World Best Times fall during under 23 finals

Local hero, Jitka Antosova got the afternoon of racing underway by setting a new World Best Time in the single and set up the standard for the rest of the day.

Women’s Single Sculls (BW1x) – Final A

To the calls of “Jitka” for the entire 2000m race, homegrown favourite Jitka Antosova of the Czech Republic gave plenty for the locals to cheer about. Olympian Antosova raced in the double at Beijing last year but an injury prevented her from racing in the final. Antosova has won the under 23 double twice and this year she moved into the single after her rowing partner chose to take a break this year. Today, Antosova overtook the fast starting Carina Baer of Germany to take the lead.

Every time Antosova was mentioned by the commentator following the race a huge cheer would go up. Baer hung on to Antosova’s lead but just coming up to the 1500m mark Baer caught a boat stopping crab. Baer had slipped back to third behind Kaisa Pajusalu of Estonia. Upping her rating, Baer picked up the pace and went after Pajusalu. Meanwhile Antosova was reveling in the lead. The atmosphere was electric as Antosova received her gold medal handed to her by FISA council member, Tricia Smith. Antosova’s time of 7:27.23 set a new World Best Time.

Results: CZE, EST, GER, LTU, NOR, GRE

Jitka Antosova (CZE) — Gold
“It was an amazing atmosphere. I have very good team of coaches, for example Mr. Lubos. Of course I wanted to win and I had hoped for a victory. I am glad I won this medal in my country. The crowd was amazing, it really helped me especially over the last 250 meters.”

Kaisa Pjausalu (EST) – Silver
“I really didn’t expect this. After the heats I was afraid I would get fifth or sixth. At the Baltic regattas also Donata Vistartaite always beat me and I never imagined to get this far here.”

Carina Baer (GER) – Bronze
“I caught a crab just before 1000m. This happens to me quite often as I have problems with my lower arms, which really tighten up. But I am very happy with the race and the result. Jitka had a strong race and definitely deserved to win.”

Men’s Single Sculls (BM1x) – Final A

Roel Braas of the Netherlands is in his first year on the international circuit and he warmed up for this regatta by racing to a 10th place finish at the second Rowing World Cup of the season. Today Braas led the way inching ahead of Lauritz Schoof of Germany. Schoof, 18, comes through last year’s junior ranks where he got a gold medal in the double.

By the half way point Braas and Schoof had moved well away from the rest of the field. Behind them Slovenia and Michael Braithwaite of Canada were racing neck-and-neck. Racing on completely opposite sides of the course, Braithwaite and Andraz Krek (SLO) must have had neck strain trying to see each other – four lanes were between them.

Sprinting to the line Schoof rated 32, Braas tried to keep up. Krek and Braithwaite remained in a virtual line. Krek was unlucky.

Results: GER, NED, CAN, SLO, BUL, LTU

 Lauritz Schoof (GER) – Gold
“I had really hoped for this, but never expected it. Especially in the single you never know what happens. But at 500 I started to believe that this would be possible. It’s been great to be able to row in the single and this has been my biggest success so far. It’s my first year on the senior team.”

Roel Braas (NED) – Silver
“My goal was to be in the top three, but I knew that gold would be tough with the German and the Lithuanian in the race. And especially the German was very fast and just sprinted off. But it’s a great success for me as this is my first World Championships and only my second year in the single and I only started rowing two years ago.“

Michael Braithwaite (CAN) – Bronze
“I did a solid race and I had a good feeling. I improved over the champs and I was confident for the Final. The field is strong, so I am very happy with bronze, especially as it is my first international regatta.”

Women’s Pairs (BW2-) – Final A

In 2008 Nicoleta Albu and Adelina Cojocariu of Romania became the world champions. They follow in a long tradition of this event being a strong medal potentional for Romania. Albu, with a former partner took silver in 2007. Today the duo retained the champion title, but it was not without hard work. The Netherlands (Wianca van Dorp and Olivia van Rooijen) had the lead at the start with Germany’s Michaela Schmidt and Anne Becker slipping into second. Van Dorp and van Rooijen still had the lead with half the race rowed, but the Romanians were moving up on them at a rapid pace.

