Flying semifinals at Junior Championships

The wind changed direction from the past two days of racing to a tail wind that was stronger in the first part of the race and lighter at the finish. There was also a small cross wind that meant rowers had to concentrate hard on their steering. The weather remained a warm 24 degrees Celsius.

Junior Women’s Pair (JW2-) – Semifinals
Sitting in the middle lane of Semifinal One were the winners of the European Junior Championships, Romania but the opening strokes saw the United States in the lead. The United States finished second a year ago and the same crew of Christine Cavallo and Kathryn Brown were back again this year. Spain followed in second using a very aggressive, high stroke rate to hold on to their position with Romania’s Cristina-Georgiana Popescu and Denisa Tilvescu in third.

Spain’s aggression then got them into the lead. Mireia Ros I Martinez and Laura Monteso Esmel had won their heat two days ago and were willing to make an impact today. But then Romania came storming through and at the line they were the winners in a very fast time of 7:24. Romania, Spain and the United States were through to the final.

Australia’s Jessie Allen and Genevieve Horton were in the lead at the start and by the first 500m mark that had more than a three second lead in Semifinal Two. Germany, who were fourth in 2012, followed in second. Allen and Horton had the fastest qualifying time from the heats two days ago and they continued to lead through the middle of the race.

Coming into the final sprint Australia remained in front with Germany locked into second while Great Britain were moving up in third. This order remained the same to the line.
Qualifiers: ROU, ESP, USA, GER, GBR

Junior Men’s Four (JM4-) – Semifinal
In Semifinal One Poland had the fastest start but were soon overtaken by Italy. The Italians were in a very fast heat two days ago when they finished second to Romania. At that time Italy proved that they could rate high and again today they rated high. Poland tried to hold on to the flying Italians but never seemed to be able to catch them.

The Czech Republic, in third, had qualified for today’s race through the repechage and the extra race didn’t seem to be doing them any harm. This order remained the same through to the end of the race with Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic qualifying for the final. Italy had qualified with the fastest time – a very quick 6:01.

Romania had the fastest qualifying time in the heats and they got out in front in Semifinal Two. By the middle of the race they had a huge margin over Austria and China in second and third respectively. Austria and China held a duel through the middle of the race before both crews died away to the back of the field. This opened up the door for Greece and the US priority boat to come storming through to qualify for the final behind Romania. The impressive Romanian crew looked relaxed and smooth as they came to the line, looking like they could row a lot further.
Qualifiers: ITA, POL, CZE, ROU, GRE, USA

Junior Women’s Quadruple Sculls (JW4x) – Semifinals
Germany got out in front in Semifinal One. The Germans had the fastest qualifying time from the heats two days ago and they looked to be the crew to beat. Behind the Germans, New Zealand and the Netherlands were holding a tight duel. The Dutch had to get to this semifinal through the repechage and they were doing a fine job amongst this tough competition.

New Zealand got the better of the duel but it was not enough for them to catch the Germans. At the line Germany, New Zealand and a very happy Netherlands had qualified for the final.

In Semifinal Two the top four from the European Junior Championships were racing each other. Out in front was Romania who had won at the European Championships and they also were the reigning World Champions.

By the middle of the race Romania had a handy lead over the United States who were being paced stroke for stroke by Italy. This duel brought the US and Italy closer and closer to the Romanian’s. Italy then got their nose in front of the United States and they then went after Romania. The Romanian’s had the second fastest qualifying time from the heats, finishing just a fraction slower than Germany.  At the line Romania had held off Italy and qualified for the final with the fastest time. Italy qualified from second and the United States took third.
Qualifiers: GER, NZL, NED, ROU, ITA, USA