Surprises in the eights at the Lucerne World Cup

After two days of racing in excellent conditions, today’s finals concluded the 2013 World Cup series with racing times getting faster and faster as the day progressed. A new World Best Time was set by the United States women’s eight with the United States making it a double-header by winning the men’s eight. Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic set a new World Cup Best Time in the men’s single sculls and a number of other crews came agonisingly close to setting new times.

Women’s Pair (W2-) – Final
Like giant spoons swooshing through the water, the splash of the blades of the women’s pairs illustrated the power of the athletes. The World Cup leaders, Helen Glover and Polly Swann of Great Britain, were pushed hard in the heats two days ago by the United States. Today they decided to take no chances and shot out of the start and into the lead. By the middle of the race Olympic Champion Glover and new partner Swann had built up more than a two second lead. But Glover and Swann knew that they still had a lot of work to do.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Kayla Pratt and Rebecca Scown were working their way back from a relatively slow start. Scown won bronze at the 2012 Olympic Games and she has a new partner this season in Pratt. Together they were negative splitting their way to the head of the field.

Coming into the final sprint Pratt and Scown had found second and were rating 40 to try and catch the British duo. Glover and Swann saw them coming and pushed their stroke rate to 37 to hold them off. Glover and Swann had completed a clean sweep of the World Cup series and their finish time had got within five seconds of a World Cup Best Time. Pratt and Scown followed in second and Taylor Goetzinger and Meghan Musnicki of the United States were in third.
Results: GBR, NZL, USA, ROU, NED, RSA

B-Final
Tess Gerrand and Katrina Bateman of Australia led this two horse race from start to finish. Gerrand rowed last year at the London Olympics in the women’s eight while Bateman spent last season on the under-23 team where she picked up a silver medal in the women’s four. Gerrand and Bateman kept the pressure on for the full 2000m crossing the line at a 33 stroke rate.
Results: AUS1, GER

Helen Glover (GBR) – Gold
“We wanted to try something new so it is a continuous process of learning.”

Kayla Pratt (NZL) – Silver
“We have only been rowing together since March and now we have another six weeks to go until the World Rowing Championships in Korea. We are very excited about it.”

Meghan Musnicki (USA) – Bronze
“We were gaining speed during the whole competition. We have learned a lot and it’s great to race against the top girls in the world.”

Men’s Pair (M2-) – Final
Spain’s Alexander Sigurbjonsson Benet and Pau Vela Maggi burst out at the start and into the lead. Spain regularly perform fast starts but don’t always manage to hold it at the other end of the race. Would they be able to do it today?

By the middle of the race Eric Murray and Hamish Bond of New Zealand – who need no introduction – had gotten into the lead. But Sigurbjonsson and Vela were holding on and had the second place spot. Then Italy’s Marco Di Costanzo and Matteo Castaldo did a huge piece which propelled them past Spain and into second. Spain continued to hold on.

Di Costanzo and Castaldo joined together this season and in their first race together, the European Rowing Championships, they finished fourth. With Bond and Murray now way out in front, Italy and Spain held their own battle to the line. Rating 43 Italy was giving it their all and still Spain held on. New Zealand had held their unbeaten record, Italy celebrated like they had won gold and Spain couldn’t hide their bronze medal joy.

It is worth noting Olympic silver medallists France came through in fifth after a solid start with Serbia limping home in the final metres, perhaps with equipment issues.
Results: NZL, ITA, ESP, RSA1, FRA1, SRB

B-Final
A couple of weeks ago David Hunt and Vincent Breet of South Africa Two raced in the final of the men’s pair at the Henley Royal Regatta. Today they led the B-final from start to finish. Hunt and Breet were the silver medallists at last year’s World Rowing Under-23 Championships in the pair and there is every indication that they have transitioned to senior racing very smoothly. Hint and Breet’s win was over Germany’s top pair of Andre Sieber and Philipp Naruhn.
Results: RSA2, GER1, ITA2, AUS, POL

Hamish Bond (NZL) – Gold
“We were up to 51 international races which haven’t lost and I think it may be higher now but no – we don’t get sick of this. I was really nervous before the race but I think that’s good. If you don’t get nervous you don’t care enough.”

