Exciting eights on Day three of Olympic rowing

Day three at the Beijing Olympic Rowing Regatta opened with a light shower that reduced the tail wind conditions to barely any wind. In cooler 25 degree Celsius conditions, athletes took to the water. The men’s and women’s eights that did not get to race yesterday set the standard of the day with fast times and lots of drama. Read on to find out about how crews advanced to the next round of racing.

WOMEN'S EIGHT (W8+)

The plan here for advancement was to finish first. This first place position would offer the crew a direct path to Sunday’s final. All other boats would have to return for a repechage. This race was postponed from its scheduled time yesterday when thunder storms brought the rowers off the water.

Heat 1

It took an extra day’s wait for the United States to strut their stuff. The USA is the current world champions in this event and they also hold the World Best Time set two years ago in Eton. Taking off in the lead at a 44 stroke rate pace, the Americans already had nearly a full boat length by the first 500m mark. This crew have all come through the ranks of successful collegiate rowing where the eight is the focus event. Germany tried to hold the US at the start but did not have enough oomph to hold on.

Great Britain then moved into second but did not seem to be able to dent the US lead. Great Britain’s crew are made up of a number of rowers recruited to the sport by a talent identification programme. They also have the very experienced Olympic medallist Sarah Winckless sitting in six seat. At the line the US crossed in first to gain the one qualifying spot. Great Britain, Canada and Germany will return for the repechage.

Heat 2

Romania has won this event at the Olympics in 1996, 2000 and 2004 and they always manage to bring some of their Olympic champions out of retirement and back into the eight. This year it’s Georgeta Andrunache-Damian, 32, Doina Ignat, 39, and Viorica Susanu, 32, who have returned. Taking off at a 44 stroke rate the Romanians slipped ahead of the Netherlands in second.

Moving out to nearly a full boat length lead, the Romanians were in a great position to counter any attacks from the following crews. This left the Netherlands and Australia to battle it out for second place pride. Coming to the line Romania remained at a comfortable 35 stroke rate with both Australia and the Netherlands going to 38. Romania goes directly to Sunday’s final where they will meet the Americans.

Alison KNOWLES (GBR)
“It was an exceptionally good start. We were very solid, and have more to move on. We would have liked to be closer to the USA but should manage that on Sunday, and look forward to the repechage on Wednesday. We take weather changes in our stride – we’re used to that in the UK! We aim to keep improving.”

Katie GREVES (GBR)
“It was disappointing not to row through the USA. We need to improve our final sprint. Other crews doubling up should have time to recover. This is my first Olympics and it’s so exciting. We watched Rebecca Adlington swimming to win this morning – it was inspiring. It’s going to be all about the girls for GB this Olympics!”

MEN'S EIGHT (M8+)

The aim here was to finish first. This would earn a direct path to the final on Sunday. All other boats would have to return for the second chance, repechage.

Heat 1

Coming into these Olympics Canada have appeared to have the form to be at thee top. They are the current world champions and have not lost a race since taking that 2007 championship title. The psyched team said that they were glad to have been able to get on the water yesterday and stretch their legs before their race was cancelled due to the weather. Today the Canadians left the starters hands at a 46 stroke rate pace and managed to get their nose just in front of Australia and Poland.

The Canadians then outpaced the rest of the field by holding a 42 stroke rate with Australia following at 40. But then disaster struck the Australians. Coxswain Marty Rabjohns looked to have steering difficulties, swerving into the next lane. A broken rudder was reported. The crew stopped rowing before half way point. This gave the Canadians a huge boost and they moved out to over a boat length lead.

It was a relaxed and tidy looking Canadian crew that crossed the line in the first position and the only qualifying spot. Poland and the Netherlands chose to take the pressure off in the last 200m and paddled easily to the finish. Over a minute later the Australians, who suffered from equipment damage, crossed the finish line. Rowing rules state that a boat (with at least the coxswain) must cross the finish line if they are to advance to the next round. Australia will race again in the repechage.

Heat 2

The United States are the reigning Olympic Champions and hold the World Best Time which was set in 2004 at the Athens Olympics. They finished a disappointing fourth last year and coach Mike Teti chose not to attend any international races this year. This crew debuted today at the Beijing Olympics. But it was China who got their nose in front at the start. This did not last long and by the 500m mark the United States had moved ahead.

USA’s lead soon disappeared to a confident looking Great Britain. Coached by Mark Banks and John West the British proceeded to move away from the United States and going through the third 500, Great Britain had worked their way to a full boat length lead.

