09 Feb 2012
European Championships bring rowers back to racing
Day one of the European Rowing Championships featured the first round of racing, the heats. In flat, calm conditions with a slight tail-wind developing later in the morning, the finishing order of races was often sorted within the first 500m. There were, however, exceptions with the men’s quad turning into one of the highlights of the day.
The women’s pair (W2-) had two heats with two boats making it directly to the final on Sunday. Romania and Russia are these boats with Russia earning bragging rights by qualifying with the fastest time. Russia’s Mayya Zhuchkova and Alevtina Podvyazkina finished eighth at last month’s World Rowing Championships and their partnership, that began as under-23 rowers, looks solid and on track.
It looks like Serbians Nikola Stojic and Goran Jagar of Serbia have stepped up a notch in the men’s pair (M2-). The duo have recorded mixed results since they partnered up four years ago. Stojic is one of Serbia’s most successful rowers with a career that goes back through a number of forms of his nation, back to 1992. In heat one Stojic and Jagar, the 2007 European Champions, won convincingly and recorded the same qualifying time as winners of heat two, Apostolos and Nikolaos Gkountoulas of Greece. The Gkountoulas brothers are 2009 World Rowing Championships bronze medallists and they will be looking to displace the Serbians when they meet in the final on Sunday. Serbia and Greece are the two boats to go directly to the final.
The Brest regatta course is just a 10 minute ride from the city and groups of school children arrived in time to support their home-country athletes. In the women’s double sculls (W2x) Belarus raced in heat one of two heats. The top two boats would go through directly to the final and Belarus got into second place following Italy’s Laura Schiavone and Gabriella Bascelli down the 2000m course. Schiavone and Bascelli raced during the season in the quad and at this regatta are competing in both events. The Italian women have a new coach, Josy Verdonkschot, and a new boost of confidence. But heat two represented the fastest qualifying time with the Czech Republic sisters, Jitka and Lenka Antosova, storming down the course in the lead the entire way.
Lenka Antosova is just 17 years old and raced last month at the World Rowing Junior Championships as well as the World Rowing Championships where she paired up with older sister Jitka to finish fifth in the final of the double. Poland also qualified for the final from their second place position in heat two.
Florian Stofer and Andre Vonarburg of Switzerland are off to a flying start in the men’s doubles sculls (M2x). The duo came together earlier this season following Vonarburg’s decision not to continue racing the single. This meant Stofer changed from sweep rowing being his prime target to sculling. Together they raced in heat two recording the fastest qualifying time and earning a spot in the final. Estonia’s Allar Raja and Kaspar Taimsoo also qualified with their win in heat one. These two crews will meet in the final on Sunday, having last raced each other at the World Rowing Championships in August where Estonia had the upper hand.
Coming into the men’s four (M4-) race it looked as though the Czech Republic had the edge. The Czechs finished fourth at last month’s World Rowing Championships and today they moved on to the European Championships A-final by winning heat one. The crew of Gruber, Makovicka, Bruncvik and Horvath are three of the athletes that won this event at the European Championships in 2007. Much to the delight of the spectators, Belarus’s four got ahead of Ukraine to win the second heat. Belarus are in the A-final on Sunday.
Julia Levina, 36, of Russia has competed in three Olympic Games and over a decade ago she raced internationally for the first time in the single. Today Levina took on Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic in the women’s single sculls (W1x). Levina had the lead at the start, but the well-raced and confident Knapkova easily pushed into the lead going into the second half of the race. Levina did not fight back. Knapkova goes directly to Sunday’s final.
Ekaterina Karsten-Khodotovitch of Belarus was the first person in her country to win an Olympic gold medal. She did this back in 1996. Today she raced for the first time in an international event in her home country with the knowledge that she is one of the reasons that this Brest regatta course exists. Karsten did not disappoint the spectators demonstrating a relaxed and smooth stroke in heat two of the women’s single. No other sculler could even get close to the reigning World Champion who must have been relishing this home-water row. Karsten will race again in Sunday’s final.
The men’s single sculls (M1x) attracted the largest number of entries with 18 nations fronting up. Greece’s Ioannis Christou is the defending European Champion and he raced in the third of three heats. Christou found himself in one of the tightest races of the morning. The Greek had to fight his way past three boats to find the lead and even then both Artem Kosov of Russia and Dairis Adamaitis of Latvia pushed Christou until the end. Christou managed to cross the line first and goes to the semi-final with Kosov.
