Lightweight double best time under threat

While off-season winter training engulfs much of the rowing world, New Zealand in-season summer racing has seen the lightweight men’s double of Storm Uru and Peter Taylor set a new standard.

Racing at a local regatta, the Cambridge Town Cup at Lake Karapiro, Uru and Taylor clocked the time of 6:05.39 in their heat of the men’s double. This is almost five seconds faster than the current lightweight men’s double World Best Time of 6:10.02 which was set by Denmark in 2007, and is and only two seconds off the men’s heavyweight double best time of 6:03.25.

Rowing New Zealand’s communications manager Richard Gee said the time is unofficial and the pair are not at lightweight weight, but it is a clear indication of their boat speed potential. “They’re not massively overweight as they have the national championships coming up in a couple of weeks when they will have to be at weight,” says Gee.

Current World Champions in the lightweight double Uru and Taylor raced in tail wind conditions that were estimated at about 3 to 5 metres per second with reasonably flat water apart from some choppy conditions in the last 500 metres.

In the final of the men’s double sculls, Uru and Taylor were beaten by current under-23 World Champions, Robert Manson and Joseph Sullivan.

Coming back from a post-Olympic break, Juliette Haigh teamed up with Paula Twining in the women’s pair finishing in a time of 7 minutes flat. This bodes well for Haigh who will have to work her way back into the squad after her 2009 break from the New Zealand team.

World Champion single sculler Mahe Drysdale raced in the single and was chased to the finish line by the lightweights. Taylor finished second to Drysdale with Uru third and World Champion lightweight single sculler Duncan Grant coming in fifth.

New Zealand crews will race again in two weeks' time at the National Championships which will be followed by the announcement of triallists for the national team.

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