Tufte scrapes through in world champ semis

Olaf Tufte of Norway may be the Olympic Champion in the men’s single, but a badly judged race saw him needed to do a mighty sprint to the finish on semifinals day at the 2009 World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.

Malta Lake turned on warm temperatures with flat water and very little wind for this first day of semifinals.

WOMEN’S PAIR (W2-) – Semifinals

The look on their faces as they crossed the finish line was one of relief. New Zealand’s Emma Feathery and Rebecca Scown come to the World Rowing Championships unbeaten this season. This is a big boost after aiming to qualify for the Olympics in the women’s eight and missing out. The duo have really clicked in the pair and despite getting off the line a bit slow in Semifinal One, Feathery and Scown had soon worked their way into the lead keeping a very steady pace right to the finish line. Great Britain’s Olivia Whitlam and Louisa Reeve tried to hold on but the Kiwis had more juice. Germany (Kerstin Hartmann and Marlene Sinnig) held on for third but will have to find a bigger sprint if they want to medal on Saturday.

Semifinals are a necessary but sometimes brutal step towards the A-final. Russia went the brutal way in Semifinal Two. Taking off at a cracking pace the Russians were still at 40 strokes per minute with 250m rowed. Could they maintain it? By the half-way point both Australia (Kim Crow and Sarah Cook) and the United States (Susan Francia) had pushed ahead. As Russia faded, Australia and the United States went head-to-head.

Crow and Cook have been working away all season back in their country, doing simulated racing when the Rowing World Cups were being raced in Europe. This duo thus had the advantage of surprise when they arrived at Poznan. But now everyone knows, Crow and Cook are quick. But a bigger sprint by the United States, a rather frantic 38 strokes per minute, gave them the lead at the finish. The more sedate and relaxed Australians pulled through rating 34 with Romania’s Camelia Lupascu and Nicoleta Albu finishing a solid third.  

Qualifiers: NZL, GBR, GER, USA, AUS, ROU

 Olivia Whitlam, Louisa Reeve (GBR) – Semi A/B One – 2nd
“The racing conditions were quite good, much better that in our heat.  We raced well but it still could be better, we can still improve.  We wanted to have a good position in the final and we raced towards that goal.” Louisa Reeve

Kerstin Hartmann, Marlene Sinnig (GER) – Semi A/B One – 3rd
“Another goal reached – we are in the final and we did it without having to try too hard.  This is good.  In the final we will lift up our game.  We still haven’t used all engines yet.” Marlene Sinnig

Zsuzsanna Francia, Erin Cafaro (USA) – Semi A/B Two  – 1st
“It was a good, we are learning with each race and we go faster.  The semis can sometimes be the hardest race of them all and we now feel ready for the final.” Erin Cafaro

Sarah Cook, Kim Crow (AUS) – Semi A/B Two – 2nd
“We raced a sensible and smart race and we are improving with each row.” Kim Crow
“We maintained a solid pace through the race.” Sarah Cook
 

MEN’S PAIR (M2-) – Semifinals

There are two big contenders in this race – New Zealand and Great Britain. Divided between the two semis, Great Britain raced in Semifinal One. Peter Reed and Andrew Triggs Hodge are the remainder of the Olympic Champion four and considered their country’s top men’s boat. But when New Zealand arrived in Europe, the winning came to a grinding halt. Reed and Hodge look to have gotten over the rattling they received by not finishing first, and come here from their Italian training camp with a smoother, flowing stroke.

Reed and Hodge took the lead right from the start and remained in control for the entire race of Semifinal One. There is little doubt that they can go higher than their relaxed 35 stroke rate pace at the finish. Meanwhile, Greece’s Nikolaos and Apostolos Gkountoulas had been working through to secure the second place position and were moving into their 42 stroke rate finish when South Africa (Shaun Keeling and Ramon Di Clemente ) came charging down the outside. Also at 41, Keeling and Di Clemente were closing on a qualifying spot that Serbia thought they had. Great Britain, Greece and South Africa are in the A-final.

Eric Murray and Hamish Bond of New Zealand have not lost a race this season. They completed Semifinal Two with this record still in tact. Murray and Bond, like the British duo, come from their country’s Olympic four, but the 2007 World Champions finished a disappointing seventh in Beijing. Their pair is making no mistakes and the rest of the field had to race for second. Germain Chardin and Dorian Mortelette of France took over the second place spot with David Banks and Charles Cole of the United States moving into third. Banks is currently being profiled in “Meet the Athletes” on worldrowing.com and has received huge amounts of interest from the website public.

