Day I: Sunday 20 August
Racing began under leaden skies on the first day of the World Rowing Championships at Eton College's Dorney Lake, the venue for the 2012 London Olympics Rowing Regatta.
Race 1. Women's 4- Heat 1
Australia's women's four, the defending world champions, contested heat one of the event and jumped to the lead in the early stages of the race.The USA and the Dutch crews chased hard with Canada finishing well, but the Australian crew of Kate Hornsey, Amber Bradley, Jo Lutz and Robyn Selby Smith, all members of the women's eight, was too strong and led for the entire 2000 metres to book a centre lane for the final on Saturday. The final result was Australia first, USA second, Netherlands and Canada. The winning time was 6 minutes 38.61seconds. China won the second heat, also leading all the way, in 6:39.01.
Race 11. Women's 1x Heat 2
Claire Shield ,who is the reserve for the women's group, represented Australia in this event. Claire normally competes in sweep oared events and was unlucky enough to draw the world's greatest women's sculler, Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus, in her heat. Karsten took the lead from the start from the experienced German Peggy Waleska with Ireland third and Claire rowing very well to hold fourth place all the way to the finish. Karsten won convincingly in a leisurely 7minutes 35. 43.
Sweden won Heat 1 in a time of 7:26.59.
The Czech Republic won heat 3 in 7:23.96.
France won heat 4 in 7:28.67.
Race 19. Women's 2- Heat 2
The Australian pair of Emily Martin and Sarah Heard, who are also members of the women's eight, did not have a great start to their heat. The Canadian crew shot out of the blocks to establish an early advantage, with- China second and Australia in third place. The high rating Canadians opened up a 2 1/2 lengths lead through 1,000 metres with the Australians improving but still in third place behind the Chinese crew. At 1,500 metres Canada still lead with Martin and Heard pushing into second place over China, the Netherlands and Denmark.
Canada proved too strong winning in a time 7:03.83 from Australia and China. The Australian pair finished 3.51 seconds behind the winners and will now have to race the repechage on Tuesday morning GMT.
Heat 1 was won by Germany who defeated the 2005 World Champions New Zealand and the USA in a time of 7:00.93.
Race 21. Men's 2- Heat 2
Duncan Free and Drew Ginn faced the starter in only their second international regatta as a pair and opened up a nice lead in the early stages of the race over China and the Czech Republic. They absolutely dominated the race and went to the finish line rating 24 strokes to the minute having turned off their effort with about 500 metres to go from the finish. China was second, a length behind, and the Czech Republic was third. The winning time of 6:30.82, the slowest of the 3 heats, is no indication of the dominanat performance by the dual-Olympic Gold Medallist Ginn and three-times Olympian Free. They now advance to the semi-finals.
Heat 1 was won by the defending World Champions New Zealand from Canada and Germany in a time of 6:22.79.
Heat 3 went to South Africa in 6:27.69.
Race 25. Women's 2x Heat 3
The young Australian double scull of Brooke Pratley and Liz Kell began a little slowly but were still able to hold down second place as they went through the first 500 metres. They continued to work their way in to the race very well and were right with the eventual winners Belarus with 500 metres to go and held down second spot at the line under a length from their more-experiened rivals and clear of the USA in third. Belarus recorded the fastest time of the 3 heats, winning in 6:52.13, with Australia just 1.61 seconds behind. This second placing moves the crew through to the semi-finals later in the week and will fill them with confidence as they strive for a place in the A Final.
Heat 1 was won by China from Great Britain and the Czech Republic in a time of 6:55.97.
Heat 2 went to the World and Olympic Champions New Zealand in fine style in 6:53.05 who will be short-priced favourites to win Saturday's A final.
Race 27. Men's 2x Heat 2
The Australian crew of Craig Jones and Chris Morgan faced World and 2000 Olympic Champions Slovenia in their heat and were no match for this experienced combination. The pace was on from the outset and Craig and Chris battled hard for the full 2000 metres. After being sixth early the Australians worked their way into fourth but eventually finished fifth behind Slovenia in 6:13.77. Croatia was second from Poland the USA and Australia with China at the rear.
