Hear the roar of the crowd and watch a new World Best Time

In a day of seven heat events Australians Daniel Noonan, Brendan Long, James McRae and Chris Morgan finished first in the men’s quad in a new World Best Time of 5:36.20. A pre-race rain shower freshened the air and cooled the 27 degree Celsius temperatures. With tail wind conditions favouring fast times the Shunyi regatta course welcomed the second day of heats that began with the lightweight women’s double and ended in postponement. The men’s and women’s eight were postponed as approaching thunderstorms made rowing unsafe.

LIGHTWEIGHT WOMEN'S DOUBLE SCULLS (LW2x)

The top two from each of the three heats would get to progress to the semifinal with all other places returning for the repechage. These crews included countries that had qualified through the Latin American, Asian and African Olympic qualification regattas.

Heat 1

Dutch duo Kirsten van der Kolk and Marit van Eupen were third at the Athens Olympics. Van der Kolk then took some time out while van Eupen went on to claim the world champion title in the lightweight single for 2005, 2006 and 2007. They came back together early this year to bring back the Olympic magic. Qualifying for Beijing at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta, the Dutch made it clear that they were Olympic medal contenders. Every time they get into their boat they step into gold coloured shoes.

Today van der Kolk and van Eupen stepped ahead of current world champions, Amber Halliday and Marguerite Houston of Australia going through the 700m mark. The long lay-back style of the Australians did not seem to be helping them stay up with the Dutch pace and coming into the third 500 Halliday and Houston found themselves under pressure from the United States.

Renee Hykel and Jen Goldsack of the United States, like the Dutch, qualified in June at the last chance regatta and this season they have already indicated that, despite their relative short time together, they are a force to be reckoned with. Van Eupen and van der Kolk settled into a 31 stroke rate rhythm, while Australia and the United States held a close battle. Coming into the final sprint Hykel and Goldsack took their rating up to 38. Australia hit 34 and the Netherlands matched them.

At the line the Netherlands and Australia move on to the semifinal. Unlucky US miss out by .09 of a second.

Heat 2

With five of these crews regulars on the international stage, it was hard to guess at the start who would come out on top. Melanie Kok and Tracy Cameron of Canada decided to set the pace and they took off in the lead followed closely by Germany and Great Britain. Kok and Cameron were put together after trials earlier this season determined that they were their nation’s fastest pairing. This meant that Lindsay Jennerich, who qualified this boat with Cameron last year at the World Rowing Championships, went into the single.

Canada remained in the lead but with just 500m left to row Berit Carow and Marie-Louise Draeger of Germany had closed the gap. Using a powerful 34 stroke rate Carow and Draeger were overtaking the Canadians. Kok and Cameron reacted with a 38 stroke rate. Carow and Draeger remained on a solid, steady 34. Kok and Cameron could not hold on. At the line Germany qualify for the semifinal from first and Canada hold off Great Britain to qualify from second.

Heat 3

Sitting in the starting blocks was China. If Dongxiang Xu and Hua Yu of China could have heard the roar of thousands of mainly Chinese spectators at the finish of the race, they would have been further motivated. Xu and Yu took off in the lead and by the 250m mark, still rating 39, the Chinese had gained a full boat length lead. A gutsy Japanese crew of Misaki Kumakura and Akiko Iwamoto slipped into second followed closely by Katrin Olsen and Juliane Rasmussen of Denmark.

Xu and Yu continued to hold a boat length lead through the middle of the race with Olsen and Rasmussen working on overtaking Japan. Last year Denmark finished third at the World Rowing Championships and they have been regular medallists at Rowing World Cup races in 2007 as well.

Coming into the final sprint the Danes had overtaken Japan and was closing the gap on a surprised Chinese crew. The crowd, sounding every bit like the roar of a football stadium crowd, went wild. Denmark, rating 37 were closing fast. China went to 37, then 39. Denmark followed suit. At the line only a second separated these two boats. Yu and Xu had held off the feisty Danes. Both boats will go to the semifinal. Japan will return for the repechage.

Kirsten van der KOLK (NED)
“I am satisfied with our performance; yes, we’ve had injury hiccups but we are experienced and can find a way through. We just make the best of it. We decided to come together again in November and chose gold shoes to remind us of our goal with every stroke.”

Berit CAROW (GER)
“We were happy with our performance and glad not to have to go to the repechage. This was a hard heat and we hoped to win, but you can’t predict it. Our strong performances at the Rowing World Cups don’t count because there are always unknowns, especially, for us, Finland, who have been racing in the heavyweight category. The Olympic Village is more huge than we expected; every day is an adventure which makes it difficult to calm down and focus when you row.”

Hua YU (CHN)
“The race went well. It’s difficult to predict the result because conditions are always changing. The Olympic Regatta is very different to Rowing World Cups because there is greater competition."