The order did not change with New Zealand, France and the United States being the qualifying crews.

Qualifiers: GBR, GRE, RSA, NZL, FRA, USA

Peter Reed, Andrew Triggs Hodge (GBR) – Semi A/B 1 – 1st
“Really nice.  We have been working very hard over the past few weeks and months.
It feels like we made a great step ahead.  It was a good race and I’m pleased, but there are still a few things to improve on.” Andrew Triggs Hodge

Shaun Keeling, Ramon Di Clemente (RSA) – Semi A/B 1 – 3rd
“This was a little bit better than the heat.  But we still have to get better for Sunday – hopefully.” Ramon di Clemente 

Eric Murray, Hamish Bond (NZL) – Semi A/B 2 – 1st
“It wasn’t an easy race.  We knew we had to get out there fast and make the top three.  So we went in front and when you are there, you want to stay there.  We look forward to the final”. Eric Murray

David Banks, Charles Cole (USA) – Semi A/B 2 – 3rd
“The race felt okay, we are third and still alive.  We row better every race.” David Banks
“We will be able to bring a more complete effort for the final.” Charles Cole

WOMEN’S DOUBLE SCULLS (W2X) – Semifinals

This event is full of new combinations and has been full of surprises all season. Semifinal One recorded the fastest qualifying time when four boats finished within two seconds of each other. In the lead at the start was Great Britain (Anna Bebington and Annabel Vernon) followed closely by the new Czech Republic duo, Jitka and Lenka Antosova. Jitka started off the season in the single when her Olympic partner decided to take time off. This gave younger sister Lenka, 17, the chance to move into the boat.

Great Britain and the Czech Republic went head-to-head through the middle of the race with Australia’s two top single scullers, Sally Kehoe and Philippa Savage moving up. Then Germany joined in the final 500m sprint. One crew would miss out. The Antosova’s were holding on for all that they were worth. Germany was flying. Australia, at 36, looked powerful and relaxed. Germany had left it too late. Great Britain, Australia and the Czech Republic are in the A-final.

Single sculler, Julia Michalska of Poland may have found her calling. Teaming up with Magdalena Fularczyk has brought Rowing World Cup success. The duo raced in Semifinal Two. But out in front, Bulgaria’s Rumyana Neykova and Miglena Markova were showing that they had been working on picking up the pace of their starts, rather than playing catch up.

Going through the half-way point three crews were practically neck-and-neck. The United States’ Olympic duo, Megan Kalmoe and Ellen Tomek then got their nose in front. The three qualifiers had become evident, but the Poles decided to continue to push hard with the crowd encouraging them on. Michalska lifted the stroke rate to 38. Bulgaria decided then to do just enough to stay in third, decelerating across the line. Poland, the United States and Bulgaria qualify for the A-final.

Qualifiers: GBR, AUS, CZE, POL, USA, BUL

Anna Bebington, Annabel Vernon (GBR) – Semi A/B1 – 1st
“It was good to win and I’m very pleased with the result.  I really enjoy sculling in this boat and it’s something like a personal project for us.  We expected the Czechs to move through more, but when I made the call to get them, that’s what happened.” Annabel Vernon

Magdalena Fularczyk, Julia Michalska (POL) – Semi A/B 2 – 1st 
“We had a better race than in the heats and I think the final will be very good.” Julia Michalska

Megan Kalmoe, Ellen Tomek (USA) – 2nd
“We knew it was going to be tough.  Most of the other crews were in the final in Lucerne and we therefore knew it would be hard and it was.  We are very excited about the final with six really fast boats. It’s gonna be fun.” Ellen Tomek

Rumyana Neykova, Miglena Markova (BUL) – 3rd
“The race was so so; we will be better in the final”. Rumyana Neykova

MEN’S DOUBLE SCULLS (M2X) – Semifinals

Throughout this season it has been evident that there are more than six crews that have the talent to get medals and when the two semifinals had finished a spread of just three seconds separated the six A-final qualifiers. This is how it happened.

