Finals' places are secured at the Americas Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta

The second day of racing at the Lagoa da Freitas course saw a sunny morning and almost flat water in Río de Janeiro for the repechages and semifinals of the Americas Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta.

It was clear right from the start that some athletes were willing to put some extra power in their pursuit of their Olympic dream. The first race of the day showed that Adriana Sanguinetti from Perú was ready to battle to grab one of the the only two spots left to advance to A-final in the Women’s single sculls. Yariulvis Cobas from Cuba sat a bit more confident in second place thoughout the race just making sure she still had something in reserve for tomorrow and the deciding race to qualify for Paris.

The next race was a crowd pleaser and fans on the shore couldn’t be more happier to see how a dominant lightweight men’s double crew from Brazil managed to lead the field and finish in first place on the repechage after a fierce battle with Venezuela.

Both crews will be joined by Perú and Uruguay in the A-Final – with only two spots available for the Olympic Games.

On the first semifinal A/B in the men’s single sculls, Lucas Verthein from Brazil didn’t wanted to disappoint the local fans. He just did enough to hold off a late surge – and a brilliant performance by Bruno Cetraro Berriolo of Uruguay, the former Olympian from Tokyo 2020.

Behind them, the race for the final spot in the A-Final was also one to watch – and a superb finish from the storming Dara Alizadeh of Bermuda in the final 150 meters helped him secure his spot in the A-final, and kept his Olympic dream alive.

The last race was also one not to miss. Reidy Cardona from Cuba is trying to follow the legacy of the late Angel Fournier Rodriguez, the best Cuban sculler of all-time, who died just a year ago. Cardona took the lead in the first 500 meters, followed by Mexico’s Juan Flores.

Not far behind from them was the young Paraguayan and former Panamerican Junior champion, Javier Insfran. The sculler from Paraguay made some huge progress over the last two years and it showed today when he took the lead of the race and never looked back. Cardona finished second, ahead of Francisco Lapostol from Chile who worked hard to stay with the leaders until the end.

All these crews will compete tomorrow, Saturday 16 March, in the different finals. A spot for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games will be on the line.

Races will be livestreamed tomorrow – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcUxiROIJD8

Copy thanks to Santiago Fuentes

Photos thanks to Satiro Sodré / CBR