With the winners only going to the semi-finals the Australian crew will now contest the repechage on Tuesday.
Heat 1 went to France in 6:13.97.
Heat 3 went to Germany in 6:17.49.
Heat 4 was won by Great Britain (to excite the local fans) in 6:20.68.
Race 32. Men's 4- Heat 3
The Australian four of David McGowan, Jaxon Rudduck, Stefan Szczurowski and Francis Hegerty undertook their first race as a crew in sloppy water affected by a cross tail wind and were off the pace form the start with Canada setting up an early lead over New Zealand and a bunched field for third. Canada battled with New Zealand all the way down the course with Germany challenging in the last 500 metres. New Zealand got across the line first from the fast-finishing Germans, with Canada fading into third and Australia in sixth place. The winning time of 5:50.93 was the fastest of the three heats. The Australian crew will now race the repechage on Tuesday.
Heat 1 was won by The Netherlands after a good battle with Slovenia, in a time of 5:55.86.
Heat 2 was won by World and Olympic Champions Great Britain in 5:53.35.
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Day II: Monday 21 August
Racing began under cloudy skies and with a strong tail wind blowing on Day 2 of the World Rowing Championships at Dorney Lake, Eton.
Race 24. Men's Lwt 2- Heat 2
The Australian pair of Tim Smith and Cameron Wurf got away well from the start and established an early lead in this race over Spain in second then followed Serbia and the USA. The crew continued to lead all the way down the 2000 metres course to win by 1.57 seconds over the Spanish crew in second then followed the USA and Serbia.The winning time of 6:36.18 was the fastest of the three heats and augurs well for a good result in Sunday's A Final.
Heat 1 was won by Great Britain in 6:45.84.
Heat 3 was won by Germany in 6:38.73.
Race 39. Women's Lwt 2x Heat 2
The Australian double scull of Amber Halliday and Marguerite Houston got out of the blocks well, realising that first place only would go to the semi-finals. Halliday was in this event in the 2004 Athens Olympics team and Houston represented in this event at last year's World Championships in Gifu, Japan.
They established a nice lead by 1,000 metres and continued to move clear at 1,500 metres and came past the grandstands with clear water between themselves and Spain who were in second place, with Canada in third. The Australian girls dominated the race to win by 3.44 seconds in 7:03.11 and have advanced to Friday's semi-finals.
Heat 1 was won by Poland in 7:03.94.
Heat 3 ws won by China in 6:56.13.
Heat 4 was won by the USA in 6:57.71.
Race 45. Men's Lwt 2x Heat 4
Sam Beltz and Tom Gibson, both from Tasmania, represented Australia in this Olympic category event, won of the toughest, numerically and in quality, on the international program. The goal for this crew was to finish in the first two placings to ensure progression straight to the semi-finals on Friday. Gibson stroked the lightweight four into fourth place in 2005 and Beltz was in the double scull that finished 12th in Gifu.
The Aussie boys started well and were in the lead after 500 metres following an early battle with Hungary, the 2005 World Champions. At 1,000 metres the Australians lead by the best part of a length with Hungary in second and Chile holding down third place. The crew raced very well in the second half of the race in the lumpy water to win by clear water over Hungary, with Chile in third place. The winning time was 6:23.24 and they had a margin of 2.49 seconds over Hungary at the line and have advanced directly to the semi-finals.
Heat 1 went to France over Poland in 6:21.37.
Heat 2 was won by Italy over Austria in 6:22.50.
Heat 3 went to Greece narrowly over Japan in 6:23.42.
Heat 5 was won very easily by Denmark over Slovakia in 6:14.55.
Heat 6 went to Great Britain over Germany in 6:22.82.
