Lightweight scullers look to Draeger and Grant

Racing under cloudy skies with temperatures of about 10 degrees Celsius, the lightweight single scullers enjoyed flat water on the 1972 Olympic Regatta Course at the Rowing World Cup venue in Oberschleissheim on the outskirts of Munich city. The two experienced scullers Grant and Draeger set the standard in their respective events and will line up again this afternoon in the finals.

LIGHTWEIGHT WOMEN’S SINGLE SCULLS (LW1x) – Semifinals

Eliane Waser, 23, of Switzerland made the final last month in Bled. Today she stepped up a notch by beating Sweden’s Sara Karlsson to the line in semifinal one. Karlsson finished one place ahead of Waser at Rowing World Cup I in Bled, but today Waser was willing to put more into her final sprint than Karlsson who had led for the majority of the race. Taking her stroke rate to 34 Waser’s first place earns her a middle lane for this afternoon’s final. Coming in third Manami Hayashi of Japan will also qualify for the final. This is a great result for Hayashi who has been out of international competition since racing in her home country at the 2005 World Rowing Championships in Gifu, Japan.

Everyone knows Marie-Louise Draeger of Germany is the one to beat. Draeger conducted a controlled and confident race in semifinal two and her splits indicate that she has the best speed to win this afternoon’s final. Draeger’s lead meant that she could do a rather pleasant 26 stroke rate coming into the finish. Behind Draeger Atsumi Fukomoto of Japan held second for the entire race. Fukomoto, 21, is part of a strong group of Japanese lightweights coached by former German coach Diethelm Maxrath. Coming through in third, Sweden added a second sculler to the final with Kristina Knejp earning the remaining spot.

LIGHTWEIGHT MEN’S SINGLE SCULLS (LM1x) – Semifinals

So far at this regatta these athletes have raced twice yesterday in the heats and quarterfinals. Today they will race in the semifinal and race again this afternoon either in the A or B-final. They have also had to make sure to weigh in at no more than 72.5kg.

Semifinal one opened with five boats practically on top of each other and all well within qualifying position. Only Zlatko Karaivanov of Bulgaria had slipped off the pace. By the half-way point it had narrowed down to four boats in contention for the top three spots, the second Bulgarian boat slipping back. Coming into the final sprint three boats had broken away. Peter Galambos of Hungary had a small lead over Are Strandli of Norway in second with Jonathan Koch of Germany following closely in third. Despite Galambos throwing out a gallant sprint, Strandli managed to cross the line in first to qualify for the A-final along with Galambos and Koch.

In semifinal two the reigning three-time consecutive World Champion Duncan Grant led the way, but Austria and Peter Chambers of Great Britain held on tight. As Austria’s Joschka Hellmeier slipped back, Chambers, 20, tried his best to challenge Grant. Chambers raced last month in his country’s lightweight double at the first Rowing World Cup and he is Britain’s lightweight to watch with the potential to break into his country’s top boat.

Coming into the finish Grant kept the pressure on rating a solid 34 stroke rate with Chambers not far behind and Maxime Goisset of France now comfortably in third. It took Grant until only metres before the finish, before he felt comfortable to take some pressure off. Grant, Chambers and Goisset move on to this afternoon’s final.