2000m of water to get to the finals at the World Rowing Championships

Women’s Pair (W2-) – Semifinals

The women’s pair was as expected in Semifinal One with the reigning Olympic Champions Helen Glover and Heather Stanning of Great Britain setting the marker. The British duo have come back together this season after Stanning took a year out from rowing following the Olympics. By the first 500m mark Glover and Stanning had nearly a four second advantage and they were in the luxurious position of being able to look back on the field and row their own race. Meanwhile Romania’s Cristina Grigoras and Laura Oprea pushed past South Africa to take second. But Grigoras and Oprea did not have the power to close on the leading British with Glover and Stanning having no need to sprint the finish. Naydene Smith and Lee-Ann Persse of South Africa held on to third to get their boat into the final.

Semifinal Two was a much closer affair with three boats huddled close to early leaders, Megan Kalmoe and Kerry Simmonds of the United States.Kalmoe and Simmonds came together as a pair this season and found success when they medalled at the World Rowing Cup in Aiguebelette in June. By the middle of the race the Americans had managed to pull away from the rest of the field with only New Zealand’s Louise Trappitt and Rebecca Scown within striking distance. The order, however, did not change. The United States remained in front followed by New Zealand and Australia crossing a distance back but still qualifying for the final.

Qualifiers: GBR, ROU, RSA, USA, NZL, AUS

Lightweight Men’s Pair (LM2-) – Semifinals

The World Champions, Simon Niepmann and Lucas Tramer of Switzerland had to go through a repechage to get to Semifinal One meaning that they had raced once more than some of these crews. They were up against the fastest qualifiers from the heats, France’s Augustin Mouterde and Thomas Baroukh. Mouterde and Baroukh got away very quickly with Niepmann and Tramer taking chase. Going through the middle of the race margins were tight with just one second separating the top four boats. Then Niepmann and Tramer did a piece and moved ahead of France. Once in the lead the World Champions showed their skills and got the better of Mouterde and Baroukh.

In the final sprint Switzerland maintained the edge while France, rating 40, held on to second over Australia’s Alister Foot and Darryn Purcell who were rating 42. Switzerland recorded the fastest qualifying time of the semifinals putting them in a fine position for them to defend their World Championship title.

The British crew of Jonathan Clegg and Sam Scrimgeour had the quickest start in Semifinal Two, but their margin was small with Jiri Kopac and Miroslav Vrastil of the Czech Republic right on the pace. The Czechs were so much on the pace that they managed to push ahead of Great Britain. But Clegg and Scrimgeour, who medalled at the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne last month, came back to get their bow into the lead. Once back in front Clegg and Scrimegour maintained control with Italy now challenging the Czechs. China also took up chase and after Great Britain crossed the line, there was nothing in it between the next three crews. China, by just 0.10 of a second, missed out on the final.

Qualifiers: SUI, FRA, AUS, GBR, ITA, CZE

Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls (LM1x) – Semifinals

Semifinal One had China’s Jingbin Zhao in the lead. Zhao raced earlier in the season in the lightweight pair and now in the single, he led his semifinal. The more experienced Marcello Miani of Italy was right on his tail and these two boats went through the middle of the race practically side by side. Meanwhile Paul O’Donovan of Ireland did a big move from the back of the field and got himself into a qualifying spot. But the distance between these crews was narrow and in the final sprint the field closed in with four boats – Australia, Italy, China and Ireland – charging to the line for three spots.  China was unlucky. A huge closing sprint by Perry Ward of Australia brought him through to earn a place in the final on Friday. Miani recorded the fastest qualifying time.

Germany’s Lars Hartig has come out of the lightweight double to race in the single and he has been having a great regatta so far. Today Hartig had a very quick start that saw him get his bow out in front. But one thing is usually certain in lightweight races – margins are close and by the half way point, Hartig had been edged out with Switzerland’s Michael Schmid who took the lead. Once in front Schmid showed why he was the winner of the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne. Coming into the final sprint Schmid had a half boat length lead with Hartig and Pedro Fraga of Portugal chasing hard. These three crews were rating in the low 40s and taking each other on stroke for stroke. At the line Schmid managed to hold on to first with Hartig in second over Fraga.

Qualifiers: ITA, IRL, AUS, SUI, GER, POR

Lightweight Women’s Single Sculls (LW1x) -Semifinals

Right from the start Leonie Pless of Germany stamped her authority on Semifinal One. Pless finished first in her heat a couple of days ago and she looked to be the one to beat in this race. Pless finished third at the European Rowing Championships earlier this season, but has mainly been racing the double up to these World Rowing Championships. Coming into the second half of the race Pless still had the edge over Teresa Berkholtz of Canada with Marie-Anne Frenken of the Netherlands very much on the pace.