Tom STALLARD (GBR)
“It’s a relief to discover we are faster than the USA. We did the start, got into rhythm and had a nice pace. It was pleasing not to have to push hard to win. We knew we were quick in training but it’s hard to know the form of the other crews. It didn’t bother us to race one day late, but now we have to step up. We were watching Robin Coleman, the weightlifter, and he inspired us, so before the race I quoted him to the others – ‘Light Weight!’.”

Matthew LANGRIDGE (GBR)
“It’s always great to beat the Olympic Champions. We hadn’t raced them yet this year, so it was a worry, but we were going well. I’m pleased with the race, but we need to be quicker for the final. We arrived 10 days ago so have acclimatised and have another week to prepare for the final race so are feeling pretty comfortable. Before the start our coach said ‘Be in the boat, focus and let’s see what you’re made of’.”

Matthias FLACH (GER)
“This was not exactly to plan, but, to look forward, this was our first race in this combination. We need to put down much more power in our strokes. We weren’t switched on and should really have powered off the start like the others. Next time we must get the stronger start right.”

WOMEN'S SINGLE SCULLS (W1x)

This is the first time the quarterfinal advancement system has been at the Olympic Games and the women’s single got to experience it. This meant that these single scullers had to finish in the top three positions if they wanted to go on to the semifinal. All other crews would go to the C/D semifinal.

Quarterfinal 1

Michelle Guerette of the United States chose to move from team boat rowing and go solo back in 2005. Since then she has medalled at the World Rowing Championships and also at some Rowing World Cup races. She completely dominates singles trials in her home country and is known to have the personality that fits with single sculling. Today Guerette completely dominated her race. Poland’s Julia Michalska, 23, at her first Olympic Games, got ahead of Gabriella Bascelli of Italy to take second.

Guerette, at a stroke rate of 32, held the lead crossing the finish line in first. Michalska did a push coming into the final 250m taking her stroke rate to 36, but she was not quick enough to reach Guerette. Guerette, Michalska and Bascelli advance to the semifinal.

Quarterfinal 2

At the 2004 Olympics Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic finished fourth. She has remained consistent in the single ever since, usually finishing in second. Today Knapkova took another step towards the Olympic Final by leading from start to finish. The inconsistent Sophie Balmary of France took over in second and Iva Obradovic of Serbia followed in third.

In a relatively pedestrian race, the order remained the same for the entire 2000m. Knapkova kept check on Balmary and Balmary, in turn, kept check on Obradovic. Crossing the finish line Knapkova rated a comfortable 28 strokes per minute. Knapkova, Balmary and Obradovic advance to the semifinal.

Quarterfinal 3

A large cheer went up when China’s Xiuyun Zhang’s name was called. An even larger cheer went up when it was announced that Zhang was in the lead. Owner of the World Best Time, Rumyana Neykova of Bulgaria followed closely in second with Australia’s Philippa Savage taking third. Savage got her Olympic berth confirmed at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in June and she is a relatively unknown factor being in her first year of international racing.

As Savage slipped off the pace, Neykova challenged Zhang. Zhang had no reply. The very experienced Bulgarian took over in the lead holding a solid 32 stroke rate. Coming into the last 400m Zhang decided to do a last challenge. Closing the gap on Neykova, Zhang raised her rate. Neykova reacted back and crossed the line first. Neykova, Zhang and Savage qualify for the semifinal.

Quarterfinal 4

There is no doubting the superiority of Ekaterina Karsten-Khodotovitch of Belarus. The 36-year-old has been going to the Olympics since 1992 and has been a career rower ever since she was identified under the former Soviet sports system. Today Karsten did what she has regularly done for the last three years – take the lead and then sit on the rest of the field.

Today Karsten took off at a 40 stroke rate and waited for Frida Svensson of Sweden to get tired. Then South Africa’s Rika Geyser attacked. But Karsten had taken the lead and that is where she remained. Settling into a powerful 30 stroke rate pace only Svensson and New Zealand’s Emma Twigg were within striking distance. Twigg, 21, has won at both the junior and under-23 level and she comes to the Beijing Olympics with one of the largest New Zealand rowing teams ever to be at the Olympics.

The top three positions were all but decided with only Svensson doing a bit of a burst at the end. Karsten, Svensson and Twigg advance to the semifinal.

Michelle GUERETTE (USA)
“It was not easy, but at 1000m I knew I had the potential to be in control. This regatta feels different because no one mellows out at the Olympic Games, even if ahead. Today I took it over better than in my heat. I felt good and it was exciting. The humidity is tough to deal with but it’s starting to feel more like normal racing. I’m gonna rest up, get ready to go again and take it to a new level, because all the competition is capable of that here.”

