Day VI: Friday 31 August
Quotes and interviews from Day VI
The feature performance from an Australian crew on Day 6 of the World Rowing Championships was the women’s lightweight double scull of Marguerite Houston and Amber Halliday.
After trailing by a narrow margin throughout the race, they overhauled the Finnish crew inside the last 350 metres.
They spoke to RA after the race.
RA: Congratulations. You must be pleased with sticking to a plan that delivered the result?
AH: We are pleased and a little bit relieved. We had a clear idea of how we were going to attack the race today and things worked out really well for us. The crews that are doing well here are the crews that are maintaining their speed throughout the race.
RA: The Finnish crew led for the majority of the race, what were you thinking as you trailed them?
AH: It was déjà vu from last year. In that race we were against the Finns and they were ahead of us the whole way until we reeled them in close to the line. We weren’t panicked. We were aiming for top three in the semi but now we’ve come out of it with a good lane for the final.
RA: What about the last 500 metres? What did you change to help you to grab the lead?
AH: Well I’m not going to give away all of our secrets (laughs). It’s a matter of being composed and holding it together and as I said, maintaining a rhythm so you keep your speed consistent.
RA: Marguerite Houston, how did you feel the race went?
MH: I think it was a good progression from where we have been. I think swapping seats has provided us with an added motivation and incentive to get the 110% out of ourselves in our racing and training. The racing out there was incredibly tough today. All credit to Amber for making the right calls and the race plan because the composure out there was lovely. We had the right amount of “go” at the right stage of the race that ensured we finished on the right side of the other crews.
RA: What do you do between now and the final to prepare?
MH: It really is the small things that make a difference. The amount of recovery you get, being able to remain calm and relaxed. They are the important things. We have to stay confident in our plan and make sure we have the belief that we do have an edge over the other crews.
RA: How do you rate your chances in the final?
AH: Racing in this category is really tight. We have the fastest time of the semi finalists so we’ll have a lane in the middle of the field and I suppose people might say that we are favorites. But I’m Australian and I like to be the underdog. I think it’s a really open field with all six crews within a few seconds of each other. It promises to be a ding, dong final.
RA: Is there one crew that you think you will have to watch?
AH: It was all about the Chinese last year for us but now the Danes have come in and opened things up and the Greeks and the Finns are also looking particularly strong this regatta so it’s going to be huge. We’re just going to have to expect anything. Some people might try radical things out of the start but we’ll be sticking to our race plan.
RA: While your result was the one that we wanted, some of the other results didn’t go our way?
AH: I’m absolutely heart broken for some of the crews today because they missed out on the A finals by the barest of margins. To miss an A final means you’re no longer in the hunt for the medals but they’ve still got a job to do and that is to qualify their boats for the Olympics.
RA: How are you feeling physically? You seemed to spend a lot of time on the water warming down.
AH: We try to be as thorough as possible in our warm down. We also wear our “Skins” and do any little thing we can do give us the advantage. We focus on the one per centers because at this level and in this quality of field, one per cent is going to be enough to make a difference.
back to top
A disappointment for the Australian Team on Day Six was the men’s eight missing out on the A Final after finishing fourth in their semi final.
As he completed his recovery, James Tomkins spoke briefly to RA.
RA: James, obviously missing out on the A Final is a setback, why was the crew slightly off the pace today.
JT: I actually thought that we rowed quite well but we just weren’t up to the standard in that race. The Poles produced a blinder of a race and we just couldn’t get to them. We finished fourth and we now have to win the B Final to qualify the boat for Beijing.
RA: Can you take us through the race today?
JT: Our expectations were a fair bit higher than where we finished today. I thought at the midway point that we were ready to attack but we just didn’t get there. I’m not sure if we were waiting for the final 500 or what.
RA: What about the conditions today? Did they help or hinder your effort?
JT: Tailwind conditions that were pretty quick although the times weren’t that quick. I actually thought the Netherlands were going to go a bit quicker than they did so I’m sure they’ll be disappointed as well.
RA: What are the plans for between now and the start of the B Final?