Race 49. Men's Lwt 4- Heat 2
The new Australian combination of Todd Skipworth, Ben Cureton, Michael McBryde and Tim O'Callaghan had the objective of winning their heat, with first place only to progress straight to the semi-finals.The Australian boys got out of the blocks well and created a slender lead over the field by the 500 metres mark, with The Netherlands chasing hard in second place 1.13 seconds behind, Austria in third place and Poland in fourth. The Aussie crew held the lead all the way to the finish line winning by 0.77 seconds over The Netherlands and Poland, and have now gone through to the semi-finals to be rowed on Friday.
Heat 1 was won by Germany, over Canada and South Africa following a titanic struggle all the way down the course, in 5:55.77.
Heat 3 went to France over Italy in 5:59.54.
Heat 4 was won by China over Ireland in a time of 5:58.48.
Race 52. Women's 4x Heat 1
With first place only going directly to the final on Sunday, there was all to strive for as the Australian crew of Sally Kehoe, Dana Faletic, Sonia Mills and Catriona Sens lined up for the first heat of this event. Kehoe, who rowed in the double scull in 2005, stroked the crew well to grab the lead in the early stages, leading Germany by 0.88 after 500 metres. The Aussie crew got out to a 2.18 seconds lead at 1,500 metres over Germany and China and held the ascendancy through to the line just 0.99 seconds clear form Germany, China and Ukraine in a time of 6:22.85, and have achieved their goal of going straight to the A Final.
Heat 2 was won by the defending champions Great Britain in 6:19.92 after trailing the Russians for the first 1,750 metres.
Race 55. Men's 4x Heat 2
The Australian crew of James Gatti, Peter Hardcastle, David Crawshay and Dan Noonan had the objective of finishing in the first three to advance to the semi-finals. The Russians got away well to lead over Poland and Turkey. By 1,000 metres, Australia had moved from fifth to third and were out after Russia and Poland. With the first three going through the pressure came off early with Poland moving to the lead over Russia and Australia came home well to grab third place and a spot in Friday's semi-finals. Poland won in 5:46.79 from Russia and Australia, with the Australians 2.50 behind the winners.
Heat 1 went to Italy over the USA and France in 5:50.50.
Heat 3 was won by Estonia from Ukraine and the Czech Republic in 5:43.15.
Race 57. Women's 8+ Heat 1
The Australian crew, with four members of last year's World Championships crew rowing again this year, jumped to the lead in the early part of this race to lead by almost half a length at 1,000 metres over Germany and Romania, with first only to advance to the A Final on Sunday.
The girls held their form well behind stroke Kate Hornsey, and after a strong challenge from Germany, crossed the line clear of Germany and Romania in a time of 6:05.00. The remainder of the crew, namely Emily Martin, Sarah Heard, Kim Crow, Sarah Cook, Amber Bradley, Jo Lutz and Robyn Selby Smith supported Hornsey well and coxswain Lizzy Patrick drove them hard to win by 1.02 seconds and they now look forward to preparing to defend the title won in Gifu last year.
Heat 2 was won by the USA from China and Russia in a time of 6:04.76 with these three crews advancing straight to the A Final.
Race 61. Men's 8+ Heat 3
The Australian Men's Eight of Jeremy Stevenson, Cameron McKenzie McHarg, Karsten Forsterling, Tom Laurich, Sam Conrad, Matt Ryan, James Marburg and James Chapman, with Marty Rabjohns in the coxswains seat, had to finish in the first two to advance to the semi-finals on Friday. The crew got away well, albeit behind the early leaders France, with China well-up also almost level pegging with Australia. At 1,000 metres Australia had moved to the lead over France and China, with Italy on the improve.
Through 1,500 metres the Aussie crew had established a length's lead over the improving Italians and held that to the line to record a very good win by 2.60 seconds. The winning time of 5:26.86 was the fastest of the three heats and gives the crew impetus as they look forward to Sunday's finals.
