China Dominates Rowing World Cup II

A double-header for China in the lightweight women’s double and Katherine Grainger of Great Britain learns what it’s like to be second.

Women’s Single Sculls (W1x) – Final

Only Sweden’s Frida Svensson could hold Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus at the start. But not for long. The back-to-back World Champion and four-time Olympian did it once again and did it in true style. Using a long, upright, relaxed-looking stroke Karsten took to the head of the field and extended it. Meanwhile the comeback of Bulgaria’s Rumyana Neykova did not seem to be coming to anything as she sat at the back of the field. Neykova set the World Best Time in 2002 and has been racing against Karsten since 1990. Now coming back from having her second baby, Mario, Neykova is expected to be the sculler that will truly take on Karsten.

But today wasn’t the day. Instead Xiuyun Zhang of China was doing the most damage. Zhang is well-known in the rowing world for being part of the 1993 World Champion quad – one of the few World Champion medals for China at the time. But a heart attack forced Zhang out of the Athens Olympics. Now coached by Italian Beppe de Capua she is back at full strength and moved into second place in this race with Svensson slipping into third. The order did not change and Karsten wins the Holland Beker Ladies Trophy plus 3000 euros. Zhang takes 1500 euro in second and Svensson wins 750 euros by finishing third – the same place as in the first Rowing World Cup.

Ekaterina Karsten, BLR – gold medalist,
"I thought it was a highly possible that I would win. Neykova is not a major threat right now, but there is still one year before Beijing, so we will see how she will race next year."

Frida Svensson, SWE – bronze medalist
"I feel the race went okay. I ended up 10 seconds behind Zhang in the semi-final and therefore did not have high expectations for today. I am really pleased with the result."

Men’s Single Sculls (M1x) – Final

Before the race international coach Thor Nilsen predicted that this would be one hot race. He was right. All of these six athletes have the talent to win. All of them know each others idiosyncrasies. All have seen World Cup gold in the past. As is usual Alan Campbell of Great Britain took the lead at the start, storming through to the front ahead of Olaf Tufte of Norway who is better known for his slower starts.

Campbell held on to the lead but both Tufte and the clean-shaven Marcel Hacker of Germany were making gains. But Campbell was just holding them off. Then going through the 1250m mark Tufte raised his rate to 37 and grabbed the lead. Campbell couldn’t hold the pace. Then winner of the first Rowing World Cup, Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic began to wind and what a wind it was. As the rush for the line began Synek lifted his stroke rate again, and again. With 150m left to row Synek had hit 43 strokes per minute. Synek takes gold and wins the Holland Beker Trophy and 3000 euros over Tufte with silver and Hacker takes bronze. Back in fourth World Champion Mahe Drysdale mentioned that coming into this, his first international regatta of the season, he was still looking for his top speed.

Ondrej Synek (CZE) – Gold Medallist:
“I feel great that I was able to defeat the big name rowers who were Olympic champions. My tactic is succeeding. In Linz I ended first with a good sprint and I have done the same today.”

Olaf Tufte (NOR) – Silver Medalist:
“Ondrej Synek is getting quick. I’m happy with my second place, though. I’ve had a lot of problems with my allergies this spring, but now that summer is coming, it is improving. In Lucerne, Ondrej is the one to beat.”

Marcel Hacker (GER) – Bronze Medallist:
“In some parts of the race, I let the other rowers go, and that was my mistake. I’m happy with the bronze because it’s still in the top of the field. You really have to control yourself when someone takes a commanding early lead [in reference to Campbell]."
(To Tufte after the race): “You had a very quick start! Are you learning?”

Women’s Pair (W2-) – Final

Yage Zhang, 22, of China is in her first international season finishing 8th at the first Rowing World Cup. Now teamed up with Yulan Gao, the duo have made marvelous headway through the early rounds of this regatta. Today they took the lead of the final with Germany2 holding the pace. But then Australia’s Kim Crow and Sarah Cook took it off them. Crow comes to rowing after injury forced her out of her running career and in her two years of rowing she already has World Championship medal. Her rough stroke indicates she still has a long way to go technically, but the duo were showing all of the guts necessary to win.

