Hacker’s back, Australia women sweep - Rowing World Cup II

The jump in standard from yesterday’s heats meant that some of the finishing sprints saw above 40 stroke rates being hit and the loss of dominance by some world champions.

Women’s Single Scull (W1x) – Semifinals

With such domination by Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus it’s been up to Sophie Balmary of France to spice up this event. In semifinal one Karsten got out into her usual lead position but Balmary decided not to let the Belarusian, who trains and lives in Germany, have it all her own way. Karsten, rating 29, however, did just enough to keep Balmary, rating 32, in check. Both boats go to Final A along with Germany’s former quad champion, Peggy Waleska.

Semifinal two had last year’s silver medallist, Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic, do like Karsten and get out into the lead and then maintain a solid 29 strokes per minute through the body of the race. Sweden’s Frida Svensson, who shot onto the single scene when she became the last qualifier for the Athens Olympics, sat in second but never quite getting close enough to Knapkova to be a real threat. Meanwhile a gutsy effort by Poland’s Julia Michalska, rowing on her home course, gave her the third qualifying spot. Twenty-year-old Michalska comes to senior rowing as a former Junior Champion and 2005 silver medallist at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships and two years ago won the Rowing World Cup in Poznan as a lightweight single sculler. Michalska moves to Final A.

Formerly this event was dominated by three women, Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski, Rumyana Neykova and Ekaterina Karsten rarely let anyone else take a medal. Since 2005 it has just been Karsten of Belarus holding up the old guard. Rutschow-Stomporowski recently had twins while Neykova gave birth to a son last week. 

Men’s Single Scull (M1x) – Semifinals

It takes a certain personality to put in the long miles alone in a single. It absolutely suits some. In semifinal one current World Champion Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand came to this event after racing at the Olympics in the four and had instant success. Sitting in the next lane, Alan Campbell of Great Britain moved from last year’s seventh placed quad and this year had instant success in the single winning the first Rowing World Cup of the season last month in Munich, Germany. Today Campbell met Drysdale for the first time since training together last year.

In a battle of the minds, Campbell got an early lead only to have Drysdale push past and setting into the lead. Campbell, however, kept close tabs on Drysdale and using the same sprint that gave him the gold at Munich, Campbell got his rating up to 41 then 43. Drysdale looked calm, responding with a 39. At the line Drysdale had the edge – finishing just four seconds outside the World Best Time. Campbell goes through to the final from second and Argentina’s Ariel Suarez, 26, moves to his first ever senior A Final.

The second semifinal began with Cuba’s Yoennis Hernandez off the line first, before the seasoned German Marcel Hacker moved into the lead. Hacker has raced inconsistently over the last couple of years, but this year he seems to have found a new calm. This left Olaf Tufte of Norway and Sweden’s Lassi Karonen to battle it out for second. Tufte and Karonen are frequent training partners and the more seasoned Tufte popped his rating up to 41 for about 10 strokes just before the line to take second with Karonen qualifying in third.

Women’s Pair (W2-) – Semifinals

The new German mix looks to be working. Coach Ralf Holtmeyer swapped Munich Rowing World Cup line-ups and here at Poznan boated Nicole Zimmermann with Elke Hipler. He then put Maren Derlien and Christina Gerking together. Today the Germans took off at the head of semifinal one and stayed there for the majority of the race. But coming into the final sprint 2005 World Champions Nicky Coles and Juliette Haigh broke into the German party followed closely by Annemarieke van Rumpt and Annemiek de Haan of the Netherlands.

Coming into the final sprint Zimmermann and Hipler had the edge with New Zealand, the Netherlands and Germany’s second crew going for the photo finish. New Zealand missed out. Both German crews and the sole Dutch entry at this Rowing World Cup advance to the final.

They came all of the way to Europe and ended racing each other. A fleet of four pairs from Australia made up semifinal two. Made up of the Australian eight that will race later in the year at the World Rowing Championships, the Australians finished in the order of their ranking. First across the line, Emily Martin and Sarah Heard, followed in second by Amber Bradley and Kate Hornsey, then in third Kim Crow and Sarah Cook. Denmark and China, also racing, were boxed out by the gold and green.

Men’s pair (M2-) – Semifinals

Yongquiang Zhang and Xiangdang Wang of China continue to surprise. They showed their finishing sprint ability at Munich and today they demonstrated that they have been working on their starts. Getting out to a lead over World Champions Nathan Twaddle and George Bridgewater of New Zealand, Zhang and Wang tried to hold on, but were soon swallowed up by the New Zealanders followed by Jochen Urban and Adreas Penkner of Germany who come to the pair after racing to gold at Munich in the eight. China held on and it wasn’t until the final sprint that New Zealand (rating 39) and Germany (getting up to 43 strokes per minute), holding their own personal battle, managed to shake the Chinese.

New Zealand, Germany and China go through to the final.

