Sunday 11 March
Victoria reigns supreme in King's Cup
Victoria has won their 65th King’s Cup after a dominant display at Nagambie Lakes, Victoria.
Cheered on by a large and parochial crowd, the Victorian crew finished strongly to take the race from NSW and Western Australia.
Entering the King’s Cup as raging hot favourites, the Victorians ran the race to script and were led home by stroke Drew Ginn and returning 5 times Olympic champion James Tomkins.
Tomkins, who has now won 15 King’s Cup races, had an extremely successful week and was pleased with his return to rowing at the top level.
“It’s the premier event in Australia and it’s great to be back rowing with the mighty Victoria”, Tomkins said. “It’s the great thing about the regatta finishing with the interstate regatta and being able to pull on the big V and represent the state.”
Victoria was also successful in the Queen’s Cup, with NSW and Western Australia again finishing in the minor placings.
Victoria also won the Women’s Youth Coxed Eight, the Men’s Single Scull and walked away from the interstate regatta with the Rowing Australia Cup as the champion state.
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Rowing Australia
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Saturday 10 March
Tomkins and Ginn rekindle glory days
Former Oarsome Foursome pair Drew Ginn (VIC) and James Tomkins (VIC) this morning combined with Queenslanders Duncan Free and Sam Conrad to win the final of the Men’s Coxless Four at the Australian Rowing Championships in Nagambie, Victoria.
The crew, who have been touted as the new Oarsome Foursome, beat home a valiant Melbourne University crew of Christian Ryan, James Marburg, Cameron McKenzie-McHarg and Karsten Forsterling, who claimed second place by just over a boat length. The UTS / Sydney University crew of Sam Loch, James Chapman, Nick Baxter and Francis Hegarty came in third.
Tomkins, who is looking to represent Australia in his sixth Olympics in Beijing next year, won gold with Ginn at the 1996 and 2004 Olympic Games and would relish the chance to compete with him again.
“There has been a lot talk about us getting together to form a four and we would love that opportunity”, Tomkins said. “It’s just fantastic rowing with a group of guys like this and I don’t have many years left so it would be a great way to go out in Beijing.”
In the final race of the weekend Ginn and Tomkins will headline the Victorian Men’s Eight crew contesting the King’s Cup on Sunday. The Victorians will be the crew to beat this weekend and Tomkins and Ginn are looking forward to the race.
“The King’s Cup is a great event with a tremendous history”, Tomkins said. “I would say Queensland are red hot favourites with two of their crew coming over the line in the top eight here.”
The King’s Cup will be held at 1.15pm on Sunday.
All photos will be filed with AAP.
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David Polglase
Rowing Australia
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States clash for national bragging rights
Saturday 10 March
The 119th interstate regatta will be held tomorrow and will serve as the finale of the 2007 Australian Rowing Championships.
The highlight of the day will be the King’s Cup which is awarded to the winning crew of the Men’s 8 race.
Victoria has won the King’s Cup on a record 64 occasions and have won 18 of the last 22 races contested. Five times Olympian James Tomkins is the only change to the 2006 winning crew. He replaces David Crawshay who is focusing his attention on the President’s Cup, which is awarded to the winner of the interstate Men’s Single Scull.
NSW have entered a youthful and talented crew and will be confident of pushing the Victorians to the finish line, whilst Queensland will be led by world champion Duncan Free and future star Sam Conrad.
The Queen’s Cup is awarded to the winning crew of the Women’s 8 event and Victoria will enter the 9th Queen’s Cup as firm favourites looking for their 6th title. Kim Crow, Robyn Selby Smith and Sarah Heard have been in excellent form all week and will lead the crew down the course. Tasmania is sure to feature in the finish with Kate Hornsey stroking the crew and Double Scull champion Kerry Hore working hard from the number 6 seat.
The day guarantees excitement, drama and state rivalry. As well as the King and Queen’s Cup 6 other events will be contested with the Rowing Australia Cup to be awarded to the champion state.
