Twelve for Karsten, four for Drysdale at Holland Beker

This was Karsten’s 12^th time winning the Lady’s Trophy in the women’s single. Following a commanding first place race in her heat, finishing 6.79 seconds ahead of Nina Hollensen of Aarhus Rowing Club (DEN), Karsten’s competition was a somewhat closer in her semifinal when she bested New Zealand’s Fiona Bourke by 1.31 seconds. Dutch sculler Lisa Scheenaard placed first in the other semifinal with a 3.57 second lead over Laura Wheeler of the Nottingham Rowing Club (GBR).

The A-final for the Lady’s Trophy was all about Karsten as she led the entire race, finishing in a time of 7:25. This left the real excitement to come in the race for silver where Scheenaard narrowly held off Bourke in a sprint to the finish that earned Scheenaard second place in a time of 7:27.30 with Bourke just a fraction behind in third in 7:27.40.

Drysdale won with ease in the men’s single sculls, winning the Holland Beker Cup for the fourth time. Drysdale posted the fastest time in the heats, easily ahead of Robert Vicic of Nereus Rowing Club (NED) and Jean-Benoit Valschaerts racing for the Royal Sport Nautique club of Brussels (BEL). Canada’s Pascal Lussier won the other heat ahead of Dutch sculler Thijs van Luijk and Koen Metsemakers of Phocas Rowing Club (NED).

The A-final saw Drysdale win in a time of 6:43 using a steady rhythm and consistency that left the rest of the field to race for second. Right off the line, the scullers settled into what seemed like a rigid rank order. At 500m left in the race, it looked like it was going to be Valschaerts in second, followed by Metsemakers, Viviv, Lussier, and Norwegian Floris Roeling, who had advance from the repechage.

This is when Lussier started moving and upset this order, charging through Valschaerts and Metsemakers to take silver in a time of 6:59. Metsemakers also managed to advance and claimed bronze in 7:02 while Balschaerts, Bicic, and Roeling rounded out the field.

In the big boats, the Dutch national team took gold in the A-final of the women’s eight ahead of Nereus Rowing Club (NED) and Skoell Rowing Club (NED), who placed second and third respectively. The Canadian national team placed first in the A-final of the men’s eight with Australia’s Sydney Rowing Club taking the silver and Willem III Rowing Club (NED) in bronze position.

Rowers from 17 nations took part in the event, which was held for the first time on the new Willem-Alexander Baan regatta course in Rotterdam. The regatta is a showcase of international excellence and local talent as national teams and club crews alike race at the same regatta.

Full results and more information can be found at www.hollandbeker.nl