In the close of the race Eveline Peleman of Belgium did the sprint of her life to get into a qualifying position. Taking her stroke rate to 38 and then 39, Peleman closed on the leading crews and then proceeded to overtake them all. Peleman had finished first in a time of 7:49 to put herself into a middle lane for the final. Berkholz was second with Pless taking third just a fraction ahead of the Netherlands.

Jumping out to an early lead in Semifinal Two was Kathleen Bertko of the United States. Bertko has had quite a career as a rower including time as an open-weight rower. Last year Bertko raced the lightweight double but moved into the single in 2014 as she had to undergo an operation eight weeks before this regatta. Bertko still had the lead at the half way point with last year’s silver medallist, Aikaterini Nikolaidou of Greece in second. China’s Shuai Guo followed in third and this order did not change with none of these crews really needing to sprint the finish.

Qualifiers: BEL, CAN, GER, USA, GRE, CHN

Men’s Pair (M2-) – Semifinals

Germany’s Bastian Bechler and Anton Braun have had a mixed season. They medalled at the World Rowing Cup in Aiguebelette but then missed out at the World Cup in Lucerne. Today they led Semifinal One through the first half of the race with Spain and South Africa chasing hard. These three boats were still close to each other in the second half of the race with Spain’s Alexander Sigurbjonsson Benet and Pau Vela Maggi now pushing into first. But Bechler and Braun had more to give and they increased their stroke rate to get back into the lead. These three crews sprinted to the finish line with Vincent Breet and Shaun Keeling of South Africa giving it their all at a stroke rate that was clocked in the low 40s. Germany crossed the line in first with Spain and South Africa safely through to the final on Saturday.

New Zealand is often not the quickest crew off the start line and that was the case today in Semifinal Two. Instead it was James Foad and Matt Langridge of Great Britain that had the lead over the World and Olympic Champions. Eric Murray and Hamish Bond of New Zealand then proved their power and not only pushed into the lead, but moved clean ahead of the rest of the field. This left Foad and Langridge to be chased by Rogier Blink and Mitchel Steenman of the Netherlands with the United States’ Glenn Ochal and Charles Cole now finding their true pace.

Much to the crowd’s disappointment, Blink and Steenman had no answer to the pace of Ochal and Cole and the finishing order was all but decided before the final sprint began. There was no big sprint happening but still Bond and Murray recorded the fastest qualifying time.

Qualifiers: GER, ESP, RSA, NZL, GBR, USA

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x) – Semifinals

It was hard to look past a win by Stany Delayre and Jeremie Azou of France in Semifinal One. Delayre and Azou were the only crew to set a new World Best Time on the first day of this regatta. But at the start reigning World Champions, Kristoffer Brun and Are Strandli of Norway had the lead. This lead remained through the 1000m mark albeit just a smidgen over France with Switzerland’s Simon Schuerch and Mario Gyr in third.

Then Delayre and Azou did a piece that propelled them ahead of Norway. Brun and Strandli held on as South Africa and the United States started to threaten the third place position that was held by Schuerch and Gyr. Delayre and Azou must have been very much aware of the battle going on behind them as they took their stroke rate in the final sprint. But it was Olympic Champions from the lightweight four, James Thompson and John Smith at a 44 stroke rate, that were giving it their absolute all. At the line France crossed first, Norway second and then a virtual line between South Africa, the United States and Switzerland saw Thompson and Smith earn the qualifying spot by just 0.35 of a second. France had recorded the fastest qualifying time.

Semifinal Two was nearly as hectic as the first semifinal. It opened with World Rowing Cup medallists, Andrea Micheletti and Pietro Ruta of Italy in the lead. But coming through the second 500 this changed as both Denmark and Germany had overtaken the Italians. Micheletti and Ruta, however, had much more to give and they took back the lead that had been owned for a short time by Henrik Stephansen and Jens Nielsen of Denmark.

It was all on now for the sprint with twins Tycho and Vincent Muda of the Netherlands joining in. Italy, rating 41, had a slight edge. Germany’s Moritz Moos and Jason Osborne had second and the Danes and the Dutch crossed practically together. A cheer went up from the Dutch crowd as the Muda’s were announced as the qualifiers.

Qualifiers: FRA, NOR, RSA, ITA, GER, NED

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (LW2x) -Semifinals

This boat class had begun with 22 nations and was now down to the final 12 with Great Britain looking to be the crew to beat. In Semifinal One, Great Britain’s Katherine Copeland and Imogen Walsh lined up. But it was Australia’s Alice McNamara and Ella Flecker that had the leading edge. McNamara and Flecker are in their first season together and they finished second at the World Rowing Cup last month in Lucerne. Copeland and Walsh followed in second with reigning World Champions, Laura Milani and Elisabetta Sancassani of Italy maintaining third.

