Choppy water and tight finishes in semifinals at Trakai under-23 championships

The weather conditions on the water were not as good as previous days with a cross-headwind causing FISA’s Fairness Commission to re-allocate lanes. The water was a mixture of smooth and choppy and slow times reflected these conditions. But racing was intense as these under-23 rowers aimed to be in the top three to keep their A-final goals alive.

Lightweight Women's Single Sculls (BLW1x) – Semifinals
Claire Lambe of Ireland really grabbed this race at the start in Semifinal One, so much so that she was still rating 35 as she crossed the 500m mark in first. But both Chloe Poumailloux of France and Emma Fred of Sweden were holding Lambe’s pace very nicely. As Lambe’s rating dropped, Fred was able to push in front. Lambe has had to race one more time than Fred here at Trakai as she gained her place in the semifinal from racing in the repechage. Fred, who finished fourth in this event last year, now pushed away from Lambe, with Kate Johnstone of South Africa getting into the third spot using a huge 38 stroke push. With Fred still in the lead and Lambe in second, Johnstone did her best to hold on to the third and final qualifying spot. Johnstone had done it. Fred, Lambe and Johnstone will race in the final.

Semifinal Two had Helena Pavkovic of Cyprus out in front after a fast start. Pavkovic, however, was not able to hold it as race favourite, as Alena Kryvasheyenka of Belarus got into the lead. Kryvasheyenka was second last year and first in 2010, making her the highest ranked lightweight women’s single sculler in Trakai. The Belarusian continued to lead, opening up to a couple of boat length’s advantage coming into the finals sprint. Pavkovic then surprised everyone as she pushed past Austria to get into second. Pavkovic held on to second until the end with Annick Taselaar of the Netherlands coming down the outside with a great sprint that earned her a qualifying spot through third.
Finalists: SWE, IRL, RSA, BLR, CYP, NED

Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls (BLM1x) – Semifinals
Semifinalist Steinhuebel of Germany won his heat a couple of days ago and today he led Semifinal One over Luca Fabian of Switzerland. However it was all incredibly close going through the middle of the race with Italy’s Andrea Micheletti overlapping with the leaders. Then it was Igor Khmara of Ukraine who put in a huge third 500m push and got ahead of Italy. All crews sprinted into the finish in these choppy conditions. Steinhuebel remained in front with Fabian holding onto second while Khmara retained the third spot, earning places in the final tomorrow.

Semifinal Two started out incredibly tight with five boats crossing the first 500m mark all within two seconds of each other. Franciscus Goutier of the Netherlands had a very slight edge on the field but there was nothing in it. Greece’s Spyridon Giannaros, who was the fastest qualifying boat from the heats, then got his bow ball just in front but the pack was still very close. Giannaros raced earlier this season at the senior World Rowing Cup in Belgrade and took a very respectably seventh place. He continued to have a very small lead as Goutier held on tightly with Nedelcho Vasilev of Bulgaria giving it his all in third position. At the line Giannaros had held on to first with Goutier in second and a very good finish by Michael Mottram gave him the final qualifying spot for tomorrow’s final.
Finalists: GER, SUI, UKR, GRE, NED, GBR

Men’s Pair (BM2-) – Semifinals
Semifinal One featured Great Britain’s Kieren Emery and Matthew Tarrant in the lead. This much touted crew contains Emery who has been very successful at the senior level as a lightweight. By the middle of the race Emery and Tarrant had gained nearly a boat length lead over Paul Heinrich and Hannes Ocik of Germany. But the Germans were fighting back and refused to let the British go. Last year Great Britain took top honours in this boat class, with Germany in third and from those boats a number of the crew members are heading to the London Olympics. As the final sprint came into view Germany tried to keep the British honest but were unable to get ahead of them. Great Britain and Germany qualify for the final along with Greece who finished a fair distance back.

