World Best Time at the Under 23 Championships

For this afternoon’s semifinals the wind had turned to a cross-tail wind on bumpy water. It then switched to a tail wind, before moving back to the side and calming right down to nearly flat. The coaches must have been pulling their hair out trying to decide how to set up the boats.

Overall the conditions made for great racing and the under-23 rowers gave the spectators much to watch.

Lightweight Women's Single Sculls (BLW1x) – Semifinals

The water was a bit choppy, the wind had increased to a tail wind, the lightweight rowers had weighed in and the final 12 were ready to fight it out for a spot in the final. Helke Nieschlag of Germany took off just ahead of Mariann Novak of Hungary in the first semifinal. Nieschlag came into this event as a favourite having finished second last year. Novak is no slow poke. This is her third consecutive year on the under 23 Hungarian team and last year she won the Final B in the Lightweight Double Sculls. With Paraguy’s Gabriela Mosqueira moving into third, Nieschlag and Novak paced each other down the course. Both boats came into the finish, Germany rating a couple of points above Hungary, at a solid clip. Hungary looked to be catching her blades a bit more in the rough water as Germany crossed the line in first. Nieschlag, Novak and Mosqueira went to the Final.

After completely dominating her heat two days ago, Katherine Copeland of Great Britain came into Semifinal Two feeling rather confident. But at the start it was Canada that jumped off the line leaving Copeland back in fourth behind Hanna Bandarevich of Belarus and Stefanie Borzacchini of Austria. Bandarevich then upped the pressure and got her nose ahead of Canada with Copeland now moving up. Bandarevich is last year’s bronze medallist and has been on her country’s national team since 2006. Coming into the final sprint Copeland upped the pressure and, despite underrating Bandarevich, Copeland took the lead. Copeland, Bandarevich and Borzacchini went to the Final.

Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls (BLM1x) – Semifinals

The first semifinal will be causing adulation in South America. Out in front from the start was Brazil’s Ailson Silva. Silva has already well exceeded his Final C 2008 race and at the end of this race he had clocked the fastest qualifying time. Behind Silva, Denmark and then Jose Guipe Jimenez of Venezuela were following closely. Last year Guipe Jimenez was faster than Silva, finishing first in the Final B. With half the race gone, however, Guipe Jimenez’s chances of qualifying had lessened as Germany’s Linus Lichtschlag moved ahead of Denmark and Venezuela. From the outside land Guipe Jimenez gave a huge final kick. Denmark had no answer. Silva raced comfortably in front. Lichtschlag rated high but was running out of push. Silva, Lichtschlag and Guipe Jimenez went to the Final.

Mohsen Shadi Naghadeh of Iran is turning into quite the favourite around the Racice regatta course. Iran’s top rower has only been in the sport 18 months and burst onto the scene last year by taking a silver medal. Today, to loud support from the crowd, Shadi Naghadeh came through from third place and overtook Joris Pijs of the Netherlands and Nemanja Nesic of Serbia to move into the lead in very mature racing style. This is how the second semifinal was unfolding. Once Shadi Naghadeh had got his boat in front he continued to improve leaving Nesic with little answer to the Iranian’s call. Nesic instead had to worry about Pijs. Pijs was unable to catch the Serbian. Iran, Serbia and the Netherlands went to the Final.

Lightweight Men’s Quadruple Sculls (BLM4x) – Semifinals

For the second time at this regatta, Italy has grabbed a new World Best Time. In Semifinal One Jose Casiraghi, Andrea Cereda, Pietro Ruta and Francesco Rigon of Italy got off to a swift start. But it was not swift enough as Hungary, Great Britain and the Czech Republic all sat within a second of the leaders. Italian stroke Rigon then decided it was time to push away and he managed to get his crew half a boat length ahead of Hungary in second. Did Rigon know a World Best Time was within his grasp? Perhaps so. Italy continued to battle on and the gap between them and Hungary widened. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic was slipping behind leaving Great Britain to be Hungary’s main challenger. In the sprint for the line the Czechs were not able to come back. Great Britain continued to challenge Hungary while Italy charged for the line at a 37 stroke rate. Italy went to the Final with a World Best Time. Hungary and Great Britain will join them.