Heat 1 was won by the Olympic and World Champions the USA from Poland and Canada in 5.29.57.
Heat 2 went to Germany by 0.01 seconds after a good battle with Great Britain and Belarus in 5.32.49.
A sensational day's racing by all Australian crews.
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Day III: Tuesday 22 August
Racing today began under the best conditions of the regatta to date with bright sunshine and a slight following breeze. Expectations were high but also realistic after a stellar performance by the team on Monday.
Race 72. Women's 1x Repechage 2
Claire Shield, reserve for the women's squad, raced well for her country in an event foreign to her and rowed a very even race to begin well in fourth place behind the early pace setters from Slovenia, Spain and Norway. Only the first two place-getters would progress and Claire tried very hard all the way but will now advance to the C and D semi-finals to be contested on Wednesday, after finishing fourth in her repechage. The race complexion never changed form the start to the finish with Slovenia first in 7:34.66, Spain second and both progressed to the A and B Semi-Finals, Norway was third and Claire Shield was fourth in her first international regatta in the single scull.
Repechage 1 was won by Serbia from Cuba in 7:42.52.
Race 78. Women's 2- Repechage 2
Emily Martin and Sarah Heard were forced to row the repechage after finishing second in their heat on Day 1 of the World Championships and knew they had to finish in the first two to advance to the A Final on Saturday. The early leader of the event was the USA from The Netherlands in second and Australia in third place. The winning time was 7:04.95.
The race did not change much over the entire course except for the Dutch getting closer to the USA at the finish, with Australia holding down third place from Belarus in fourth in a somewhat disappointing result for the Aussie girls who now advance to the B Final on Saturday.
Repechage 1 was won by the 2005 World Champions New Zealand, from Denmark, in 7:06.46.
Race 85. Men's 2x Repechage 4
Craig Jones and Chris Morgan faced the starter in this race aware of the fact that anything worse than second would see them in the C and D semi-finals of this Olympic-category event. Out of the blocks Russia was in the lead over Norway with Australia in third place. Through 1,000 metres the order remained the same with the Aussie double just overlapping the stern of the two leading boats but in turn being challenged by Bulgaria.
At 1,500 metres the early leaders Russia had spent all of their energy and Bulgaria had moved to the lead over Norway and Australia. The evergreen Jones and youngster Morgan tried hard but could not peg back Bulgaria who won in 6:17.29 from Norway, and by finishing third, Australia will now race in the C and D Semi-Finals on Wednesday.
Repechage 1 went to Lithuania from Ukraine in 6:21.39.
Repechage 2 was won by Belgium from Poland in 6:20.87.
Repechage 3 was a terrific race with Belarus just getting the result over Croatia and Hungary in 6:16.23
Race 86. Men's 4- Repechage 1
The Australian four rowed poorly in their heat on Sunday and were looking to improve on that performance in this first repechage with the first three to make the A and B Semi-Finals.
David McGowan, Jaxon Rudduck, Stefan Szczurowski and Francis Hegerty performed much better from the outset and were in second place through the early and middle stage of the event behind France, with Ireland in third and Egypt in fourth. The Australian boys effort to go out hard and combat their tardy start on Sunday told in the end and they began to tire in the third 500 metres of the race.
At the line it was France first, Ireland second, the Czech Republic third, after being fifth at the first 500 metres, and despite an improved row, Australia finished fourth and will contest the C Final later in the week. The winning time was 5:56.79 and Australia's 6:02.59 in finishing fourth was faster than second place in repechage 2.
Repechage 2 was won well by Canada from Spain and Italy in 6:01.12.
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Day IV: Wednesday 23 August
Racing was suspended at 20:00 AEST due to unfair weather conditions. Races 105 onwards have been rescheduled for Thursday 24 August. This includes:
- Claire Shield in the W1x Semifinal C/D 1 (Race 111), and
- Chris Morgan and Craig Jones in the M2x Semifinal C/D 2 (Race 116).
