A medal spread in under 23 finals

The 2010 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Brest, Belarus was the first year of finals being raced over two days. On the second day of finals, today, 15 events raced with gold medals being spread over 12 different nations. This was a culmination of four days of racing that began in hot, calm, tail wind conditions, endured a delay caused by a sudden thunderstorm, then finished up today with cool temperatures and head – cross wind racing.

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (BLW2x) – A-final

Normally raced later in the programme the lightweight women’s double was brought forward as Canada’s Patricia Obee would have to fill in later in the day in her nation’s women’s eight. With that in mind Obee and partner Elizabeth Fenje took off quickly out of the start jut behind defending World Champions Greece’s Triantafyllia Kalampoka and Christina Giazitzidou.

Yesterday Greece and New Zealand’s Lucy Strack and Julia Edward raced neck and neck in the semifinal finishing just 1/100th of a second apart, Greece ahead. Today Greece looked in dominating form and by the half way point they had a huge four-second lead over New Zealand who were now in second. It would take something very special for anyone to catch the Greek World Champions now. 

A strong third 500m by Strack and Edward closed the gap a little on the Greeks, but Kalampoka and Giazitzidou remained in control with the advantage of being able to watch the rest of the field from their leading position. By this stage Greece and New Zealand had moved right away from the rest of the field. Only New Zealand remained in striking distance of the gold medal. Strack and Edward, racing at their first international event, gave it their all in the final sprint. Greece reacted perfectly to every Kiwi push. Greece take gold for the second year in a row.

Results: GRE, NZL, GER, SWE, CAN, GBR

Christina Giazitzidou & Triantafyllia Kalampoka (GRE) - Gold
“The most difficult was to cope with the wind direction. But as we started we tried to maintain our position. We have already been together four years so we’ve become very close friends and a great team.”
Julia Edward (NZL) - Silver
“It’s our first international regatta and medal so we are really happy. We’ve got very strong competitors. We hope to race at the World Rowing Championships in our home country New Zealand.”
Lucy Strack (NZL) - Silver
“The first one hundred meters were very important. We tried our best to keep up with Greece all the time. We have been a crew for 20 weeks and we are a great team.”
Helke Nieschlag (GER) - Bronze
“It was not the best race for us. It wasn’t that bad but we are definitely not the best. The venue here is very huge, modern.”

Lightweight Women's Single Sculls (BLW1x) – A-final

Host country Belarus finally got what they were looking for - a gold medal and their national anthem playing at the medals ceremony. Alena Kryvasheyenka of Belarus made it possible in this race and in dominating form. Kryvasheyenka got out in front at the start with South Africa’s Kirsten McCann being the closest rival. By the middle of the race Kryvasheyenka had moved into a dominating open-water lead with McCann and Canada’s Catherine Bouchard-Pilote being the closest. Could anyone catch Kryvasheyenka now?

As the scullers moved through the third 500m Kryvasheyenka remained unstoppable, now owning an open-water lead. This is Kryvasheyenka’s first year in the single. Last year she raced as a junior in the pair, but there is every indication that single sculling is going to become her forte. Kryvasheyenka crossed the line way ahead. 

Meanwhile, Atsumi Fukumoto of Japan had been working her way up from the back of the field. Fukumoto raced last year in the lightweight quad and it looks like she has made a smooth transition to the single. Pushing her way through the entire field Fukumoto used a big sprint to earn the silver medal.

Results: BLR, JPN, RSA, CAN, NZL, AUT

Alena Kryvasheyenka (BLR) - Gold
“It was very difficult. I was scared. It was my first time in a lightweight race. I didn’t know the competitors so I was not certain about the results but my task was to win and I did it.”
Atsumi Fukumoto (JPN) - Silver
“I enjoyed the race! I was concentrated on my own lane so I didn’t think a lot about the other rowers. The hardest for me was the 500-1000 meters stage because I usually lose speed there. But I did my best today.”
Kirsten McCann (RSA) - Bronze
“It was an awesome race. I am happy to get a medal. It was today that I understood that no one would take my medal from me. After the start I decided that I would get the medal.”

Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls (BLM1x) – A-final

Mohsen Shadi Naghadeh of Iran made history in this race last year when he won the first international medal for Iran in rowing. This came after a 2008 silver medal for Naghadeh. Could the Iranian repeat it today as he lined up against the fastest qualifier from the semifinals, Peter Chambers of Great Britain? Naghadeh decided not to take any chances. Not always the fastest starter, Naghadeh took the lead in the first few strokes shadowed closely by Chambers.