Zhang and Gao fought back and reestablished their lead with 2005 World Champions New Zealand’s Nicky Coles and Juliette Haigh now pushing through and going after the Australians. Coles and Haigh came together in 2003 to qualify for the Athens Olympics where they made the final and every year they appear to mature as rowers. Coming into the final sprint China held on to the lead, Coles and Haigh challenging back and now Cook and Crow trying to hold off the Australian number 2 crew as the finish line came into view.

China cross the line first, New Zealand push past the Australians to take a well deserved silver and Cook and Crow earn bronze.

Gao Yulan and Zhang Yage (CHN) – Gold Medallists:
“We will not participate in Lucerne, so we want to defend our number one position in Munich.”

Juliette Haigh (NZL) – Silver Medallist:
"We are not content. Gold is always the best, but the World Rowing Championship is what matters to us. China looks strong and they have such a big team that you never know what to expect.”

Sarah Cook (AUS) – Bronze Medallist:
"This is the first time that Kim and I have rowed together. We expected the others to be strong, so we concentrated on the eight. In July we will finish our selections for the Olympics, so at that point we will see in which boat we will be.”

Men’s Pair (M2-) – Final

France’s Erwan Peron and Laurent Cadot shot out of the start with all of the guts of a crew that knew a win would come from real hard work. The real hard work continued along with the lead. But behind them the experienced New Zealand pair of 203cm tall George Bridgewater and Nathan Twaddle, who have been rowing together since the Athens Olympics, were starting to push through. Bridgewater and Twaddle took World Champion gold in 2005 but got pushed into silver in 2006. Croatia’s Niksa and Sinisa Skelin went with the New Zealanders. What could the French do?

Coming into the final sprint France started to look a little ragged but still held on. New Zealand took the rating up and charged, Croatia used their huge strength to fight back. At the line Twaddle and Bridgewater earn gold. The Skelin’s earn their second silver medal of the season and France slip back into bronze in a very gutsy effort. South Africa’s very established duo of Cech and Di Clemente held on to the front-running action but could only manage fourth.

Nathan Twaddle (NZL) – Gold Medallist:
“We’re quite satisfied. Last year we went straight from the airplane into the boat and had a very bad race. Now it was a very close call, but Australia, the world champions, were of course not around.”

Niksa Skelin (CRO) – Silver Medallist:
“The waves were smaller than yesterday, so the conditions are okay. Second place is acceptable, but it is still the early part of the season. If we stay on this level, it’s OK, but we hope to get better. We’re in the top three, but Australia is missing.”

Erwan Peron (FRA) – Bronze Medallist:
“We really weren’t sure what was going to happen in this race. This is our first year together and we are happy with the first medal. In Lucerne, the Canadians and Australians will return, so it will be very challenging.”

Women’s Double Sculls (W2x) – Final

In a show of smooth, consistent synchronized rowing winners from the first Rowing World Cup Qin Li, 26, and Liang Tian, 21, of China may be the crew to present for textbook rowing. Li and Tian got out to a lead at the start leaving former World Champions, Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell of New Zealand practically standing still and the rest of the field looking practically motionless. It would be good to note, lightweights Finland had a solid start but soon fell off the pace.

As the race progressed Li and Tian moved further and further away from the rest of the field with the much rougher but strong style of the New Zealanders unable to make a dent on the leading Chinese. Meanwhile the youthful Jitka Antosova and Gabriela Varekova of the Czech Republic were performing a very gutsy effort. Antosova and Varekova won gold as juniors in 2005 and gold as under 23s last year won gold. A smooth but unpressured last 500m by China earned them gold. The New Zealanders take silver and a very happy Czech Republic take bronze.

Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell (NZL) – Silver Medallists:
“China is very strong. We were expecting big things. It’s not enjoyable to lose, but it was a good start.”

Gabriela Varekova (CZE) – Bronze Medallist:
“We’re pretty surprised. We’ve only been together for two weeks, so we didn’t expect to be so close to New Zealand. The next step is Lucerne.”

Men’s Double Sculls (M2x) – Final

A race of many surprises. Slovenia’s Iztok Cop and Luka Spik are rarely out of the medals when they race together. Today they finished fourth. The reigning World Champions, Jean-Baptiste Macquet and Adrien Hardy of France not only didn’t medal but ended at the very back of the field, over 11 seconds down on the leaders. Here’s how the race unfolded.

