Men’s quad goes to new level at rowing champs

This event has been dominated by Poland in recent years and they would dearly love to win in front of their home crowd, but nothing looks set in stone after today’s races. The quad was just one of seven Olympic events raced today on the waters of Malta Lake. The waters were not ideal for rowers who faced a stiff head wind and first 1000m cross winds which meant later races had troubles staying in their assigned lanes.

LIGHTWEIGHT WOMEN’S DOUBLE SCULLS (LW2x)

Three heats meant a total of six crews would advance to semifinals A/B.

Poland’s Magdalena Kemnitz and Agnieszka Renc were determined to put on a show on their home waters in Heat One. Magdalena Kemnitz won a silver medal at the European Championships held on the Malta Regatta Course two years ago. Dashing out of the starting blocks, the Poles decided to take ownership of the leading position and hold on to it. Canada’s Lindsay Jennerich and Sheryl Preston, bronze medalists in Banyoles, secured the second qualifying position. The two qualifying positions remained unchanged until the line.

Alexandra Tsiavou of Greece comes to these World Rowing Championships with experience. A two-time under-23 Champion in the lightweight women’s single, Tsiavou went on to medal at the World Rowing Championships and row at the Olympic Games in the lightweight double. Following the retirement of former partner Chrysi Biskitzi , Tsiavou lined up at the start today with new partner Christina Giazitzidou in Heat Two. As expected, the Greeks showed off their talent and experience and stayed out in front, with Germany’s Anja Noske and Marie-Louise Draeger following tightly behind in second. Both crews qualify for the semifinal.

In Heat Three, it was Great Britain’s Hester Goodsell and Sophie Hosking dominating the race, as they have done throughout the 2009 Rowing World Cup series. Goodsell and Hosking made history earlier this year by becoming Great Britain’s first female lightweight rowers to ever win gold at a World Rowing regatta. Following Great Britain down the course were Australia’s new crew of Bronwen Watson and Alice McNamara. The Aussies were previously part of the lightweight women’s quad that won gold at two successive World Rowing Championships, in 2007 and 2008. The Aussies stuck closely with Great Britain, and at the line only one second separated the two crews.

Lindsay Jennerich, Sheryl Preston (CAN) – Heat One – 2nd
“Next time I won’t catch a crab!” Lindsay Jennerich

LIGHTWEIGHT MEN’S DOUBLE SCULLS (LM2x)

A total of eight crews (top two finishers of each race) would qualify for the semifinals through four heats.

New Zealand remain to be beaten in this boat class. Storm Uru and Peter Taylor won gold in both Rowing World Cups that they competed in this year – Munich and Lucerne. In Heat One, they demonstrated that they have not lost their form since Lucerne. Georgious Konsolas and Dimitrios Mougios of Greece followed, determined to pick the second qualifying spot. This is Konsolas’s first senior regatta and he is the new partner of 2008 Olympic silver medallist Dimitrios Mougios. The crews in qualifying position remained unchanged until the line.

In Heat Two, the top two crews would be Great Britain and Italy. Great Britain have a new crew this year, as their Olympic Champion crew took a break after the Olympic Games. Rob Williams and Paul Mattick have yet to medal this year, but today they proved that their training leading up to the World Rowing Championships has paid off – they led from the start. Italy’s Elia Luini and Marcello Miani medalled twice this season, and come to Poland with the goal to do just as well at the World Rowing Championships. The Italians however could not catch up with the Brits who finished a boat length ahead in first.

It was all about France and Cuba in Heat Three. France’s new combination of Jeremie Azou and Frederic Dufour seems to be working well, with a first medal won together (bronze) in Lucerne this year. Dufour is the more experienced of the two, with Olympic silver from 2004 under his belt. The French took charge of the race from the start, with Cuba behind in challenging position. Yunior Perez Aguilera rowed in the Olympic Final last year and rows here with Manuel Suarez Barrios. France and Cuba go to the semifinal.