A very high rating South Africa (David Hunt and Vincent Breet) grabbed the lead in Semifinal Two and broke away from the pack. Could Hunt and Breet maintain this storming pace? At the half-way point Hunt and Breet still held the lead with France’s Benoit Brunet and Matthieu Moinaux in second and trying to catch up. The United States (Dariush Aghai and Austin Hack) settled into third and remained very much within attacking distance of the French. This was the order coming into the final sprint. As South Africa upped their stroke rate and rather shortened up, their lead started to diminish. But Hunt, who was second in this event last year, and Breet who raced as a junior in 2011, had done it. The South African’s go to the final with the fastest qualifying time. France held on to second and the United States took the third and final qualifying spot.
Finalists: GBR, GER, GRE, RSA, FRA, USA

Women’s Double Sculls (BW2x) – Semifinals

In Semifinal One, five crews went neck-and-neck through the first quarter of the race. Only Romania had dropped off the pace. Austria’s Magdalena Lobnig and Lisa Farthofer won their heat two days ago and of these boats they are the highest ranked from the 2011 results when they were third. They were in the lead, albeit only just. By the half-way marker Lobnig and Farthofer were now going head-to-head with Katsiaryna Shliupskaya and Tatsiana Kukhta of Belarus. This scenario remained with Shliupskaya and Kukhta then getting their nose ahead of the Austrian’s. Shliupskaya and Kukhta have spent this season in their country’s senior eight. Now back sculling they were looking good. They had scored the fastest qualifying time two days ago. Austria, however, were not giving up and in the final sprint Lobnig and Farthofer got back into the lead. Belarus took second and Russia’s Ekaterina Potapova and Maria Krasilnikova came through in third.

After overtaking France, Greece’s Eleni Diamanti and Aikaterini Nikolaidou got into the lead followed very, very closely by France and Lithuania in Semifinal Two. Then a big piece by Milda Valciukaite and Ieve Adomaviciute of Lithuania shot them into the lead, getting their nose just ahead of Greece in the third 500 of the race. Diamanti and Nikolaidou, however, were not going to let the Lithuanian’s go. Fighting back, Greece and Lithuania now moved away from the field with France holding on to third. At the line Greece had managed to regain the lead with the crowd giving a huge cheer to locals, Valciukaite and Adomaviciute as they crossed the line in second. France took third to also qualify for tomorrow’s final.
Finalists: AUT, BLR, RUS, GRE, LTU, FRA

Men’s Double Sculls (BM2x) – Semifinals
The German’s were second in this race last ye

ar and, with a new combination this year in Semifinal One was their chance to show that they are a good pairing. Hagen Rothe was in the silver medal boat last year and he’s now racing with Stephan Reimekasten from Junior Champion success in 2011. But despite this skill, Italy were taking no notice as they (Francesco Cardaioli and Giuseppe Vicino) overtook the Germans going through the middle of the race. Rothe and Reimekasten held on with New Zealand’s Nathan Flannery and Hayden Cohen sticking to the leader’s pace. A huge sprint to the line brought Rothe and Reimekasten back into the front with Italy settling for second and New Zealand qualifying from third and under no real threat from the rest of the field.

Slovenia led the way in Semifinal Two. This crew of Ales Zupan and Grega Domanjko finished second in their heat two days ago, but it was enough to give them a direct path to today’s semifinal. The Netherland’s (Dirk Uittenbogaard and Freek Robbers) followed closely in second and as the race progressed the Dutch inched closer and closer to Zupan and Domanjko. Slovenia finished third in this event last year and they come from a nation with a strong tradition at the senior level in this event. As the final sprint came into view Slovenia still had their nose in front of the Netherlands. But it was Lithuania, with great crowd support, who were really charging now with Great Britain also giving it their all. The Dutch saw them coming and pressed hard, overtaking Slovenia in the process. At the line the Dutch had finished first, Slovenia held on to second and Lithuania charged through to take third.
Finalists: GER, ITA, NZL, NED, SLO, LTU

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (BLW2x) – Semifinals
The early advantage in Semifinal One was with Wiebke Hein and Nora Wessel of Germany. They had a small edge over Great Britain’s Eleanor Piggott and Charlotte Burgess. Hein and Wessel finished fifth in this event last year and they are the only crew here who have remained as the same line-up. This familiarity must have been working for them as they remained in the lead going through the middle of the race. New Zealand’s Georgia Hammond and Sophie MacKenzie had now pushed up on the British and coming into the final sprint Hammond and MacKenzie had got their boat ahead of Piggott and Burgess. Last year New Zealand finished third in this event, but with another crew.