Chambers comes to this regatta having already medalled this year at the senior Rowing World Cup and looked to be the one to beat. But going through the middle of the race Naghadeh remained in the lead and had moved further away from Chambers. No one in the rest of the could do anything about these two leading boats who were outclassing the rest of the field. 

Then Chambers, in the final sprint really put the heat on Naghadeh. Naghadeh faltered, his technique starting to look a bit rough. But the Iranian held it together and Chambers could not catch him. Last year’s silver medallist, Ailson Silva of Brazil pulled through to take bronze just a head of France who had sat in third for the entire race.

Results: IRI, GBR, BRA, FRA, GER, BEL

Mohsen Shadi Naghadeh (IRI) - Gold
“It was very difficult for me. The cold and wind made it hard. And all the competitors were strong. But I think I deserve this medal.”
Peter Chambers (GBR) - Silver
“The race was tough but good. It was hard from the beginning. I have some experience as I won bronze in the lightweight quad in the Czech Republic last year.”

Lightweight Men’s Pair (BLM2-) – A-final

The two winners from yesterday’s semifinals, the Netherlands and France, showed their form by pulling away in the lead. But the Dutch twins, Vincent and Tycho Muda, proved to be all class against the French. By the half way point, the Mudas had opened up water over Charles Breschet and Edouard Jonville of France, with Breschet and Jonville having to deal with continual attacks from Yannic Corinth and Lasse Antczak of Germany.

Then Tycho and Vincent Muda demonstrated absolute dominating class and left the rest of the field far behind in their wake. France continued to contend with the Germans with Italy now giving a stab at trying to get into the medals. The Mudas looked unstoppable and not happy just to win, the Dutch pair went on to win by a whopping 10 seconds. France held on to second after having a better sprint than Germany. The Mudas add a gold medal to their 2009 silver medal.

Results: NED, FRA, GER, ITA, HUN, USA

Vincent Muda & Tycho Muda (NED) - Gold
“The race went perfectly from the very start. We also row together in the lightweight four and train a lot together. It’s our last under-23 championship.”
Yannic Corinth & Lasse Antczak (GER) - Bronze
“It was a very difficult race for us. It was hard to catch the Italian team. The thought about my best friend who died a few years ago helped me to win a medal.”

Lightweight Men’s Quadruple Sculls (BLM4x) – A-final

Italy are the reigning under-23 World Champions in this event. They hold the World Best Time at the under-23 level and also dominate at the senior level. Today, however, things didn’t go the Italians’ way. Out in front from the start were Konstantin Steinhuebel, Jonas Wagner, Julius Peschel and Michael Etzkorn of Germany. The Germans were followed closely by Ireland and together these two countries moved away from the rest of the field. 

Germany are no slowpokes in this event. This crew raced earlier this month at the senior Rowing World Cup finishing an impressive fourth amongst their more experienced competition. Coming through yesterday’s semifinals Germany had recorded the fastest qualifying time, but only a second over Ireland’s. 

And the semifinals proved to be a good reflection of this finals race. Ireland continued to challenge Germany who managed to do just enough to hold off the Irish with Great Britain and Italy tussling for the bronze medal spot. At the line Great Britain had outsprinted Italy and Germany had held off Ireland.

Results: GER, IRL, GBR, ITA, FRA, GRE

Michael Etzkorn (GER) - Gold
“It’s unbelievable. The hardest was the last meters but we did it.”
Julius Peschel (GER) - Gold
“We knew we might be fast. The competition here was really strong.  As a crew we met two months ago and started training. We are a bit lucky that we won.”
Mark O’Donovan (IRL) - Silver
“The Germans were very strong. It was hard to compete with them. And we enjoyed this brilliant rowing course.”
Zak Lee-Green (GBR) - Bronze
“It was brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. The Italians were flying off from the very start. It’s the first time we’ve performed together as a crew. We knew we had a chance to get a medal and tried to do our best to compete. And it’s the first time we won a medal as a team.”

Women’s Single Sculls (BW1x) – A-final

Coming through the heats and semis it had become clear that Donata Vistartaite of Lithuania was the sculler to beat. It also had become clear that if 2008 Olympian Lindsay Meyer of the United States could have a faster start, she would be a real danger at the other end of the course.

With that knowledge, Vistartaite took off in the lead followed closely by Kaisa Pajusalu of Estonia with Meyer at the very back of the field. Half of the race had been covered and Vistartaite remained out in front now with a decent margin over Pajusalu as Meyer began to work her way through the field. Then Vistartaite really showed her talent taking off to earn an open water lead. Pajusalu had no response and now had to worry about the ever-gaining Meyer. 