Cameron Sylvester and Douglas Vandor come back to the rowing scene this year after illness made last year’s Olympic regatta a disappointing experience. They medalled twice (silver) during the 2009 Rowing World Cup series, and in Heat Four took control of the race, with Germany’s Christian Hochbruck and Lars Harting holding on tightly in second. After the 1500m mark, the Canadians managed to widen the gap with the Germans, finishing four seconds ahead. Both crews advance to the semifinal.

LIGHTWEIGHT MEN’S FOUR (LM4-)

The 20 countries lined up had been seeded into four heats with the top two boats in each heat getting a direct path to the semifinal. It has taken all season, but it looks like Poland has finally found some form.

In Heat One Poland led from start to finish. The Poles took a surprise silver at last year’s Olympic Games, but they have failed to perform this season, unable to make an A-final. Have they planned their season to peak at these home-country World Rowing Championships? The margins between the boats, however, was small. Going through the half-way point less than two seconds separated the top five boats, with the Dutch holding on to second.

As France and the United States began to drop back, Poland managed to gain a slight edge advantage, but the Dutch continued to push hard. A big sprint by the Netherlands and France closed put the Polish lead in threat. But the Poles had enough to hold on. Poland and the Netherlands earn a spot in the semifinal.

It was no surprise to see Spain in the lead of Heat Two. The four are known for their fast starts and have been putting the heat on leading crews in this event all season. The Czech Republic, who have been improving all season, did not let the Spaniards get away and the two crews held a one-on-one battle at the head of the field.  The Czechs, which include the former lightweight double of Jan and Ondrej Vetesnik, then managed to push past Spain and earn a slight lead. Spain held on with Great Britain joining in the sprint to the line. Great Britain had left their push just a fraction too late. The Czech Republic and Spain go to the semifinal.

Denmark are feeling confident in Heat Three. They figure the current crew could outshine the famous Golden Four of the past and they have begun to prove this by winning all three Rowing World Cups this season. But it was Japan who had the lead. The Japanese have focused on their lightweight men’s double in recent years, but under new coach Diethelm Maxrath a four has become the priority boat. Japan got out in front with only Denmark able to challenge them for the lead. As the rest of the field slipped back, Denmark continued to pressure the Japanese and coming into the final sprint had nearly caught them. Denmark then turned on a 39 stroke rate pace to out-sprint the Japanese. Denmark and Japan go to the semifinal.

It took until Heat Four for the fastest qualifying time to be recorded and it was done by Germany. Matthias and Jost Schoemann-Finck and Jochen and Martin Kuehner are the special brothers combination boat for Germany who have been recording fast times all season.  Coming out in the lead, the Germans tried to shake off Italy. The Italians, however, did not just want to qualify, they wanted a first place. Stroked by Giogio Tuccinardi, Italy continued to press hard through the middle of the race. Germany remained in the lead and countered every move of the Italians. Germany cross the line first with Italy qualifying for the semifinal from second. Germany’s time of 6:34.06 has set the standard.

Matthias Schoemann-Finck, Jost Schoemann-Finck, Jochen Kuehner, Martin Kuehner (GER) – Heat Four – 1st
“We were leading right from the start and were a length in front at 500m. The Italians were our main opponents. When they settled in second we relaxed a bit more. This was a good start for the rest of the week. We wanted to win this and set an exclamation mark.” Jost Schoemann-Finck

WOMEN’S QUADRUPLE SCULLS (W4x)

This event had two heats with only the winner getting a direct path to Sunday’s final. Results so far this season have been varied with Germany looking to show the way, but today’s results changed all of that.

In Heat One it was Ukraine in the lead with Germany back in second. Ukraine are in their first season together and their first international race together. Stroked by Yana Dementieva, Ukraine was able to use the element of surprise in this race.

Germany has been reconstituted for the World Rowing Championships. Sitting in the boat is Annekatrin Thiele and Christiane Huth who finished second in the double at the Beijing Olympics and have spent most of this season in the double. Now in the quad, Germany found that they could not sustain the pace of Ukraine and in the second half of the race slipped back to third behind Great Britain. Ukraine take the one qualifying spot. Perhaps their element of surprise is now diminished.