Matteo Castaldo (ITA1) – Silver
“We had a good start and we were amongst the field until 1000m and then we realised the New Zealand team were moving. Once again they showed a non-human performance. We tried our best to stay in the field and at the end we rowed with 40 strokes. Now we go step by step until the World Championships.”

Pau Vela Maggi (ESP) – Bronze
“It’s unbelievable. The goal was to get into the final and enjoy it there and we did it fantastically.”

Lightweight Men’s Four (LM4-) – Final
New Zealand completed an unbeaten season after winning today’s lightweight men’s four final. This is a big turnaround for New Zealand who were unable to qualify for the London Olympics in this boat class a year ago. This year is a different story. James Hunter, James Lassche, Peter Taylor and Curtis Rapley of New Zealand got out quickly and into the lead. Behind them Olympic bronze medallists, Denmark chased hard. Danish stroke Morten Joergensen had made it known that gold was his sole aim today, but coming into the second half of the race it looked as though that goal may be slipping away as New Zealand pushed away.

Meanwhile there was a huge tussle going on for third between the rest of the field – the Netherlands, Great Britain, Poland and South Africa. The sprint to the line was intense with the Dutch recording the best sprint to earn them the bronze medal. New Zealand held on to gold despite a strong finish from Denmark who had to settle for silver.

South Africa, in fourth place, can feel pleased about this solid start to the 2013 season after time off following their Olympic gold medal.
Results: NZL, DEN, NED, RSA, GBR, POL

B-Final
The lightweight men’s four never fails to disappoint when it comes to the sprint for the line. After 1500m of racing the field was spread by less than three seconds and the winner was going to come down to the crew with the most energy left. Lightweight rowers have to carefully balance their food intake with their training and weight adding another dimension to their racing. At the line the United States had balanced everything the best. The US had started off at the back of the field and slowly inched their way through the field to be second coming into the final sprint. In a beautifully timed, negative split effort, the United States took first and thus finished seventh overall.
Results: USA, CZE, FRA, AUT, GER, ITA

Peter Taylor (NZL) – Gold
“I'm really stoked with how we went about it. We will enjoy today and the result. When we get back to New Zealand we won't let up and will keep striving for more speed. The competition out there makes us want to go faster.”

Morten Joergensen (DEN) – Silver
“It was quite a good race but we missed a few strokes. We need to find more speed for the World Championships. The start was ok and we had a good race but we let the others catch up.”

Timothee Heijbrock (NED) – Bronze
“Our start was fine but we realized we need to train it more. We raced after that with our regular rhythm and I am really happy with our performance. We have been rowing together in this combination for only two months. Before we rowed in pairs and now are looking forward to the World Championships.”

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (LW2x) – Final
Full credit in this final goes to the Italians. Laura Milani and Elisabetta Sancassani of Italy came together for last year’s European Rowing Championships and won gold. They did it again last month at the European Rowing Championships and then today, on Lucerne’s Rotsee, Milani and Sancassani won the first ever World Cup gold for Italian women. Both Milani and Sancassani have been around a while as they move into their second decade of international rowing. Sancassani, up until 2012, rowed as a heavyweight.

Today the Italians overtook a fast start by Kristin Hedstrom and Kathleen Bertko of the United States to work their way into first by the second half of the race. Hedstrom and Bertko had the goal of finishing in the top four to guarantee their selection for the United States 2013 World Rowing Championships team. At the line their goal was achieved.

With Italy in first and the United States in second, the remaining four boats held a ferocious battle for the bronze medal. In an impressive sprint to the line, Julia Edward and Lucy Strack of New Zealand had done it – by just 0.09 of a second.
Results: ITA, USA, NZL, GBR, NED, GER1

B-Final
You could almost feel the effort going into the second half of the stroke of Sweden’s lightweight double. Emma Fredh and Cecilia Lilja finished the race in first using a strong 36 stroke pace to stay ahead of Poland. Fredh and Lilja were third last month at the Eton Dorney World Cup, but amongst stronger competition here in Lucerne, they have finished the World Cup series with a seventh place.
Results: SWE, POL, DEN, GER2, ARG, INA

Kristin Hedstrom (USA) – Silver
“It was the best of all the races we have had together.”