Spik and Cop, winners of the 2005 World Rowing Crew of the Year took off in the lead at the start with Australia’s new double line-up of Scott Brennan and David Crawshay in hot pursuit. A strong middle 1000m kept Spik and Cop in the lead with Australia, Great Britain and Estonia holding the pace. New Zealand and France had now dropped back. Spik and Cop kept a wary eye on Matthew Wells and Stephen Rowbotham of Great Britain. Wells and Rowbotham won the first Rowing World Cup and are known to start off slowly but pick up the pace and the power as the 2000m race unfolds.

Coming into the final 500m less than 2 seconds separated the top four boats with Slovenia still holding the edge as Wells and Rowbotham charged. But it was Jueri Jaanson and partner Tonu Endrekson of Estonia, out in lane one, who caught everyone off guard. Slovenia, Great Britain and Australia were too busy worrying about each other and had forgotten about the Estonians. Estonia had done it. Great Britain take silver and a photo finish between Australia and Slovenia gives Australia the bronze. This gives Jaanson, 42, a further medal in his lengthy career. He has been around long enough to have rowed for the Soviet Union, but he now flies the flag for the small Estonian nation.

After the finish, French coach Jean-Raymond Peltier spoke frankly: "Since the beginning of the year, Adrien Hardy doesn't have a lot of punch. He didn't perform correctly at the French Championships. In Linz it was no good neither. We are asking ourselves a few questions and will work on the technique and the physical condition. On top of this and although that is not an excuse, they felt a bit isolated in lane 6 … remembering this is the Bosbaan."

Tonu Endrekson (EST) – Gold Medallist:
In Linz we were really too slow in the first 500m. We lost more than two seconds, and that is too much in such a competitive field. This time Jueri was in control and it turned out great.

Matthew Wells (GBR) – Silver Medallist:
The Estonians had a very good race. We responded to every crew, but when the Estonians sped up so dramatically in the last 500 meters, it was hard to respond.

Scott Brennan (AUS) – Bronze Medallist:
The crews were quite spread out at 1250m. We had to work very hard to get the medal, but it’s so much nicer to be 3rd than 6th as we were in Linz.

Men’s Four (M4-) – Final

In the absence of Germany and Great Britain it was definitely the Netherlands that were the favourites. As favourites do, the Dutch took off at the head of the field and did all that they could to stay there. France, the Czech Republic and New Zealand were the ones on the pace. Going through the middle of the race the Netherlands had built up more than a boat length lead over New Zealand now in second.

New Zealand come to this final after having a drink bottle incident in the semifinal when bow seat Carl Meyer got his drink bottle stuck under his seat. But the crew managed to pick up the pace and win their semi. Now into the final sprint the New Zealanders started to wind. The Netherlands didn’t react. In the last 50m New Zealand got their bow ahead of the Netherlands who, again, had to be satisfied with silver. The Czech Republic take bronze.

James Dallinger (NZL) – Gold Medallist:
We did it the hard way. Our tactic was to lead from the start, but obviously all of the other crews had the same tactic.

Matthijs Vellenga (NED) – Silver Medallist:
You don’t deserve a medal, you have to win it. This was the best result possible because the New Zealand crew gained on us very quickly.

Gijs Vermeulen (NED) – Silver Medallist:
It was a perfect race. We now have to learn to accelerate at the end of the race. The New Zealand guys are really powerful.

Marc Emke (NED) – Coach:
We’ve had a great race. We made the difference at 1000m. It’s quite unfortunate that we ended up losing, but we have to learn to persevere.

Milan Bruncvik (CZE) – Bronze Medallist:
We expected to get to the A Final. We wanted to get the best position we could. It’s our first year at senior level, so it’s a good result.

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (LW2x) – Final

China’s number two crew of Haixia Chen and Hua Yu showed their worth in the semifinal by leading the entire race and winning. They did it again today in the final, but they didn’t just win, they dominated. This must put China1’s (Dongxiang Xu and Shimin Yan) position as the top Chinese crew in jeopardy despite being current World Champions and World Best Time holders. Instead Xu and Yan were in second with their team mates having a full boat length margin in the lead.

