World Rowing Under 23 Championships begin strongly for Germany

Although the water remained reasonably flat a couple of crews caught crabs and some struggled as the wind picked up more into cross-head wind conditions. In the races Iran made its mark in the lightweight men’s single and Germany looked strong heading into the next round of racing. Although this is just the first day of racing, many German supporters turned out along with cowbell ringing Swiss supporters and Brazilians looking ready to dance.

Women’s Four (BW4-)

Of the two heats only one would go through directly to the final on Sunday. Australia opened the first race of the 2008 World Rowing Under 23 Championships by leaping out into the lead. Last year Italy took gold with Australia in second. With Italy hot on Australia’s tail was this going to be a similar race to 2007? By the half-way point Italy had taken the lead. But Italy was hot on their tails. By the half-way point Italy had taken over in the lead. Just Cristina Romiti of Italy returns this year to the four and today she helped her crew to earn two days off by going directly to the final. Australia gave it a good effort up to the 1000m but will have to return for the repechage.

After an early challenge from Great Britain, the Netherlands showed that this race was theirs. They took the lead in heat two and by the finish had earned the fastest qualifying time. The Netherlands will go directly to the final with boosted confidence.

Lightweight Women's Single Sculls (BLW1X)

A hefty number of entries meant four heats with the first boat only going on directly to the semifinal. In heat one Belarus and Germany took off in the lead with Belarus holding the edge. The rest of the field looked like they would let Germany and Belarus battle it out. Coming into the third 500m Belarus had been worn down. Germany’s Helke Nieschlag crossed the line easily in first.

Elise Maurin of France led heat two from start to finish. The 19-year-old is at her first international regatta and she stamped her intentions on this event by finishing with the second fastest qualifying time. (Nieschlag from heat one had the fastest time). Ireland’s Orla Hayes, who has been competing regularly at the senior level lately, gave it a good shot to attack Maurin. But Maurin held off Hayes and goes directly to the semifinal.

Heat three was all about Italy’s Francesca Gallo. Gallo raced in this event last year and finishing ninth overall. She has also been racing at the senior level in a variety of lightweight events. Coming through from behind Norway gave it a good go to catch Gallo, but it was not enough. It will be Gallo going directly to the semifinal.

The final heat had Carly Cottam of Australia in the lead. Cottam raced at the under 23s last year in the lightweight double. It looks like her move to the single may be a good thing. Cottam goes to the semifinal on Saturday.

Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls (BLM1x)

The four heats in the lightweight men’s single required each single sculler to aim for the first only spot. This would give them a direct path to Saturday’s semifinals. Marco Weber of Germany led from the start of heat one. For the last two years Weber has been racing in the four. This year the change to the single seems to be the right move. Weber remained in the lead and will go on to the semifinal. Meanwhile a crab for Albania means a slow finishing time.

Heat two was all about New Zealand’s Graham Oberlin-Brown. Oberlin-Brown has an under 23 gold medal from the lightweight double and last year he was part of his country’s duo that tried to qualify the double for the Olympic Games. Oberlin-Brown was unsuccessful and is now back in the single. Today he showed what experience can do looking powerful and in control. Austria sat in second but Oberlin-Brown’s lead was formidable. The New Zealander advances directly to the semifinal.

France jumped out to an early lead in heat three. But this didn’t last long with Venezuela’s Jose Guipe taking over. France made a last ditch attempt to come back at Guipe, but the Venezuelan had too much of a lead and will go directly to the semifinal.

The final heat saw the arrival of Iran. Mohsen Shadi Naghadeh of Iran overtook the Netherlands and moved into the lead. At age 20, this is Naghadeh’s first international race, and under the guidance of former Romanian Olympic coach Nick Gioga, Naghadeh is looking good. The Iranian not only finished first to go directly to the semifinal, but he also did it in the fastest time of the four heats.

Lightweight Men’s Pair (BLM2-)

The two heats in the lightweight men’s pair required a first place finish for a direct path through to Sunday’s final. This means that heat one winners, James Thompson and Matthew Brittain of South Africa, will finish this regatta having raced just twice. Thompson and Brittain finished second last year in this event and their style showed as they led from one end of the course to the other. The South Africans go directly to the final.

This means that Thompson and Brittain will meet last year’s winner Andrea Caianiello and Armando Dell’Aquila of Italy again in the final. Caianiello and Dell’Aquila featured in heat two and, like the South Africans, dominated the entire race. But the Italians will go to the final with the advantage of having the fastest qualifying time. They will also go in the knowledge of being senior world champions. There is no doubt that this will be a very well contested final.

