Racice, Czech Republic
Race reports
Day IV: Sunday 26 July
Men's Lightweight Four
Edward White, Charles Budd, Thomas Bertrand and Perry Ward secured third place in the B Final of the men's lightweight four.
The Australian crew had a great start to the race and led through the first three splits, holding almost a two second lead with only 500m left to race.
Italy and Denmark however came over the Australians in the last part of the race, with the Italians winning in a time of 6:05.10. Australia crossed the line in 6:06.41.
Women's Lightweight Quad Scull
Australia's women's lightweight quad scull has won the country's first medal of the regatta after picking up a bronze in the final.
Gabrielle Kukla, Alison Scobbie, Lauren Burraston and Ella Flecker started slower than the other crews in contention and were placed 4th after the first quarter of the race.
They made a move in next 500m to sit third at the halfway mark, just over two seconds down on the German crew.
Germany were never challenged in the race and led from start to finish, while the Australian's pushed USA over the closing stages to just miss out on the silver medal in a time of 6:37.74.
Men's Quad Scull
Matthew Bolt, David Wright, James McRae and Sasha Belonogoff won Australia's second bronze medal of the regatta after a third place finish in the final of the men's quad scull.
In what was one of the most talented fields in the championships, Australia was in fifth place through the first 500m of the race as France set the pace.
The favoured Croatian crew however had gone through the French by the 1000m point of the race along with the Ukranians, while Australia remained in fifth.
The Australian's came home very strongly over the final half of the race and although they could not quite overhaul Croatia and the Ukraine, they moved into medal places with a time of 5:48.47.
Men's Eight
The Australian men's eight produced an electrifying finish to narrowly miss out on a medal.
Estonia sprung to the lead in the first quarter of the race, while the Australian crew in lane 1 was in sixth place and a little off the pace.
Great Britain assumed the lead at about the 850m mark with the whole field separated by less than a boat length as Australia began dragging themselves back into contention.
In the final half of the race it looked like a four boat race between Great Britain, Poland, Canada and Germany, before Australia sprung into life in the closing stages to finish in fourth place in a time of 5:36.37.
Poland claimed the race in 5:32.77, with Germany in second and Great Britain third.
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Day III: Saturday 25 July
Men's Lightweight Double Scull
Alister Foot and Angus Morton moved through to the C Final of the men's lightweight double scull after finishing third in their race this morning.
Foot and Morton held in third place for the majority of the race and at the 1500m mark momentarily moved into second place before being overtaken again by the crew from France.
Poland led the entire race to win in a time of 6:33.07, while France was a second behind, with Australia another second back in a time of 6:35.54.
Women's Four
Philippa Lindley, Louise Kilby, Alexandra Hill and Jessica Hill finished third in the B Final of the women's four.
The Australian crew were the quickest starters and led through the first 500m of the race by just less than a quarter of a second, before being overtaken by the Dutch crew in the second quarter of the race.
Australia held onto second place until the closing stages of the race when they were passed by Germany, finishing in a time of 7:03.86, some eight seconds behind the Dutch winners.
Women's Quad Scull
Peta Eddington, Charlotte Walters, Alison Crowe and Georgia Baker recorded a second placed finish in the B Final of the women's quad scull to round out their world championships.
The crew was placed second throughout the entire three boat race and crossed the finish line in a time of 6:46.58, three seconds behind Russia and over a boat length clear of the USA.
Men's Lightweight Four
Edward White, Charles Budd, Thomas Bertrand and Perry Ward raced for a place in the final of the men's lightweight four, requiring a finish in the top three of their semi-final to progress.
Through the first 500m the field was still very tight with Australia sitting in fourth place, a position they held as all crews went through the halfway mark.
Germany had managed to control the race from the start and accelerated in the final half to win in a time of 6:04.03, ahead of Hungary and France. The Australian crew crossed the line in fifth place in a time of 6:12.71.
Men's Quad Scull
The men's quad scull crew of Matthew Bolt, David Wright, James McRae and Sasha Belonogoff tackled their semi-final with the expectation of making the six boat final on Sunday.
They gave themselves the perfect start to the race and held lead position after the first quarter, before the Croation crew gained the ascendency through 1000m by just under a boat length.
Croatia, who won World Cup 3 over the Olympic champions Poland a few weeks ago, kicked away to establish a four second lead with 500m to race and were not challenged as they crosse the line in a time of 5:44.87. The Ukraine moved through Australia in the last 300m to claim second, but Australia did enough to qualify in a time of 5:48.63.
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Day II: Friday 24 July
Women's Four
The women's four crew of Jessica Hill, Alexandra Hill, Phillipa Lindley and Louise Kilby finished fifth in the repechage to miss out on qualifying for the final.