Helen CASEY (GBR)
“The race went as well as we could have hoped. We beat a couple of crews we have not beaten before. We could react better at the start, although it went as well as it could have done. There’s always more speed to be found and every race is good practice.”

LIGHTWEIGHT MEN'S DOUBLE SCULLS (LM2x)

The top two boats from each of these four heats would avance to the semifinal. All other boats would need to return for another chance through the repechage.

Heat 1

At the start Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter of Great Britain hit the ground running topping their opening pace at 49 strokes per minute. Purchase and Hunter then settled into a high 39 stroke rate and sent a message to the rest of the crews. Beat this! Greece and Germany held on. Greece comes to these Olympics with 2005 world champion in the lightweight single, Vasileios Polymeros sitting in stroke. Polymeros is the first Greek to medal in rowing. He took bronze in 2004 in the lightweight double scull.

Greece were managing the best to hold on to Great Britain’s pace. The British came together last year with Purchase being a 2006 world champion, like Polymeros, in the lightweight single. The British duo finished third at the World Rowing Championships last year. Coming into the final sprint Great Britain raised their rate to 39 to cross the line first. Polymeros and partner Dimitrios Mougios stuck at a long and tidy 32 to finish second. Both these boats will move directly to the semifinal. Hunter and Purchase’s finishing tome of 6:13 gives them an unofficial best Olympic time.

Heat 2

Australia’s Tom Gibson and Samuel Beltz belted off the start line at a cracking pace but Cuba, China and Italy were very much on their case. Italy’s Elia Luini and Marcello Miani only got selected to be their country’s Olympic double in June and they have good reason to be chosen. Luini is no stranger to Olympic Games while Miani has been very successful at the under 23 level.

Coming through the middle of the race Italy, who sprinted off the start at a 47 stroke rate pace, took the lead from Gibson and Beltz. But there was still very little in it between Italy, Australia and China who all crossed the 1000m mark practically in a line, with Cuba still within striking distance. As Italy remained leading, Guolin Zhang and Jie Sun of China took over as the closest attackers. In the sprint to the line Zhang and Sun topped out at 40 strokes per minute, Italy was at 39 and so was Australia. Italy crossed the line in first, China followed in second. Australia, who took the pressure off one stroke before the line, will have to return for the repechage.

Heat 3

To the joy of the red and white dressed Canadians in the crowd, Douglas Vandor and Cameron Sylvester of Canada had the lead. Keeping their stoke rate high, Vandor and Sylvester remained ahead of their nearest rivals, Hungary and World Best Time holders and current world champions, Mads Rasmussen and Rasmus Quist of Denmark. Going through the middle of the race Rasmussen and Quist were out of qualifying contention in third. They decided to do something about it. Hungary couldn’t hold them off. The Danes were on fire. Vandor and Sylvester kept their stroke rate high, but the Danes weren’t stopping at second. They wanted first.

Coming through to the finish line a long and strong 36 stroke rate was enough to give Rasmussen and Quist the first place spot. Meanwhile Hungary were running out of steam. The last 10m could not come fast enough. Canada had held on to second. Denmark and Canada go directly to the semifinal.

Heat 4

A year ago New Zealand tried to qualify for the Beijing Olympics when they raced at the World Rowing Championships. They missed out. Changing one member of the crew, Storm Uru joined Peter Taylor and at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta they finished first to qualify. Today the black clad duo from New Zealand took off in the lead with a powerful 42 stroke rate speed. For both of these athletes this is their first time at the Olympic Games and their success internationally has come through success at the under 23 level.

France’s Maxime Goisset and Frederic Dufour slipped into second as Uru and Taylor moved further away from the rest of the field. Could anyone else get back into these two qualifying spots? Portugal, now in third, decided to give it a go. Portugal has shown their fast finishes before and they charged. But there was not enough course left. New Zealand and France advance to the semifinal.
 

Mark HUNTER (GBR)
“It’s a very good start to the regatta. Greece has a very good crew, so it was great to get in front of them for this race. It was nerve wracking before the start of this regatta not to know the form of the others. As for the weather, we came here extra early to get used to it, so we are trying not to make it a factor of our performance.”

Marcello MIANI (ITA)
“This was a satisfactory performance but we normally start faster. At 500m we were third – it’s a high standard here. We maintained our rhythm, didn’t waste too much energy, pushed through and won. Obviously we hope to win but it’ll be really close.”

Guolin ZHANG (CHN)
“It was fairly steady. The Italians performed really well but I’m not really sure what happened. We’ve been rowing together for 6 months, but now we are like completely synchronised!”

Dimitrios MOUGIOS (GRE)
“We’re satisfied with this race. We were close to Great Britain who are one of the favourites – they won the three World Cups this year and have been very stable. We are Greek and we invented the Olympic Games, so obviously a medal here is placed high in our ambitions.”