JT: Just to get as good a recovery as possible and get ourselves ready for that. We have to win that to qualify for Beijing so that will be the plan.
back to top
Race reports Day VI
Race 211 Final C Women’s Single Scull
Zoe Uphill a first time member of the National Senior team had advanced to the C Final by winning her C/D semi final and wanted to have the Australian boat ranked as high as she could in this her last race of the campaign.
Zoe got out of the blocks well and led from Serbia and Norway after 500 metres. At the 1,000 metres Zoe had been passed by the Serbian but was hanging in and rowing well technically.
Through the third 500 metres Uphill took the lead again from the Serbian and the Hungarian sculler was on the improve and holding down third place.
In the last 500 metres Zoe proved too strong and won from Serbia and Hungary and is officially placed 13th in the world.
Race 53 Semi Final 1 Women’s Lwt 2x
Australia’s Silver Medallists from 2006 Amber Halliday and Marguerite Houston have had a seating change in the last few weeks and tackled Semi Final 1 of the women’s lightweight double sculls having qualified directly by winning their heat on Monday.
Their race included two very well performed crews from Denmark and Finland and the Fins jumped straight to the lead out of the blocks.
The Fins led in the first 500 over Australia with Canada in third and the fancied Danish crew back in fifth place.
At the halfway mark the girls were a half a length clear behind Finland but rowing well with Canada still in third place. The Fins continued to lead Australia in the third 500 metres but with Denmark on the improve and challenging Canada.
The experienced Australian combination decided second was not for them and in the final 250 metres rowed with power and precision to take the win over Finland and the fast finishing Danes in third.
The other semi final was won by China from Greece and Germany.
Race 224 Semi Final 1 Men’s Lwt 2x
The Australian crew, fourth in the 2006 Championships, have trained well in Europe and Sam Beltz in bow and Tom Gibson in stroke are aware of the incredible depth in their event and took on a strong field in Semi Final 1 after, by their standards, a poor quarter final row in which they finished third having won their heat on Monday.
The boys jumped to the lead over favourites Denmark and Greece and Hungary and established a narrow margin in the first 500 metres.
They were able to hold that lead at 1,000 metres from Greece with the 2006 World Champions Denmark in third place and the other favoured crew Hungary fourth.
In the third 500 metres Australian had 0.7 second only over Greece with Denmark staring to stretch out and Hungary no chance of catching the three leading boats.
In the last 500 metres the Danes exploded in to action and took the lead as favourites should to defeat Greece and the Australian boys held on to third with a terrific row and will now tackle the A Final on Sunday but importantly have now qualified the boat for the Beijing Olympic Games.
The other semi final was won by Japan from Italy and Great Britain.
Race 226 Semi Final 1 Men’s Lightweight 4-
The Australian crew of Rod Chisholm, Anthony Edwards, Ben Cureton and Todd Skipworth had advanced to the semi final by winning both their heat and quarter final and raced in lane three with Italy and defending Champions China the crews to beat along with Egypt and Great Britain.
The boys did not begin well and were back in fifth place early behind the leaders Egypt and Great Britain.
In the middle stages the Australian boys moved in to third spot behind Great Britain and Italy with China still hanging on and not out of the picture.
At the end the Australian boys could not hold off the strong challenge from China for third spot and at the line it was Great Britain from Italy and China with Australia in fourth place.
Australia will now race the B Final on Sunday where they must finish in the top five boats to qualify for the Beijing Games.
The other semi final as won by France from Canada and Denmark in third place.
Race 229 Semi Final 2 Men’s Quad Scull
The young Australian crew of Chris Morgan, James Gatti, James McRae and stroke David Kelly had worked their way in to the semi finals through the repechage which they were able to win in the dying stages and they faced some traditional quad sculling nations in this race.
Italy, Germany and Estonia are perennial finalists in this category and Australia knew they had to be in the first three to be able to race for medals on Sunday however they also new that the task to qualify the boat was equally important.
The boys got away reasonably well but the power nations took the lead and Australia settled in sixth place. In the middle stage Australia moved in to fifth and then fourth as they gained their rhythm but they could not haul in the power house crews.