At the halfway mark of the race the Australian crew was in 4th place but were unable to make a move over the final 1000m of the race to complete the course in 6:51.31. Belarus and the USA progressed through to the A Final.
Men's Lightweight Double Scull
Angus Morton and Alister Foot finished third in their repechage of the men's lightweight double scull.
A top two place was required to reach the semi-finals and the Australian crew faced an uphill battle through the 1000m, lying in fourth place. They were able to push up into third in the final 750m of the race but did not have enough to challenge the crews from Denmark and Switzerland.
Australia crossed the line in a time of 6:37.19 and will now race in the lower C semi-finals.
Women's Quad Scull
Peta Eddington, Charlotte Walters, Alison Crowe and Georgia Baker finished fifth in their repechage of the women's quad scull.
The girls came out of the blocks well to be second through the first quarter of race and third through the next 500m. Their early pace however was lost in the closing stages and they crossed the line in a time of 6:43.01.
Men's Eight
The Men's Eight booked their place in the A Final with an excellent row.
They paced themselves perfectly throughout the race and sat in second position at the halfway point behind Estonia.
They made their move in the final half of the race and finished a full five lengths clear in a time of 5:33.34 and will now race for a medal in the final.
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Day I: Thursday 23 July
Women's Four
The women's four of Jessica Hill, Alexandra Hill, Phillipa Lindley and Louise Kilby finished third in their heat to miss out on directly qualifying for the final of the event.
The Australian crew went through the 500m and 1000m marks sitting in second place behind the crew from France but were overcome by the rampaging Germans in the final half of the race.
Germany crossed the line in 7:08.79, just over a second clear of France, while Australia completed the course in a time of 7:12.00. They will now race in the repechage to try and secure a place in the final.
Women's Lightweight Quad Scull
The women's lightweight quad scull crew of Lauren Burraston, Alison Scobbie, Ella Flecker and Gabby Kukla had the privilege of representing Australia in the first time the event had been offered at this level. Australia has a rich tradition in the senior version of the event and is currently double reigning world champions.
In the second heat the Australian crew was first through the 500m mark and established a boat length lead over the field. They held this lead through the middle stages of the race and were never challenged at the close to cross the line in a time of 6:49.55, two seconds clear of Japan. Both crews progress directly through to the final.
Men's Lightweight Double Scull
Australia's men's lightweight double scull of Alister Foot and Angus Morton finished third in their heat and will now have to row in the repechages to gain a place in the semi-final.
The Italian and Austrian crews were first and second for the entire race, with the Austrians claiming the win in a time of 6:42.42. Australia stopped the clock at 6:48.31.
Lightweight Men's Four
Perry Ward, Thomas Bertrand, Charles Budd and Edward White were given a scare before they progressed to the semi-finals of the men's lightweight four
Through the first 500 metres the Australian crew sat in second position behind Japan, who had moved to a second lead. They extended this margin through the next quarter of the race and by the 1500 metre mark held a 3 second lead. Australia had a further 3 seconds on the Netherlands.
Over the closing 500 metres Japan continued to put clear water on the field, while Australia held off a rampant Dutch on the line to qualify in a time of 6:24.25, only .24 seconds clear.
Women's Quad Scull
Georgia Baker, Alison Crowe, Charlotte Walters and Peta-Lee Eddington finished fourth in their heat of the women's quad scull.
The Australian girls were placed second through 1000m, which would have earned them direct qualification to the final, but faded slightly over the closing stages of the race to finish in a time of 6:57.74.
Germany led for the entire race and won by a commanding eight seconds and will prove difficult to beat in the final.
Men's Quad Scull
James McRae, Matthew Bolt, David Wright and Alexander Belonogoff were one of the favoured crews entering the heats of the men's quad scull and did not disappoint by winning and safely progressing to the semi-final.
The Australian crew came out of the start well and led through 500m by over 1.5 seconds, before settling into a good rhythm and leading by half a boat length over Belarus through the halfway mark of the race.
Over the final half of the race the Australian boat upped the pace and broke clear of Belarus to finish first in a time of 6:00.79.
Men's Eight
The Rhett Ayliffe coached men's eight found themselves in the toughest heat, also being drawn against Canada and Great Britain, with on;y two crews gaining direct access to the final.
William Lockwood, Alexander Scharp, James Goswell, Cameron Brewer, Nicholas Purnell, Ned Kinnear, Rhys Grant and Joshua Dunkley-Smith, coxed by David Webster, drew lane 1 and were in third place after 500m. Australia remained in third at the halfway mark behind Canada and Great Britain, and looked for a push in the crucial third quarter of the race.
Canada was proving too strong however and they crossed the line in 5:47.45, ahead of Great Britain, with Australians a further 2.5 seconds back in 5:52.08. They will now row the repechage and compete for the remaining two spots in the final.
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