Australia Sights Olympic Medals

Australia preparing for the Olympics
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Australia’s Olympic Committee president John Coates is predicting five to six medals, including two golds, for his country’s rowing team. The team, which has just been announced for the Athens Olympic Games, agrees.

Australia has already qualified 12 out of the possible 14 boats for Athens, a feat matched only by Germany, and with 45 rowers selected it is currently the largest Australian team for the Olympics. At present they possess two World Championship crews ? the men’s pair and women’s quad ? and were in the finals of eight other Olympic events at last year’s World Championships.

Selection comes after a rigorous series of selection camps and trials that began in December last year. It also saw the unprecedented move when World Champions, Drew Ginn and James Tomkins were pre-selected for the pair. The men’s crews were then finalised in March with the comeback of former Olympic athletes Bo Hanson, Geoff Stewart and Mike McKay. They will make up part of the men’s eight. Hanson and Stewart both won bronze in 2000 before retiring while McKay has two gold and one silver Olympic medal. This will be McKay’s fifth Olympic Games.

The lightweight women’s double narrowed six athletes down to two in April. Top lightweight Sally Causby, who could not rid herself of a recurring injury will be replaced by Sally Newmarch.

Selection finished last week with the remaining women’s crews being announced. This saw the surprise omission of two-time World Champion Jane Robinson from the priority boat, the quad. After losing a winner-takes-all race against Rebecca Sattin, Robinson will now row in the double while Sattin moves from last year’s eight into the quad.

The team also hopes to add the final two, yet-to-qualify, crews which will bring the total number of athletes up to 48. The women’s pair and single will compete at the Lucerne Olympic Qualification Regatta for these spots.

Most of the team leave Australia for Europe to arrive in time for the third World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland with the men’s pair and eight departing Australia in mid-July.

The Crews are:
MEN’S EIGHT
Stuart Reside
Michael McKay
Bo Hanson
Stuart Welch
James Stewart
Stephen Stewart
Geoffrey Stewart
Stefan Szczurowski
Michael Toon (cox)
Tim McLaren (coach)

MEN’S FOUR
Robert Jahrling
Tom Laurich
David McGowan
David Dennis
Antonio Maurogiovanni (coach)

MEN’S PAIR
Drew Ginn
James Tomkins
Chris O’Brien (coach)

MEN’S QUAD SCULL
Duncan Free
Scott Brennan
Shaun Coulton
David Crawshay
Reinhold Batschi (coach)

MEN’S DOUBLE SCULL
Peter Hardcastle
Brendan Long
Nicholas Garratt (coach)

MEN’S SINGLE SCULL
Craig Jones
Nicholas Garratt (coach)

MEN’S LIGHTWEIGHT FOUR
Simon Burgess
Ben Cureton
Anthony Edwards
Glen Loftus
Sam Le Compte (coach)

MEN’S LIGHTWEIGHT DOUBLE SCULL
Cameron Wurf
George Jelbart
Robert Bleakley (coach)

WOMEN’S EIGHT
Kyeema Doyle
Monique Heinke
Catriona Oliver
Sarah Outhwaite
Sally Robbins
Victoria Roberts
Julia Wilson
Jodi Winter
Katie Foulkes (coxswain)
Harald Jahrling (coach)

WOMEN’S PAIR
Kyrsten Winkley
Joanna Lutz
Harald Jahrling (coach)

WOMEN’S QUAD
Kerry Hore
Dana Faletic
Amber Bradley
Rebecca Sattin

WOMEN’S DOUBLE SCULL
Jane Robinson
Donna Martin
Lyall McCarthy (coach)

WOMEN’S SINGLE SCULL
Danielle Jolly
Lyall McCarthy (coach)

WOMEN’S LIGHTWEIGHT DOUBLE SCULL
Amber Halliday
Sally Newmarch
Adrian David (coach)

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