Kathleen Bertko (USA) – Silver
“This regatta has been all about experiences and we are hungry for more”

Julia Edward (NZL) – Bronze
“For the last four years we have been building the lightweight squad in New Zealand. We have got some good girls coming through. So they keep us on our toes.”

Men’s Four (M4-) – Final
Earlier this season it looked as though the men’s four would be all about Australia versus Great Britain. But after Great Britain failed to make the final, semifinal winners the United States and the Netherlands looked like they would be the top contenders. Today the United States showed their worth. This is a new crew for 2013 and this is their first international outing as a four. Grant James, Seth Weil, Henrik Rummel and Michael Gennaro have been working away under coach Bryan Volpenhein in Oklahoma and they put it all together today.

The United States got out quickly followed by Australia. By the middle of the race the United States still had the lead, albeit miniscule, over Australia with the rest of the field now slipping back a fraction. In the sprint to the line Australia took their rating to 42 to try and catch the United States, but it was Italy who were really on fire. The Italians were closing on Australia with every stroke. Could the Australians hold them off? At the line the United States had won, Australia were second and Italy were just 0.07 seconds back in third.
Results: USA, AUS, ITA, NED, BLR, GER

B-Final
The Czech Republic outclassed the rest of the field in technique and speed despite a very impressive B-final line up. Milan Dolecek, Jan Pilc, Jakub Podrazil and Matyas Klang of the Czech Republic rowed a very confident race from the leading position looking quick and light through the water to keep their boat humming along. After pushing past Canada, Croatia slotted into second with Canada left to battle with the British crew. This is a step back for Great Britain who finished second at the Eton Dorney World Cup. Perhaps the British have just slotted this regatta into their regular training.
Results: CZE, CRO, CAN, GBR, NZL1, NOR

Henrik Rummel (USA) – Gold
“We had a very good start but also realised that Australia started even better so we adapted of course. We didn’t have a race plan – we just reacted on the performance of the others. After 1000m I felt pretty tired and I really had to fight until the end of the race. Now we are going back to Princeton to concentrate on our training for the World Championships.”

William Lockwood (AUS) – Silver
“Our plan was to go out efficiently and then just go at the 1000m. This is what the USA did to us yesterday. We knew we would pay the price at the end. We are a young crew. This is our second regatta. We are still coming together. I am so proud.”

Paolo Perino (ITA) – Bronze
“After the start we were in the first place but at the 500m the USA took a boat length and kept it all the way. Australia were showing strong and as they had lane one it was difficult to see them from our lane five. The end of the race was just beautiful.”

Women’s Quadruple Sculls (W4x) – Final
The Germans are on a roll. They started the season off by winning the European Rowing Championships and then went on to win at the second World Rowing Cup. Today they completed the World Cup series in style with a win on the Rotsee waters. Annekatrin Thiele, Carina Baer, Julia Richter and Britta Oppelt of Germany got out to an early lead and never looked back.

Poland, who have been looking promising all season and won their semifinal yesterday, followed closely behind Germany. This turned the field into pretty much a procession through the middle of the race with Australia slotting into third and the United States in fourth.

Then as the finish line crowds increased their noise all of the crews took the stroke rate up to finish in style. The Germans style was the best with Poland following at a 41 stroke rate in second. Then 250m from the line disaster struck the Americans. A crab saw bow seat Stesha Carle break her oar leaving the crew to limp home at the back of the field. The first three spots did not change; Germany, then Poland followed by Australia.
Results: GER, POL, AUS, ITA, BLR, USA

B-Final
A very solid performance by the Netherlands gave them first place and seventh overall at the regatta. The Netherlands finished second at last month’s European Rowing Championships and have had one crew change since then. New Zealand followed in second after working their way up from a fourth-placed start.
Results: NED1, NZL, CAN, GBR, DEN, NED2

Annekatrin Thiele (GER) – Gold
“This is my first win here in Lucerne. It was an excellent race from the start until the end. It was not easy to deal with the public pressure but we could confirm that we are some of the world’s top rowers.”

Magdalena Fularczyk (POL) – Silver
“It’s very different from the double. The quad is much faster. I am the power girl in the boat and as the quad is so dynamic I really like it.”

