Daily Digest: Competition heating up at World Rowing Under 19 Championships

The third day of competition in Trakai, Lithuania saw the first of our Under 19 competitors complete their finals before moving to quarterfinals for the U19 women’s single sculls and then the first semifinals of the competition – for the women’s and men’s double sculls.

First finals complete

For the biggest boat classes of the Championships, minor finals took place today. Finals D and C were held for the men’s single and double sculls and a Final C for the U19 women’s double sculls. Among the races, was an incredible sprint to the line between South Africa and Georgia, with South Africa claiming victory, and 19th place overall by just 0.22 seconds.

Women’s single sculls semifinalists confirmed

As the biggest boat class of the Championships, quarterfinals were required for the U19 women’s single sculls, and these were contested today. Each of the four quarterfinals saw a fairly dominant leader, but the remainder of the qualifying places were all hotly contested. The winning times across the first to quarterfinals were very close suggesting we’re in for some exciting semifinals. European U19 silver medalist Esther Fuerte Chacon from Spain won quarterfinal 1 in 8:25.11 whilst Greece’s Varvara Lukomitrou, who won gold at the Europeans clocked 8:25.44

 Double scullers book their places in finals

The U19 women’s double sculls was the first boat class to race semifinals, securing their places for Sunday’s finals. The experienced Greek duo of Paschalina Mouratidou and Eleni Diavati claimed the win in the first semi, clocking 7:43.80 with Poland and Germany finishing second and third respectively to secure an opportunity to race for medals. Great Britain turned the heat up even further in the second semifinal, when Emily Nicholas and Catherine Gardner crossed the line in 7:40. After a sprint to the line, it was confirmed that Hungary and Ireland had taken the remaining two qualifying places.

Ireland also secured qualification in the men’s double sculls when Jonah Kirby and Jack Rafferty claimed the fastest qualifying time in the second semifinal, 6:42.36. Germany had won the first semifinal in 6:47.61 although both the German and Greek boats had appeared to wind down towards the line when qualification looked certain. The Netherlands, Hungary and Italy also confirmed their place in Sunday’s medal race.

More finals and semifinals tomorrow

Day 4 of competition will see a much bigger schedule once again starting with some minor finals. Following a “Star Race” featuring local rowers at 13:10, the remainder of the semifinals will be contested in order to finalise the start lists for Sunday’s finals.