The second half of the race was all about Romania. Albu and Cojocariu then built up an open water lead over the Netherlands who was now having to contend with Schmidt and Becker.

As Albu and Cojocariu sailed across the finish line at what looked like an easy 37, the Netherlands and Germany battled it out for second. Germany got there just a fraction ahead.

Results: ROU, GER, NED, UKR, USA, ITA

Adelina Cojocariu, Nicoleta Albu (ROU) – Gold
“It was a good race, we really wanted to defend the title from last year, but it was harder this year. We hope to do the same next year, but before that we will race the W8+ in Poznan.” Nicoleta Albu

Michaela Schmidt, Anne Becker (GER) – Silver
“This was a complete surprise. We were on third position for a long time, but then had a better third 500 than expected, which is usually a bit of a weak point for us. Everything worked well and second place is great.” Michaela Schmidt

 Wianca van Dorp, Olivia van Rooijen (NED) – Bronze
“I am a little disappointed about the third place. I wanted to be second, but I am happy, because third place is good too. The race was good, but the organization could be better in some points.” Olivia van Rooijen.

Men’s Pairs (BM2-) – Final A

Greece came into this final as favourites. Georgios Tziallas of Greece has won it for two years in a row. With new partner, Stergios Papachristos, Tziallas looked to be set for another world champion title. But it was Ivan Ostojic and Aleksandar Radovic of Serbia who had the lead at the start.

By the middle of the race Tziallas and Papachristos had pushed into the lead but there was very little in it with Adrian Juhasz and Bela Simon of Hungary as well as the Serbians hot on their heels. Greece tried to break free but Juhasz and Simon hung doggedly on.

Finally Greece had worn the opposition out. Coming through the final 500m of the race, Tziallas and Papachristos looked fresh and strong, rating 38. Hungary kept their stroke rate up but were too far back to catch the Greeks and too far ahead of Serbia to be concerned. Greece crossed the line to set a new World Best Time of 6:25.34. Tziallas became a three-time under 23 champion. Greece retained the title.

Results: GRE, HUN, SRB, BLR, GER, ITA

Stergios Papachristos, Georgios Tziallas (GRE) – Gold
“We are very happy. Especially since we came fourth twice before these championships. And finally we are on the podium and even better on the top.” Stergios Papachristos

Adrian Juhasz, Bela Simon (HUN) – Silver
“Our goal for this regatta was to be on the podium, but after the semifinal where the Greeks looked tired we though that we could win. But today they were stronger than us and we were not able to follow them at 1000m. But we are very happy because it was our best race ever.” Bela Simon.

Ivan Ostojic, Aleksandar Radovic (SRB) – Bronze
“ The start was very good, but on the last 100 meters our opponents were very fast. But we are very happy about third place. Tomorrow we go home and we will celebrate our success in the disco.” Ivan Ostojic

Women’s Double Sculls (BW2x) – Final A

There was nothing shabby about Belarus’s performance today and Tatsiana Kukhta and Maryia Smaliakova proved how their country is coming along in the international rowing world. The duo led this race from start to finish to take gold. The duo, however, did not have time to enjoy their medal ceremony and their national anthem as they had to rush off and prepare for the final of the women’s quad, just over an hour away.

Kukhta, 19, raced last year at the junior level taking bronze in the pair. Smaliakova, 18, also raced last year as a junior finishing second in the quad. Behind them Austria and Ukraine were battling side by side as Hungary tried to hold on. Then Hungary seemed to run out of steam, Ukraine’s Viktoriya Koltunova and Maryia Smaliakova moved into second but still they were a long way off the lead that Belarus had now built up. Belarus crossed the line easily in first, Ukraine took second and Hungary, Austria and France went for it neck-and-neck. It was hard to tell who had made bronze. The commentator announced: Vanessa Grandpierre and Marion Rialet of France.