Heat Two also had an element of surprise. The United States boat was racing for the first time together internationally with newcomer Kathleen Bertko in stroke. Bertko raced in the eight at the final Rowing World Cup, but has since been transferred to the quad. The new line-up of Bertko, Sarah Trowbridge, Stesha Carle and Megan Walsh worked well. The United States took the lead and moved away from a fast-starting Russian crew. By the half-way point the US had nearly a full boat length lead over Italy, now in second. Bertko then moved her crew clear of the rest of the field. The United States go directly to the final.

Megan Walsh, Stesha Carle, Sarah Trowbridge, Kathleen Bertko (USA) – Heat Two – 1st
“We had a good, solid heat according to race plans.” Sarah Trowbridge

MEN’S QUADRUPLE SCULLS (M4X)

Coming into these World Rowing Championships a huge question mark hung over this event. Olympic Champions Poland had not been so dominating this season. Croatia looked to be coming on in leaps and bounds, Slovenia had their top rower Iztok Cop in stroke and Germany had established their top single sculler Marcel Hacker in three seat. With seeding these boats were spread over the three heats, with crews knowing that they had to finish in the top three positions if they wanted a direct path to the semifinal.

Heat One had Croatia, the United States and Italy jump out in front at the start. Croatia come into this regatta having beaten Poland earlier in the season and also become World Champions at the under-23 level. They are confident and they are prepared. But with half the race rowed, Croatia was second to the United States with Italy and the Czech Republic very much on the pace. In the sprint to the line, Croatia challenged hard, rating 37 strokes per minute. A line of four boats formed – Italy, the Czech Republic, Croatia and the United States. Who would miss out? Qualifying for the semifinal was Croatia, the Czech Republic and Italy. Croatia’s time of 6:15.80 was the fastest qualifying time.

France led the way in Heat Two, but margins remained tight across the entire field. Even Estonia, who were slightly back, were still overlapping and very much within striking distance of leading. Australia then began to feel the heat, slipping back marginally, with Poland closing on France. It took the Poles a 40 stroke rate pace and until the final few strokes to find the lead. France held on to second at 35 strokes with Slovenia qualifying from third. Australia and Estonia, although close, were unlucky and will return for the repechage.

After winning the final Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Germany got a real confidence boost. Today they received another one after leading Heat Three from start to finish. The new German quad of Time Bartels, Marcel Hacker, Karsten Brodowski and Tim Grohmann represents some of the best scullers in the country. Behind Germany, Ukraine and Russia pressed hard to get into the lead. But with Great Britain off the pace, the order was merely academic. Great Britain has had a crew change, with Bill Lucas unable to row due to illness. Brendan Crean has been brought in at the 11th hour. Germany remained in the lead, crossing the finish line at a comfortable 33 stroke rate pace. Ukraine and Russia qualify from second and third respectively.

David Sain, Martin Sinkovic, Damir Martin, Valent Sinkovic (CRO) – Heat One – 1st
“This was a very hard race. The head wind is very strong. To win this is a very good start of the week and we surprised ourselves with this a bit too. We had a few difficulties finding the rhythm together since this was our first race since Racice, but I’m sure we’ll still get better during the week.” Damir Martin

Petr Buzrla, Petr Vitasek, Tomas Karas, David Jirka (CZE) – Heat One – 2nd
“Second place is what we expected. It all went according to our expectations.” Tomas Karas

Konrad Wasielewski, Marek Kolbowicz, Michal Jelinski, Adam Korol (POL) – Heat Two – 1st
“Despite the strong wind we had a good race.  France was very quick at the start and we needed 2,000m to pass them.” Marek Kolbowicz

Tim Grohmann, Karsten Brodowski, Marcel Hacker, Tim Bartels (GER) – Heat Three – 1st
“This was our first race and it was a bit difficult to get into it. And the wind was quite a challenge.” Marcel Hacker

WOMEN’S EIGHT (W8+)

The two heats in the women’s eight required boats to aim for first place alone if they wanted a direct route to the final. Seeded separately were the top two countries currently – Romania and the United States.