The late arrival to Europe of family man Drew Ginn of Australia and partner Duncan Free hasn’t seem to have done them any harm. They took the lead in semifinal two and kept ahead of Munich winners, Goran Jagar and Nikola Stojic of Serbia & Montenegro. Free comes to the pair after an entire international career as a sculler including three Olympic Games in the quad. But rowing with Ginn gives the look of the Tomkins and Ginn combination. Long, rhythmic, flowing strokes meant that the Australian duo looked effortless at 33.

Jagar and Stojic held on to second and Germany’s second boat of Jan-Martin Broer and Matthias Flach take the third and final qualifying spot.

Women’s double (W2x) – Semifinals

Current World and Olympic Champions, Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell of New Zealand, like to be in the lead, especially when racing Australians. Today they got handed a double dose as Australia broke their quad down into doubles and presented the biggest threat to the New Zealanders.

Catriona Sens and Sonia Mills are teamed up for first time this year with Sens coming back after a post-Athens break where she raced in the ill-fated women’s eight. Mills just started rowing five years ago and has been working her way up the team ranks. Today, behind the Evers-Swindell twins, they battled with the other half of their quad, Dana Faletic and Sally Kehoe. None of the three crews seemed very prepared to sprint, being under no threat from Germany in fourth. An Australasian sweep goes through to the final.

In semifinal two, three boats got off the line at a solid pace together. Munich winners Annie Vernon and Anna Bebington of Great Britain had the edge. Qin Li and Liang Tian of China held on closely in second. Yana Dementieva and Natalia Ryzhkova of Ukraine, who did very well yesterday in their heat against New Zealand, followed in third. The order remained the same through the body of the race, but the margin between the three crews was so small none could be complacent. Coming into the final sprint a large group of British supporters rose in excitement. Vernon and Bebington had won and move onto the final with China and Ukraine.

Men’s double (M2x) – Semifinals

Adrien Hardy of France last met Iztok Cop and Luka Spik of Slovenia in 2004 when they raced each other in the final of the Athens Olympics. The French won, Slovenia was second. Since then Hardy has rowed in the quad and is now teamed up with a new partner, Jean-Baptiste Macquet, following the retirement of Sebastian Vieilledent. Today in the first semifinals France and Slovenia went head to head.

Coming into the final sprint Slovenia had a slight edge but the smoother, longer strokes of the French were keeping them firmly with the current World Champions from Slovenia. With 50 metres to go Cop and Spik still had a slender lead, rating 41, but Hardy and Macquet, on 39, were gaining. Slovenia couldn’t hold them and with 20 metres to row took the pressure right off. France, Slovenia and Hungarians Akos Haller and Tibor Peto continuing on their comeback ways, all go to the final.

In the second semifinals three boats remained overlapping for the entire race. Great Britain’s Matthew Wells and Stephen Rowbotham opened in the lead but there was nothing in it with Konstyantyn Zaitsev and Hennadii Zakharchenko of Ukraine and Munich winners Rene Bertram and Robert Sens of Germany. Wells and Rowbotham as well as Bertram and Sens come to the double after racing the quad at last year’s World Rowing Championships. Zaitsev was in the single in 2005, while Zakharchenko last raced internationally in 2003.

The order and closeness remained the same as all three crews, with Poland in hot pursuit, began to sprint the final 400 metres. Wells and Rowbotham just held off Zaitsev and Zakharchenko, with Germany in third. They will all meet again in tomorrow's final. 

Men’s Four (M4-) – Repechages

Two repechages with the top two boats advancing to the final meant that two boats would miss out in each race. Ireland led repechage one with the Czech Republic very much within striking distance. The Irish, coached by former Australian coach Harald Jahrling, finished ninth at Munich and look to be taking a step up as they led the field. But the Czech Republic, stroked by 21-year-old Olympian Karel Neffe were keeping the Irish very much in check. Coming into the final sprint World Best Time holders Germany tried to get into qualifying position. Their sprint came too late. Ireland and the Czech Republic advance.

Repechage two was not so close. Slovenia, in the lead, consistently make the A Finals but rarely seem to be able to get a medal. Will their fortune change in Poznan? With enough of a lead to feel comfortable, Slovenia was able to watch Poland battle with Ireland’s second crew. At the line the Polish had the edge over Ireland. Slovenia and Poland move on to the final.  

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (LW2x) – Repechages

The first of two repechages required a top two finish for advancement and with last year’s World Champions, Germany sitting next to last year’s bronze medallists Finland, it was going to be hard to break into a qualifying spot. Current World Champions, Germany’s Marie-Louise Draeger and Daniela Reimer led the way with Sanna Sten and Minna Nieminen of Finland following closely. Also in the game former World Champion in the single, Sinead Jennings and partner Niamh Ni Cheilleachair of Ireland sat back in third.

Everything looked to be going to plan for the World Champions with only a quarter of the race left to row, but the status quo was about to change. Finland and Ireland seemed to have more in the tank. A full-on sprint propelled Sten and Nieminen into first with Ireland overtaking Germany to earn a spot in the final.