Results: BLR, UKR, FRA, AUT, HUN, ROU

Viktoriya Koltunova, Olena Iakovenko (UKR) – Silver
“It was very hard. We are very tired, but happy about second place. We will celebrate twice – here and also at home in Ukraine.” Olena Iakovenko

Vanessa Grandpierre, Marion Rialet (FRA) – Bronze
“We didn’t start well, but at the middle we saw that the other had a hard time and we pushed through until the end. We really wanted the medal and we fought until the finish.” Marion Rialet.

Men’s Double Sculls (BM2x) – Final A

Coming into this race Hans Gruhne and Clemens Wenzel of Germany had won one semifinal, New Zealand’s Robert Manson and Joseph Sullivan had won the other. They met today in the two middle lanes. Gruhne and Wenzel have Beijing Olympic experience behind them while New Zealand’s Sullivan is an under 23 champion in the single. Manson joins the national team for the first time this year.

Germany got off to a good start with France and New Zealand tracking them closely. Germany continued to hold the edge through the middle of the race, but a big piece by New Zealand just after the 1000m mark took the wind out of the sails for Gruhne and Wenzel. Sullivan and Manson had the lead.

Once in the lead Sullivan and Manson looked more confident and, keeping the pressure on, they charged through the finishing 500m. Coming into the finish New Zealand looked stronger than the tiring Germans. New Zealand are now champions in this event.

Results: NZL, GER, NOR, GRE, SLO, FRA

Robert Manson, Joseph Sullivan (NZL) – Gold
“We didn’t start as fast as we wanted and the others were still with us. At 1000m Robey made a call and we got a length advantage. Then we held on over the last 500m.”  Joseph Sullivan.
“It is my first time with the team and it is great to win. We trained with the A team and that gave us a lot of confidence. I am looking forward to go home, but not to the winter.” Robert Manson.

Hans Gruhne, Clemens Wenzel (GER) – Silver
“We are both happy and a little bit disappointed. Silver is great, but gold would have been better. The New Zealanders surprised us a bit at 1000m and we couldn’t keep up with them. But we are very happy about having come this far and these championships have been a step into the right direction. The main goal is to win a medal in 2012.” Clemens Wenzel

Truls Albert, Kjetil Borch (NOR) – Bronze
“We expected third place, so we are very happy and we will celebrate in Czech republic tonight.” Trusl Albert

Men’s Four (BM4-) – Final A

As New Zealand crossed the line in first they were able to hear the start of the medals ceremony for their fellow team mates Manson and Sullivan as they picked up their gold. They then may have heard their country’s national anthem. Then they got to enjoy their own ceremony.

But during the 2000m of racing it did not all go New Zealand’s way. Canada had the lead at the start and it took a good push from the Kiwis to get their nose in front. Canada, however, did not let go with the United States and Germany also nipping at their heels. With 1500m of the race rowed, New Zealand still had the lead but Germany and Canada remained well within attacking distance. The United States then came storming through. Could New Zealand, now rating 38, hold them off? New Zealand crossed the line followed very closely by three boats in a virtual line.

An extremely happy United States threw their hands in the air. New Zealand supporters smiled from ear to ear. Germany looked quietly please.

Results: NZL, USA, GER, CAN, ROU, SLO

Jade Uru, Simon Watson, Hamish Burson, Tyson Williams (NZL) — Gold
“We came with the intention to do well (gold). With this medal we will race in Poznan and hopefully be also part of the team next year for the champs in New Zealand. About the race, everybody did his job and we pulled a strong middle 1000m to take the lead.” Jade Uru.

Michael Gennaro, Nareg Guregian, James Long-Lerno, Mark Murphy (USA) – Silver
“We had a strong start and a strong base, we wanted a medal and we are very happy about the silver. Congratulations to Germany and New Zealand too, it was a great race.” Nareg Guregian

Hendrik Bohnekamp, Andreas Kuffner, Anton Braun, Bastian Bechler (GER) – Bronze
“We are happy about this medal, even though we lost silver in the final sprint.” Andreas Kuffner.

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (BLW2x) – Final A

Last year Greece’s Triantafyllia Kalampoka and Christina Giazitzidou finished second. This year they stepped up to first with a show of maturity that saw them row a very even-splitted race. Kalampoka and Giazitzidou took a flying start and dared the rest of the field to catch up.