Lightweight Men’s Quadruple Sculls (BLM4x)

Italy set an under-23 World Best Time in this event last year and they raced today to win heat one of two heats for a direct path to the final. Italy have just Matteo Amigoni returning to the crew that set the World Best Time. Amigoni sits in bow seat. But, despite this status, Italy found themselves being challenged hard by Denmark. The Danes had a slow start coming out in fourth but had soon worked their way up to overlapping with the Italians and at the line Denmark were less than half a second down on Italy. But the Danes will have to return for the repechage.

In heat two Germany had a clear run. They got out to an open-water lead over Switzerland who could do nothing to challenge the Germans. Germany will meet Italy in the final on Sunday.

Women’s Single Sculls (BW1x)

The women’s single consisted of three heats. This meant that athletes needed to be in the top three for a direct path to the semifinal. All the remaining crews would have to return for tomorrow’s repechage. Heat one’s finishing order was sorted out very early on in the piece. Julia Richter took off in the lead and completely dominated. This is Richter’s second under-23 regatta. Last year she raced in the double and finished second. Richter has also raced at the senior level in her country’s quad. By the finish line Richter had an enormous 13 seconds lead over Hungary (Katalin Szabo who won bronze in 2007) in second with Estonia also qualifying for the semifinal from third.

Heat two also turned into quite a procession. Kristina Stiller of Great Britain had the lead and retained it. Bulgaria worked her way through from fourth to sit securely in second. And Latvia retained third. El Salvador’s Olympic sculler, Camila Vargas couldn’t hold the pace and will have to return for the repechage. Great Britain, Bulgaria and Latvia go directly to the semifinal.

A very tight battle went on between the Netherlands and Finland in heat three. This battle meant that Finland and Marija van Amersfoort of the Netherlands moved clean away from the rest of the field. Ulla Varvio of Finland had the upper hand for the majority of the race, but van Amersfoort had too much in store and will move to the semifinal from finishing first. Finland and Belgium also qualify for the semifinal.

Men’s Single Sculls (BM1x)

The six heats lining up today in the men’s single signaled the large number of entries for this event. It also signaled that these athletes would have to go through a quarter-final before they could advance on to the next round. It also meant that in most cases only the crew coming last would drop out while the top four boats would advance on to the quarter-final.

Dzianis Suravets of Belarus raced in heat one and he may be the man to beat. Dzianis led the entire race and finished in a time of 7:21.40. Suravets has raced twice before as an under-23 and in 2005 finished first in the quad. Suravets competed last year at the senior World Rowing Championships in the single and is a rower to look out for in the future. Latvia, Monaco and Estonia also qualify with Estonia having to fight hard to stay ahead of France.

Last year Mindaugas Griskonis of Lithuania won silver in this event. Today he raced again at the under-23 level leading from start to finish to record a time of 7:20.82 which will give him the fastest qualifying time of the six heats. Griskonis finished ahead of Tim Bartels of Germany. Bartels has already been on the senior team for his nation but not in the single. Chile and Brazil also qualify for the quarter-final.

South Africa started off in the lead of heat three. But this didn’t last long with Koen Pouwels of the Netherlands soon taking over in the lead. This is a good start for Pouwels in his first ever international race. Murray Chandler (RSA) then held on to second and will go to the quarter-final along with Pouwels. Also advancing is Belgium and Italy.

Heat four featured a close battle between Damir Martin of Croatia and Russia’s Maksim Jemaldinov. The fifth rower, from Nigeria, never turned up and only the top three athletes would advance to the quarter-final. A final 500m push by Martin gave him the lead at the end with Russia finishing second and Norway taking the final qualifying spot. Finland misses out.

The reigning under 23 world champion Joseph Sullivan of New Zealand raced in heat five and he showed that he has retained his 2007 form. Sullivan got out to a comfortable lead over Japan and continued to increase this down the 2000m course. Although unnecessary from his leading position, Sullivan pleased the crowd by pulling out 20 strong strokes as he came into the line. Japan remained in second and Greece and Slovakia also qualify.

The sixth and final head opened with Argentina in the lead before Predrag Lackov of Serbia took over. At 20, this is Lackov’s second go in the single at the under-23 champs. Last year he finished 19th and with this win in heat six, Lackov looks in good form to improve on his 2007 finish. Lackov, Argentina and the United States move on to the quarter-final.