Russia is getting quite the reputation of starting fast and sometimes being able to hold on, but sometimes not. Their lightweight men’s quad rowed in Semifinal Two and tried a new strategy. Russia came out in third with Germany instead grabbing the lead followed closely by France. By the half way point Russia had pushed France back to third, but by only a bow ball. Meanwhile Germany, stroked by Arne Falkenhorst, was having a great time in the lead and had moved out to a solid boat length lead. Three of the German crew raced to bronze last year and their tidy strokes handled the bobbly water well. Russia remained just ahead of France with the United States now putting on the pressure to get into the qualifying spots. Four crews were sprinting for the line. France topped the stroke rates at 37. Russia held on. The United States nearly did it. Germany, Russia and France went to the final.

Women’s Single Sculls (BW1x) – Semifinals

Drawing Semifinal One meant facing Olympic finalist (W2x) Jitka Antosova of the Czech Republic. Antosova’s doubles partner Gabriella Varekova is recovering from an injury but remains involved from the sidelines as a volunteer at this regatta, but this leaves Antosova to race the single. It seems to be suiting Antosova well and after coming out from the start in second, Antosova inched her way into the lead before using her stamina to move entirely away from the field. Germany’s Carina Baer and Tale Gjoertz of Norway did their best to keep up with Antosova, but they did not seem to have the same stamina. Coming into the closing metres of the race Antosova did not need to sprint and created an image similar to her senior counterpart, Mirka Knapkova who is currently dominating the senior women’s single internationally. Antosova, Gjoertz and Baer will be in the final.

Semifinal Two opened with Kaisa Pajusalu of Estonia in the lead. Pajusalu is one of the very few women on the Estonian team and she already has the experience of international racing ever since she rowed the single at the 2004 junior champs. Last year Pajusalu finished fifth in the final as an under 23er and this year she is looking to step up into the medals. Pajusalu was being shadowed very closely by Donata Vistartaite of Lithuania and by the third 500, Vistartaite had managed to push ahead of Pajusalu. Meanwhile Greece’s Konstantina Kourkoumpa was working her way through the fleet to move on the Netherlands and push into a qualifying position. The sprint for the line saw Greece charge. The Netherlands was struggling in the conditions and a bad stroke near the line put her in trouble. Vistartaite held on to first to qualify, Pajusalu takes second and Kourkoumpa earned the final qualifying spot.

Men’s Single Sculls (BM1x) – Semifinals

Argentina’s Brian Rosso grabbed the bull by the horns and took off in the lead of the first semifinal. Rosso finished 20th in 2008 and racing in today’s semifinal shows a huge leap in ability by the Argentinean. Rosso teased his rivals by staying just ahead of the likes of Mykolas Masilionis of Lithuania and last year’s junior champion, Aleksandar Aleksandrov of Bulgaria as well as newcomer Michael Braithwaite of Canada. With just 500m left to row Masilionis was closing the gap on Rosso with Braithwaite on a lower rating but showing immense power. But it was Aleksandrov who, rating 37, was going to cause an upset. At the line Masilionis had crossed in first, Aleksandrov earned second and Braithwaite had denied Rosso a spot in the Final, Braithwaite became the final qualifier.

Germany’s Lauritz Schoof may not have spent much time racing in the single, but he has experience in the four, the double and the quad. Today, in Semifinal Two of the single, Schoof overtook Latvia and then tried to close the gap on Roel Braas of the Netherlands. Braas only just made the national team this year and at 201cm tall and a Final B race at the senior level earlier this season, Braas may be the new Sjoerd Hamburger. Schoof, although not rating very high, continued to loaf along and in the final sprint was almost on top of Braas. Sprinting to the line Braas looked to be struggling in the conditions. Schoof, rating 28 crossed the line in first, Braas took second and far back in third Andraz Krek of Slovenia earned the final qualifying spot.

Men’s Pairs (BM2-) – Semifinals

The pair is often used as a test boat for trials when working out the best sweep rowers. It is a technically tricky boat to row and balance and timing is imperative. Lining up in Semifinal One was Greece featuring current under 23 champion, Georgios Tziallas of Greece. Tziallas has a new partner, Stergios Papachristos and together they look to be good boat movers. At the start of the semifinal, however, it was Hungary’s Adrian Juhasz and Bela Simon holding the leaders edge. Greece came out in second but never gave Hungary any breathing space. Behind these two leaders Germany was working their way back from a bad start to try and recover a qualifying spot. As the final sprint came into view, Greece had found the lead and rating 36 held on. Hungary then found themselves being challenged by Germany who, in turn, was under threat from South Africa. At the line Greece, Hungary and Germany had qualified.

