened with Julia Richter of Germany in the lead. Richter has already raced for her country’s senior team and last year won bronze at the European Championships. Will she be the next Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski? By the half-way point Richter had a full boat lead over Iskra Angelova of Bulgaria with Kaisa Pajusalu of Estonia sitting back in third. The order remained the same and Richter felt comfortable to drop her rating down to 29 then 27 as she came into the line. Richter, Angelova and Pajusalu move on to tomorrow’s final.

Great Britain’s Kristina Stiller is being groomed for her country’s senior team. She has already raced this year at the Rowing World Cup in the single and this is her third year on the under-23 team. In semifinal two, Stiller took off in the lead, followed by USA’s Helen Tompkins, in her first year racing internationally. Both of these boats settled into a 30 – 32 stroke rate pace through the body of the race with Katalin Szabo of Hungary back in third. Coming into the final sprint Stiller kept the pace on as Tompkins began to fade. Szabo took advantage of the situation and pushed hard. At the line Stiller crosses first, Szabo takes second and Tompkins holds on to qualify for the final from third.

Men’s Single Sculls (BM1x) – Semifinals

The first semifinal featured 2007 silver medallist Mindaugas Griskonis of Lithuania. But this did not stop Germany’s Tim Bartels from taking off in the lead. Using the home advantage, Bartels was pushing for a first-place finish. But Griskonis had other ideas. By the half-way point, Griskonis had the lead. Bartels held on and the two boats moved away from the rest of the field. Sitting in third, Dzianis Suravets of Belarus had an open-water margin over the rest of the field for his qualilfying spot. Coming into the line Griskonis and Bartels both raised their rate above 40. Griskonis was quicker. Griskonis will race in the final in the centre lane. Bartels and Suravets will also be in the final. Croatia, who finished fourth last year, sprinted to the line but was too far back to catch Suravets. Croatia will be in the B Final.

Defending under-23 champion Joseph Sullivan of New Zealand lined up in semifinal two. There is no doubt that the rest of the field would have been eyeing him up, and for good reason. Sullivan, from the small coastal town of Picton, left the starter’s hands in the lead. Chile’s Oscar Vasquez Ochoa and Maksim Jemaldinov of Russia settled into a close battle for second. No other boat was on the pace. As Sullivan moved out to an open-water lead, Chile and Russia continued to go head to head. The top three boats appeared to have been sorted out by the half-way point but the order was still not clear. A better sprint by Jemaldinov gave him the second spot, Vasquez makes the final by finishing third and Sullivan, in first, moves one step closer to defending his title.

Men’s Pair (BM2-) – Semifinals

Semifinal one featured Maximilian Munski and Ruben Anemueller of Germany. The duo had capsized in their heat two days ago but managed to get back in their boat to finish the race. They then completely dominated their repechage and looked good for today’s semifinal. But it was Serbia that took off in the lead, followed closely by Great Britain, Germany and Hungary. By the middle of the race Serbia had slipped into second with Ben Smith and Charles Burkitt of Great Britain taking the lead. Germany then moved ahead of Serbia as Hungary faded. Coming into the line Smith and Burkitt remained in the lead, Germany qualify from second and a very happy Serbia take third to qualify for the A Final.

Semifinal two turned out to be the faster of the two semifinals with Ioannis Tsilis and Georgios Tziallis of Greece, the defending under-23 champions setting the leaders pace. Argentina’s Joaquin Iwan and Diego Lopez slipped into second with Belarus not far back in third. But neither of them could do anything to catch the fast Greek pace. The order remained the same coming into the final sprint. The order was the same with 100m to go. Then Siarhei Varanoi of Belarus got into trouble. He looked like he was struggling to row. Belarus lost their pace completely. Canada, then Sweden, then the Netherlands overtook Belarus. Greece, Argentina and Canada will be in the final. Belarus, who won their heat, will have to race in the B Final.