Women’s Pair (BW2-)

The formula in the women’s pair to advance was to finish first. Two heats meant first place would go directly to the final while the rest of the places would have to return for a repechage. Heat one and two were finished in practically identical times signaling a very tight race for Sunday’s final.

In heat one Australia finished in a time of 7:39 when they led over Germany. Elisabeth Alderman and Emily Rose raced last year in the four and finished with silver. Now in the pair they put up a solid 2000m leaving Germany to return for the repechage.

Nicoleta Albu of Romania won silver in this event last year. She has a new partner, Adelina Cojocariu, and today they moved from behind to win heat two. Albu and Cojocariu started off relatively slowly having to work past Russia then Belarus and then Great Britain to find the lead. Great Britain tried to hold on to Romania but gave it up coming into the final sprint. Russia raised the stroke rate to 40, but still Romania retained the lead. Albu and Cojocariu go directly to Sunday’s final.

Men’s Pair (BM2-)

The men’s pair featured four heats with the top boat only from each heat advancing directly to the semifinal. Great Britain’s Ben Smith and Charles Burkitt opened the show by leading heat one soon after coming out of the starting blocks. Burkitt finished with bronze in this event last year and he is joined by Smith who last made the British team back in 2003 as a junior. Smith and Burkitt go directly to the semifinal ahead of a fast-finishing Slovenia. Crossing the finish line in last, Germany, who had capsized, will still be able to carry on to the next round.

Argentina will be feeling very pleased for themselves. In heat two Joaquin Iwan and Diego Lopez of Argentina fought with reigning under-23 champions Greece and came off best. Greece opened in the lead but lost it to Lopez and Iwan through the middle of the race. The Greeks then seemed to lose heart and drifted out of first place contention while Lopez and Iwan went on to post the fastest qualifying time by a huge 12 seconds.

In heat three, Gaspar Vinko and Bela Simon of Hungary retained a handy lead for the entire race. The duo finished fifth last year and also medalled at the 2007 European Championships. Canada put in a good effort to close in on the Hungarians but will have to return for the repechage.

Belarus rounded out the races by winning heat four. Mikhail Kavalenka and Siarhei Varanoi of Belarus got out into the lead at the start with Romania following closely. The Romanians, though, only seemed to have half a race in them and Kavalenka and Varanoi then had just the Swedes to worry about. At the line Belarus was the clear qualifiers to go directly to the semifinal.

Women’s Double Sculls (BW2x)

The three heats in the women’s double required a top three finish to advance from this race to the semifinal. All other boats would have to return for the repechage. Heat one opened with Russia in the lead. The Russians held this lead for half the race before Germany took over. This is the first year Sophie Dunsing and Tina Manker of Germany have rowed together. Last year Manker, 19, finished second in the junior single and Dunsing was racing in her country’s under 23 quad and finished fourth. Together Dunsing and Manker came through to win the first heat with Romania and Russia ending in second and third respectively. All three boats advance to the semifinal.

It was no surprise at all to see Jitka Antosova and Gabriela Varekova of the Czech Republic in the lead of heat two. The duo are two-time under 23 champions. They will go to the Beijing Olympics in this event and they have been very successful already at the senior level. Both athletes have spent time rowing for American universities in sweep, but they always return successfully to this sculling event. Ukraine, however, didn’t let the Czech pedigree unnerve them. They challenged the Czechs to increase their rate to remain in the lead. Ukraine nevertheless finish second and qualify for the semifinal along with Austria in third.

The third heat was delayed after Australia broke an oar before the start line. The crews returned to the start line with Great Britain’s Ruth Walczak and Rosamund Bradbury jumping out into the lead. Walczak raced last year in the single finishing fifth, while Bradbury is on the British team for the first time. At the line the British earn the fastest qualifying time and a spot in the semifinal along with Poland and Lithuania.

Men’s Double Sculls (BM2x)

The four heats in the men’s double required a top two finish for advancement directly to the semifinal. Germany and Slovenia placed themselves firmly in these two spots in heat one. Slovenia, which included Olympic gold medallist Luka Spik’s younger brother Jan, got into the lead. Germany chased hard. Coming into the final sprint Karl Schulze and Tim Grohmann of Germany managed to push in front. Both boats will advance to the semifinal.

Great Britain’s Charles Cousins and Bill Lucas led heat two. The duo were bronze medallists last year and have come back together for the Brandenburg races. They will go to the semifinal along with Italy who had to overtake Australia to earn their qualifying spot in the semi.