Olympia Aldersey (AUS) – Bronze
“Our coach had to go home and so Drew Ginn has been looking after us. He has been great. He tells us things like ‘Don’t be distracted by the cow bells’. He was really good at giving the athlete’s perspective.”

 

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (M4x) – Final
Looking very much like the final of the London Olympics, this final had three of the boats that were in the Olympic top four. But the order had slightly changed. Here’s how the race panned out.

In the lead at the start was Russia and the Olympic Champions, Germany with Croatia following in third. But by the middle of the race Croatia’s David Sain, Damir Martin and Valent and Martin Sinkovic had gone into the lead. This Croatian crew is the most stable of all of the crews in this boat class. They united in 2009 and the line up has remained the same ever since. They are now by far Croatia’s most successful rowers.

As Russia slipped back, suffering from their early fast place, Germany slotted into second with Estonia and Great Britain challenging the Germans through the middle of the race. The final sprint began and Croatia was making it look easy. Keeping their boat up on top of the water, Croatia were able to inch away from Germany. The Germans, by comparison looked a bit heavy through the water.

At the line Croatia had wrapped up their 2013 World Cup season with another old medal while Germany, again, took silver and Estonia pushed through for their second bronze medal of the season.
Results: CRO, GER, EST, GBR, RUS, POL

B-Final
An extremely tight finish saw the top five boats cross the finish line with less than a two second spread. The full-on sprint to the line saw the United States hit a 41 stroke rate and the Netherlands at 40. But the leading crew, the Czech Republic must have felt pretty confident, peaking at a 35 stroke rate. The men’s quad is shaping up to be one of the hottest events this season and this B-final certainly added to this.
Results: CZE, USA, NED, CAN, NZL, ITA

David Sain (CRO) – Gold
“We were perfectly synchronised and we are used to each other because our combination has been together for four years. Sweeping has a stronger tradition in Croatia so this might be the reason why they have kept our successful combination for such a long time.”

Lauritz Schoof (GER) – Silver
“This is a new crew and the first time we raced together was at the European Championships. After Eton we didn’t have any chance to train together. This was the best race of the entire weekend.”

Allar Raja (EST) – Bronze
“We will keep this combination for the World Championships. I am happy to win a medal with this quad. In this team there is a bigger chance for a place on the podium then in the double. It’s great to row with younger guys.”

Men’s Double Sculls (M2x) – Final
After missing the Eton Dorney World Cup due to exam commitments, Nils Jakob Hoff of the Norwegian double got off to a very quick start. Teamed up with Kjetil Borch, the duo is into their second Olympic cycle together and aiming for big things at Rio. But Norway’s lead soon diminished as World Cup leaders, New Zealand, pushed out in front. But the field remained tight with not much more than three seconds separating the six boats.

Then Michael Arms and Robert Manson of New Zealand began to show their power and started to develop some breathing space between themselves and Italy who were now in second. Arms and Manson raced at the London Olympics in the quad event, finishing seventh, and their switch this year to the double has seen them posting remarkable results – first place after first place.

As the field moved into the final sprint New Zealand held the advantage with Lithuania, German and Italy in a perfectly straight line, challenging each other stroke for stroke. The intensity must have been incredible. At the line Arms and Manson were the clear winners. But what about second and third? Three boats sat there waiting for the announcement. The finish tower judges were poring over the replay screen. The announcement came; Italy’s Francesco Fossi and Romano Battisti were second and Germany’s Eric Knittel and Stephan Krueger were third. Lithuania had missed out on a medal by less than 1/100th of a second.
Results: NZL, ITA, GER, LTU, NOR, GBR

B-Final
The London Olympic fourth-place finishers Argentina lined up in this B-final. Bow man for Argentina Ariel Suarez has been recovering from back problems which meant that his doubles partner, Cristian Rosso raced at the Eton Dorney World Cup in the single sculls. He finished a respectable sixth in the singles race. Today Suarez and Rosso started their comeback by winning the B-final after pushing past race leaders, Serbia in the closing sprint of the race.
Results: ARG, SRB, DEN, SOL, CAN

Robert Manson (NZL) – Gold
“We train with the men’s pair from New Zealand. We are pretty competitive but I think we help bring out the best in each other. Going from the quad to the double it means we have to be pretty good friends and I wouldn’t want to row with anyone else.”