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Day V: Thursday 24 August
Racing got underway today after the cancellation of a third of the program on Wednesday due to a cross wind that FISA deemed made the course unfair. Today's conditions are cold and bleak with a strong tailwind, but fair for all lanes, and yesterday's races are to be rowed to begin the day's racing.
Race 111. Women's 1x Semifinal C/D 1
Claire Shield from Tasmania, the reserve for the women's 8, represented Australia well in the early rounds for a young rower in her first international regatta in a sculling boat, and raced for a place in the C Final which would be a very good result given she is racing purely to keep her self in trim in case required for the women's 8 at some stage.
Claire began well and opened up an early advantage over the scullers from Portugal and El Salvador. By 1,000 metres Claire had a lead of more than two lengths over Portugal and she looked well in control of the event. At the grandstands with 250 metres to the finish Claire had dropped her rating to 24 strokes to the minute, and conserved energy for the afternoon's C Final as she eventually coasted across for an emphatic win in this C/D Semifinal in a time of 8:00.36.
The other semifinal was won by Norway in a time of 8:07.89.
Race 116. Men's2x Semifinal C/D 2
The experienced Craig Jones and youngster Chris Morgan were aiming for a place in the C Final when they took on five other crews in the C/D Semifinal of the double sculls. Italy began best from Australia in second place after 250 metres, with Estonia and the USA well up also. As the race progressed the Italians continued to lead form Australia with the USA in third and Estonia in fourth. At 1,500 metres Australia took the lead from Italy with the USA in third place but all three crews had the remainder of the field covered and proceeded to coast to the line in a time of 6:23.65 for the winners Australia. Jones and Morgan now progress to the C Final.
The other C/D Semifinal went to former World Champions Hungary in a time of 6:20.56.
Race 120. Men's 4- C Final
The Australian crew of David McGowan, Jaxon Rudduck, Stefan Szczurowski and Francis Hegerty undertook the task of finishing officially 13th at this World Championship when they raced the C Final this morning. The crew began reasonably well and settled down in fourth place after 500 metres as the leaders Egypt, at a stroke rate of 40, came through 500 metres out in front of Russia, Poland and Australia. By 1,000 metres Australia had improved to third place with Russia feeling the strain and dropping off the pace. At 1,500 metres Egypt and Poland were still holding their advantages and Australia was holding third place while under-rating the leading crews.
The crew pushed very hard in the last 500 metres but were unable to reel in both the winners Egypt and second placed Poland to finish 15th for this World Championship. The winning time was 5:59.50.
Race 130. Men's 2- Semifinal 2
Drew Ginn and Duncan Free, impressive heat winners on the first day of competition, lined up in Semifinal 2 of the men's pair knowing they had to finish in the top three to be able to race in Saturday's A Final. While both men are experienced there combination is not, and the difficult tailwind conditons certainly impacted on all crews during the race.
The Aussie boys began well but were challenged by both Italy and Great Britain as they went through 500 metres just .23 seconds over Italy. The second 500 metres was stroke for stroke and at 1,000 metres the order remained the same with Canada back in sixth place. During the third 500 metres the Italians began to struggle with the water and speed of the race and dropped out of contention as Australia was joined in the lead by Canada and Great Britain. In the last 500 metres the Aussie pair suffered a ship wreck of sorts which slowed down the boat for a moment, but recovered to cross in first place from Great Britain and Canada in a time of 6:22.87.
Semifinal 1 went to New Zealand, from early leaders China with Germanay third, in a time of 6:19 62.
Race 131. Women's 2x Semifinal 1
The young Australian double of Liz Kell in the bow seat and Brooke Pratley in stroke faced tough opposition in difficult conditions when they raced this semifinal for the opportunity to compete in Saturday's A Final.
