A fast day at the Sea Forest Waterway as crews raced for the last remaining spots in Sunday’s A-Finals. Here’s what the athletes have to say as they progress forward to the finals tomorrow.

In the PR1 Women’s Single Sculls, France, Brazil, Israel, and Germany qualified and will be joining Norway and Ukraine in Sunday’s race.

“My family, my children, my wife….they are my superpowers. They are the wind beneath my wings. Just knowing that there is another one on the way gives me, I think, some more extra powers”. Moran Samuel, PR1 W1x, Israel on the pregnancy of her wife

“Tomorrow is a new day, a new chance to race.” Sylvia Pille-Steppat, PR1 W1x, Germany

Australia, Israel, Great Britain, and Spain will also be advancing to the A-Finals, in the PR1 Men’s Single Sculls

“I am very tired- the sun is really strong, but I raced well and enjoyed it.” Rene Campos Pereira, PR1 M1x, Brazil

The last A-finalists in the PR2 Mixed Double Sculls were determined in some very close races – with the Netherlands, Poland, Ukraine and Italy advancing.

“Tomorrow we have to work for every stroke. There are no guarantees for anyone, and everyone is going to want to win a medal.” Annika van der Meer, PR2 Mixed Double Sculls, Netherlands

“We started with a clear objective to finish in the top two, and we achieved it. Let’s see tomorrow what we can pull out of the magician’s hat” Gian Filippi Mirabile, PR2 Mixed Double Sculls, Italy

Closing out the day were the repechage for the PR3 Mixed Coxed Four. In some very tight races, Australia, Italy, France, and Israel took the honour.

“We’ve all had a lot of hurdles to get here, and it means a lot to us so we’re going to put our hearts into it” Tom Birtwhistle, PR3 Mixed Coxed Four, Australia.

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