Franceso Fossi (ITA) – Silver
“We stuck to our race plan, but overall, during the race we felt that we lost power. But we were still in the group within the first 1000m so in the last 500m we played our joker – the sprint. We are very happy with our result. This was certainly also thanks to our new coach.”

Eric Knittel (GER) – Bronze
“It was an exhausting race. There were a lot of boats within striking distance. We are amazed how close this race was.”

Women’s Double Sculls (W2x) – Final
A floating plastic water bottle delayed the start of this race – thus is the precision of rowing at this level. The crews then got away with Lithuania’s Donata Vistartaite and Milda Valciukaite in first. Vistartaite and Valciukaite are in the first season together with Vistartaite coming from the single and the Valciukaite coming from a win in last year’s junior double. Their match-up have been fortuitous thanks to the guidance of new head coach Gianni Postiglione.

Through the middle of the race Vistartaite and Valciukaite were being challenged hard by the United States duo of Meghan O’Leary and Ellen Tomek. The Lithuanians, inch by inch, began to pull away with New Zealand’s Fiona Bourke and Zoe Stevenson now surprising the fleet. Bourke and Stevenson had just scraped through to the final and were not favoured to medal, but they had now pushed through into second and were closing swiftly and steadily on Vistartaite and Valciukaite. At a 41 stroke rate New Zealand had nearly caught the Lithuanians with five strokes left to row.

Vistartaite and Valciukaite held on to take the gold by just 0.02 of a second. What an impressive race by New Zealand. O’Leary and Tomek came through in third – a position which helped reserve their spot on the US team for the 2013 World Rowing Championships.
A special note must be made about Belarus in fourth. The crew includes Ekaterina Karsten and together with Yuliya Bichyk the duo in their first season together look to be a force for the World Championships.
Results: LTU, NZL, USA1, BLR, GBR, USA2

B-Final
Germany has been reshuffling between the quad and the double at every race this season. For Lucerne Julia Lier and Mareike Adams had been chosen to race in the German boat. Lier and Adams found themselves in a tight tussle with Canada for the entire 2000m, only managing to break free in the final sprint to take first.
Results: GER, CAN, HUN

Donata Vistartaite (LTU) – Gold
“I was nervous at the start but after winning the race I am much more confident now. The team worked really well. I kept pushing Milda and she listened well.”

Fiona Bourke (NZL) – Silver
“Dick Tonks is all about doing kilometers to get that middle 1000m so that you are not in that position in the end where you have to sprint. We will do a bit of work leading up to the World Championships. Neither of us has a lot of experiences in small boats so to be put together and row against this field and discover we have the goods is pretty fantastic.”

Ellen Tomek (USA) – Bronze
“It was good to find ourselves in the pack. It was amazing to be racing Ekatarina Karsten.”

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x) – Final
The French have made their intentions clear: Jeremie Azou and Stany Delayre of France are going after gold in Rio 2016. Today was one step on that path as they led their final from start to finish. Azou and Delayre finished fourth at the London Olympics and so far this season they remain unbeaten.

Azou and Delayre, however, were not having the easiest time of it. Both Great Britain and Italy One were pushing the French hard – so hard that going through the middle of the race these three boats had less than a second between them.  Then Azou and Delayre managed to gain a few inches with Richard and Peter Chambers of Great Britain getting just ahead of Andrea Micheletti and Pietro Ruta of Italy.

Now the sprint to the finish had begun. Delayre and Azou were on fire, burning along at 42 strokes per minute. Micheletti and Ruta were at 43 and moving on the British. The very happy Italians had done it. Securing silver indicated that they had found a new fast double.
Results: FRA, ITA1, GBR, NED, POL, GRE

B-Final
Lars Hartig of Germany started off the season racing with Konstantin Steinhuebel at the European Rowing Championships but a sub-par finish meant that Hartig swapped partners for the Eton Dorney World Cup. Hartig is now back with Steinhuebel and they raced at the head of the field in this B-Final recording a respectable time of 6:23 at the finish. Denmark came through in second after coming back from a slow start.
Results: GER, DEN, AUT, JPN, BUL

Stany Delayre (FRA) – Gold
“We got off well and built our race stroke after stroke, but the others held on. At the 1000m mark they did their push and they forged. In the last 250m the other crews paid for their efforts and we just went.”