Meanwhile the new combination of Wendy Tripician and Jana Heere of the United States were working towards being the only medal for the Americans at this regatta. Surprisingly Germany struggled at the back of the field. Coming into the line China2 remained easily in first, China1 make it a double header taking second and the United States earn a bronze medal for their country. There was nothing tight or close about this racing.

Wendy Tripician and Jana Heere (USA) – bronze medallists:
This was our first international race together, therefore we didn’t expect anything. We are very pleased with our medal and we will work towards Lucerne and Munich.

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x) – Final

Yesterday reigning World Champions Denmark’s Mads Rasmussen and Rasmus Quist took the World Best Time off Italy, setting the new standard of 6:10.02. Today they rowed another fine performance dispelling any ideas that lightweight rowing always leads to close finishes. After overtaking a fast start by Slovakia, Rasmussen and Quist sailed into the lead showing extraordinary unity despite their two different sizes. Commentator Hugh Matheson remarked that this kind of unity must come from miles and miles of rowing together. These miles and miles again must have been paying off.

Behind Denmark Great Britain’s new duo of Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter were back in second but had a solid lead over Olympic Champions Tomasz Kucharski and Robert Sycz of Poland. This procession continued until the finish line with the Danes looking like they still had a lot to give after cruising across the finish line in gold medal position. Again Rasmussen and Quist dominate the event. The question is what will happen at the Lucerne Rowing World Cup with the return of the Italians and potentially a stronger field.

Mads Rasmussen (DEN) – Gold Medallist:
Perhaps I made it look easy, but I’m really exhausted. Quist appeared to have some hidden power. The Slovakians started very quickly and we expected the Brits to hold on.

Mark Hunter (GBR) – Silver Medallist:
"We have to believe in ourselves and work a lot more and harder."

Tomasz Kucharski (POL) – Bronze Medallist:
We are not very satisfied. When the USA, Hungary, and Italy participate in Munich, it will be even more difficult.

Lightweight Men’s Four (LM4-) – Final

Great Britain flew out of the start followed closely by Denmark in the opening of the lightweight four. Great Britain looked reasonably smooth. Denmark looked reasonably aggressive. Great Britain had the edge. But the race had only just begun. Going through the half-way point reigning World Champions, China had taken the lead, Great Britain was in second and Denmark had slipped right back into fourth.

As the rain fell, local crew the Netherlands (number two crew of three original entries) slipped into the bronze medal spot after starting out at the back of the field and working their way up into this position. Meanwhile China and Great Britain waged a close battle at the head of the field. Coming into the line there was nothing in it. The aggressive Chinese crew poured on the power, Great Britain stuck with them. China, stroked by Jun Tian in his fourth year of international competition, earn gold, Great Britain take silver and a very happy Netherlands2 take bronze.

Paul Drewes (NED) – Bronze Medallist:
"We’re going to send a boat to the Olympics and I want to be in that boat"

Roeland Lievens (NED) – Bronze Medallist:
"I feel like a child in Disney World."

Women’s Quadruple Sculls (W4x) – Final

Great Britain are back-to-back World Champions and winners of the first Rowing World Cup and, after the earlier rounds of racing, were definitely the favourites in this event. But China had other ideas. Guixin Feng, Ziwei Jin, Aihua Xi and Bin Tang took off at the start with Great Britain and by the 750m mark had gained half a boat length advantage. Under the guidance of stroke Katherine Grainger, Great Britain’s most medalled woman rower, the British crew tried to react. However it appeared that anything they tried had no impact on the leading Chinese. China continued to pull away from Great Britain.

Meanwhile Germany, featuring the very accomplished Kathrin Boron in two seat was in third position, with France a long way back. The race continued like a procession. No crew seemed to be able to make a dent on anyone around them. China win gold. Great Britain take silver and Germany earn bronze.

Katherine Grainger (GBR) – Silver Medallist: 
"It was a very disappointing race since we feel that we are capable of beating the Chinese."

Kathrin Boron (GER) – Bronze Medallist: 
"The Chinese are amazing. Our crew didn’t do particularly well today, but everything can change by Lucerne."