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David Polglase
Rowing Australia
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Friday 9 March
Crawshay Doubles Up
Victoria’s David Crawshay has won his second gold medal of the Australian Rowing Championships, teaming up with South Australian Chris Morgan to claim the national title of the Men’s Double Scull.
Crawshay continued his top form this week, winning this morning’s final with Morgan by two and a half boat lengths from the West Australian combination of James Gatti and David Kelly. Tasmanians Sam Beltz and Tom Gibson came in third. This bronze medal adds another medal to a successful week for Beltz, having already won the Lightweight Single Scull.
Naturally, Crawshay was satisfied with his efforts. “It’s great to win another national title,” Crawshay said. “It wasn’t the prettiest race out there but I guess we did enough.”
Crawshay will now focus his attention on the President’s Cup which is awarded to the winner of the Men’s Single Scull in the interstate regatta on Sunday.
Morgan was glad to have Crawshay on his team after finishing behind him earlier in the week. “This is a great result,” Morgan said. “David was too good in the single but it’s great that we were able to team up in the double to win the gold.”
In the Under 23 category, Matthew Bolt and James McRae took out the gold medal. Gareth Salkield and Danjels Reedman finished with silver while Jeremy Ellis and Steven Fletcher won the bronze.
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Rowing Australia
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Tasmanian and Queenslander upset world champions
Friday 9 March
The battle for the Women’s Double Scull national title went right down to the wire in this morning’s final, with Pippa Savage and Kerry Hore narrowly prevailing.
Savage and Hore powered through the last hundred metres of the course to pull away from the reigning world champions Elizabeth Kell and Brooke Pratley, winning by just over one second. Third place getters Sarah Outhwaite and Amber Bradley were in contention for the gold to the finish.
The magnitude of the exciting victory was certainly not lost on Hore. “It’s really exciting, it feels good to beat such a quality field,” she said. She and Savage were confident of victory, but needed to push through the pain barrier to secure the title. “We knew we had a good sprint, but we were hurting a lot,” Hore said.
This victory marks the second title of the championships for Savage after she claimed individual gold in the Single Scull, beating her team mate today Hore in that final. It has been an excellent improvement for Savage from last year. “It’s been a good nationals, only last year I’d never been on a podium before,” she said.
In the Men’s Lightweight Double Scull, the Sydney University crew of Oliver Zuk and Chris Ritchie claimed victory in the final, ahead of Ben Johnson and Simon Nola, and Thomas Warren and Steven Macek.
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Rowing Australia
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Toowoomba Girls Shine at Nationals
Friday 9 March
Sally Kehoe and Pippa Savage have done Toowoomba proud this week at the Australian Rowing Championships, the two of them frequently featuring on the medals podium.
Savage has claimed not only one, but two national titles, with victory in the Single Scull and this morning winning the Women’s Double Scull with Kerry Hore. Sally Kehoe was also victorious in one of the finals today, as she formed a part of the winning Coxless Four crew.
Savage has been very pleased with her achievements this week and has made significant improvements from last year. “It’s been a good nationals, only last year I’d never been on the podium before,” she said.
Kehoe and Savage went to school together at Toowoomba Prep School and then Fairholme College. Incredibly, considering her success, Savage only began rowing during her third year at the University of Queensland. “Toowoomba is not a rowing town at all,” Savage said.
Savage and Kehoe will join forces on Sunday as they try to win Queensland’s first Queens Cup in the Interstate Women’s Eight. Kehoe concedes it will be tough competing against the more developed rowing state outfits. “It’s a bit of a development process in trying to get participation up,” she said. “I think this is two years running we’ve got a Queens Cup crew, so that’s pretty exciting.”
She does, however, remain optimistic. “Anything can happen in Nagambie,” she said. “Somebody could catch a crab and we might actually medal.”
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Rowing Australia
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Wednesday 7 March
Halliday masters tough conditions
South Australian Amber Halliday won her second national lightweight single scull title after mastering choppy conditions in the final at Nagambie Lakes, Victoria.