Coming into the final sprint Meyer charged, Vistartaite looked relaxed and Pajusalu did her best to hold off the American. Vistartaite had moved from last year’s fourth-place getter to World Champion. Pajusalu took silver for a second year and Meyer earns a solid bronze.

Results: LTU, EST, USA, NOR, POL, BLR

Donata Vistartaite (LTU) - Gold
“It’s my third under-23 Championship but it’s my second time competing in the single. I would say this year all the girls were very strong and it was hard to compete.”
Lindsay Meyer (USA) - Bronze
“The race was interesting. Everything is awesome. We had amazing competitors here so the race was good. I like this kind of weather a lot better because it’s similar to the weather in Seattle where I am from. At the 2007 [World Rowing Under 23 Championships] in Scotland I got a gold medal in the quad.”

Men’s Single Sculls (BM1x) – A-final

Germany always manages to front up with a top contender in this event and 2010 was not different. Karl Schulze had come through from yesterday’s semifinals with the fastest qualifying time. Schulze already has two under-23 medals and two junior medals from team boats and earlier this season he raced at the senior Rowing World Cup. Schulze had the lead at the start with only Aleksandar Aleksandrov of Azerbaijan able to keep up. This left a virtual line for third between Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium and Bulgaria.

It wasn’t until the third 500m that things started to get sorted out between the pack of four behind Schulze and Aleksandrov. Greece’s Stergios Papachristos had managed to pull away but was nowhere near catching Aleksandrov in second. Papachristos is the reigning under-23 World Champion in the men’s pair, but the switch to the single seems to be a success. The best of Azerbaijan, Aleksandrov, is a former junior World Champion but for his former nation of Bulgaria. Now rowing for Azerbaijan, Aleksandrov is a professional athlete. 

Out in front, Schulze, meanwhile, had opened up more water over Aleksandrov and was driving home to a clean World Championship title. The race across the finish line ended up being a broadly spread-out procession.

Results: GER, AZE, GRE, BUL, NED, BEL

Karl Schulze (GER) - Gold
“The race was too long but great. I hope I’ll perform at the Championships in New Zealand.”
Aleksandar Aleksandrov (AZE) - Silver
“The German rower was very strong. I tried to keep up with him but he was too far away.” 
Stergios Parachristos (GRE) - Bronze
“The competition here is really strong.”

Men’s Pairs (BM2-) – A-final

There was very little between the entire field at the start of the men’s pair. South Africa’s new pairing of John Smith and Lawrence Brittain had the edge but going into the second 1000m of the race a strong charge by Anthony Jacob and Conlin McCabe of Canada had closed the gap on the South Africans. Jacob and McCabe have already been tagged by head coach Mike Spracklen to be potentials in the senior men’s eight, Canada’s flagship boat, and the pair must be part of their training for the eight. Smith of South Africa is in his first year of racing as an openweight rower. In 2009 Smith finished fourth in the lightweight men’s pair at the under 23 championships racing with Brittain’s brother, Matthew. 

Going through the third 500m a big piece by the Canadians gave them the lead over South Africa. Smith and Brittain responded. What would Canada do? The South African response was enough for them to regain the lead, and in the charge for the finish Smith and Brittain were able to out-sprint Jacob and McCabe. Romania meanwhile pulled through to take third.

Results: RSA, CAN, ROU, GER, FRA, SRB

Conlin McCabe (CAN) – Silver
“We were quite fast at the start, then we tried hard to catch the South African team. We’ve been training for only one and a half weeks together. Our competitors are quite fast. It’s not my first medal at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships. I won a silver medal two years ago.”  

Men’s Double Sculls (BM2x) – A-final

Coming through from yesterday’s semifinals Lithuania and Germany looked like the crews to beat and at the start it was Eric Johannesen and Sebastian Peter who had the advantage with Latvia, Lithuania and New Zealand well within attacking distance. Johannesen and Peter raced earlier this season at the senior Rowing World Cup and came away with a bronze medal in this very competitive event.

Today Johannesen and Peter continued to lead through the middle of the race, but Latvia’s Lauris Sire and Dairis Adamaitis were closing fast. This is Sire’s third year racing in this event with Adamaitis being a new partner. The Latvian double then did a big push in the third 500 and got their nose ahead of Johannesen and Peter. Where was Lithuania?