Ivan Ostojic and Aleksandar Radovic of Serbia can go to the Final in the knowledge that they have reserved a middle lane. The Serbian pair managed this by leading Semifinal Two from start to finish. Serbia got their nose in front at the beginning and held of challenges throughout the race. The first challenge came from Italy. Then France had a crack at the leaders before Italy’s Mario Paonessa and Domenico De Cristofaro found their pace again and closed on the Serbians. Coming into the final sprint Serbia maintained a steady 32 stroke rate while Paonessa and De Cristofaro realised that Belarus was getting mightily close and upped their rate to 37. At the line Serbia, Italy and Belarus had qualified for the final.

Men’s Double Sculls (BM2x) – Semifinals

Last year’s single champion Joseph Sullivan of New Zealand has teamed up with newcomer, Robert Manson to see what damage they can do in the double. In the first semifinal the duo gook a slight lead over Latvia and Norway’s Truls Albert and Kjetil Borch. By the half way point the New Zealanders had really found their stride and Albert and Borch were struggling with the pace. The two Norwegians are in their first season together as a double having come from racing in different boats on the junior team. As crews raced through the third 500, Slovenia and Latvia were fighting with each other from opposite sides of the course for the third qualifying spot. Slovenia’s 38 stroke rate sprint clinched the deal. New Zealand, Norway and Slovenia had made it to the final.

Recording the fastest qualifying time in Semifinal Two for the Germans must give Hans Gruhne and Clemens Wenzel a psychological boost as they now prepare for tomorrow’s Final. Gruhne and Wenzel are already Olympians and their strength was clear as they led the race from start to finish. This left the real race to go on between Italy, France and Greece. As Germany left the rest of the field in their wake, Greece was squeezing themselves into second. But the final sprint saw France push just that bit harder. Germany, France and Greece went to the Final.

Men’s Four (BM4-) – Semifinals

Despite the tail wind dropping back, New Zealand came very close to a World Best Time in Semifinal One. The crew of Jade Uru, Simon Watson, Hamish Burson and Tyson Williams may be in their first year rowing together but their power through the heats and in today’s semifinal is noticeable. Behind New Zealand, the United States, Germany and France formed nearly a line across the course. By the half way point this had all changed. France had fallen off the pace with only the United States there to put any kind of pressure on the Kiwis. Germany then did a big push in the third 500, which put their nose ahead of the United States. Rating 38, New Zealand, comfortably in the lead, kept the pressure on to the end. Germany qualified for the Final from second and the United States took third.

Canada and Slovenia went through the first 500m of the 2000m race practically together in Semifinal Two. But then the Canadians put their foot down and by the half way point they had a full boat length lead over the nearest boat. The nearest boat was now Romania featuring the much medaled former junior Ionel Strungaru in three seat. Slovenia tried to hold on. Then Romania, stroked by Marius Luchian pulled out an awesome sprint to the line. Slovenia and also Great Britain tried to keep up. Canada, Romania and Slovenia will be in the Final.

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (BLW2x) – Semifinals

Triantafyllia Kalampoka and Christina Giazitzidou of Greece are in their second year together. They took silver in 2008 and they are back together this year to go again for the medals. In the first semifinal, Kalampoka and Giazitzidou gained a slight lead over France’s Elise Maurin and Coralie Simon. With these two boats just in front, Switzerland, Sweden and New Zealand formed a virtual line across the field. Less that one second separated them. This three way tussle caused these boats to move up on France and in the final 500m it was going to be a mad sprint for the line. Greece, in their leading position, was able to watch and counter any move. This left Switzerland, Sweden and France, with New Zealand pushing back, to go for the final two qualifying spots. It took a photo finish to decide. Greece were first, France took second and Sweden breathed a sigh of relief with their third place finish.