In the last 500 metres the Australian crew finished strongly to finish fourth just 3.67 seconds behind Italy, Germany and Ukraine and now race the B Final for that all important qualifying position for Beijing.
The other semi final was won by 2006 World Champions Poland from France with the Czech Republic in third place.
Race 231 Semi Final 2 Men’s 8+
The Australian crew stroked by James Tomkins had stormed in to the semi by flashing home to finish second in their heat and had trained well in preparing for this race.
The powerful Russian crew got away well to lead from the USA and France with the Australian crew off the pace in sixth place after a tardy start.
In the second 500 metres the race began to settle down with Russia leading over the USA and Poland had moved in to third with Australia settling in to their rhythm and improving to fourth place.
At 1,500 it was still the same order with Australia trying to catch the first three and have the rest of the field covered.
At the end the USA got up by just 0.2 seconds over the Russians with Poland third and Australia fourth and now having to win the B Final to qualify the boat for Beijing.
The other semi final was won by Canada from Great Britain and Germany.
Race 232 Repechage 1 Women’s Quad Scull
The Australian quad scull's task was clear; they had to finish in the first two placings to make the A Final and stroke Cate Sens got the crew off to a good start to lead after 500 metres from Romania and Ukraine.
At 1,000 metres Australia sill led but was being pressured by Ukraine, Romania and Canada.
In the third 500 metres the race was on in earnest with Ukraine going to the lead over Canada and Australia in third place with Romania dropping back a little.
In the drive to the line Australia faded a little to finish fourth behind Ukraine, Canada and Romania.
Australia must now win the B Final to qualify the boat for Beijing.
The other repechage was won by Germany form the USA.
back to top
Day V: Thursday 30 August
Quotes and interviews from Day V
Interview with Drew and Duncan
A broken handle on the oar of the German stroke kept the Australian pair of Duncan Free and Drew Ginn waiting an extra hour before starting their semi final.
Duncan and Drew spoke to RA about the mishap at the beginning of the race.
RA: Did either of you see or hear the handle break?
DF: I didn’t. We were away when I looked at one of the South African guys and he had stopped. I thought he caught a crab and then at second glance I saw Germany back at the start and realised that something wasn’t quite right.
RA: So what went through your mind when that happened and you knew there would be a big delay to the race?
DG: It’s just one of those things. We actually remind ourselves to expect the unexpected. It’s just about staying calm. It’s the same for everyone so we just came back and lay down on the floor had a sleep and just went back and did it all again. The race went well for us today so it didn’t really put us off our game at all.
RA: You speak about rowing the perfect race, how close are you to that?
DF: At a regatta like this you’ve got three races, the heat, the semi and the final. We like to step up from the one before. You always like to go through winning each race as you go so for us today things went to plan and we’ve now got one more to go.
RA: Can you give us an insight into your race plan for today?
DF: We’ve got our different race calls and our focus is really just to respond to those and to stick to our plan and not get too caught up in what other people are doing. We’re certainly aware of what the other crews are doing from having studied them and you do want to respond at the appropriate times but you also want to be proactive.
RA: In terms of the expectations that are attached to you, how are you managing those?
DG: Well it’s no problem at all really. It’s one of those things. This year is a completely different year. It’s something we discussed a while ago that if you think you have a position to defend, then you can be attacked. So it’s almost like having the mindset of someone who can move around and do their own attacks from wherever they like. We’ve been practicing a few things and working on our weaknesses and we know that crews like New Zealand are doing the same thing. We’re not defending a title as far as I’m concerned, we’re actually just trying to get out there and race the best race you possibly can.
RA: Is there anything that you are going to have to do differently in the final?
DG: Yeah, we want to go faster. It really is as simple as that. We can’t control the conditions but we’re racers and we love to get out and race. As Dunc says, as long as you step up from race to race. Our aim is to have the perfect row and you really don’t want to have that row in the heat. The big thing is being able to string together 240 strokes, not to have any dirty ones and to do them as well as you possibly can based on the training you’ve done.
RA: What of your key opponents like New Zealand, what are your thoughts on them?