Germany, rating 33 in the final sprint, remained in the lead with New Zealand now clearly in second. Great Britain had the threat of Canada coming at them and they took their stroke rate to 36. Canada followed suit and went to 39. At the line Germany took first, New Zealand were in second and Canada’s Elizabeth Fenje and Erin Snelgrove had made it into third. Germany’s finishing time gave them the fastest qualifying time by an impressive 10 seconds.

Oh what a start! In Semifinal Two five crews created a veritable line with only Japan slipping back. Just one second separated Australia, Poland, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Spain with a quarter of the race down. The Netherlands (Elisabeth Woerner and Lieve Leijssen) then did a push and got their nose in front of Switzerland’s Patricia Merz and Frederique Rol. Spain, who were the silver medallists in 2011, remained close in third.  Veronica Garcia Mulet and Laura Terradas of Spain remain unchanged from the 2011 silver medal crew.

Garcia and Terradas then did a push which propelled them ahead of Switzerland and got them to close the gap on Woerner and Leijssen who were fourth last year. Looking in great form, Woerner and Leijssen crossed the line in first, Garcia and Terradas had second and Merz and Rol held on to third.
Finalists: GER, NZL, CAN, NED, ESP, SUI

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (BLM2x) – Semifinals
Semifinal One was another close start with Christopher Meyer and Nicholas Trojan of the United States taking off with a very slight lead over Artur Mikolasjczewski and Milosz Jankowski of Poland. Behind them Spain, Denmark and Hungary were practically on top of each other. Mikolasjczewski and Jankowski then pushed into the lead and got a tiny edge over the Americans. Meyer and Trojan fought back and despite underrating the Poles by one or two points, Meyer and Trojan closed again on Poland. It was going to be a huge sprint to the line.

Meyer and Trojan had found the lead with 300m left to row, Mikolasjczewski and Jankowski fought back taking their stroke rate to 39 with Spain’s Jaime De Haz and Ander Zabala Artetxe now in third. At the finish Poland had managed to get back in front with the United States settling for second and Spain qualifying from third.

Germany had the fastest qualifying time in the heats two days ago and they proved their talent again today in Semifinal Two. Julius Peschel and Matthias Arnold of Germany led from start to finish and kept the hopes alive for their nation to defend the 2011 title. Arnold won gold last year and now rows with new partner, Peschel. Today, behind Peschel and Arnold, Austria’s Paul and Bernhard Sieber slotted into second. Behind these two leaders three crews remained overlapping throughout the race. A great sprint by Georgios Konsolas and Nikolaos Afentoulis of Greece earned them the third and final qualifying spot.
Finalists: POL, USA, ESP, GER, AUT, GRE

Lightweight Men’s Four (BLM4-) – Semifinals
It was the United States that jumped out the quickest in Semifinal One. The US had to come to this semifinal through yesterday’s repechage and it was yet to be seen if that extra race would take its toll on this crew. By the half-way point Italy had pushed into the lead and France had also overtaken the Americans. Italy, rating 39 – 40 through much of the race were the Under-23 Champions last year, with this year’s crew having three new faces on board. Coming through the third 500m, Poland then did a huge push and got ahead of France. With Italy in front, and continuing to rate high, it was going to be a big fight to the line for the remaining two qualifying spots. Poland, at 38, were really pushing hard. France were at 36. Italy crossed the line in first. Poland had second and France, who were second last year, managed to outsprint the United States to take the third qualifying spot.

Spain were bronze medallists in 2011 and they were the second fastest qualifying time coming through from the heats. Today they led Semifinal Two in a relatively comfortable fashion. Spain had enough of a lead to keep an eye on the rest of the field with Australia and New Zealand being the closest challengers. Australia then broke away from New Zealand. In the final sprint Germany absolutely charged down the outside. The last minute sprint was so effective for the Germans that it brought them into second at the line. Spain, Germany and Australia qualify for the final.
Finalists: ITA, POL, FRA, ESP, GER, AUS

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (BM4x) – Semifinals
France sprinted away at the start of Semifinal One and got themselves into a position where they could watch the field. After having the second fastest qualifying time it was not surprising to see France in this position, but their margin was slight as New Zealand and Estonia held on very tightly to the leaders. Coming into the final sprint there was still nothing in it between the leading three crews with Australia now joining in on the action. Now that four crews were going after three spots the sprint to the line was fierce. Who would miss out? At the line France had held on to first, Australia’s magnificent sprint had given them second and New Zealand outsprinted Estonia to take third.