LIGHTWEIGHT MEN'S FOUR (LM4-)

The murmur around the media tribune was that this was the event that would be won on the day with no real favourite standing out. Crews needed to finish in the top three spots if they wanted to advance to the semifinal. All crews, weighing in two hours before at no more that 72.5kg, knew this.

Heat 1

Great Britain is the reigning world champions. China was the 2006 world champions. They met in heat one at the Beijing Olympic Games. China has retained the crew that won two years ago – Jun Tian, Lin Zhang, Chongkui Wu and Zhongming Huang. Today the Chinese took off in the lead followed closely by Great Britain with Australia in third. Holding the stroke rate in the low 40s China maintained the lead.

Approaching the half way point Great Britain remained behind China on their solid 37 stroke rate. China was in a strong position to counter any attack levelled on them by the British. The order remained unchanged. China, Great Britain and Australia advance to the semifinal.

Heat 2

Breaking out at the start using a 47 stroke rate, Denmark set the pace. The Danes have managed to salvage famed Olympic Champions, Eskild Ebbesen and Thomas Ebert from retirement and join them with Mads Andersen and Morten Joergensen to form a lightweight force. They finished sixth a year ago but seem to have been building their pace throughout this season. Moving in behind Denmark was Italy and Canada with the United States slightly off the pace.

Denmark of the past would come down the 2000m course rating around 40 strokes per minute. The Denmark of today, sporting a different coach from their 2004 Olympic Champion days, chose a more sedate 36 – 37 stroke rate. It didn’t stop them remaining in the lead. Meanwhile Canada and Italy tussled for the second spot. Despite Italy’s high stroke rate, Canada remained in front. Denmark, Canada and Italy will go to the semifinal. Denmark's time of 5:50.12 gives them a new Olympic best time.

Heat 3

France finished first in 2005. This crew was built around Jean-Christophe Bette (gold at the 2000 Olympics). But Bette suffered a hernia last month putting his Olympic challenge into doubt. Today they went out in the lead at a 42 stroke rate. But Germany had their sights set on the lead and going through the 900m mark Germany moved into first. Bastian Seibt, Jost Schoemann-Finck, Jochen and Martin Kuehner of Germany have had to prove themselves throughout this season to earn the Olympic spot and they were looking solid today.

Holding a solid 35 stroke rate pace Germany remained in the lead with France resigning themselves to second. Meanwhile a very close race was going on between Poland and Ireland for the third and only remaining qualifying spot. This battle brought these two crews closer and closer to the leading boats. Coming into the line there was absolutely nothing between Poland, Ireland and France. Taking the race to a photo finish Ireland had just missed out.

Germany, France and Poland advance to the semifinal. Ireland will get a second chance in the repechage in two day’s time.

Paul MATTICK (GBR)
“It was a good start and a good race – we’ve re-found our form. It’s always good to race China, who are our arch rivals. We look forward to racing them again. We had a strong second half, but in the next race, with different conditions, we’ll have a different row.”

Richard CHAMBERS (GBR)
“This was a great confidence boost. Although we didn’t beat China we pulled back and I know that the Chinese were giving it their all. Back in the World Championships our starts weren’t always good; we were not afraid to try new things which didn’t always work, but this was seriously good and seriously enjoyable. We’re definitely up there with the best. Everyone tells us to go forward as fast as possible, but we go backwards as fast as possible!”

Bastian SEIBT (GER)
“We like to think of ourselves as a strong boat. We are happy to have won but not surprised. We feel the Olympic Spirit, but at the rowing venue it doesn’t feel different from any other regatta because we try to stay really focused. The Olympic Village is like being in a great family – everyone in harmony, nobody is angry. We race against Egypt, Ireland and others all season and it’s nice to meet them here again because we are good friends.”

WOMEN'S QUADRUPLE SCULLS (W4x)

The idea here was to finish first. This would give a direct path to the final and no more racing until next Sunday finals day.

Heat 1

It was essentially no competition. China broke away at the start and that, pretty much, was that. Bin Tang, Ziwei Jin, Aihua Xi and Yangyang Zhang of China had finished in third a year ago but this season they have proven a faster boat speed by taking Rowing World Cup gold ahead of world champions Great Britain.

Settling into a 32 stroke rate pace, China looked to be enjoying themselves, Zhang sporting a smile. Russia put up a bit of a fight at the start but then faded to the back looking sluggish through the water. Ukraine tried to step up the pace, but could hardly put a dent in the Chinese lead. The crowd loved it. School children stand on the bank near the 1500m mark made lots of noise. China advances directly to Sunday’s final with an unofficial Olympic best time.