Russia’s Natalia Varfolomeeva and Anna Yasykova tried their best to close the gap and for half of the race they kept their boat overlapping with Greece. Then Germany’s Lena Mueller and Julia Kroeger pushed through to get their nose ahead of Russia. They then tried to go after the Greeks. Last year Kroeger won this event and today she raced with new partner, Mueller.

Coming into the final sprint Germany decided to leave the Russians in the dust. Greece, rating 37, held the Germans off. The first and second results from 2008 reverse themselves.

Results: GRE, GER, RUS, SWE, FRA, AUT

Triantafyllia Kalampoko, Christina Giazitzidou (GRE) – Gold
“It was a difficult race. Our goal was to win and this is great. It is a nice regatta and the weather is fine. Now we will go to Poznan.” Triantafyllia Kalampoko.

Lena Mueller, Julia Kroeger (GER) – Silver
“We managed to get into the race quite well, then we had a bit of a weak part. It was really cool after the 1000m. It was fun and this was what we had in us today. We will be back in Poznan in the lightweight quad.” Julia Kroeger

Natalia Varfolomeeva, Anna Yasykova (RUS) – Bronze
“We are happy that we have a medal and we liked these championships” Anna Yaskova

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (BLM2x) – Final A

Germany earned a centre lane today after winning yesterday’s Semifinal. Christian Hochbruck, in his second year on the under 23 team and Lars Hartig, in his first year internationally, took the lead at the start. By the half way point the Germans had built up a small one second lead over Greece who were holding on tight.

As the Greeks began to tire Italy and Slovenia closed the gap. Matevz Malesic and Jure Cvet (SLO) and Davide Babboni and Tommaso Sacchini (ITA) had been fighting away with each other through the body of the race and it seems to have propelled them closer and closer to Greece. It was also getting them closer to Germany. The Germans raised their stroke rate to 37 and stayed just enough ahead. Slovenia and Italy cross the line with just a pip between them.

Hochbruck and Hartig may be the new kids on the block of their national team, but today’s win secures them a spot on Germany’s senior team to go to the World Rowing Championships.

Results: GER, SLO, ITA, GRE, AUT, BUL

Christian Hochbruck, Lars Hartig (GER) – Gold
“This medal is fantastic. After the heat and semifinal we knew that we are strong. We started strong and on the second 1000 we had everything under control. We’ll go straight into trainings camp from here to prepare for Poznan. We’ll row the double there also and hope to make the final.” Lars Hartig

Matevz Malesic, Jure Cvet (SLO) – Silver
“The race was very good. We planned a strong finish and we are satisfied with the second place. This place is very nice and today we will celebrate.” Matevz Malesic

Davide Babboni, Tommaso Sacchini (ITA) – Bronze
“We had a good start and we were amongst the first three. The German were fast and took the lead. On the last 500m, we were close with the Greeks and Slovenians. We are happy with the bronze medal, but silver was not far …”. Davide Babboni.

Lightweight Men’s Four (BLM4-) – Final A

After a short delay the 24 lightweights in six boats got off the line cleanly and leading the way was Japan. Japan’s crew is made up of former junior team members all of whom were scullers and all had raced formerly as open weight rowers. Now down to lightweight, they were making quite a stir in this event that does not normally see Japan in the lead.

By the half way point Japan’s lead had been swallowed up by Spain and Germany. Spain is the reigning world champions in this event and Germany finished second last year. Germany has retained one of their 2008 crew while Spain has three of the same members. Japan, stroked by 2006 junior team member Hiromi Tanaka, fought back and pushed Spain into third.

The sprint to the line was now between Germany and Japan. Germany rated 37, Japan was one pip lower. At the line the Japanese were overjoyed. Germany was relieved. Wearing black ribbons, Germany honoured the death of three seat Robby Gerhardt’s grandfather who died earlier this week.