In an unexpected turn of events, Johannesen and Peter seemed unable to react to the Latvian’s push with Lithuania back in fourth and trying to shake off New Zealand. The final sprint looked like some crews just hadn’t paced themselves very well and had run out of steam. Sire and Adamaitis, however, was not one of these. They charged on to the finish in fine form to become World Champions.

Results: LAT, GER, LTU, ITA, NZL, SLO

Lauris Sire & Dairis Adamaitis (LAT) - Gold
“The most difficult was the last thousand metres. Germany is really very strong.”
Eric Johannesen (GER) - Silver
“We started very well. But at the end we had no power to beat the Latvians and get the first place.”
Saulius Ritter (LTU) - Bronze
“It was a tough race with strong competition. We hoped to get one of the first four positions and just didn’t know which one. We train together with the Latvians.”

Men’s Four (BM4-) – A-final

This under 23 championships has seen many of last year’s top boats not feature in the finals showing how much under 23 crews can change from one year to the next. The men’s four was an example of this with the reigning World Champions, New Zealand not competing in this event, the silver medallists, USA competing in the B-final this morning and last year’s bronze medallists, Germany not showing so well through the heats. There was every sign that some new countries would come through.

At the start Italy had the edge over the Czech Republic. But there was very little in it between the entire field. Italy had the fastest qualifying time coming from yesterday’s semifinals and it must have given them confidence. At the half way point Mario Paonessa, Francesco Fossi, Vincenzo Capelli and Andrea Palmisano of Italy still had the edge with the Czechs, Great Britain and Australia all close behind. A tight battle then took place between Australia and Great Britain which moved them up on the leading Italians.

Italy had to do something and do it fast if they wanted gold. So they sprinted to the line. Great Britain and Australia followed suit. Italy held them off. A gold medal was heading Italy’s way.

Results: ITA, GBR, AUS, CZE, ESP, GER

Francesco Fossi (ITA) - Gold
“It was not very easy to win. Great Britain and Australia are teams of great quality but today we were perfect. We were rowing as one organism although we’ve been together only for eight days.”
Nathaniel Reilly – O’Donnell (GBR) - Silver
“It was tough. We had to struggle hard. I feel like we did our best. We came here to win. The other teams set a very strong standard. They showed much desire to win as well.”
Matthew Rossiter (GBR) - Silver
“The Italian crew were very hard to compete with. I’m not very happy with our results.”
William Lockwood (AUS) – Bronze
“It was tough. The first five hundred meters were the key moment. We absolutely liked the race.”

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (BLM2x) – A-final

Greece made it a double header at the end of this race with their crew winning this race as well as the lightweight women’s double race. Leading from the start Panagiotis Magdanis and Eleftherios Konsolas of Greece stamped their authority on this race and left the rest of the field to do the chasing.

This is the third year Konsolas has raced in this event and last year he finished just outside of the medals in fourth. Now rowing with Magdanis the duo have competed at two senior Rowing World Cups this season as a warm-up to these under 23 championships. The experience must have been paying off as Magdanis and Konsolas continued to lead for the entire race.

Great Britain’s Benjamin Rowe and Kieren Emery gave it a good shot to try and catch the Greeks and in the process managed to shake off Denmark’s Peter Noerlem and Andreas Ramboel. The Danes came back hard in the final sprint but they had too much time to make up and Rowe and Emery retained their second place position.

Results: GRE, GBR, DEN, GER, ESP, AZE

Kieren Emery (GBR) - Silver
“We are a brand new team combination. We’ve been together only for four weeks and it’s our first international championship together.”
Andreas Ramboel (DEN) - Bronze
“It was tough. It’s our first time performing as a crew after three months’ practice.”

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

Great Britain and Italy came into this race as the winner of each semifinal with Italy jumping out at the start in the style that seems to be the Italian way at this regatta. The tactic seemed to be working well for the Italians who still had the lead going through the middle of the race. The United States and Great Britain, however, were hot on the Italians heels and as the Great Britain and United States tried to outpace each other the gap between them and the Italians continued to close.

Going through the third 500 there was pretty much an even line between the United States, Italy and Great Britain with the British perhaps having a smidgen of an advantage. The winner was going to have to be decided in the final sprint. The USA, Italy and Great Britain all took up their rating and all charged for the line. Jones, Clegg, Fletcher and Kirkwood of Great Britain charged the best.