Russia’s Natalia Varfolomeeva and Anna Yasykova got off, as expected, in the lead with Austria’s Agnes and Christina Sperrer following closely. By the half way point Germany had moved up on the leaders. Lena Mueller and Julia Kroeger are in their first season rowing together but they have both had national team experience in other boats, Mueller most recently won the lightweight quad at the Lucerne Rowing World Cup. Going through the third 500, Kroeger and Mueller managed to not only push into the lead but also take nearly a boat length out of Russia. This late-in-the-race power gave Germany enough of an edge that they did not have to sprint the finish. Germany qualified from first, Russia held on to second and Austria hung on for the final qualifying spot.

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (BLM2x) – Semifinals

Austria and Bulgaria shot out at the start establishing themselves in the top two positions. But, as is good lightweight rowing form, there was very little between all of the crews. Bulgaria’s Zlatko Karaivanov and Vassil Vitanov then did a big push and got their nose in front of Joschka Hellmeier and Florian Berg of Austria with Slovenia and Great Britain still very much in the picture. The second half of the race looked kindly for the Slovenians. Matevz Malesic and Jure Cvet of Slovenia are in their first season together but both already have international experience. Malesic was sixth in this event last year, while Cvet rowed at the 2008 European Championships in this event. Taking their stroke rate to 38, Malesic and Cvet sprinted to the line in the fastest time. Austria held on to second to qualify, followed closely by Bulgaria who will also be in the Final.

After recording the fastest qualifying time Germany’s Christian Hochbruck and Lars Hartig are looking good for the Final. Hochbruck and Hartig raced in Semifinal Two and led for the entire race. The duo are in their second year together and have the incentive of being fourth place finishers in 2008. By the half way point the two scullers were just over two seconds ahead of their nearest competition, Italy. The Germans then pushed away to earn a bigger leading margin with Davide Babboni and Tommaso Sacchini of Italy now having to fend off the Konsolas brothers from Greece. Coming into the line Germany looked comfortable in front rating a 35 stroke rate pace. Italy was going crazy at 42 and Greece was holding on. Germany, Greece and Italy will go to the Final from first, second and third respectively.

Lightweight Men’s Four (BLM4-) – Semifinals

When Japan is in front of Denmark, Italy and Canada in a semifinal you know something special is going on in that country. Japan have been performing quite successfully at the senior level this year and today their four crossed the finish line in third to qualify for tomorrow’s Final. The crew, stroked by Hiromi Tanaka, where in third behind Spain and the Netherlands for the entire race and at one stage got overtaken by Canada. But they performed the sprint of their lives to move back into third. Spain, meanwhile, took off in the lead, shook off the Netherlands in second and through the body of the race had a comfortable boat length lead over their nearest rivals. Spain still had to sprint the finish to stay ahead of the very consistent Dutch. Spain, the Netherlands and Japan were the qualifying boats.

Germany added a further boat to tomorrow’s finals with a win in Semifinal Two. At the start the Germans got away to a small edge. But there was very little in it with France, Hungary and Australia totally within striking distance. As has been common in previous races at this regatta, the best boats would be decided by who had the best second half of the race. Germany, in the lead, continued to look confident with Hungary trying desperately to stay ahead of France. The United States gave it their best shot to get into a qualifying position, but Germany, France and Hungary had built up just enough of a margin to hold off the Americans. Germany qualified with the same time as Spain from the previous semifinal, while Hungary and France qualified from second and third respectively.

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (BM4x) – Semifinals

Yesterday Italy set a new World Best Time in this event in the repechage. Today they sat at the back of Semifinal One. Instead it was Rowing World Cup winners, Croatia in the lead. Croatia did not have the fastest start, that honour goes to Australia. But by the half way point Croatia had half a boat length up on Australia. Then, going into the second half of the race Ukraine got their act together and moved up within striking distance of Australia. With Croatia now comfortably in the lead, Ukraine and Australia went neck-and-neck. At the line Croatia, stroking 38, had got within one second of setting a new World Best Time. Ukraine pulled into second just ahead of Australia who also qualified for the Final. Croatia says that this regatta is a preparation race for them as their main target remains the senior World Rowing Championships at the end of August.

Germany will give Croatia a run for their money in tomorrow’s Final after finishing just a second slower than the Croatians in Semifinal Two. Germany scored this time after leading from start to finish with France and Belarus hot on their heels for the entire race. The Netherlands dabbled in getting into the final three, but the three leaders were able to hold off the Dutch. Germany, Belarus and France will be in tomorrow’s Final.