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (M4x) – Final

No doubt that the Polish reigning World Champions were the favourites coming into this event. But at the start it was the Czech Republic in the lead. This didn’t last long as Poland stole back the lead and then began to extend it. The Czech Republic were having difficulty reacting back and Poland continued to extend. Meanwhile France was a good boat length back in third. The race remained little more than a procession as Poland remained on their international gold medal streak. The Czech Republic were happy with silver and France take bronze.

Adam Korol, (POL) – gold medalist: 
"The Czech crew is the same as it was in Athens, so it’s good that we were able to beat them. It was a very good race and we achieved our goal: win this race. Munich is next."

Tomas Karas (CZE) – silver medallist:
"It’s a new quad because David was sick. Poland is still strong, but we can improve."

Jean-David Bernard (FRA) – bronze medallist:
"We didn’t want the Ukrainians to get past us. Poland and Czech Republic are still a little bit above us. Germany and Italy are two strong crews who were not present, but we are still satisfied."

Women's Eight (W8+) – Final

In Linz, gold went to Germany, with Great Britain and the Netherlands in second and third. But in front of their home crowd, the Dutch women's eight would upset the finish order. Germany and the Netherlands were the only crews to qualify directly into the final, the other four qualified by way of the repechages.

After the first 15 strokes Germany had their nose in front, but then China took the lead. The Netherlands did not panic and started closing back in on China, teasing their vulnerability. By the 1000m mark the Netherlands were in front, intent on putting on a show in front of their home crowd. The Chinese were on their right, and the Dutch women, staying calm and in control, were able to hold them there.

Great Britain and Australia (doubling up in the women's four) stayed level in fourth and fifth positions throughout the race, with Great Britain falling behind Australia in the last 500m. Belarus was the one crew which seemed out of touch.

By the last 500m, Germany had closed in on China, and both crews, racing against each other, were drawing closer to the Netherlands. The crowd of Dutch spectators was shouting their crew on. With 150m to go, the Chinese counterattacked, catching up with the Netherlands from one length behind to only half-a-length. But the Dutch were on their home waters and stayed in the lead until the line, followed by the Germans and the Chinese.

Annemiek de Haan (NED) gold medallist:
"The motto was “NO MERCY” and it turned out great. This is really insane!"

Marlies Smulders (NED) gold medallist:
"We rowed our own race and every killer twenty came out. That felt great! Such a flat race!"

Elke Hipler (GER) silver medallist:
"I would have preferred to win, of course, but there is still the World Championships. I am very happy that we managed to finish before China."

Men's Eight (M8+) – Final

Switzerland had not expected to race in the A Final. They had finished 9th at the Rowing World Cup in Linz and 8th at the 2006 World Rowing Championships. That is why they had booked early flights back home this evening. But with a first place in their semifinal, they had made it, and will need to rush to the airport.

This final was all about Great Britain. Not about their first crew, but about Great Britain2, the fun experimental crew of Juergen Grobler, the national head men's coach. This was the fastest direct qualifier to the final, combining the famed men's four and gold medallists from Linz in the men's pair, Colin Smith and Matthew Langridge. Olympic Champion Steve Williams was in stroke seat, although he does not usually stroke at international level. But this was not a competitive situation between the British crews. Coach Grobler was doing this for the four – they needed a break – and this was the mechanism whereby he would maintain the men's four best chance for a gold medal at future events this season.

At 500m, Great Britain2 were leading, followed by Great Britain1 and China. Those three boats would stay in the top three until the line. In the last 100m China had a finishing burst which was clearly very well rehearsed, closing in the gap with Great Britain2, and overtaking Great Britain1. China’s cox, apparently very pleased to have gotten so close to Great Britain's VIP crew, jumped out the boat at the finish line.

2006 World Champions Germany were not the force they were last year, having qualified through the repechage, and were never in a position to medal. At the line, Germany crossed in four and Switzerland in five. Poland, who had qualified directly into the final in Heat 2, finished last.

Alex Partridge (GBR) – gold medallist
"Oh my God can those Chinese sprint!" [About the Dutch not winning in the 4 this afternoon]: "I feel sorry for them, but no one is going to stand still, so the Kiwis won’t either."

Steve Williams (GBR) – gold medallist 
"Awesome! Stroke or bow, I don’t mind but nothing in the middle."

Zhang Dechang (CHN) – silver medallist,
"We’re a young crew and we’ve been together for only a short time. See you in Beijing."