Heat two recorded the fastest qualifying time when Lithuania’s Mindaugas Griskonis and Martin Gulyas of Germany fought it out through the middle of the race and then had to hold the pressure right until the end when Bulgaria’s Aleksandar Aleksandrov joined in the sprint to the line. Griskonis and Gulyas qualify for the semi-final.
The first heat was similarly not decided in the first 500m. Croatia’s Mario Vekic started off at the back of the field and had to work his way through to the lead. As the rest of the field faltered in the second 1000m, Vekic pushed into the front ahead of Lukas Babac of Slovakia. Vekic and Babac qualify for the semi-final.
Hungary’s Anna Alliquander and Zsuzsanna Hajdu gave Poland’s 2009 world silver medallists, Magdalena Kemnitz and Agnieszka Renc, a run for their money in the first heat of the lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x). Although Kemnitz and Renc had found the lead coming into the second half of the race, Alliquander and Hajdu continued to move on them chasing the Poles right to the line. Poland and Hungary go directly to Sunday’s final.
In heat two the reigning World Champions, Greece’s Christina Giazitzidou and Alexandra Tsiavou, had an easier time, leading France (Simon and Maurin) from start to finish. This event requires athletes to average a weight of 57kg and these athletes would have been weighed two hours before racing. This adds an extra element of planning for these athletes and weighing in correctly becomes an art in itself. Having a day off from racing, by going directly to the final, is frequently beneficial.
Two of the three heats in the lightweight men’s double sculls (LM2x) followed similar race patterns. Heat one and two both sorted out the finishing order within the first 500m of racing. Heat one started and finished in the order of France, Portugal and the Czech Republic as the three qualifying crews. France (Pierre-Etienne Pollez and Maxime Goisset) executed a nearly even-split race from their leading position and also gave them the fastest qualifying time of the three heats. France, Portugal and the Czech Republic advance to Saturday’s semi-finals.
Heat two followed suit with Italy, Poland and Ukraine leaving the starting blocks in first second and third and finishing 2000m later in this same order. At the head of the field, Lorenzo Bertini and Elia Luini of Italy showed that this combination will be a force to be reckoned with over the next two days of racing.
Heat three included a late surprise entry of Vasileios Polymeros into the Greek boat. Teaming up with Dimitrios Mougios brings the 2008 Olympic silver medallists back together and they showed little sign of slowing down today. The Greeks got out of the starting blocks in the lead and remained there for the rest of the race. But this was not without challenges. Austria’s Joschka Hellmeier and Florian Berg gave Polymeros and Mougios a good run for their money, making the trip to Belarus well worth it. At the finish line Greece, Austria and Spain had qualified for the semi-finals tomorrow.
The lightweight men’s four (LM4-) is shaping up to be a German – French showdown. Germany are the reigning World Champions but the French see the reuniting of three of the crew that finished fourth at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (Bette, Tilliet and Solforosi). Today the two countries raced in opposing heats. France won heat one in a time of 6:09 while Germany finished first in heat two in a time of 6:08.
These two crews will take up the centre lanes in Sunday’s finals and there is little doubt that their respective coaches will have a keen eye open to see what their opposition is up to.
Poland are the Olympic and World Champions in the men’s quadruple sculls (M4x) but today their “B” boat showed that the country contains great depth. In heat two Sobczak, Licznerski, Sloma and Chabel dealt with all opposition by getting into the lead through the second 500 and remaining there. Poland earns a berth in the final on Sunday.
Heat one was not so decisive and ended up being one of the most exciting events of the day with all six crews vying for one spot for more than 1500m of the race. Then Belgium, Germany and Slovenia ran out of energy leaving Belarus, Russia and Ukraine to sprint for the line. Ukraine got there first and will be in the lane next to Poland in Sunday’s final.
Despite the dominance of Romania in the women’s eight, the Romanian men’s eight never seem to be able to reach the same standard. Today Romania raced in heat one of the men’s eight (M8+) but from early on in the race, they showed that they did not have the speed of the leading boats. Defending European Champions, France, held the lead. Poland, who were fourth at the World Rowing Championships, chased hard, but France’s crew of a mixture of their top sweep rowers and scullers, held them off. France and Poland both earn direct qualifying spots for the final.
Italy have had a disappointing season in the eight barely squeezing into the final at last month’s World Rowing Championships. They come to Brest hoping to put things right. The Italians raced in heat two slotting in behind Ukraine as they raced down the 2000m course. An evenly paced race by Ukraine held them in the lead and with just enough of a margin to hold off any Italian challenges. Both Ukraine and Italy go directly to the final.