Results: GER, JPN, ESP, NED, HUN, FRA

Simon Berghofer, Daniel Wisgott, Robby Gerhardt, Jan Lueke (GER) – Gold
“It was great to win this race, especially because we won it for Robby’s granddad who died yesterday here at the course. We are still quite overwhelmed with what happened yesterday and with this race today. But it had been our goal to win and it’s fantastic to be on top of the podium.” Jan Lueke

Toshiharu Mimura, Mitsuo Nishimura, Hiroshi Nakano, Hiromi Tanaka (JPN) – Silver
“It is our first medal, so we are very happy. It is a big surprise, only at the 1000m we started to think that we may be on the podium.” Hiromi Tanaka.

Juan Luis Fernandez Tomas, Ramon Llosa, Ruben Alvarez Pedrosa, Marc Franquet Montfort (ESP) – Bronze
“This race was very hard, because Japan was very fast. We are happy about third place. We want more competitions like this. It was a very good event here.” Juan Luis Fernandez Tomas

Women’s Quadruple Sculls (BW4x) – Final A

Germany and Ukraine were the favourites coming into this final, but it looked like Germany would be struggling to medal after Ukraine took a flying start and left the Germans over four seconds back with just 500m rowed. Ukraine, in fact, had taken more than a boat length out of the entire field with that devastating start.

By the half way point Germany had begun to claw their way back and had managed to get an overlap with the Ukrainians. Stroked by Kateryna Tarasenko, Ukraine fought with all that they had. Coming into the line, Ukraine, who finished fourth last year, looked comfortable and together, rating a relatively easy 32 stroke rate. Germany, in second, was way in front of reigning world champions, Romania who finished third.

Results: UKR, GER, ROU, NZL, BLR, ITA

Ganna Kutsenko, Olena Buryak, Anna Prytula, Kateryna Tarasenko (UKR) – Gold
“It was a very important race for us, we came her to win and we did it. It is great because it is our first victory at an international level.” Kateryna Tarasenko.

Ulrike Toerpsch, Maren Stallkamp, Christin Fernitz, Julia Richter (GER) – Silver
“We wished for gold and our coach said he believed we had the strength to win any medal, the shinier the better. And silver is already very shiny so we are very happy and we fulfilled our goal.” Julia Richter.

Elena Trifoi, Irina Dorneanu, Ioana Craciun, Cristina Ilie (ROU) – Bronze
“It was a hard race and we are satisfied.” Cristina Ilie

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (BM4x) – Final A

Croatia is bubbling with confidence. Earlier this season they beat the reigning Olympic Champions, Poland at the Munich Rowing World Cup and they are now planning to be medalling at the 2012 London Olympics as well as the 2016 Olympic Games. David Sain, Damir Martin and brothers, Valent and Martin Sinkovic of Croatia won their Semifinal yesterday and today they met winners of the other Semifinal, Germany.

But it was France that presented the biggest threat at the start. France got out just ahead of Croatia before succumbing to Ukraine who had been inspired by their team mates win in the previous race. Croatia then increased the gap on Ukraine as France slipped further behind.

Coming through to the final sprint, Australia decided that they did not want to be at the back of the field and they tried to make up a good chunk of ground. Ukraine upped their stroke rate to 38, Croatia was flying along at 41 and Australia also had a 41 stroke rate sprint. Croatia, Ukraine and Australia will be pulling in to the dock to collect medals after this race.

Results: CRO, UKR, AUS, FRA, GER, BLR

David Sain, Martin Sinkovic, Damir Martin, Valent Sinkovic – Gold
“This was a very hard race. We’ve done this out of training for Poznan. But we are very, very happy about the result and hope for the same result for Poland.”

Anton Zayets, Ivan Yurchenko, Ivan Futryk, Ivan Dovgodko (UKR) – Silver
“We are tired. We wanted to be first, but second place is also good. We hope we will win the next championship. Tonight we will celebrate a lot.“ Ivan Dovgodko.

Matthew Bolt, David Wright, James McRae, Sasha Belonogoff (AUS) – Bronze
“It was a good race for us. With the high level in this event, we are very happy to be on the podium. The course is really fast with a consistent tail wind.” Sasha Belonogoff.

