Indoor rowing and the Danes again at CRASH Bs

The Danes made the lightweight men’s race the most exciting of the day with trio Henrik Stephansen (lightweight World Record holder), Mads Rasmussen (World Champion in the lightweight double) and Eskild Ebbesen (30 – 39-year-old lightweight World Record holder and all-time top 10 rower in the world) facing each other. At the recent Danish indoor rowing championships 18 year old Stephansen just won over Rasmussen and Ebbesen and at the CRASH Bs he repeated this performance finishing one second ahead of Rasmussen. Four-time World Champion, Italian lightweight Filippo Mannucci broke up the Danish domination by sneaking into third just a fraction ahead of Ebbesen.

World records very rarely get broken at the Boston event. Some say it is the heat. Some say it’s the size of the competition with hundreds of ergometers lined up adding to the pressure. But Stephansen got fractionally close.

Stephansen was challenged hard, especially by Rasmussen, and had to take his rating up in the last 100 metres to hold the lead. Stephansen’s finishing time of 6:06.6 was just a tenth of a second outside his World Record time, with Rasmussen one second slower.

Organiser Kirk Bargerhuff commented, “In well over a decade and a half, I can not recall ever hearing a crowd applaud the efforts of a single athlete after his piece as they did for Henrick after his race. It was a great effort and the crowd certainly showed their appreciation.”

Also showing the power of Danish indoor rowing Juliane Elander won the lightweight women’s category in 7:06.9. This win makes Elander the current Danish and European women's lightweight indoor champion.

Very much on his game in the open men’s category, Mark Flickinger (USA) went head to head with fellow American Wyatt Allen. The two national team members finished within a second of each other with Flickinger gaining the edge finishing in 5:46.6.

The absence of national team members in the open women’s category left some gaps in the competition but didn’t stop Canada’s Anna-Marie De Zwager from pulling a 6:43.3. Olympian De Zwager rowed in her country’s quad at last year’s World Rowing Championships and used the CRASH B competition as part of her national team training.

Leading the way for the erg specialists who have never rowed on water, Great Britain’s Nik Fleming finished at the head of the pack in the 30 – 39 year old men’s heavyweight division. Going sub six minutes, Fleming finished ahead of US national team member Sloan Du Ross who raced last year in his country’s quad at the World Rowing Championships.

The lightweight men’s 30 – 39 age group looked like an international rowing comeback zone. Leading the pack was Germany’s Peter Ording who last raced internationally in 2004 when he pulled off a World Champion win in the lightweight men’s single. Likewise second place position saw Canadian Jon Beare who was last seen on the international scene at the 2004 Olympics. Then back in fourth position sat Denmark’s Thomas Ebert who retired in style in 2005 after winning the men’s lightweight pair at the World Rowing Championships in Gifu (JPN) following an illustrious Olympic gold medallist career in his country’s famed lightweight four.

Erging stalwart Carie Graves of the United States was lacking her usual competition, Anna Bailey of Great Britain, and so easily won the 50 – 54 year old women’s heavyweight event. Also a regular international erg competitor, Joan van Blom (USA) easily won the lightweight 50 – 54 year old women’s category (7:31.7) ahead of Denmark’s Birgit Juel-Hansen. Van Blom holds the current World Record in this age group.

For a full list of results go to: www.crash-b.org.