Ekaterina KARSTEN-KHODOTOVITCH (BLR)
“I’m very contented with this race, and did everything that I had planned with my coach. The quarter-final system makes for an extra race, which is not easy. For me, the first two races weren’t too hard, but it will be more difficult in the semi-final. My coach’s last words were ‘Viel Spass und viel Gluck’ (‘Enjoy the race and Good Luck’). My daughter is not here with me because she starts school in Germany today.”

Frida SVENSSON (SWE)
“I was in Athens; here it’s a lot harder but fun. There’s a lot more competition this time and we’re more evenly matched. I was very nervous before this race. When I got in my boat, and even at the start, I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. I’m happy to have qualified. For the past four years the last thing my coach says to me is ‘I’m cheering for you’, and I always reply ‘Thank you’.”

Xiuyun ZHANG (CHN)
“Rumyana Neykova is the third seed and a strong competitor, so it’s tough, but I used the quarter-final to find my own level. My performance was good although I made some mistakes. If I can pull it out at 1000m I should be able to challenge the Bulgarian, but you can never tell. The conditions are pretty comfortable, better than the last two days. I put in 100% effort, next time it will be 120%. I wear a jade bracelet and necklace because jade brings luck and helps people; the purple stripe is even luckier. The pig motif and the purple stripe in my necklace are very lucky in China.”

MEN'S SINGLE SCULLS (M1x)

The top three in each of these four quarterfinals would advance to the semifinal. All others would go to the C or D semifinal.

Quarterfinal 1

Alan Campbell of Great Britain jumped off the start line and into the lead, but there was very little in it between Campbell, Marcel Hacker of Germany and Andre Vonarburg of Switzerland. Campbell’s 39 stroke rate was matched by Hacker and Vonarburg also held on.

A push by Vonarburg around the 700m point gave the Swiss man the lead and going through the middle of the race Vonarburg remained in front. Then an unusually relaxed looking Hacker began to inch forward. By the 1500m mark Hacker had the lead stroking at 33. Campbell, who had been sitting around 31 strokes per minute for the body of the race, now moved coming into the final sprint. Hacker remained in a relaxed lead, Campbell charged, Vonarburg decided to accept third and took the pressure off. Hacker, Campbell and Vonarburg go to the semifinal.

Quarterfinal 2

Uruguay’s Leandro Salvagno was the first to show in quarterfinal two. Giving it all that he had Salvagno still had the lead at the 700m mark. But the Uruguayan had no move to give and slipped right back. This left reigning Olympic Champion, Olaf Tufte of Norway to take the lead. Keeping a solid 35 stroke rate, Tufte tried to pull away from closest rivals, Ioannis Christou of Greece and Mindaugas Griskonis of Lithuania.

The 22-year-old Griskonis was a last chance qualifier for the Olympics and warmed up by racing at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships last month. Today Griskonis turned into Tufte’s biggest threat. As Christou slipped back a bit in the final sprint, Griskonis decided to take on the Olympic Champion. Tufte held him off. Tufte, Griskonis and Christou move on to the semifinal.

Quarterfinal 3

There is no doubt about the growing confidence of Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic. Synek has earned nothing less than silver this season and world champion, Mahe Drysdale considers him the greatest challenger for gold. But it was Hiu Fung Liu of Hong Kong who led at the start. But by the first 500m mark, Synek had moved into the lead and settled into a solid 31 stroke rate pace.

As Law slipped to the back of the field, Belgium’s Olympian Tim Maeyens moved into second behind Synek. These two athletes moved clear away from the rest of the field with Australia’s Peter Hardcastle holding onto third.

Synek remained at a 31 stroke rate pace despite Maeyens pushing the pace in the final sprint. At the line Synek, Maeyens and an extremely happy Hardcastle advance to the semifinal.

Quarterfinal 4

Sjoerd Hamburger’s strategy must have been to get out fast and hold on. The Dutch sculler did exactly that today. Coming out of the start Hamburger had the lead over Lassi Karonen of Sweden and New Zealand’s Mahe Drysdale. Holding on to a 36 stroke rate Hamburger retained a slight margin. So far his plan was working.

Side by side, Drysdale and Karonen then decided it was time to make a move. At the 1250m mark Drysdale had gained the lead. Karonen followed suit. Coming into the final sprint Karonen, rating 36 strokes per minute, kept pressing Drysdale. Hamburger was fading.

Hamburger’s worsening condition gave Kenneth Jurkowski of the United States exactly what he needed. The self coached Jurkowski qualified for Beijing at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in June and, despite this being his first year internationally in the single, he looked to be taking the Olympics in his stride.