The Aussie girls began extremely well to be within half a length of World and Olympic Champions New Zealand and China after 500 metres. During the second 500, Kell and Pratley fought off the challenge from China to hold down second just half a length behind the Kiwi champion twins. In the last 500, China dropped well out of the race and Ukraine moved into a close third, but at the line the Kiwis crossed first as expected with the young Aussie girls in second and Ukraine third. Liz and Brooke will now race for the medals on Saturday which is a teriffic effort for this developing crew and coach Adrian David. The winning time was 6:50.03.
The other semifinal was won by Belarus from Germany and Great Britain in 6:54.62.
Race 148. Women's 1x Final C
Claire Shield finished second behind Portugal in a time of 7:54.77.
Race 150. Men's 2x Final C
Chris Morgan and Craig Jones finished third behind Hungary and Italy in a time of 6:22.16.
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Day VI: Friday 25 August
Racing began today under near perfect conditions with warm sunshine and little to no breeze to speak of on the course.
Australians interest in the early part of the day centred on the Adaptive races with rowing having been admitted into the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.
Race 153. Adaptive Men's 1x Heat 1
Australia's defending World Champion Dominic Monypenny took on a six-boat field in defence of the title he won in Gifu, Japan last year with a fierce determination to not only qualify but to establish a mental advantage over the field in his event. This race is restricted to athletes with arm movement only and the athletes have a strap around their chests to hold them upright in the rowing seat.
From the outset the very strong and fit Monypenny dominated the field, going on to win very convincingly. After jumping to an early lead he maintained the highest rating in the field and blew the opposition away to win in 5:36.67 for the 1,000 metre trip. Dominic, the Australian Team's athletes' athlete for 2005, set up a 12 second lead at halfway and won by 26.12 seconds form Canada and Spain and this effort advances Dominic to the A Final on Sunday.
Heat 2 was won by the USA in 5:48.60.
Race 158. Legs, Trunks and Arms Mixed Adaptive 4+ Heat 2
The Australian crew of Julia Veness-Collins, Ben Vines, Gene Barrett, Kristin Mercer and coxswain Susie Edwards faced the starter with first only to advance to the A Final from this 1,000 metre race. The crew began well however the Dutch and USA crews showed plenty of pace in the first 500 metres to set up a lead over Portugal and Australia, with Croatia at the rear of the five-boat field. The young Aussie crew rowed well and will have pleased coach Roxanne Vines but were no match for the top crews as The Netherlands won from the USA, Portugal and Australia in a time of 3:44.15. This crew will row a repechage on Saturday.
Heat 1 went to the defending World Champions Great Britain in 3:41.97.
Race 159. Men's Lwt 2- Semifinal 1
Tim Smith and Cameron Wurf went into this semifinal as the fastest qualifiers and aware of the task ahead — finish top three to race for medals on Sunday. The race began in earnest but by 50 metres the Aussie boys had emerged form the pack to lead by 2.33 seconds following a concerted effort to establish that lead. By 1,000 metres Great Britain had emerged from the pack into second place 1.76 seconds behind Australia with Russia in third place from Japan and the USA. Smith and Wurf, to the delight of the strong Australian contingent in the crowd, controlled the race from the front and went to the line just on a length clear of Great Britain and Russia and now go to Sunday's A Final where they must be a strong medal chance. The winning time was 6:47.72.
Semifinal 2 was won by Spain from Germany and Italy in a time of 6:48.86.
Race 162. Lwt Women's 2x Semifinal 2
Marguerite Houston and Amber Halliday qualified for this semifinal by impressively winning their heat on Monday and were looking for a top-three finish to qualify for the A Final of this Olympic category boat in which Amber finished fourth in Athens.
The girls had a conservative start and were in fourth place for the first 500 metres where three crews were in line about half a length behind the leaders Finland. In the second 500 metres the Aussie girls stretched out and moved into a clear second over the rest with Finland still leading from Australia, Great Britain and the USA. In the third 500 metres Great Britain pushed through hard to challenge Finland for the lead with the Aussie girls biding their time in third. In the last 500 metres Great Britain hit the lead briefly but the Aussie girls powered home to record a well planned and well executed win from Finland who came again at the line to snatch second from Great Britain. The winning time was 7:14.03 and the girls will now race from a centre lane in Sunday's final.