In Semifinal One the first surprise unfolded when brothers Jan and Luka Spik of Slovenia took the lead. Luka has been the doubles partner of Iztok Cop for three Olympic Games, but with Cop in the quad, Luka has joined with his younger brother Jan, 21. Sticking close to the Slovenians were Julien Bahain and Cedric Berrest of France. Bahain and Berrest are their country’s two top single scullers and they have plans of 2012 Olympic gold in their future. Serbia’s Marko Marjanovic and Dusan Bogicevic were also in the mix. This left Great Britain’s Olympic medallists Matthew Wells and Stephen Rowbotham on the edge of qualilfying.

In a mad dash to the line Wells and Rowbotham gave it all they had to get into a qualifying position. But France, Slovenia and Serbia were all charging. Great Britain misses out.

Estonia medalled at the Olympics with the perennial Jueri Jaanson (racing here in a single) but have a new, younger line-up this year and they featured in the lead of Semifinal Two. Allar Raja and Kaspar Taimsoo of Estonia had a slight lead over New Zealand (Matthew Trott and Nathan Cohen) and Germany (Eric Knittel and Stephan Krueger).  

The margins remained close as the crews moved into the second half of the race. Then a push by Knittel and Krueger in the third 500 gave them the edge with Trott and Cohen sticking closely. Switzerland then tried to get into the picture, but they could not quite do it. Germany, New Zealand and Estonia move to the A-final.

Qualifiers: FRA, SLO, SRB, GER, NZL, EST

Julien Bahain, Cedric Berrest (FRA) – Semi A/B One – 1st
“It was a good practice for the final.  We raced according to plan and controlled the race correctly.  On Saturday we will probably not control the race.  We cannot wait for the final.” Cedric Berrest

Luka Spik, Jan Spik (SLO) – Semi A/B One – 2nd
“Second is fine, but I didn’t expect the Serbs to be so strong. They really surprised us. But I think we have good chance to do well in the final.” Luka Spik

Eric Knittel, Stephan Krueger (GER) – Semi A/B Two – 1st
“This was like we had hoped for.  We wanted to keep up with the crews in front right from the start and that worked out.  We know the Estonians would be fast at the start, but we were able to move through them in the third 500.  This race was fun and we want to keep it up for the final.” Eric Knittel

Matthew Trott, Nathan Cohen (NZL) – Semi A/B Two – 1st
“We are feeling good. We had a good race and are happy.” Matthew Trott

MEN’S FOUR (M4-) – Semifinals

Great Britain have a new line-up this season following their Olympic gold in Beijing, and the new crew has really gelled well together. They come to Poznan as favourites and continued on their winning way in Semfinal One. By the half-way point the Brits had over a boat length’s lead over Germany in second. The Germans were unlucky to have to replace a teammate due to illness. As Germany began to fade France moved up into second with Slovenia following hard on their heels.

Slovenia had a great heats race two days ago and come to these championships with a Rowing World Cup silver and a fourth from the Beijing Olympics under their belt. Coming into the line France and Slovenia closed on Great Britain. Laurent Cadot of France showed the stress and the joy of qualifying after he crossed the finish line. Great Britain, France and Slovenia are in the A-final.

Australia loves the Poznan course, last June they qualified here at the last chance regatta for the Beijing Olympics. Matthew Ryan, James Marburg, Cameron McKenzie McHarg and Francis Hegerty return to this venue intact and in fine form. They led Semifinal Two from start to finish with the remainder of the field scrapping it out for two remaining qualifying spots. The Czech Republic and Belarus held it for most of the way with Poland doing a huge third-500m push to challenge. The push took it all out of the Poles who ended up limping across the line in last. Australia, Belarus and the Czech Republic are in the final.

Qualifiers: GBR, FRA, SLO, AUS, BLR, CZE

Matthew Ryan, James Marburg, Cameron McKenzie McHarg, Francis Hegerty (AUS) – Semi A/B Two – 1st
“It was good.  The plan was to take it out pretty hard today.  We had a rough start in the semi in Beijing and didn’t want that to happen again.  It should be great to race Great Britain in the final again.“ Matthew Ryan

Vazim Lialin, Andrei Dzemyanenka, Yauheni Nosau, Aliaksandr Kazubouski (BLR) – Semi A/B Two – 2nd
“The start and the middle part of the race was okay, but the finish was hard.  We are in the final and that’s what counts”. Aliaksandr Kazubouski

WOMEN’S SINGLE SCULLS (W1x) – Semifinals

The year of Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic continued today in Semifinal One. Knapkova has come to Poznan with an unbeaten record this season. But this is the first time this year that she has faced reigning World Champion, Ekaterina Karsten-Khodotovitch of Belarus. Today was the day. After shaking off Germany at the start, Knapkova sculled into the lead with New Zealand (Emma Twigg) and Karsten following closely. A push through the third 500m gave Karsten second place with no more challenges coming.