DG: They are without a doubt a good crew. We have huge respect for what those guys have done. You go back to Athens where they finished in fourth place and since then they’ve become very consistent. The thing I like about what they do is that they try things technically and strategically in the race. They’ll be really tough. No doubt about it.
back to top
Sarah Cook speaks
The Australian women’s pair has qualified for Saturday’s final after a close second placing to Romania in their semi final at the World Rowing Championships.
The stroke of the pair is Sarah Cook. She spoke to RA after the race.
RA: Sarah, you started the race quickly and held the lead for most of the race, was that the plan?
SC: For us today was about making it through to the final and learn as much as we possibly could as we go into the final on Saturday. We ticked those boxes so it’s onwards to the final now and the gold medal.
RA: So you’re confident about winning the gold medal
SC: Definitely.
RA: Take us through how the race unfolded?
SC: Kim and I had a really good first 1000 in the heat so our aim was to replicate that. I thought we rowed quite a good first 1000 today, nice and hard and fast. The aim was to step it up in the third 500 and really put some distance in. That part didn’t go to plan. Some of the other crews stuck with us and in the fourth 500, the Romanians who had rowed a steady pace throughout, closed in on us at the line. In the tough conditions it was about maintaining your length and I think we didn’t quite get that right today.
RA: Why did that happen?
SC: For me, technically, I didn’t row as well as I would have liked to so it was good that we had such a good result with what I feel wasn’t my best rowing.
RA: Can you explain what wasn’t working for you in a technical sense?
SC: Just through the front of the stroke to make that as clean as possible so we can make the most of the big reach that we have and to get the acceleration of the boat through the water.
RA: Do you feel intimidated at all by the Romanians?
SC: Not at all. They are good technically and very experienced and we’ll definitely be looking out for them in the final but we’re not scared of anyone. We’ve come to this regatta with two goals. To win the gold in the pair and the gold in the eight and we’re going to make it happen.
back to top
Race reports Day V
Race 172 Semi Final 1 Men’s 1x
Peter Hardcastle represents Australia in this event and had advanced to this stage by finishing third in his heat and quarter final but again faired badly in the draw coming up against Olympic Champion Olaf Tufte of Norway and quarter final winner Lassi Karonen of Sweden and British sculler Alan Campbell.
Peter is in the top twelve scullers and needs to finish in the top eleven to qualify the boat for the Olympic Games in Beijing so the semi final was a good opportunity to assess where he is against the opposition.
Campbell began well as he usually does and led from the Swiss sculler and the Swede Karonen with Hardcastle in sixth place.
With the first three to qualify straight to the A Final Campbell, Karonen and Tufte were always going to be the ones to beat and that is the way it panned out.
Campbell won from Tufte and Karonen with Hardcastle improving to fifth and looking forward to Saturday’s B Final where he can race to qualify the boat for Beijing.
This Olympic category event has plenty of depth but Peter is in good form and has a great chance of doing the job on Saturday.
Race 174 Semi Final 1Women’s 2-
The Australian women’s pair of Sarah Cook in the stroke seat and Kim Crow in bow had raced well in their two World Cup appearances and tackled Semi Final 1 through winning their heat on Sunday with the first three to advance to the A Final.
The 2006 World Champions the Canadian girls took the lead in the early stages of the race from Australia and Germany and established almost a second lead after 500 metres. The Australian crew went to the lead in the second 500 metres from Canada who were starting to feel the pressure and the Romanian Olympic Champions were beginning to find their rhythm and moving into the picture.
Cook and Crow continued to lead the field all the way though the middle stages and at 1,500 metres were being pressured by Romania and Germany.
In the last 500 metres Australia was passed by both Romania and Germany but the girls fought back with great determination to grab second spot behind Romania and in front of Germany and all three crews will now race on Saturday for the medals. The margins were so very close and indicate the A Final will be a cracking race.
The other semi final was won by Belarus from New Zealand and China.
Race 177 Semi Final 2 Men’s 2-
Australia’s World Champions from Eton in 2006 Duncan Free and Drew Ginn took on a field of six and jumped straight to the lead however the race was stopped for a breakage and had to be restarted an hour after the original scheduled start time.