Semifinal 1 went to China from Canada and Greece in 7:11.61.
Race 164. Men's Lwt 2x Semifinal 2
Sam Beltz and Tom Gibson — both form Tasmania — had qualified well for the semifinals through a strong heat win and tackled a tough semi which included the well-fancied combination from Greece with only the first two crews to go to the A Final. Through 500 metres four crews were locked together with greece leading from Canada, Australia and Germany with Slovakia and Russia back a little. At 1,000 metres Germany led narrowly from Australia and Canada and Greece. In the third 500 metres Canada and Australia pushed hard together and moved slightly ahead of Germany with Greece tiring. With 250 metres to go Australia had taken the lead and Germany was coming again as Canada started to feel the strain. At the line it was an Australian win in 6:29.70 from Germany in second and Canada third. Beltz and Gibson will now contest the A Final on Sunday.
Semifinal 1 went to Italy from France in 6:35.38.
Semifinal 3 was won by Demark from Poland in 6:30.46.
Race 167. Men's Lwt 4- Semifinal 2
The Australian crew of Todd Skipworth, Ben Cureton, Michael McBryde and Tim O'Callaghan had won their heat to advance straight to this semifinal where the first three crews would progress to the race for medals on Sunday. China led in the early stages from Canada and Australia, with Italy very close to the Aussie boys. Through 1,000 metres Australia had fallen back to fourth but just a length from the leaders Canada, from China and Italy who were on the charge. In the last 500 metres the Australian boys dug deep and were able to close on the leaders a little but more importantly pass Italy to grab third spot behind China and Canada and advance to the A Final. The winning time was 6:10.80.
Semifinal 1 was won by France from Great Britain and Ireland in a time of 6:10.32.
Race 168. Men's 4x Semifinal 1
The Australian quad scull stroked by Dan Noonan, with David Crawshay, Peter Hardcastle and James Gatti, had finished third in their heat to get to the semifinal were the first three would advance to the A Final. Their race included the current World Champions Poland.
Poland went to the lead from the start from France and Ukraine in third place, with the Italians not far behind and Australia in fifth place. During the middle thousand the race changed shape with Poland still leading but Italy improving along with Ukraine, and the Aussie boys were beginning to stretch out and were gaining momentum. In the last 500 metres Australia pushed hard but could not peg back the three top crews to finish fourth behind Poland, Ukraine and Italy in a time of 5:58.89. The Australian crew will now tackle the B Final on Sunday morning.
Semifinal 2 went to Estonia from Russia and the Czech Republic in a time of 5:56.39.
Race 171. Men's 8+ Semifinal 2
The Australian crew of James Chapman, James Marburg, Matt Ryan, Sam Conrad, Tom Laurich, Karsten Forsterling, Cameron McKenzie McHarg, Jeremy Stevenson and coxed by Marty Rabjohns were the fastest qualifiers through the heats and raced from lane 3 in this semifinal where the first three would go through to the medal race on Sunday.
The Australian boys began nicely to establish a slight lead in the first 250 metres and by 500 metres were half a second in front of China and Poland with Canada in fourth and Great Britain fifth. At 1,000 metres it was Australia by a canvas from Canada and Poland, with China dropping back to fourth from Great Britain and France. In the third 500 metres Australia had moved to a third of a length from Canada with Great Britain on the charge and Poland still in the mix. At the line it was Australia first from Great Britain with Poland coming again to grab third on the line from Canada. The winning time was 5:47.80.
Semifinal 1 went to the Olympic and World Champions the USA, by the narrowest of margins from Germany and Italy, in 5:41.14.