Results: GBR, ITA, USA, DEN, GER, NZL

David Jones (GBR) - Gold
“It’s a good race, it was our best performance. The last five hundred meters were the hardest but we knew already that we would win.”
Jamie Kirkwood (GBR) - Gold
“The venue is fantastic and we had amazing competitors.”
Robin Prendes (USA) - Bronze
“From the first meters we were very aggressive but then the Italians gave us a shot. They are a very, very strong team.”

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (BM4x) – A-final

The Croatians continued their season of unbroken wins by successfully defending their under 23 World Champion status. David Sain, Damir Martin and brothers, Valent and Martin Sinkovic of Croatia raced at the three Rowing World Cups this season winning all three and beating the reigning World and Olympic Champions, Poland in the process. They have set their sights on the 2012 Olympics and beyond and have the confidence and attitude to make winning an ongoing habit.

In race 191 of the 2010 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, Croatia led from start to finish and were not just happy to cross the line in first, they showed their absolute dominance by finishing nearly seven second ahead of Russia in second.

With the Croatians out in front the real race went on behind them. Ukraine grabbed hold of the silver medal spot early on in the piece leaving Poland, the Czech Republic and Russia to fight it out for the bronze. This three-way battle brought Russia up to within striking distance of last year’s silver medallists, Ukraine. Ukraine would have to really sprint hard if they wanted to keep that silver medal spot. Matching Ukraine stroke for stroke Russia charged for the line. Ukraine didn’t have it. Russia overtook to grab silver.

Results: CRO, RUS, UKR, CZE, POL, SUI

Martin Sinkovic (CRO) - Gold
“It was a good race, a tough tournament and we were ahead of Russia. It was quite easy for us to win this race as we tried as hard as we could.”
Denis Pribyl (RUS) - Silver
“In this race we really showed our character. We were fighting with ourselves first of all. It was very hard psychologically for us as we’ve been together only for two months. Croatia was very strong but we did our best.”

Women’s Eight (BW8+) – A-final

A false start sent all crews back into the starting blocks for a second attempt after Belarus had troubles with their starting sock. On the second attempt all crews got off cleanly and despite a substitution in Canada’s boat (Patricia Obee filling in to race her second race of the day), the Canadians had the lead at the start. But the lead was slim with Germany, New Zealand and the United States all hot on the Canadians tail.

By the middle of the race last year’s silver medallists, the United States had moved into the lead with New Zealand pulling in the Canadians with every stroke. As has been the case in a number of races today, the third 500 seemed to really sort out the crews. The United States continued to move away in the lead, looking better and better as the race progressed. New Zealand had managed to overhaul Canada and were successfully widening the gap. Germany had slipped back, struggling with the leaders pace and Canada was grasping on to third.

Coming into the final stretch the US continued to open up their lead, New Zealand hung on to second and Canada earned the bronze.

Results: USA, NZL, CAN, GER, FRA, BLR

Kerry Simmonds (USA) – Gold
“We worked for the victory. We had a very powerful crew. We feel each other.”
Tarsha Williams (NZL) – Silver
“It was an awesome race. We had a good fight with extremely good competitors.”

Men’s Eight (BM8+) – A-final

The Germans love this event but last year they were disappointed to finish second behind Poland. This year they followed in the footsteps of their senior eight crew who are the reigning World Champions and have won all of their early season races. Stroked by Bastian Bechler, Germany jumped out and into the lead at the start. The Americans, however, had different plans for the Germans. Last year the United States were devastated not to make the A-final and they had decided to turn those results around here at Brest.

By the half way point the United States had got their nose ahead of Germany and a battle of wills and wits ensued. Germany, spurred on by coxswain Alber Kowert, fought back and took advantage of a falter by the Americans in the third 500. The Germans, now brimming with confidence, charged for the line in this last race of the 2010 World Rowing Under 23 Championship regatta. The United States had no answer. Germany take gold, the United States come through with silver and last year’s bronze medallists, Great Britain earn another bronze medal.

Results: GER, USA, GBR, POL, CZE, NED

Marco Neumann (GER) – Gold
“Our tactic is extreme sprint. We had to make some hard middle race strokes. We have a really skilled team. We are happy with the results.”
Anton Braun (GER) - Gold
“We thought Great Britain team was stronger and we didn’t expect the USA to be that strong.”
Robert Otto (USA) - Silver
“It was a good fight. We are an excellent crew. The race went well. We didn’t know what to expect. For me it’s my first time racing at FISA championships. And it was the highlight of my sports year.”
Thomas Dethlefs (USA) - Silver
“It was hard. All the competitors were strong and we had to react to it.