Women’s Double Sculls (BW2x) – Semifinals

As the head wind strengthened the first semifinal in the women’s double took to the water. Poland’s Magdalena Fularczyk and Natalia Madaj had the fastest start with Russia the closest challengers. Russia then pushed ahead with Germany and defending champions, the Czech Republic, also on the pace. A strong middle 1000m brought Sophie Dunsing and Tina Manker of Germany into the lead with Russia and Jitka Antosova and Gabriela Varekova of the Czech Republic going with them. There were now four boats involved in the sprint for three spots. Russia didn’t have it. At the line the defending champions, the Czech Republic, had been beaten by Germany. The Czechs qualify from second and Poland earn the third and final qualifying spot. Unlucky Russia will be in the B Final.

Semifinal two turned out to be a lot slower but still full of tight racing. Coming through the first 500m mark four boats were very much on the pace. Great Britain had the leading edge, Ukraine was moving with them and Romania and the Netherlands were in the picture. Going through the middle 1000m, however, the Great Britain vs. Ukraine battle moved them clear away from the rest of the field. Anna Kravchenko and Anastasila Kozhenkova of Ukraine had a smidgen of a lead over Ruth Walczak and Rosamund Bradbury of Great Britain. A stronger final push by Great Britain got them to the finish line first. Ukraine followed in second. Both the Netherlands and Lithuania charged for the final qualifying spot. It was very close. The Netherlands had it. Both boats looked absolutely exhausted.

Men’s Double Sculls (BM2x) – Semifinals

Germany’s Karl Schulze and Tim Grohmann got off to a fast start in semifinal one with Great Britain’s Charles Cousins and Bill Lucas going with them. Ukraine tried desperately to hold the leading pace, but with half the race gone Ukraine was fading. Cousins and Lucas had meanwhile pushed into the lead using a lower rating than the Germans. Coming into the line Cousins and Lucas held on to first. Germany reserve second, while Ukraine and Lithuania went as hard as they could to get the final spot. Lithuania got there just in time. Great Britain, Germany and Lithuania will be in the final. Ukraine, exhausted lied down in their boat. They will return for the B Final.

There was no doubting Croatia’s intentions in semifinal two. Brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic got out into the lead and by half-way had a full boat length between them and Italy in second. With 500m left to row the Sinkovics had a clear five-second lead over Greece’s Stergios Papachristos and Andreas Tilelis who had pushed past Slovenia and Italy to take second. Coming into the line, Croatia, rating 32, remained in first, Greece, on a 34 stroke rate, held off Italy (rating 38) to take second. Italy and Slovenia wait for the results of their very close finish. Italy got the third and final qualifying spot. Slovenia had left their sprint too late and will race in the B Final.

Men’s Four (BM4-) – Semifinals

A crash going to the start by the British boat postponed semifinal one until later in the day. Starting after 5pm, the Romanians got off the line first but were soon overtaken by Italy. Coming into the final 500m Italy remained in the lead with Romania, Great Britain and Croatia all within striking distance of the remaining two qualifying spots. At the line Italy finish first, Croatia take second and Great Britain come through to third.

Semifinal two opened with New Zealand in the lead. The New Zealanders finished with silver last year while Germany finished first. Stamping their authority, Germany then took over in the lead with New Zealand and also Australia going with the Germans. Stroke for Germany Mathis Jessen was not part of the crew that got gold in 2007 but he earned bronze the year before in this event. Back in the boat and back on the team Jessen kept his crew in the lead. Australia then got the better of New Zealand to push into second. Coming into the line New Zealand began to fade. Australia took their stroke rate to 39. Germany looked comfortable at 35. The order remained the same. Germany, Australia and New Zealand will meet again in tomorrow’s Final.

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (BLW2x) – Semifinals

The head wind continued to determine long race times and low rating with the women in the lightweight double definitely feeling the impact. Greece and Germany, however, were feeling it the least. In semifinal one Greece’s Triantafyllia Kalampoka and Christina Giazitzidou took off with a fast start in the lead. Germany’s Anja Noske and Julia Kroeger followed very closely behind. A push in the second 500 brought Noske and Kroeger into the lead. It looked like there was little Greece could do. The race then turned into a procession. No one could get close to Germany and no one was able to challenge the boat ahead of them. Germany cross the line easily in first with the fastest qualifying time. Greece and Russia take second and third respectively.