Heat 2

For a good few years Germany ruled the roost in this event. Then in 2005 Great Britain took over. Since then Great Britain have picked up two more world champion titles. Germany has had to get used to second. Today they met in heat 2 and it was Great Britain that found the lead.

With Germany settling into a 32 stroke rate pace behind Stephanie Schiller in stroke, Great Britain remained just in front on 33. Schiller comes to rowing from a swimming background. She was told that she was not fast enough for competitive swimming and instead is now a rowing Olympian at the age of 22.

Great Britain held off Germany to finish on a 33 stroke rate and in the one qualifying spot for Sunday’s final. If Katherine Grainger, Frances Houghton, Debbie Flood and Annie Vernon of Great Britain can take gold on Sunday they will go into history as the first Olympic rowing gold for British women.

Debbie FLOOD (GBR)
“We’ve settled down to the heat and been out in all weather conditions because we need to be able to race in all weather conditions. I had a tiny scratch on my hand which got knocked in the race. The Chinese medics thought I was dying so rushed over.”

Frances HOUGHTON (GBR)
“That was really good; we had a good start. It was very exciting, it was hard but it was calm and composed – really satisfying. For next week we’ll just be trying to get better and better – fine tuning and technique.”

Annie VERNON (GBR)
“That was a very composed row. My crew told me that in this event Germany has not been beaten in the last two Olympics, but I haven’t been at the Olympics before so it will be fine! We wanted to lead from the front and control it; we were aware of Germany but it never felt that they would come through. It was a tough race because a heat here is a big step up from a World Rowing Championships final. Obviously I feel pressured but I was really excited and just wanted to go out and enjoy it.”

MEN'S QUADRUPLE SCULLS (M4x)

In the first round of this event crews needed to finish in the top three positions if they wanted to advance directly to the semifinal. Not finishing in the top three meant returning for a repechage.

Heat 1

Russia is the Olympic Champions in this event but they have done very little since in terms of winning medals. Today they decided to put the last three years behind them and go for gold. Jumping off the line in the lead Russia found strong challenges coming from Australia, Italy and Estonia. By the half way point Australia had slipped into second and closed the gap on the leading Russians.

Then coming through the third 500, Sydney Olympic gold medallists, Italy stepped into action. Russia, meanwhile looked like they had run out of steam. This seems to be a Russian trend of late – a fast start and then a fade. Italy took over in the lead. Australia followed hard. Taking their stroke rate to 39 Australia closed on Italy. In the last stroke Australia earned the lead. Australia, Italy and Russia advance to the semifinal.

Australia’s time of 5:36.20 gives them a new World Best Time, beating previous record holders, Poland by more than a second.

Heat 2

Poland comes to these Olympics as three time world champions. Up until a few minutes ago they held the World Best Time and up until earlier this season they were unbeaten since 2005. Today Poland looked to be back to their winning ways. They took off in the lead over France. The French pushed hard but a smooth and powerful Polish crew remained on a steady 32 stroke rate and remained in the lead. As the race progressed France slipped further back.

Meanwhile the real race was going on between Belarus and Cuba for the third qualifying spot. Belarus had the edge but Cuba was pressing hard. Belarus knew this and took their stroke rate to 43 in the final sprint to hold off the Cubans. Poland, France and Belarus advance to the semifinal. Belarus can boast the heaviest rower at this regatta. Pavel Shurmei is 114kg.

Heat 3

Germany has put together a crew of youth and experience for this event. In bow Stephan Krueger is just 19 years old. He finished first last year in the quad at the under 23 level. Hans Gruhne, in three seat, recently turned 20 and is a former junior singles champion (2006). Today they got out to an early lead, but with 500m rowed there was nothing in it between the four crews in this race. Going through the 900m mark Ukraine did a 10 stroke kick that gave them the lead over Germany. The Germans held on followed closely by the United States.

Coming into the final sprint Ukraine remained in the lead with Germany looking satisfied on a 33 stroke rate to remain in second. A rough looking United States crew followed comfortably in third with Slovenia back off the pace. Ukraine, Germany and the United States advance to the semifinal.

Christopher MORGAN (AUS)
“We are very surprised to have done the world’s best time! It just felt so good out there; we weren’t focusing on the time or the place, just on the boat, and we had a really good rhythm from the start. The Russians are very good starters so we weren’t surprised by their fast start. For three of us it’s our first Olympic Games so everything is very exciting. Our aim is to make the ‘A’ Final and we’ll think about the medal after that.”

Adam KOROL (POL)
“Today was much better weather. We are happy because we had a very good race and especially a very fast start. This is what we were nervous about after our slow start in Poznan, which put us in only 3rd position. We are very surprised that Australia beat the World Best time in the other heat – we are in shock! We all went to the Opening Ceremony but sat in the tribune.”