Andrea Micheletti (ITA1) – Silver
“It was a very fast start being pushed by the French crew. We tried to reach the French team but since it was a very fast start we couldn’t keep the pace. After the first 1000m we started again to fight the team from Great Britain. It was tough but we were successful.”

Peter Chambers (GBR) – Bronze
“We are happier today then we were after the finals in Eton. We just need to get better. Now we will go back to training and see where we can get before Korea.”

Women’s Eight (W8+) – Final
In yesterday’s preliminary race the United States gave an indication of their boat speed. Today, in the final this was confirmed. One of the most victorious teams ever in the sport of rowing, the United States women’s eight didn’t start the 2013 season very well when the Olympic and World Champion boat was beaten by Australia at the Sydney World Cup. But that was back in March. Here on the Rotsee the United States showed who was in charge.

Getting out in front at the start the US boat soon showed that they had no real competition as they opened up to a clear water lead. Amanda Polk, Kerry Simmonds, Emily Regan, Lauren Schmetterling, Grace Luczak, Caroline Lind, Victoria Opitz and Heidi Robbins were fully focused on coxswain Katelin Snyder and no one else.

Racing their own race at the head of the field the US let Canada and Romania battle it out for second. At the line the United States had not only won, they had set a new World Best Time and what was more remarkable, a post-Olympic year rarely sees record times furthermore the racing conditions saw practically no wind when usually World Best Times are set in tail wind conditions. Hats off to the United States; 5.54.16.
Results: USA, ROU, CAN, GBR, GER, NZL

Katelin Snyder (USA) – Gold
“I knew it was 2:55 to the 1000m mark which was on pace for the world best time so I shifted the focus internally and it worked. For two of the girls it’s the first international experience. There is so much positive energy – it’s fun to practice and it’s even more fun to race.”

Natalie Mastracci (CAN) – Bronze
“Every time we are on a podium we are very happy about the result. It was a much stronger race than at the World Cup in Sydney. We are a complete new combination in this crew since most of the previous athletes have retired. Now we go back home and train for the fine tuning.”

Men’s Single Sculls (M1x) – Final
Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic finally has a record to call his own. Today on the Rotsee, Synek set a new World Cup Best Time in the men’s single. After an initial fast start by Great Britain’s Alan Campbell, Synek pushed through into the lead and settled into a 32 stroke rate pace. But margins remained tight and Synek was not being given any breathing space by the rest of the field.

Finally coming through the third 500, Synek had been able to drop Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Great Britain with Angel Fournier Rodriguez of Cuba and Marcel Hacker of Germany pressing hard. Usually Hacker is at his best when he is in the lead, but today he was putting on a great performance from third.

In the sprint to the line Synek remained out in front with Hacker, rating 34, pushing past a visibly tiring Fournier. Synek, finishing in a time of 6:37.40 had set a new World Cup Best Time by just under a second. Hacker had rowed beautifully to take second and Fournier had just enough energy to take third.
Results: CZE, GER, CUB, NED1, BUL, GBR1

B-Final
At the finish the top three crews had all going under the magic seven minute mark. Rolandas Mascinskas of Lithuania had the fastest finishing time of 6:54 and he did it by overtaking Switzerland and Slovenia to get into the lead. Behind Lithuania, Juan Carlos Cabrera of Mexico looks to be coming along in leaps and bounds. Cabrera raced last year at the under-23 level where he finished seventh. Today his eighth-place finish at this senior event is very respectable.
Results: LTU, MEX, USA, SUI, SLO1, HUN

Ondrej Synek (CZE) – Gold
“Today was hard and fast so I’m happy to be here. The race was amazing. I started very quick then it was just my race. We will see how I prepare for the World Championships.”