At the line Drysdale and Karonen crossed in a photo finish and Jukowski qualifies from third. The results revealed Drysdale finished just ahead of Karonen. Drysdale, Karonen and Jurkowski go on to the semifinal.

Andre VONARBURG (SUI)
“I really tried very hard and had a very fast first 1000m, but maybe didn’t have enough air left for the end. For the next race I’ll try to take it easier for the first half. The quarter-final system is much fairer.”

Alan CAMPBELL (GBR)
“I was really pleased everything went to plan; I gave a bit of a push to force Marcel Hacker to his own limits, but by that time he had it under wraps; Marcel did an excellent job. I was rowing well within myself; for the semi-final I’ve just got to come in the top three. I put a bit more in off the start this time but still had an early settle, keeping the rate a bit lower – just long and strong. In the next race I’ll rate a bit higher. I can’t let them slip ahead like that or even have a sniff. I had no problem lifting my rate as far as my knee is concerned, and I’d have got it in the neck if I’d gone any harder in the middle. ”

Olaf TUFTE (NOR)
“My performance in the Olympics so far has not been the best and I need to work on everything. I’m on the way to peak performance. These flat conditions make it more or less equal and everyone can row fast.”

Lassi KARONEN (SWE)
“I missed some power in the last strokes of the race to catch up with Mahe Drysdale and hope to have it there for the next race. I’m always nervous in the boating area, but on the water I’ve something to think about and the pressure is released.”

MEN'S PAIR (M2-)

Repechage

The top three crews in this one repechage would advance to the semifinal. The remainder would go to the C Final. Athens Olympic silver medallists, brothers Sinisa and Niksa Skelin of Croatia had the early lead. But there was nothing in it between these five crews. Less than two seconds separated the field.

Going through the middle of the race the Skelins remained in the lead followed closely by Denmark’s Morten Nielsen and Thomas Larsen and identical twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. A big push by the Danes got their boat ahead of the Skelins, but coming into the final 500m there was nothing between Denmark, Croatia and the United States. Then the least experienced crew in this race, the Winklevoss brothers did a huge push. Calling on all of their Harvard University rowing experience the Americans raised their stroke rate to 40. Croatia and Denmark tried to hold on.

The United States crossed the line in first. Croatia takes second and Denmark finish in third. These are the three boats that used their second chance to qualify for the semifinal. Behind them Great Britain and Poland will race in the C Final.

Tyler WINKLEVOSS (USA)
“We’re very happy about this race; we couldn’t have done much better – it was all we could ask for. We executed the race we practised and tried to approach it more calmly than our first race here when we tried to do too much. It’s only our second international race together and we don’t have too many expectations. It’s just great to be here and to race with the others. We’ve nothing to lose. One way to take the pressure off for us is to separate the race into small bits. Rowing with my twin brother works well; we have a good match mentally and physically.”

WOMEN'S DOUBLE SCULLS (W2x)

The four boats in each of these two repechages were aiming to finish in the top two. Doing this would give those boats a spot in the Final on Saturday. The remaining two boats would race again in the B Final.

Repechage 1

Germany’s Anne Katrin Thiele and Christiane Huth took off in the lead with Great Britain’s Elise Laverick and Anna Bebington following closely in second. Laverick is possibly the most experienced athlete in this race. She finished third at the Athens Olympics and with new partner, Bebington, Laverick will be hoping to medal again.

Thiele and Huth settled into a 34 stroke rate pace and moved further away from the British. Laverick and Bebington, however, had more to give. Closing on the Germans, Laverick and Bebington sprinted for the line. The dynamic duo got their stroke rate to 38 while the longer, slower style of the Thiele and Huth could not hold them off. Great Britain crossed the line in first to qualify for the Final. Germany hold on to second to also qualify.

Repechage 2

Megan Kalmoe and Ellen Tomek of the United States are in their first season together and showed that they had what it takes to be part of the US crew earlier this season by doing well at the US trials and also racing well at the Rowing World Cup. Today they jumped off the line first in the second repechage. But with 500m rowed there was less than a two-second spread over the entire field.

Surprisingly Jitka Antosova and Gabriela Varekova of the Czech Republic were the slowest out of the start. The duo had pushed the World Champion Chinese to the line in the heats. Had they overexerted themselves? Coming through the middle of the race, Antosova and Varekova had moved ahead of Ukraine and into third. The Czech duo then worked their way past Australia and coming into the final sprint the two-time under-23 champions, went after the USA.

Kalmoe and Tomek held the Czechs off. The United States and the Czech Republic go on to the Final. Australia and Ukraine will get to race in the Beijing Olympic B Final.