Halliday came in four boat lengths ahead of state team mate Marguerite Houston with NSW’s Miranda Bennett claiming third.
Halliday said she was thrilled being crowned national champion.
“Well it’s actually a bit of a thrill for me”, Halliday said. “Even though I have been in the sport for over ten years now this is my second national title and so I am obviously pretty happy.”
Halliday and Houston have formed a successful partnership in the past few seasons in the lightweight double scull but have also enjoyed some healthy competition in the single.
Houston managed to claim the South Australian title earlier in the year but Halliday said it was good to get this one.
“Marguerite rowed really well at the state champs and deserved her victory”, Halliday said. “We have been sharing victories around so I guess it is my turn this time.”
The pair will join up later in the week in the double before both competing for South Australia in the interstate regatta on the weekend.
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David Polglase
Rowing Australia
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Cook and Crow the top pair
Wednesday 7 March
Sarah Cook (ACT) and Kim Crow (VIC) have won the first team event of the National Rowing Championships with victory in the Women’s Coxless Pair.
Cook and Crow were untroubled by the other crews in the field, winning comfortably with a time of 7 mins 17.13 secs. Coming in second were Sarah Heard (VIC) and Robyn Selby-Smith (VIC), followed by Sally Kehoe (QLD) and Kate Hornsey (TAS).
The pair is excited by their efforts this morning. “It’s just a real honour because the field was so strong, so to do well against a field of that calibre is just really exciting,” Crow said.
Both of them are aware that if they are to reach their goal of national team selection they have some tough training ahead. “We’ve got to step up another level at national selections, so that will be our goal, just to get as fit as we can,” said Cook.
In the B final of the Women’s Coxless Pair, Sally Robbins’ comeback to racing continued to build momentum as she West Australian team mate Joanna Lutz were victorious by several boat lengths.
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David Polglase
Rowing Australia
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Crawshay continues top form
Wednesday 7 March
Victorian David Crawshay continued his dominance of the field at the Australian Rowing Championships by winning a gold medal in the Open Men’s Single Scull.
After qualifying fastest for the final, Crawshay won comfortably from South Australians James McRae and Chris Morgan who finished second and third respectively.
Crawshay was very pleased with going one better on his narrow second placing last year. “Last year down in Tassie I was really cut up about giving it away…so that was motivation in a way to get it back,” he said.
He was also relieved to have the final completed early in the day so he could focus on upcoming events such as the Men’s Double Scull. “It’s just good to get it out of the way early because you run the race over so many times in your head, so the earlier it is, the less times you run it over,” Crawshay said.
In the Men’s Under 23 Single Scull Danjels Reedman won a close final, just ahead of Sam Renton and Steven Fletcher.
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David Polglase
Rowing Australia
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Savage wins Single Scull title
Wednesday 7 March
Pippa Savage (QLD) has claimed the first Open Women’s title of the Australian Rowing Championships with victory in the Single Scull.
Savage, from Queensland, dominated the field, finishing more than a boat length in front of her nearest rival with a time of 7 mins 29.49 secs. Kerry Hore of Tasmania finished second and Sarah Outhwaite of Victoria placed third.
Savage was thrilled with her victory, overcoming former 2003 Quad Scull world champion Amber Bradley. “It’s pretty amazing, I can’t believe it,” she said. “It’s amazing because I’ve always looked up to her and now I’ve beaten her.” With national selection and the Beijing Olympics in her sights, Savage says she prefers sculling to sweep rowing.
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David Polglase
Rowing Australia
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World Champions show how it’s done
Wednesday 7 March
2006 Men’s Pair world champions Drew Ginn and Duncan Free added the national title to their list of achievements this morning, outclassing the field in the final of the Men’s Coxless Pair.
After tight qualifying times from the semi finals, Ginn and Free finished in 6 mins 41.89 secs, around six seconds faster than Christian Ryan and Karsten Forsterling in second and Jeremy Stevenson and Matthew Ryan who finished third.