Lithuania lost their early lead in heat three to a fired up Greek combination of Stergios Papachristos and Andreas Tilelis. Papachristos finished sixth last year in the junior single while Tilelis rowed in the under 23 single to an eight place finish. Together they look to be a great combination and will go to the semifinal in a good position. Ukraine, who managed to push ahead of Lithuania, also earn a spot in the semifinal.

Heat four had the Sinkovic brothers from Croatia in the lead. Valent Sinkovic finished fourth in this event last year. Now teamed up with younger brother Martin, they are hoping to better this position. As they cross the line in first they put themselves directly into the semifinal and keep their medal hopes alive. Estonia also go to the semifinal.

Men’s Four (BM4-)

The men’s four had three heats with the top two boats in each heat moving on directly to the semi-final on Saturday. All other boats would have to return to race in the repechage. Romania got out to a swift start in heat one with their stroke rate around 40 coming out at the start. Stroke Andrei Timpau competed two years as a junior and this is his third year at the under 23 level, in the quad last year. New Zealand, who won silver in 2007, took up chase. Romania, however, remained very much in control. Romania and New Zealand will go directly to the semi-final.

Germany is the reigning under 23 champions in this event and they lined up in heat two taking on last year’s bronze medallists, Great Britain. The Germans got out into the lead with Great Britain following right behind. But the Germans were too strong for the British and finished easily in first. Both boats advance to the semi-final.

Heat three ended in one of the closest races of the day when Italy and Australia went out head to head. Italy got a slight lead at the start but Australia had closed this to less than a second coming through the third 500 of the race. Taking it to a photo finish the two boats crossed the line within a bow ball of each other. Italy had a slight advantage. Both boats go directly to the semi-final.

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (BLW2x)

The lightweight women’s double was made up of three heats with the top three in each heat advancing to the semi-final. Germany’s Anja Noske and Julia Kroeger made the best of it in heat one. After Switzerland took off in the lead, the Germans soon dragged them back and at the line their time of 7:35 would become the fastest qualifying time by 10 seconds. Switzerland remained in second to also qualify with Hungary coming in third.

France and Russia held a tight race in heat two. For the majority of the race barely a second separated them. Then Russia decided not to sprint to the end with Eugenie Vince and Coralie Simon of France crossing the line in first. Russia take second and Great Britain qualify for the semi-final from third.

Greece dominated heat three from start to finish. In a spread out race Australia followed in second with the real battle going on for the third qualifying spot between Italy and the Netherlands. A better closing sprint by the Dutch gave them the edge. Italy will have to return for the repechage. Greece, Australia and the Netherlands earn a spot in the semi-final.

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (BLM2x)

Four heats with the top boat only from each heat advancing directly to the semi-final meant that there was some tight racing in the lightweight men’s double. The United States got out to a fast start in heat one before slipping back. Last year’s silver medallists Tamas Varga and Peter Galambos of Hungary took advantage of this and swept into the lead. Slovenia did their best to challenge the Hungarians. But it will be Varga and Galambos going directly to the semi-final and in the fastest qualifying time – the only crew to go under seven minutes in this event.

Bulgaria took charge of heat two. Zlatko Karaivanov and Vassil Vitanov did not even give Germany a look in. The duo won the B final last year at the under 23 champs and they are looking to step up this year. Karaivanov and Vitanov have made a good start. They go directly to the semi-final and by missing the repechage they get to miss a race and have one less dreaded weigh-in.

Heat three had Davide Riccardi and Francesco Rigon of Italy out in front. The duo were chased hard by Greece for half of the race before the Greeks seemed to resign themselves to having a repechage. Riccardi and Rigon, who finished fourth last year, move directly to the semi-final.

Norway may have some new talent coming through. In heat four Kristoffer Brun and Are Strandli made a good race of it by getting out ahead of Hong Kong and never looking back. The duo go into their second season together after finishing ninth last year at the European Championships.

Lightweight Men’s Four (BLM4-)

The lightweight men’s four raced in two heats with the first boat only in each heat earning a direct route to Sunday’s final. Germany and France battled it out in heat one, with Germany retaining just a fraction of a psychological leading edge over France. It must have been enough as coming into the final sprint Germany was able to pull away, use the support of the crowd, and cross the line easily in first. Germany will be in the final. France will return for the repechage tomorrow.

Spain had to shake off Italy in heat two and in the process they notched up the fastest qualifying time. Italy remained within challenging distance but it will be Spain going directly to the final.

