A pack of lightweights take a second chance

At the 2009 World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland, these athletes made up a large number of the athletes and today they raced in repechages. This was their last chance to make it to the A-final.

Lightweight men must weigh in at a maximum of 72.5kg with a crew average of 70kg. The women must not be over 59kg with a crew average of 57kg. These athletes must weigh in two hours before their race adding another extremely important element to their race preparation. These athletes know exactly how much they should eat and how much they must exercise to be exactly on the weight.

The repechages for the lightweight men’s pair (LM2-) had four countries advancing to the Final. Only three seconds separated these four boats with Nenad Babovic and Milos Tomic of Serbia recording the fastest time. Babovic, 33, has competed internationally through many configurations of his nation. He has seen one Olympic Games, as Serbia & Montenegro (2004) and now rows for Serbia.

Tomic, 29, has rowed with Babovic on and off for nine years. They will go to the Final with a definite advantage. Great Britain (Ross Hunter and Oliver Mahony), South Africa (John Smith and Matthew Brittain) and Denmark (Jacob Barsoe and Lasse Dittmann) also qualified for Sunday’s Final.

The lightweight men’s quadruple sculls (LM4x) added four boats to the A-final with France leading the way. France outraced Denmark who had Olympic medallist (from the double), Rasmus Quist sitting in the middle of the boat. Quist, 29, is a long term rower. He has been to two Olympic Games and has a rowing pedigree that goes back more than a decade when he won bronze as a junior in 1997. Also the USA and Mexico advanced to the Final.

The five boats entered in the lightweight women’s quadruple sculls (LW4x) raced for lanes in preparation for their Final on Sunday. Great Britain (Stephanie Cullen, Laura Greenhalgh, Andrea Dennis and Jane Hall) have set the standard and Canada, who finished second, will have to pick up the pace if they want to get gold on Sunday. Watch them race in four days time.