The anticipated face off between former Oarsome Foursome team mates Ginn and James Tomkins was clearly won by Ginn, with Tomkins and Sam Conrad placing fourth. Last year’s national title holders James Marburg and Cameron McKenzie-McHarg could be considered unlucky after catching a crab while holding an early lead. They finished fifth.
Ginn and Free didn’t have it all their own way during the race. “I think we both thought we were going to get beaten earlier,” said Ginn. “One of the other crews had a really good lead and everyone else was fighting for survival at that stage.”
“It was just who could row the least amount of bad strokes…it was just a matter of patience and waiting till the water got a bit better,” said Free.
The rivalry between Ginn and Tomkins, and all of the pair’s teams are set to continue through the build up to the Beijing Olympics. “We’re all really good friends. It’s one of those things where I think everyone wants to knock everyone off, we’re a highly competitive group,” Ginn said.
For his part, Tomkins was a bit disappointed but is optimistic for the future. “It’s just great to be back in the mix for the Australian team, all the cut and thrust and going for selections,” he said. “I will be at my best in 14 months time,” he said. “It’s going to be a long build up and this is one of the first stages of getting there. I’m very happy with how we’re going at the moment.”
Tomkins and Conrad will join with Free and Ginn on Thursday in the heats of the Men’s Coxless four in what will prove to be a very talented crew.
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David Polglase
Rowing Australia
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Tuesday 6 March
Tomkins and Ginn in Oarsome encounter
James Tomkins and Drew Ginn will look for another national title tomorrow – but this time they will be in different boats.
Ginn won the 2006 World Championships Men’s Pair gold medal with Queensland’s Duncan Free and the pair has remained in the same boat for the 2007 season. Tomkins will race with Sam Conrad, the young Queenslander who is looking to become a 3rd generation Olympian in his family.
Tomkins, 41, is attempting to make his 6th Olympic Games next year and has made an impressive comeback since his return to the sport.
Neither Ginn nor Tomkins are willing to claim favouritism but are both looking forward to the final.
“I think Free and Ginn would be favourites at this stage in the running, but let me tell you when I line up against Ginn there’s going to be fireworks,” he said.
Ginn and Free are determined to finish on top tomorrow, and still feel that their best is yet to come.
“We’ll be pretty intent on not giving anyone a chance at knocking us off,” Ginn said. “We’ve only had 15 days together so far this year and haven’t raced together until here, so we’ll get better with each day.”
The final is scheduled for 9.52 tomorrow morning.
Other highlights for Wednesday include the open finals for the Women’s Pair, the Women’s Lightweight Double Scull, the Men’s and Women’s Single Scull and the Men’s Coxless Pair.
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David Polglase
Rowing Australia
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Monday 5 March
Tomkins makes successful return to national competition
James Tomkins (VIC) made a successful return to Australian national competition at the Australian Rowing Championships. He qualified second fastest for the semi finals of the Men’s Coxless Pair with Sam Conrad (QLD).
Strong winds at Nagambie Lakes in Victoria this afternoon forced the abandonment of all races after 1pm.
In the morning session, which was also affected by choppy conditions, all rowers competed in time trials so that there was no disadvantage.
Tomkins said that the time trial format made it very difficult to compete.
“Usually we are racing against other boats”, Tomkins said. “Time trials are completely different as we are racing against the clock and it is a lot harder to judge how you are faring against the other competitors.”
Karsten Forsterling (VIC) and Christian Ryan (VIC) were the quickest in the Men’s Coxless Pair in front of Tomkins and Conrad and the 2006 World Champions Drew Ginn (VIC) and Duncan Free (QLD).
In other races Tasmanian Sam Beltz qualified fastest for the final in the Men’s Lightweight Single Scull, whilst Kim Crow (VIC) and Sarah Cook (ACT) hold the quickest time ahead of the Women’s Coxless Pair semi finals.
For a full list of results please visit the championship website at www.rowingaustralia.com.au.
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David Polglase
Rowing Australia
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