Ukraine jumped out in the lead in Semifinal Two. This crew raced as juniors last year and they were making the best of the choppy water. But it looked as if Italy were handling it better as they pressed into the lead going through the middle of the race. The race, however, was far from over. Four crews went through the half-way point with just two seconds separating them. The Czech Republic then pushed past Ukraine. Ukraine were not giving up and they held on tightly so that at the 1500m mark the margins remained close as Great Britain slipped back. Ukraine are the reigning Under-23 Champions in this event and they continued to fight for the line.

But it was Italy (Cagna, Baluganti, Miccoli and Manzoli) that got to the finish line first. Ukraine came in second and their finish line celebrations looked like they’d already won gold. The Czech Republic became the final qualifying boat for tomorrow’s final.
Finalists: FRA, AUS, EST, ITA, UKR, CZE

Men’s Single Sculls (BM1x) – Semifinals
The reigning Under-23 Champion in this event, Hubert Trzybinski of Germany featured in Semifinal One. Trzybinski had a relatively easy win in the heats two days ago and he looks in defending champion form at this regatta. Trzybinski, 21, took off in the lead over Dionysios Angelopoulos who was in Greece’s four last year.  Angelopoulos also tried to qualify for the London Olympics, in the single, earlier this season but missed out. Trzybinski and Angelopoulos had moved clean away from the rest of the field by the middle of the race with Angelopoulos remaining in attacking position to Trzybinski’s lead.

Coming into the final sprint Trzybinski did not rate high, a 28 stroke rate kept him in the lead and Angelopoulos also looked like he didn’t really need to sprint. Meanwhile Andre Redr of Slovakia slotted into third. Nothing had changed at the line.

In Semifinal Two Alexsandar Aleksandrov of Azerbaijan took off in the lead. Aleksandrov has spent his entire career in the single which goes back to winning the Junior Championships in 2007. Settling to a low 26 stroke rate Aleksandrov continued to lead over Belgium’s Hannes Obreno with Nicolas Silvestro of Argentina right on top of him. A push by Silvestro propelled him ahead of Obreno, who was now having to keep an eye on Camillo Franek of Austria.

Despite his low rating, Aleksandrov moved away from the second place battle and with a bit of a sprint, Aleksandrov crossed the line with the fastest qualifying time. Silvestro took second and Obreno was the final qualifier from finishing third.
Finalists: GER, GRE, SLO, AZE, ARG, BEL

Women’s Single Sculls (BW1x) – Semifinals
Julia Lier of Germany had the early lead in Semifinal One. Lier comes to the single after becoming a gold medallist in the women’s quad last year. Lier won her heat two days ago and is looking like one of the favourites to medal in this event. Norway’s Tale Gjoertz followed in second and by the half-way point Gjoertz had closed the gap on Lier with Denmark’s Rikke Quist just a little bit back in third. Quist last raced at the international level as a junior back in 2008 and she is making a fine comeback at this regatta. These three boats were now out of range from any threat. But what order would they finish in?

Coming into the line Lier still had the lead with Gjoertz and Quist looking happy just to hold their positions, with perhaps Gjoertz putting a bit more of a higher rating effort. Despite this Quist was able to get her nose ahead of Gjoertz and the order ended up being Germany, Denmark, Norway as the qualifying boats.

Coming into Semifinal Two all eyes were on Rachel Gamble-Flint. She had qualified with the fastest time from the heats, but it was Canada’s Carling Zeeman who had the lead at the start. Zeeman is at her first international competition and has been racing most recently at Canadian university competitions. By the half-way point Zeeman had moved to a full boat length lead over Gamble-Flint who was now in second. Both Zeeman and Gamble-Flint rated 29 through the body of the race with Gamble-Flint closing on Zeeman.
In the final sprint Zeeman tried to hold off Gamble-Flint as Latvia’s Elze Gulber pressed hard from fourth to try and overtake the Netherlands and thus qualify. Zeeman and Gamble-Flint then put on a sprint to the line with Zeeman getting there first. Gamble-Flint took second and Gulber got the third.
Finalists: GER, DEN, NOR, CAN, GBR, LAT