12 Aug 2018
Junior Women’s Pair (JW2-) – Finals
A–Final
Winners of yesterday’s semifinals Greece and the United States faced off today for the medals. The Greek crew of Maria Kyridou and Christina Bourmpou had a blistering start and with just 250m rowed they had built up a lead. Bourmpou was the bronze medallist in this boat last year and together the duo raced last month at the under-23 championships and finished fourth. The United States sat in second just ahead of Chile. These three crews were looking to dominate the remaining three boats in this race.
The US crew of Caitlin Esse and Lucy Koven did not look like they could catch Kyridou and Bourmpou who were simply flying at the front of the field. Koven comes from a rowing family with her father racing on this regatta course in 1993 where he took bronze in the men’s eight. Greece’s speed continued as Chile’s Cristina Hostetter Wells and Isidora Niemeyer moved up on Esse and Koven. The US began their sprint which took them away from Chile but they had a lot to make up to catch Greece. The US went to 39, then 40, but the Greeks at 38 were extending their lead. The medals had been decided.
Results: GRE, USA, CHI, LTU, CAN, FRA
Christina Bourmpou (s), Greece, gold
“Really enjoyed today! That race we definitely much more difficult than the heats. It was difficult to deal with the different elements. There’s a big cross-wind. We had a good start and built well through the race but in the last 400 meters I just wanted it to end.”
Lucy Koven (s), United States of America, silver
“That went really well, that race was much better than we asked for. We’re both super competitive people so I think we are always all out all the time, but GRE are incredibly fast, that is an incredible pair. So is chi. We’re super happy to be here, it’s our first international race, and we both have another year of eligibility.”
Cristina Hostetter Wells (b), Chile, bronze
“We definitely expected third today. We’ve consistently posted the 3rd best time throughout this week. I think Lithuania was our biggest rivals. The next step is YOG in the fall.”
B-final
Germany was the fastest qualifier of these crews when they raced in yesterday’s semifinal and they led the way at the start. But then Hungary got out in front with these two crews going through the middle of the race together. Great Britain was right on the pace and these three boats moved away to a handy margin over the rest of the field. The sprint was on with Hungary doing it in style to take the win.
Results: HUN, GBR, GER, ROU, IRL, RSA