Grant in front, Chalupa is back on day one at rowing champs

Poznan, Poland is the venue and the city turned on temperatures in the low 20s Celsius with a slight tail wind on the 2000m Malta regatta course. New Zealand’s Duncan Grant continued on his third year of dominating the lightweight single, while Vaclav Chalupa of the Czech Republic showed off is 41 years of strength. 

LIGHTWEIGHT MEN’S EIGHT (LM8+)

Stirring up the waters of Lake Malta for the first day of racing at the 2009 World Rowing Championships, the men of the lightweight eight was divided into two heats. This meant that the top two places would get a direct path to the final. This meant that potentially the winners would have a whole week before their finals race. Last year the United States won. This year the US raced to victory in Heat Two. But the Americans time was less than a second faster that winners of Heat One, Italy.

Italy have a fine reputation in lightweight rowing and in heat one they made no mistakes by leading from start to finish. With Olympian names like Bruno Mascarenhas in stroke seat and Juri Vlcek sitting behind him, the Italians will be looking to get back on top after finishing fourth last year. The United States have come with just Matt Muffelman returning from the 2008 gold medal crew. They led the Netherlands who are last year’s bronze medallists, and became the second qualifying crew from the second heat. 

Germany had to push past France in Heat One to also qualify. The Germans were second in 2008 and it looks like a faster start will put them in a medal winning position after they came back from a slow start to nealy catch the leading Italians. 

Results Heat One: ITA – GER – FRA – AUT – HUN

Results Heat Two: USA – NED –  JPN – TUR

Stefan Wallat, Stephan Ertmer, Jonas Schuetzeberg, Lukas Oberhausen, Olaf Beckmann, Ole tietz, Moritz Hafner, Martin Eiermann, Nils Hoffmann (GER) – Heat one – 2nd
"We're happy, it was a good race for the one we do in this combination.  We nevertheless have other plans for Sunday … Italy was not that far!" Ole Tietz

Thom Van Den Anker, Diederick Van Den Bouwhuijsen, Maarten Tromp, Jolmer Van Der Sluis, Stijn Verwey, Rutger Bruil, Dion Van Schie, Joeri Brushinski, Rayn Den Drijver (NED) – Heat Two – 2nd
“We didn’t start very well and were a bit lazy on the first 750m. But then we managed to catch up to the Americans. It was a bit too late though. You will see more in the final. We have been training together already since March and have prepared in Munich for this World Championship.” Dion Van Schie

MEN’S COXED PAIR (M2+)

The easiest way to describe this is the equivalent of doing about 260 leg presses over the water. These heavyweights of rowing often carry more muscle so that they can get the 55kg coxswain to the finish line. This year seven countries entered boats with the seven divided into two heats. The top boat in each heat would get a direct path to the final. 

Heat One featured 41 year old Vaclav Chalupa. The unstoppable Czech has set his life up to suit rowing. He lives in the town of Racice which is right next to his country’s 2000m rowing regatta course. Chalupa raced with Jakub Makovicka who he’ll also race in the men’s pair event. The duo had Oldrich Hejdusek coxing them. After pushing past Canada (last year’s winners), the Czech’s took over the lead and secured a solid first place to qualify.

Heat Two was led from start to finish by Troy Kepper and Henrik Rummel of the United States, with Marcus McElhenney coxing them. This duo have only raced twice before over the 2000m distance, but the skill of McElhenney must have helped. Olympic medallist, McElhenney will also be coxing his country’s medal prospect boat, the men’s eight. Finishing in 7:04 gives Kepper and Rummel the fastest qualifying time and will not race again until the final on Sunday.  

Results Heat One: CZE – ITA – CAN – UKR

Results Heat Two: USA – FRA – GER

Troy Kepper, Henrik Rummel, Marcus Mc Elhenney (USA) –  Heat Two – 1st
“We executed just as we talked about it. Heats at the Worlds are always tough, because it’s the first time you actually see the other crews and this was only our third 2k together.” Henrik Rummel

Jakub Makovicka, Vaclac Chalupa Jr., Oldrich Hejdusek (CZE) – Heat One – 1st
“We executed just as we talked about it. Heats at the Worlds are always tough, because it’s the first time you actually see the other crews and this was only our third 2k together.” Henrik Rummel

LIGHTWEIGHT WOMEN’S SINGLE (LW1X)

These rowers from 17 nations had to weigh in two hours before racing and hit 59kg or lower. Divided into three heats, the top two in each heat would go to the semifinal to be raced on Friday. Reigning World Champion, Pamela Weisshaupt of Switzerland overtook Germany’s very experienced Daniela Reimer to take the lead in Heat One. Weisshaupt, 30, is in her second decade of racing internationally. The Swiss sculler will have a tough time defending her title after qualifying slightly slower than the next two heats. But Weisshaupt is through to the semifinal along with Reimer.