In the restarted race the Aussies got away well with Poland and after 500 metres Free and Ginn led by 1.51 seconds from Poland and France with South Africa in fourth.
At 1,000 metres they were almost four seconds clear of Poland and France although second to sixth was very close. In the third 500 metres France moved past Poland in to third place. South Africa joined the fray with Australia still well in the lead.
The disrupted start did not affect the Australian crew and they rowed well within themselves in the second half of the race to win in empathic style and have put the rest of the field on notice that they are here to win Gold again and to establish a dominance over the field prior to Beijing.
South Africa held on to second and France was third.
The other semi final was won by New Zealand from Great Britain and Serbia.
Race 179 Semi Final 2 Women’s 2x
The Australian crew Kerry Hore and Amber Bradley took on the women’s double scull Semi Final 2 with Australia as the defending Champions from Eton in 2006.
This field included New Zealand the Olympic Champions who went straight to the lead form the start but by 500 metres were just behind China with Germany third and Australia in fifth place.
In the second 500 metres China increased their lead over New Zealand with Germany holding third and the Australian girls had moved up one place into fourth.
With the first three crews to advance to the A Final the Australian girls tried hard but were no match for the top three crews and finished a gallant fourth behind China, New Zealand and Germany.
That result puts them into the B Final on Friday from which they can qualify the boat for Beijing by finishing in the first two boats.
The other semi final was won by Great Britain from Romania and the Czech Republic.
Race 181 Semi Final 2 Men’s 2x
Scott Brennan and David Crawshay, both members of the quad scull in Athens, have raced well in the World Cup regattas they undertook and were looking forward to another race after what was not a great heat row and followed by a much improved performance in their quarter final.
Estonia jumped straight to the lead from France and New Zealand with the Australian crew in fourth place after 500 metres.
Australia improved into second place by 1,000 metres in a tightly bunched field and were under pressure from all sides.
In the third 500 metres France started to move away ever so slightly with Estonia in second and Australia third and New Zealand a close fourth.
At the line it was a blanket finish with France first, Estonia and New Zealand sprinting into third place just in front of Australia in fourth and Australia will now contest the B Final on Saturday where they must finish in the top five to qualify the boat for Beijing.
The other semi final was won by Olympic Silver Medallists Slovenia, from Great Britain and Belarus.
Race 183 Semi Final 2 Men’s 4-
The Australian crew of Nick Baxter, Francis Hegerty, Sam Loch and James Chapman coached by Andrew Randell took on a classy field of six in this race and the Netherlands crew took the lead early and established about a half length's lead over New Zealand and Slovenia with Australia in sixth.
The Aussie boys continued to improve throughout the race and moved into fourth through the middle stages of the race. In the last 500 metres the boys continued to try hard as the New Zealand crew took the lead from the Netherlands and Slovenia however the German crew sprinted hard to seal fourth and Australia fifth.
New Zealand, the Netherlands and Slovenia now race the A Final on Friday with Australia to race the B Final where they must finish in the top five to qualify the boat for Beijing.
The other semi final was won by Olympic and World Champions Great Britain, from France and Italy.
Race 185 Semi Final2 A Men’s 1x
Twice World Champion Dominic Monypenny raced the second semi final of the event he has dominated for the last two years following his first defeat in that time when racing the heat on Monday.
Dom assumed his normal position at the head of the field after a good start and maintained that all the way down the course to score from the USA and Canada.
The USA sculler performed well as did the other semi winner from Great Britain and the final has the potential to be the best Adaptive final seen at a World Championship.
The other semi final was won by Great Britain from Dom’s conqueror from Israel, and France.
Race 187 Semi Final 2 TA 2x
This new Australian crew of John Maclean and Kathryn Ross got away to a slow start in their heat on Monday and were in fifth place in the early part of the race before finishing second.
In their semi final they had a much improved start and went in to the lead group from the outset. After 500 metres they led from Poland and the USA.
John and Kathryn obviously learnt a lot from their first race and scored a big win in the drive to the line and will be a big chance for Gold come the weekend.
back to top