Christiane HUTH (GER)
“This was not our best performance and we can do more. On Saturday we know what we have to do better and then we’ll be back to fight again. At the start line we said ‘Work together with a bit of coolness’.”

Anna BEBINGTON (GBR)
“The race went to plan. We got on to a better rhythm and were much more efficient. We were able to put a sprint in at the end, which is our strength. In our heat we had to work a bit too hard, which meant we’d nothing left for the final sprint. There are 3 other strong crews in this event, China, New Zealand and Czech Republic; we’ll just have to take them down one at a time. We’ll need to raise our game again for the finals. We’ve beaten the Czechs a couple of times and they were up there with the Chinese so we are more than capable but we underperformed. GBR is a strong team and rowing is one of our most successful sports so now we can hold our heads up high because we have really achieved something.”

Ellen TOMEK (USA)
“It was a very solid race and the outcome was pretty exciting. Our coach’s last word was ‘Relax’. It’s our first Olympic Games and there are a lot more people here than we are used to. We could hear ‘Go USA’ from the tribune in the last 500m, maybe because China wasn’t in our heat. We’re not used to so much excitement, normally I can only hear heavy breathing behind me. By the way, before the race I said to Megan (Kalmoe) ‘Breathe!’”

Megan KALMOE (USA)
“At the airport when we arrived one of the volunteers asked ‘Is this your first time in Beijing?’ and we said ‘Yes’. She replied ‘ Well, this is my first time speaking English!’”

MEN’S DOUBLE SCULLS (M2x)

Repechage

One repechage in the men’s double required crews to finish in the top three for advancement to the semifinal. Russia’s Alexander Kornilov and Alexey Svirin burst off the line first. The Russians qualified for the Olympics at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in June and today they proved that they deserved to be here. Using a distinctive Russian upright style, Kornilov and Svirin held off Bart Poelvoorde and Christophe Raes of Belgium.

Coming into the final sprint Russia, rating 32, held on to the lead with Belgium following ever so closely in second. This is when the slow-starting Bulgarians decided it was time to move. Getting the better of the United States, Bulgaria, rating 38, pushed for the line. After the finish Russia, Belgium and Bulgaria had qualified for the semifinal. The United States and Iraq will return for the C Final.

Hussein JEBUR (IRQ)
“Today was great – I was very happy. It’s my first Olympics and we did our best, but we need to do lots of training to compete at this level.”

MEN’S FOUR (M4-)

Repechage

The one repechage in the men’s four required each crew to finish in the top three for advancement to the semifinal. This meant that the crew coming last would end their Olympic medal quest. Knowing that, all of the boats jumped off the start line at a cracking pace. The Czech Republic had the best pace. This young crew has been together for the last couple of years and have been knocking on the medals door at Rowing World Cup races. Today the Czechs moved out to a lead over France and held on.

France tried to attack but instead found themselves being chased hard by Belarus. China, at the back of the field, were also giving it their best. The sprint to the line brought the entire field closer to the Czechs. But the Czech Republic held them off. At the line the Czech Republic, France and Belarus advance to the semifinal. Unlucky China will be able to call themselves 13th in the world. Their Olympic racing is over.

Karel NEFFE Jr (CZE)
“Last season we had a very good final 500m which hasn’t been so good this season, including here. I have a lot of trouble recovering from the heat. From the first stroke of this repechage we were determined to win this race.”

MEN’S SINGLE SCULLS (M1x)

E/F Semifinal

The day ended with two semifinal races in the men’s single. The first race featured up and coming sculler, Mohsen Shadi Naghdeh of Iran. Naghdeh has only been rowing about 10 months but last month at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships he was very successful finishing with a silver medal. Today he dominated the first semifinal and looked in control and very confident crossing the line. Colombia followed in second and Uzbekistan took third. These three countries will race again in the E Final.

Venezuela’s Dhison Hernandez made no contest of the second semi. He lead comfortably from start to finish and will advance to the E Final. Cameroon and Algeria will join him.

Mohsen SHADI NAGHDEH (IRI)
“It was not very easy but I felt good today.”

Matthew MWANGE (KEN)
“The race felt very good – it was a fast time for me. The Games have shown me a lot. We have poor facilities at home so preparation was crude and we need as much support as we can get.”

Paul ETIA NDOUMBE (CMR)
“This is my first Olympic Games – it is an honour to participate and I thank FISA for giving me the chance to do so. It is a pleasure for me to row here for my own personal evolution. I started rowing in 2006 when I watched the Cameroon Cup and I’m the first person from Cameroon to row at the Olympic Games. I’m famous in my country and especially in my city, Douala. At home we have much older boats and I’m happy to have a good boat here.”