This order remained the same coming into the final sprint as Milani and Sancassani did a huge push to move up on the Australians. Then Lindsay Jennerich and Patricia Obee of Canada took their stroke rate to 38 and moved through the field. Olympians Jennerich and Obee were on fire and with every stroke they were taking on the entire field. Moving into the lead Canada left Australia to cross in second with Italy now just ahead of Great Britain. Then Olympic Champion, Copeland at 5m before the finish line, caught a boat-stopping crab. They were out of the A-final.

South Africa’s Kirsten McCann and Ursula Grobler took off in the lead of Semifinal Two with Poland, Sweden and New Zealand chasing hard. The field then began to open up with South Africa and New Zealand able to push away from the rest of the field. This is the first season together for McCann and Grobler with Grobler coming back to South Africa after racing for the United States. New Zealand’s Sophie MacKenzie and Julia Edward are also in their first season together. MacKenzie comes from the World Rowing Under 23 Championships where she took gold, while Edward spent most of this season in the lightweight single. Then China’s Wenyi Huang and Dandan Pan came storming through to close on the two leaders. But the order did not change with South Africa crossing the line in first.

Qualifiers: CAN, AUS, ITA, RSA, NZL, CHN

Men’s Four (M4-) – Semifinals

Greece had clocked the second fastest time when they won their heat back on Sunday and they lined up in Semifinal One. But it was Australia’s Pragnell, Dunkley-Smith, Turrin and Lloyd that had the leading edge. Behind the Australians all sorts of things were going on. First the Netherlands moved up to challenge Australia, then Serbia overtook them before the Dutch fought their way back into second with Greece well in the mix. It would have to come down to the final sprint. Australia, rating 38, maintained the lead. The Greeks went to 42 with Serbia and the Netherlands also rating in the low 40s. Australia crossed, Greece crossed. And it was too close to call. The crowd was overjoyed, the Dutch got there ahead of Serbia by just 0.28 of a second.

The British crew of Gregory, Sbihi, Nash and Triggs Hodge have not lost a race since they came together at the European Championships earlier this season. In fact, sometimes they have won by huge margins. Today they sorted out Semifinal Two right from the start leaving the United States to do what they could to keep up. Coming through to the final sprint Canada moved into third behind the United States and the order looked all but sorted. Great Britain crossed the line in first and recorded the fastest qualifying time. The British are definitely the crew to beat in Saturday’s final.

Qualifiers: AUS, GRE, NED, GBR, USA, CAN

Women’s Quadruple Sculls (W4x) – Semifinals

The fastest qualifier for today’s race was China and they lined up in Semifinal One. China got away quickly, but a very high rating United States got away even quicker. By the middle of the race Jiang, Shen, Lyu and Zhang had taken the lead with the United States, New Zealand and Belarus all very much on the pace. This would have to be a sprint to the line and even before the 1500m mark stroke rates had already begun to rise. China was looking impressive and the crew was doing a great job at holding off the tussle going on behind them.

China successfully finished first and recorded the fastest qualifying time. The United States took second and New Zealand held off Belarus to take the third and final qualifying spot. Belarus, with the amazing Ekaterina Karsten in bow, would have to race in the B-final.

Semifinal Two featured the reigning World Champions, Germany. Thiele, Baer, Lier and Schmidla included two members of the crew that won at the 2013 World Rowing Championships in Chungju (KOR). Going through the half way point, Germany had the leading edge but Australia was not letting the Germans dominate. These two crews then moved away from the rest of the field. But the race was far from over as Canada began to move up to challenge the leaders. As these scullers came into the zone of the race with the majority of the spectators, they raised their stroke rate to hold off a late charge by Poland. It was too late. Germany, at a 35 stroke rate, crossed the line in first followed by Australia and Canada.

Qualifiers: CHN, USA, NZL, GER, AUS, CAN

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (M4x) – Semifinals

In Semifinal One there was nothing between these six crews after 500m. At the half way point just one second separated the top five boats. Only Canada was off the pace. Russia had a slight edge of a lead, but this meant little when the margins were so close. Then the British, who have had a great season so far with a collection of World Cup medals coming their way, pushed into the lead with Germany chasing hard. This boat class was won by Croatia last year, but the Croatians are not racing their quad this year leaving the field open to a new World Champion crew.

Margins started to spread out just a fraction coming into the final sprint with Great Britain still holding the edge. Germany pressed through to take second and Estonia earned third. Great Britain had scored the fastest qualifying time.

Ukraine marked the fastest qualifying time in the heats earlier this week and they led the way in Semifinal Two. This lead really spread out the field which was not as tight as the first semifinal. Ukraine’s Mikhay, Morozov, Nadtoka nd Dovgodko continued to hold the lead, leaving the real race to go on for second. And for second it was incredibly tight. China then earned a slight edge with the United States, Switzerland and Poland going neck-and-neck. Ukraine was at 36 in the final sprint with the real tussle going on behind them. China crossed the line, then Switzerland and Poland crossed together. The finish line judges called Switzerland as the qualifying crew.

Qualifiers: GBR, GER, EST, UKR, CHN, SUI