B Finals warm up the crowd

 In fact you only get a chance to do it every four years for a very short window of opportunity in your life. These rowers at the Beijing Olympics gave it their all.

LIGHTWEIGHT WOMEN’S DOUBLE SCULLS (LW2x)

The United States started off a bit too slow in their semifinal and they must have decided to make a change for today. Renee Hykel and Jen Goldsack of the United States qualified at the last minute, June’s Final Olympic Qualification Regatta and they were the leaders at the start of this B Final. Great Britain followed closely. By the half-way point the field had closed on Hykel and Goldsack with Great Britain taking the lead and Australia, Japan and Denmark just behind in a practical line across the Shunyi course.

Then current World Champions, Australia’s Amber Halliday and Marguerite Houston began to move. Raising their stroke rate Halliday and Houston pushed ahead of both Great Britain and the United States. Halliday finished fourth at the Athens Olympics and had her hopes set on an Olympic medal at these Games. Today the best she would be able to do was seventh overall.

Coming into the final sprint Denmark’s Katrin Olsen and Juliane Rasmussen did what they did in the semifinal – charge. Taking their stroke rate to 41, Olsen and Rasmussen got the better of Great Britain, then Japan (who had moved into third) and they went after Australia. A little slow to react, Australia just missed out on the line. In third, full credit must go to Misaki Kumakura and Akiko Iwamoto of Japan. Their third placed finish (ninth overall) is a very solid result for their country.

Results: DEN, AUS, JPN, USA, GBR, CUB

LIGHTWEIGHT MEN’S DOUBLE SCULLS (LM2x)

Anything can happen at the Olympics. Canada knows that. New Zealand knew this. Storm Uru and Peter Taylor of New Zealand were aiming for the A Final.

Today Uru and Taylor made the best of their first Olympics and got out to an early lead in this B Final. Germany and Australia followed the New Zealanders out with Uru and Taylor settling into a strong 35 stroke rate pace. By the half-way point Uru, 23, and Taylor, 24, had nearly got a full boat length lead over Australia and Germany. The New Zealanders were looking comfortable in their position.

The final sprint was coming into view. The crowd could be heard. Portugal’s Pedro Fraga and Nuno Mendes were unleashing the sprint that has been serving them well. From the back of the field, from their outside lane Fraga and Mendes charged. The Portuguese rating went to 43. New Zealand held them off. No one else could.

Results: NZL, POR, GER, AUS, FRA, CAN

LIGHTWEIGHT MEN’S FOUR (LM4-)

Italy left nothing to chance. Bruno Mascarenhas, Salvatore Amitrano, Catello Amarante raced to bronze at the Athens Olympics and joined by Jiri Vlcek, they know what it takes to race at the Olympic Games. The Italians went for a high stroke rate and aggression, leaving the starting blocks rating in the high forties. By the 250m mark the Italians had nearly a half boat length lead over the rest of the field with China and Australia being the closest challengers.

Italian stroke man, Mascarenhas kept the rating at 39 and remained in the lead. Coming through the third 500, China, who are the 2006 World Champions, picked up the pace and closed on Italy. At 1450m the Chinese had caught Italy. But the Italians had seen it coming. They upped their stroke rate in a perfect reaction. What could China do? The Chinese could not follow the continued momentum of Italy. Italy had enough in them still to rate 43 in the final sprint.

Results: ITA, CHN, AUS, IRL, USA

WOMEN’S QUADRUPLE SCULLS (W4x)

A two-boat race – Canada and Russia. Russia’s very experienced crew got out ahead of Canada, settled into a solid 32 stroke rate pace and let Canada do the challenging. Russia’s Julia Kalinovskaya, Larisa Merk, Julia Levina and Oxana Dorodnova have all been to the Olympics before with Dorodnova and Merk competing at their fourth Olympics. Canada did their best. They held on using 35 strokes per minute to keep up. But Russia was completely in control. Although Canada closed the gap in the final sprint, Russia remained in the lead.

Results: RUS, CAN

MEN’S QUADRUPLE SCULLS (M4x)

They are the current Olympic Champions, but have not managed to truly show their strength in the last three years. Today, Russia raced in the B Final. The best that they could be at Beijing would be seventh in the world. Russia went for that goal. The crew looked very upright and clean and solid getting out at the start and settling into a 36 stroke rate pace. Ukraine followed in second, but Russia had opened up to more than a boat length’s lead through the middle of the race.

Meanwhile, early showers Cuba began to slip back, Estonia increased their pace. The pace worked. Estonia overtook both Cuba and Ukraine. Ukraine reacted back and again owned second. Russia remained in the lead.

Results: RUS, UKR, EST, CZE, BLR, CUB

MEN’S EIGHT (M8+)

A two-way race between Germany and China saw China take the lead and hold off the Germans. Both crews have had substitutions – China due to illness and Germany due to a sickness in their four which meant one of the members of the eight went into the four. China remained in the lead for the entire race. The crowd loved it.

Results: CHN, GER