Romania raced in Heat One and it didn’t take long before they looked to be the dominating force. All credit to Great Britain, who held on for half the race, but then could not retain the pace. Romania crossed the line at a 35 stroke rate and a comfortable five seconds ahead of the next boat.

The United States are the current World Champions. They are the current Olympic Champions. They hold the World Best Time. But at the final Rowing World Cup, Romania finished first. With a slight tweaking to the lineup, the United States got out cleanly in Heat Two. By the half-way point the race had turned into essentially two races. The United States were out in front with Germany staying in touch and challenging them. A second race went on between Poland and the Netherlands at the back of the field. Coming into the final sprint the United States finally broke away from Germany and looked in control with their 37 stroke rate pace. The United States go directly to Sunday’s final to meet the Romanians.

Roxana Cogianu, Ionelia Neascu, Maria Diana Bursuc, Ioana Craciun, Adelina Cojocariu, Nicoleta Albu, Camelia Lupascu, Eniko Barabas, Teodora Stoica (ROU) – Heat One  – 1st
“It wasn’t that hard, but not easy neither.  We still have margin to go harder in the final”.

Erin Cafaro, Mara Allen, Laura Larsen-Strecker, Zsuzsanna Francia, Anna Goodale, Lindsay Shoop, Caroline Lind, Katherine Glessner, Katlin Snyder (USA) – Heat Two – 1st
“The conditions were very rough and difficult. The wind is insane. We had a little fumble at the 1,000m and almost caught a crab, but brought it back together and decided to win this.” Zsuzsanna Francia

Christina Hennings, Anika Kniest, Kathrin Thiem, Katrin Reinert, Kerstin Naumann, Nadine Schmutzler, Nina Wengert, Ulrike Sennewald, Laura Schwensen (GER) – Heat Two – 2nd
“We had a good start even though the conditions at the start were very difficult. And some gusts of wind from the side made it difficult to keep the boat in the lane. But overall this race was o.k. to air out the lungs.” Christina Hennings

MEN’S EIGHT (M8+)

Two heats in the men’s eight required crews to aim for first or second place if they wanted to go directly to the final.

Germany and Australia both jumped out at the start together and these two boats remained locked together through the middle of the race in Heat One. Then Great Britain began to falter with Australia starting to move up. Germany, meanwhile, powered away at the head of the field. Germany has set the goal of medalling in this event at the 2012 Olympics and this year is stage one of that goal.

Coming into the final sprint Great Britain began to close on the leading Germans with Australia now getting themselves back in the picture. In one of the tightest races of the day, Germany crossed the line first with Great Britain and Australia requiring a photo finish. Great Britain had done it. Germany and Great Britain are in the final. Surprisingly, eights powerhouse, the United States remained at the back of the field.

Canada are the Olympic Champions in this event and they featured with a nearly new line-up from 2008 in Heat Two. This was the 63rd race of the regatta and the last race of the day. Canada got out fast and with the Netherlands looking to be the only crew to be able to hold their pace. By the half-way point Canada and the Dutch had left Italy, Russia and Poland behind. This did not stop an aggressive race from ensuing at the head of the field. The Dutch, stroked by the very experienced Diederik Simon, held on to Canada. The Canadians rated 35 while the Netherlands topped out at 38. Canada and the Netherlands qualify for the final from first and second respectively.

Urs Kaeufer , Gregor Hauffe, Florian Mennigen, Kristof Wilke, Richard Schmidt, Philip Adamski, Toni Seifert, Sebastian Schmidt, Martin Sauer (GER) – Heat One – 1st
“It was pretty hard, especially with the head wind but we controlled since the 750m. In the final sprint, we saw them coming back very fast but reacted and controlled”. Urs Kaeufer

Steven Vanknotsenburg, Gabriel Bergen, Robert Gibson, Douglas Csima, Malcolm Howard, Andrew Byrnes, James Dunaway, Derek O’Farrell, Mark Laidlaw (CAN) – Heat Two – 1st
“Very windy race! We are very excited for the final now.” Derek O’Farrell