This event seems to hold on to athletes for years. In Heat Two, at the head of the field, were two rowing stalwarts. Michaela Taupe-Traer of Austria and Mirna Rajle Brodanac of Croatia have both fitted rowing in to the rest of their life and continued to compete at the top level. Rajle is also raising a child so the freedom of a single enables her to continue rowing. Taupe-Traer and Rajle have raced each other many times over the years and tody Taupe-Traer had the edge, although only just, over Rajle at the finish line. Both boats will go directly to the semifinal. 

The fastest qualifying time went to Heat Three and Italy’s Laura Milani. Milani set off out of the starting blocks at an identical pace to Sweden’s Sara Karlsson with the United States and Hong Kong China right on the pace. Karlsson raced in the double with her twin sister for a number of years, but after her sibling retired Sara continued on in the single. With Milani settling out in front, Karlsson found herself going head to head with the United States. A better finishing sprint by Karlsson gave her the qualifying spot along with Milani.

Results Heat One: SUI – GER – GRE – ESP – JPN – KOR

Results Heat Two: AUT – CRO – DEN – BEL – MEX -. GBR

Results Heat Three: ITA – SWE – USA – CZE – HKG

Pamela Weisshaupt  (SUI) – Heat One – 1st
"I arrived last Thursday and I know Poznan since 1995; my first World Junior Championship (8th in JW4x).  I feel like home here.  I'm really happy to race here and I wish it's gonna be a great WM" Pamela Weisshaupt

Michaela Taupe-Traer (SWE) – Heat Two – 1st
“I’m very excited. Winning the heat is a great start of these World Championships. This gives me self-confidence for the semi on Friday and hopefully also for Sunday. It was decided after Lucerne that I would be rowing the single here and since then we have prepared ourselves at different locations in Austria.” Michaela Taupe-Traer

LIGHTWEIGHT MEN’S SINGLE (LM1X)

This event always attracts a whole swag of nations and 2009 was no exception. With 24 countries entered, four heats were needed and only the top boat from each heat would get a free path directly to the semifinal, all other boat would return for the repechage. 

Jaap Schouten of the Netherlands led the way in Heat One. Schouten finished second last year, but decided to try the Olympic event, the lightweight double, for this season. Swapping back to the freedom of the single, Schouten scored the second fastest qualifying time overall after holding off Great Britain and then continuing to hold the pressure right through to the finish line. Schouten goes directly to the semifinal. 

The Second Heat saw a whole bunch of former team boat rowers. At the start South Africa’s former lightweight four rower, Lawrence Ndlovu was in the lead. With former lightweight doubles World Champion, Tamas Varga (HUN) in second. Then Denmark’s Mads Rasmussen came through to take the lead. Rasmussen is a World Champion as well as an Olympic medallist in the lightweight double and he has been competing this season for the first time in the single. Rasmussen finished second at the final Rowing World Cup and will be hoping to medal at these all important World Rowing Championships. Rasmussen stayed in the lead until the finish to qualify for the semifinal. 

In 2005 Vasileios Polymeros of Greece stepped out of the Olympic medal winning boat from the year before, the lightweight double, to become the World Champion in the single. Polymeros went back into the double to medal again at the Beijing Olympics. The Greek raced at the head of the field today in Heat Three. Polymeros is Greece’s most successful rower. Behind him was Japan’s most successful rower, Daisaku Takeda. Takeda could not match Polymeros’s pace and will have to return for the repechage. Polymeros will go directly to the semifinal. 

It took until Heat Four for the audience to get a look at reigning World Champion, Duncan Grant of New Zealand. Grant has dominated the single since his first World Champion win in 2007 and today he looked like the one to beat after crossing the line in the fastest qualifying time. Behind Grant, Chile’s top lightweight, Felipe Leal Atero remained in second, unable to close the gap on the New Zealander.

Results Heat One: NED – GBR – ITA – UKR – FIN – IRQ

Results Heat Two: DEN – HUN – SUI – RSA – USA – GER

Results Heat Three: GRE – JPN –  SVK – ESP – POL – BRA

Results Heat Four: NZL – CHI – IRI – HKG – IND – UZB

 Mads Rasmussen (DEN) – Heat Two- 1st
"I've been 8 years in the double with Rasmus (Quist). We had a great partnership and lots of successes but it's a long time now before the next olympics.  We both wanted new challenges.  I miss Rasmus on the way because I could just follow him to sprint!  I'm really excited about this new challenges" Mads Rasmussen

Duncan Grant (NZL) – Heat Three – 1st
"I wanted a good race for the first one of the regatta and that's why I increased my rating at the end.  I will not be racing again until Friday and needed a solid row as it has been a while since the last race.  It also gave me a good feeling of the rowing course and how the wind blows here – actually all around the place."  Duncan Grant