Marcel Hacker (GER)  – Silver
“I always kept an eye on my race pacer and I’m very happy about the race and this result. It was a close fight and we have now to analyse my performance at home. I see very good chances to another medal at the World Championships.”

Angel Fournier Rodriguez (CUB) – Bronze
“At the 1000m it began to be really hard. Every rower had set his position at that point.”

Women’s Single Sculls (W1x) – Final
In this talented field the race could have gone a number of ways and during the race it did. Magdalena Lobnig of Austraia (World Rowing Under-23 Champion in the double) started out in the lead. Then New Zealand’s Emma Twigg (fourth at the 2012 Olympic Games) took over the front place. Half the race had now been completed.

Coming through the third 500 Australia’s Kim Crow then grabbed the lead. Crow has a huge following in Australia and is the leading light on the Australian team at present. And for good reason; Crow finished third in the single at the Olympics and has remained unbeaten since then. Once in the lead Crow pushed away from Eleanor Logan of the United States who had been steadily working away through the body of the race.

In the sprint to the line Olympic Champion, Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic gave it her all. Knapkova had been back in fourth and taking her stroke rate to 34 she tried to come back. Logan, at 38, was closing on Crow. At the line Crow had held on to gold, the powerful Logan took silver and Knapkova snuck past Twigg to get the bronze. Crow’s time was just 0.21 seconds outside of the World Cup Best Time.
Results: AUS, USA, CZE, NZL, CHN, AUT

B-Final
Inge Janssen of the Netherlands One raced in the London Olympics in the double. Now in the single this season Janssen finished third at the European Rowing Championships. Today she led the B-final from start to finish. Meanwhile, Germany’s Lisa Schmidla worked her way through the field to take second and, using a 35 stroke rate finish, nearly catch Janssen.
Results: NED1, GER, NED2, GBR, RUS1, LTU2

Kim Crow (AUS) – Gold
“Lucerne is such a special place. It was really exciting. I raced here last year and I was a bit naive so today was about proving to myself that I can race the way I want to. It’s fun to have good races and tight finishes.”

Eleanor Logan (USA) – Silver
“It’s really exciting for me. Everybody kept pushing the whole way down. I love Lucerne. It keeps getting better and better.”

Mirka Knapkova (CZE) – Bronze
“I am happy with the medal here at the Rotsee. The start was ok but I found a good rhythm. I learned from this race that I have to train more.”

Men’s Eight (M8+) – Final
Oh what a shock! In an epic battle of a race the Olympic and World Champion German eight had lost to the United States. The Germans had been unbeaten since 2009, but in the face of a new US line up they could not maintain their unbroken record.

Germany got out quickly at the start with the United States their closest threat. Through the middle of the race Germany still had the lead, but the US, coxed by Zachary Vlahos, had closed the gap. With the Netherlands and Great Britain duking it out for third, Germany and the United States went stroke for stroke.

The crowd was going wild. The German supporters were looking nervous, the British supporters were looking crestfallen, the Dutch supporters were ready to jump in the water for a victory swim and the United States supporters couldn’t sit still. The US had done it. Germany held on to a close second and the Dutch got the better of the British to take third.
Results: USA, GER, NED, GBR1, FRA, POL

B-Final
This two boat race didn’t disappoint for tension and excitement. Italy and Great Britain Two took each other on as though their lives depended on it. Italy has constructed a new eight this season under the direction of a new coaching line up. The Italians got out to a quick start leaving Great Britain in the chasing position. And chase they did – right through to the final sprint. The British may not have been able to catch the Italians but they gave it their all and got incredibly close at the end. Italy had to rate 45 to stay ahead of the British.
Results: ITA, GBR2

Zachary Vlahos (USA) – Gold
“We won the heat but we knew Germany were fast. We were confident in our base speed. In the race, that’s about as tight as you can get. It’s time to get back home and find some more speed. But for now I’m craving ice cream.”

Eric Johannesen (GER) – Silver
“It is not dramatic to lose here in Lucerne. The big aim is still to win at the World Championships. We now go to training camp for five weeks and train as hard and good as we can. This combination is new but our aim now is to keep up with the US team.”

Vincent van der Want (NED) – Bronze
“It was a good race. We were always at full pressure. We didn’t give much away at the start which we can always improve.”