Great Britain’s Jane Hall and Helen Casey took off at the head of the field in repechage two with Poland’s Ilona Mokronowska and Magdalena Kemnitz following closely in second. Longevity is often a feature of lightweight rowing with Hall and Casey both 32, while 34-year-old Mokronowska has been teamed up with the younger Kemnitz, 21, since uniting for the 2004 Olympics.

The two crews continued to challenge each other remaining in the two qualifying positions and denying China’s number one crew of a spot in the final.

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x) – Semifinals

Denmark’s Mads Rasmussen and Rasmus Quist gave away a bit about their boat speed when they won by open water in the heat. In the other heat Marcello Miani and Elia Luini of Italy won, but not so easily. Today they met in the first semifinals and matched each other through the first half of the race. But then the Italians seemed to run out of steam and tried to use aggression to power the boat, while the Danes, rowing an Italian made boat, looked smooth and confident.

Unusual for lightweight racing, Rasmussen and Quist finished first by open water with Italy qualifying a length back in second and a sprinting Yunior Perez and Eyder Batista of Cuba managed to take the Czech Republic by surprise to finish in third. Cuba was the happiest crew at the line and deservedly get a spot in the final after doing the fastest sprint of the field. 

The second semi had Australia’s Tom Gibson and Sam Beltz in the lead over Mark Hunter and James Lindsay-Fynn of Great Britain. These two boats opened up a hand lead over the rest of the field with three boats tussling it out for the final qualifying spot. Ukraine held the advantage for most of the race, but a sprint that took Portugal to 42 strokes per minute put the Portuguese in qualifying position.

Lightweight Men’s Four (LM4-) – Repechages

Egypt has focused on their men’s eight for a number of years, so it was a change to see an Egyptian lightweight boat leading, and leading with confidence. Despite a close challenge by Australia, Egypt kept their strokes long and consistent. Egypt and Australia advance to the final.

The second repechage had all of the excitement going on at the head of the field. Munich winners, Germany, have kept the same crew but brought Bastian Seibt into stroke seat. Next to them China’s new crew kept tabs on Germany as the two crews tried to shake off Austria in third. Coming into the final sprint Germany, rating 37, stayed ahead of China, rating 41. Both crews will meet again in the final.

Women’s Quadruple Sculls (W4x) – Repechages

It was a big surprise in yesterday’s heat when China knocked current World Champions Great Britain off of the top spot. This meant that Great Britain had to contend today’s repechage. Their coach, Paul Thompson, was unfazed. He was right. Today Great Britain led from start to finish. Behind them the order was not so orderly. First the Czech Republic had a bash at the British then Denmark gave it a go. Finally the field left it up to Germany’s new line-up to take on the British. Coming into the final sprint Great Britain maintained a solid 34 stroke rate holding off the very upright-styled Germans at 37, with four boats qualifying for the final. Great Britain and Germany will be joined by Denmark and Romania.

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (M4x) – Repechages

In repechage one three boats took off at a cracking pace knowing there were only two spots up for grabs. France, coming to Poznan after finishing fifth in 2005, Belarus, with three members of the 2005 under-23 winners, and Ukraine, all wanted it. But with half the race gone Ukraine was running out of steam. France and Belarus advance to the final.

Repechage two opened with Ukraine’s number one crew setting the pace. Ukraine raced in the B Final at last year’s World Rowing Championships and with two retirements from that crew, this younger crew looks to be a good combination. Behind them Australia, stroked by Olympian David Crawshay, held the pace. Coming into the last metres of the race Ukraine held the lead by rating 37, with Australia on a solid 34. China tried to come back, but shortened their length and were unable to get into a qualifying spot. Ukraine and Australia go on to tomorrow’s final.

Women’s Eight (W8+) – Repechages

A large field of women’s eights introduced a number of younger crews to senior competition, but mixed into Great Britain’s boat, in stroke seat was Olympic medallist and two-time Olympian, Elise Laverick. The experience of Laverick must have helped as the British crew worked their way up from the back of the field through to first in repechage one. This meant overtaking Belarus with Laverick’s counterpart, 19-year-old Volha Plashkova in stroke seat. Both boats move on to the final.

In repechage two it was no surprise to see China in the lead. This is the crew, with one change, that finished fourth at the last Olympic Games and arguably the most accomplished boat in this event. But the big surprise was France. The new French crew, stroked by 20-year-old Elodie Rubaud, at her first ever international regatta, was holding onto China’s pace. China and France continued to the line in first and second with China managing to shake off the French albeit just a little. They will meet again tomorrow.

Men’s Eight (M8+) – Repechages

In repechage one Romania and China gained the two qualifying spots after leaders Great Britain were excluded by the umpires when the Chinese objected the outcome of the race, claiming that the British had moved into their lane. Great Britain has lodged a protest against the objection, which is being examined by the Board of the Jury tonight.

Repechage two brought the crowds to their feet. Leading the field was Poland’s men’s eight. Egypt held on to the Polish but seemed to run out of steam in the second half of the race. Munich winners Germany tried to get up to Poland in the second half of the race and their attempt accelerated them into second and the final qualifying spot.