Women’s Eight (BW8+) – Final A

They may be the reigning under-23 world champions, but the United States were unable to pull it off this year in the face of a fired up British team. Coached by Nick Strange, Great Britain grabbed the lead at the start. But there was very little in it with less than two seconds separating the top five boats. Poland, who has lately been gaining a reputation for their high rating and strong finishes, sat in second. The Polish surprised everyone last year when they won the silver and all the evidence pointed to them medalling again today. What could the Americans do? 

With Great Britain still holding tightly on to the lead, the United States pulled out a huge piece going through the third 500. Poland remained with them but saw their silver medal slipping out of their hands. Then the Americans brought on a huge finishing sprint. Had they left it too late? At the line Great Britain were very happy. The United States looked tired.

Results: GBR, USA, POL, CAN, GER, BLR

Victoria Bryant, Jacqueline Round, Monica Relph, Victoria Thornley, Michelle Vezie, Emily Taylor, Leonora Kennedy, Rachael Jefferies, Zoe de Toledo (GBR) – Gold
“It was a good race, as planned. We led from the start and everything went as expected. These were great championships, we really enjoyed the event.” Zoe de Toledo.

Erika Roddy, Adrienne Martelli, Mary Jeghers, Grace Luczak, Ashley Kroll, Olivia Coffey, Taylor Ritzel, Jessica Leidecker, Ariel Frost (USA) – Silver
“I’m speechless. It was great.” Ariel Frost
“There was good competition and we are happy to finish second. We expected to be on the podium and we managed to do it all together.” Grace Luczak.

Anna Jankowska, Marlena Ertman, Anna Karzyndska, Magda Korczak, Kinga Kantorska, Kornelia Nitzler, Joanna Leszczynska, Kamila Socko, Paulina Gorska (POL) – Bronze
“ We are very very happy to win a medal, with it we can go next month to Poznan.” Kamila Socko

Men’s Eight (BM8+) – Final A

This is the year that the World Rowing Championships go to Poland and the country looks to be stepping up in their rowing prowess. The 2009 World Rowing Under 23 Championships finished up with Poland standing in the middle of the medals dais with nine men sporting gold medals.

Poland did not come into this race as favourites. They had been beaten in earlier rounds and at the start of this race they came out in third place. But it was third only by a bit. Great Britain and Estonia had a slight margin with Germany and Canada also very much in the picture. The margins remained close through the middle of the race and even after half the race had gone there was less than two seconds separating the entire six-boat field.

Poland then showed their second 1000m of the race power and pushed just ahead of Great Britain who was now in second. The fight for the finish line was setting itself up to be a humdinger. Coming into the final stretch both Poland and Germany had a 41 stroke rate pace. Great Britain topped out at 42. Australia tried to hold on.

The finish line came and went. Poland’s coxswain Pawel Lipowski leaped over to hug eight seat Miloslaw Kedzierski. The Poles had moved up from a 2008 bronze medal into gold.

Results: POL, GER, GBR, AUS, CAN, EST

Ryszard Ablewski, Rafal Wielgosz, Bartosz Zablocki, Mateusz Hamerski, Jakub Jablonski, Piotr Juszczak, Zbigniew Schodowski, Miloslaw Kedzierski, Pawel Lipowski (POL) — Gold
“The race was difficult, but we made it. I had a little bit expected the gold medal deeply in my heart. This whole championship was great. We will celebrate, but I don’t know how. ” Pioter Juszczak

Carl Juergens, Lukas Mueller, Sebastian Kasielke, Hannes Heppner, Maximilian Reinelt, Marco Neumann, Niclas Orlowski, Michael Schirmer, Nils Hoffmann (GER) – Silver
“We had hoped for gold, but we are very happy about silver. Especially our final sprint was just really cool.” Nils Hoffmann

Kieren Emery, Chris Abraham, Nathaniel Reilly O'Donnel, Thomas Clark, Benjamin Duggan, Daniel Ritchie, Anthony Locke, Matthew Rossiter, Henry Fieldman (GBR) – Bronze
“The plan was to go really hard at the start. At the 1000m we were in the place for medal. It is a fantastic regatta, the water is good and people are very friendly." Daniel Ritchie