Women’s Quadruple Sculls (BW4x)

Two heats, with four crews lining up in both, meant only the top finisher in each race would go directly to the A Final, with the remaining crews having a second chance to qualify through the repechages.

Three crews charged out of the starting blocks in heat one: Australia, Romania and the Ukraine. At the 500m mark, all three were level. Belarus would stay at the back of the field in fourth throughout. Romania currently holds the under-23 World Best Time, set in 2006 when they won gold. Although only one member of that gold-medal crew, Maria Diana Bursuc, is still in the boat today, Romania showed they have what it takes to stay true to their past performance and led the race until the line. 2007 silver medallists Australia followed closely behind in second but were unable to catch up with the leading boat from Eastern Europe, finishing half-a-length behind in second, with Ukraine in third.

Russia, Italy, New Zealand and Germany lined up at the start for heat two. New Zealand charged out in front with Germany closely on its tail. By the half-way mark New Zealand and Germany were level, but Germany began to increase its slight advantage. With 500m left to row, Germany had clear water separating them from the rest of the field and Italy was challenging New Zealand from third. At the line the positions remained unchanged: Germany qualify for Sunday’s Final, earning two days of rest, while New Zealand, Italy and Russia go through tomorrow’s repechages.

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (BM4x)

Three heats lining up five boats each would qualify nine crews for Saturday’s semifinals. A damaged Australian boat meant that heat one would be delayed until the end of the day of racing.

Racing at the end of the day, Australia (with a repaired boat) lined up with Russia, Portugal, Austria and the Ukraine. At 500m, the race was nearly level, with only one second separating the top four crews. Portugal, in lane three, was further behind in fifth, but not for long. Bursting up the field, Portugal had overtaken Ukraine, Australia and Austria by the half-way mark. The effort, however, seemed too much for Portugal to deal with, and soon they fell to the very back of the field, while the Ukraine, who had saved themselves for the final part of the race, moved up the field to first, with Russia falling slightly behind to second. Australia finish in third and also go to the semifinal.

Poland in lane one charged out of the starting blocks in heat two, taking the lead and staying there. No doubt their models are their senior counterparts in the men’s quad who are three-time World Champions. Romania, on the other opposite of the field in lane five, was not far behind until the half-way mark, until Croatia, in lane two, suddenly decided to turn on the action. Moving up from their initial fourth place, they secured second ahead of Romania. Poland, Croatia and Romania move on to the semifinal.

Reigning under-23 World Champions Germany and 2007 under-23 silver medallists France were about to show each other if a year of training had changed their performance levels in any way. But Germany, despite only one crew member remaining from last year, proved their ability to defend their title: increasing their lead throughout the race, they finished a clear four seconds ahead of France, who after overtaking Italy at the half-way mark stuck to second until the line. Germany, France and Italy go to the semifinal, Slovenia and Latvia go to the repechage.

Men’s Eight (BM8+)

An impressive thirteen boats entered this year’s World Rowing Under 23 Championships. The top three boats of each of the three heats would have a chance at making it to the A Final.

Current under-23 World Champions, Estonia, raced in heat one, with only two changes to their crew from last year. Would they manage to stay true to their title? Canada did not seem the least bit intimidated, boldly challenging the rest of the field by starting out in front. The USA in second steadily moved up into first, and by the half-way mark had overtaken Canada. Estonia who had leveled with Canada, gradually began to lose ground, but clung on firmly to third. The USA kept on increasing their lead, crossing the line a full length ahead of Canada. The USA, Canada and Estonia move on to the semifinal.

Heat two included two medalling crews from last year: Germany (silver) and Australia (bronze). But it would be Poland who would have the most stamina. Starting out in front, Poland was followed by Australia and Germany, with the Czech Republic back in fourth. But Germany would not settle for third, even it was a qualifying spot. With 100m left to row, the Germans charged past Australia, taking second. A very happy Polish cox congratulated his crew after crossing the line in first. Germany and Australia will also go forward to Saturday’s semifinal. The Czech Republic go to the repechage.

Great Britain decided to have the psychological advantage in this race. Russia tried to hold on at the start, but were not up for the challenge, slipping behind to fourth by the half-way mark. Not happy with their initial fourth place, the Netherlands reacted, and using up their power supply, fired up the ranks to second, with Spain holding on to a steady third. The Dutch’s energy did not seem quite sufficient to last until the line and Spain’s apparent contentment in third soon proved wrong as they overtook the Dutch with just a few hundred metres left, finishing in second behind Great Britain. Russia go to the repechage.