The race then turned into a procession as the top three boats looked happy with the status quo, Knapkova in first, Karsten in second and Twigg in third – all rating 29 strokes per minute.

The best of Russian, British and Chinese single sculling all raced each other in Semifinal Two. Xiuyun Zhang, 33, of China has been competing internationally since 1993 and in that time seen two Olympic Games with a silver in the double from the 1996 Games. All of Zhang’s recent years have been spent in the single. Today Zhang led the field with Great Britain’s most successful woman rower Katherine Grainger slipping into second and Russia’s Julia Levina, 36, following in third. The order did not change with Grainger putting in a 34 stroke rate sprint at the finish for good measure. Zhang, Grainger and Levina are in the A-final.

Qualifiers: CZE, BLR, NZL, CHN, GBR, RUS

Mirka Knapkova (CZE) – Semi A/B One – 1st
“I’m happy, but I think all three competitors who were in front are happy as we are all in the final! We’ll see on Saturday who is faster.” 

“I’m pleased, I wanted to have a decent lane in the final. There are quite a lot of newcomers in this field and you cannot always know what can happen. It’s been a while since I didn’t have competitive semis.” 

MEN’S SINGLE SCULLS (M1x) – Semifinals

In one of the closest upsets of the day, Olympic Champion Olaf Tufte of Norway nearly ended up out of the A-final when the United States and then Greece put the pressure on in Semifinal One. Alan Campbell of Great Britain led out of the start with Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic following closely behind. These two scullers established themselves clearly in first and second leaving Tufte to do battle.

Tufte was already behind coming out of the start and spent the first half of the race pacing Warren Anderson of the United States. As Anderson began to fade in the final sprint, Greece’s Ioannis Christou came charging through. Christou was a very late Olympic qualifier last year in the single after he could no longer row with his doubles partner. Since then he has been sitting on the edge of the singles A-final. As Christou charged for the line Tufte was forced to rate 42 strokes per minute. The Olympic Champion had held on to an A-final spot by just over two hundredths of a second. Campbell, Synek and Tufte are in the A-final.

Semifinal Two was a clean race for reigning World Champion Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand. Drysdale finished third at Beijing but has gone unbeaten this season and today he drew perhaps the easier semi. Doing just enough to stay in front, Drysdale was able to watch a scuffle ensue between the entire rest of the field. Argentina, Belgium, Germany, Sweden and Cuba were all within striking distance of the two remaining qualifying spots. Tim Maeyens of Belgium then squeezed into second with Germany’s Mathias Rocher being the closest threat. Drysdale, Maeyens and a very surprised Rocher are in the final on Saturday.

The qualifying line-up contains only one change from last year’s Olympics. Rocher becomes the newcomer to this elite bunch.

Qualifiers: GBR, CZE, NOR, NZL, BEL, GER

Alan Campbell (GBR) – Semi A/B 1 – 1st
“It was a pretty good race – I’m in the final.  It just felt good in the race and I kept it up.  Just at the end I shortened up a bit, but I promise that won’t happen in the final. Now we’ll see how many guys, I’ll be able to beat on Saturday.  I haven’t got a World Championship medal yet and I think I’m in the best possible shape to do it.” 

Mahe Drysdale (NZL) – Semi A/B 2 – 1st
“I was feeling pretty good. It’s always good to have a blow out a couple of days before the final.  Now I know where I am before the final and it’s going to be a good one.”

Tim Mayens (BEL) – Semi A/B 2 – 2nd
“It went well although there were lots of waves for 500 m.  It will be an exciting final”. 

Mathias Rocher (GER) – Semi A/B 2 – 3rd
“I had hoped for this, but didn’t expect it.  I had a good start and didn’t let myself be irritated by the Argentinean and Cuban.  At 1000m I thought I maybe could make the qualification and just pushed.  But only on the last 100m I actually believed I could make it, but with the crab I caught yesterday, I was still a bit scared that something might still prevent it.  Now I will enjoy it and see how far I can get.  It will be interesting and fun to race the top guys.”