It took over eight minutes for winners of the second semifinal, Eliane Waser and Olivia Wyss of Switzerland to finish the race. It took the rest of the field even longer. Waser and Wyss got out into the lead at the start with Great Britain’s Emma Steel and Frances Fletcher not far behind. Steel and Fletcher, however, struggled through the middle of the race allowing Australia and France to overtake and push Great Britain out of qualifying. The Brits, though, found a second wind as Australia faded. Coming into the line Switzerland remained in first. France, with a solid sprint, take second and Great Britain come back to earn third and a spot in the final.

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (BLM2x) – Semifinals

Semifinal one had Tamas Varga and Peter Galambos of Hungary in the lead. Varga and Galambos remained a canvas ahead of Bulgaria going through the middle of the race with Greece in third. Varga and Galambos finished with silver last year and in the absence of reigning World Champions France, Hungary must have gold on their mind. But Bulgaria’s Zlatko Karaivanov and Vassil Vitanov deided to do what they could to upset this plan. Coming into the final sprint Hungary still had half a length lead. Bulgaria looked across and sprinted. Both boats rated in the mid 30s. Hungary fought back. At the line Hungary take first, Bulgaria, just a fraction back, take second and Greece hold off Switzerland to take the third and final qualifying spot.

Slovenia and Italy went head to head in semifinal two. Matevz Malesic and Dejan Sandic of Slovenia had a slightly faster start with Davide Riccardi and Francesco Rigon of Italy moving with them. By the half-way point Riccardi and Rigon had pushed through to the lead with Germany now coming back from a slow start to challenge Slovenia. Slovenia fought back as Norway joined in on the sprint to the line. At the end of 2000m Italy had retained first. Slovenia got ahead of Germany to take back second and Germany held off Norway to get the third and final qualifying spot.

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (BM4x) – Semifinals

Germany have a title to defend. Ukraine, however, became the crew to beat at the start of semifinal one. With the advantage of the lead Ukraine continued to play with Germany down the 2000m Beetzsee course. Germany kept to their game plan. The commentator called it “one hell of a battle”. Despite such a full-on battle happening in the lead, last year’s bronze medallists Australia still managed to hold the pace. As the finish line came into view Australia took their stroke rate to 36. Ukraine sat on 34 and Germany held 36. Ukraine still had the lead. Germany pushed back. At the line Germany had done it. The Germans move on to the final from a winner’s position. Ukraine, in second, and Australia, in third, will also be in the final.

Race number 142 of this regatta was the second semifinal in the men’s quad. It was led from start to finish by Russia. The Russians finished in sixth place last year and are hoping to improve on that position in Brandenburg. Poland followed closely in second and France (the 2007 silver medallists) slotted into the third spot. This order did not change despite a strong burst by Poland coming into the line. Russia, Poland and France will meet again in the final tomorrow.

Men’s Eight (BM8+) – Semifinals

The United States love the eight. They love it even more when they win. Today the USA was one step closer to that goal after finishing first in semifinal one. The Americans did this by overtaking a fast-starting Australian crew and then working their way out into a healthy lead, retaining a stroke rate in the mid 30s. Coming into the final sprint, only Poland was in striking distance of the USA. The Poles did strike. So did Estonia. But the USA remained in the lead. USA, Poland and last year’s champions Estonia all advance to the Final. An exhausted Australia will race in the B Final.

Canada won this event two years ago. Today they worked their way back towards this position by leading semifinal two from start to finish. Great Britain, after coming back from a reasonably slow start, pulled up into second and tried to challenge the Canadians’ leading position. Canada held them off. Canada move to the final from first. Great Britain and Germany also make the final.