01 Feb 2012
Round one to Drysdale
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| Drysdale getting the better of Waddell in round one |
A very relieved looking Drysdale won over Waddell after losing heavily a week ago at the New Zealand Rowing Championships to his sculling rival. With perfect – no wind, flat water, cloudy – rowing conditions Drysdale led from the start. Waddell pulled level at the 500m mark before Drysdale, who underrated Waddell for the entire race, got ahead of Waddell. By the 1500m mark Drysdale was the clear leader by one length rating 34 strokes per minute to Waddell’s 35-36.
Despite Waddell’s higher rating, Drysdale remained in control in a perfectly judged race. Both rowers took the pressure off in the close of the race with Waddell, head lowered, looking spent. The win to Drysdale in the one-on-one race scenario was a length and a half.
Drysdale had returned to using the boat that took him to gold at the 2007 Munich World Rowing Championships and commented after the race: "When we line up tomorrow its all even again. Rob will come out fighting and I have come up with more strategies to hopefully repeat my performance of today. It's nice to be back on track and was a relief to put the shocker of last week behind me. I am certainly under no illusion that it's over. Tomorrow will be even tougher and I will be back after that one to report on progress."
The usually quiet and unnoticed New Zealand trials were buzzing for the 9am Sunday race with photographers, television and a number of spectators.
The second trials race will be on Monday 3 March and if Drysdale wins he will become the single sculler. If Waddell wins it will go to the best of three races.
In other trials races the Evers-Swindell twins had no competition for the women’s double while lightweight men’s single World Champion Duncan Grant came back from injury to team up with Under 23 World Champion Storm Uru to lead the lightweight men’s double trials race. This boat is yet to qualify for the Olympics.