Another good day's results for the Aussie Team.
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Day VII: Saturday 26 August
Racing today was in cloudy and bleak conditions with a following breeze but very little rain. The first finals for medals were raced in the A Group of races with B Group finals to be rowed on Sunday.
Race 185. Women's 2- B Final
The Australian National Champions Emily Martin and Sarah Heard raced for placings 12 to 17 in this event after coming through the repechage. The Chinese crew began best and took the lead from the outset with Belarus in second and Australia in fourth place behind Romania. By 1,000 metres Romania had taken the lead from China with Belarus still third but being pressured by Australia. The Aussie girls rowed a good second thousand metres but could not apply pressure to either Romania or China and the final placings were Romania first, China second and Australia third to officially be placed 14th for this World Championships. The winning time was 7:05.60.
Race 190. Women's 4- A Final
This was the first race for medals at this World Championships. The Aussie girls were looking to repeat last year's Gold Medal won in Gifu, Japan, and the crew included two girls from that 2005 combination. The crew of Robyn Selby Smith (2005), Jo Lutz, Amber Bradley and Kate Hornsey(2005) had won their heat in fine style on the first day of racing and took on the challenge from the other heat-winner China plus the four crews that came through the repechage.
The Aussie girls began well — "a storming start", in the words of the commentator — however the Chinese went with them and at 500 metres Australia led by a canvas, with Germany hot on the heels of the Chinese and the other three crews battling for fourth place. At 1,000 metres Australia had a length's lead over China and Germany with the battle for fourth now between the USA and Belarus. In the third 500 metres Australia was still almost a length clear from China, with the USA on the charge moving into third place. With 400 metres to go Australia, at 36 strokes to the minute behind Kate Hornsey, held off any challenges to go on to win the first Gold Medal of this World Championships regatta repeating the success from 2005. The winning time was 6:25.25 with China getting Silver and the USA Bronze.
Race 198. Men's 2- A Final
The experienced Australian pair of Duncan Free and Drew Ginn had advanced to this A Final by winning their heat and semifinal and were drawn beside the apparent main danger and defending World Champions, New Zealand. When the starter set them off the crew from China went straight to the front over Australia, with Great Britain in third and New Zealand close up in fourth. At 500 metres the Aussie boys had taken the lead by just 0.1 seconds over China and New Zealand. In the second 500 metres they moved out to one length over China and Germany, then followed New Zealand.
The boys continued to exert their superiority over the field and actually established clear water between themselves and the remainer of the field headed by Canada and New Zealand with early leaders China beginning to fade. In the last 500 metres the chasing pack got a little closer but were no match for this wonderful new combination. Gold to Australia in 6:18.00 from New Zealand and Canada.
Race 199. Women's 2x A Final
This young Australian double scull of Brooke Pratley and Liz Kell had rowed well above their experience level to advance to this A Final, particularly in their semifinal when they finished less than a length behind the Olympic and World Champions, the Evers-Swindell twins from New Zealand. The Aussie girls drew lane 5 between Belarus and Ukraine.
The girls began well and held second place after 500 metres just 0.3 seconds behind the favorites New Zealand, with Belarus in third place. By 1,000 metres this young and inexperienced double scull coached by Adrian David had taken the lead from New Zealand and Belarus, with Germany moving into the fray. At 1,500 metres the Aussies in the crowd sensed a huge upset was on the cards and began to chant the familiar Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi.
In the last 500 metres the girls were challenged by, first New Zealand, and when their run had ended, the Germans charged at the Aussie girls but again it was Gold to Australia. The winning time was 6:47.67 with Germany second and New Zealand third.
Race 207. Legs, Trunks and Arms Mixed Adaptive 4+ Repechage 1
This crew finished first, ahead of Canada and Portugal, in a time of 3:34.91 and will contest Sunday's A Final.
That concluded Australians' involvement for the day with three crews in A Finals and three GOLD MEDALS. You beauty.
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