Day VIII: Sunday 2 September
Australian Head Coach Noel Donaldson
After what can only be described as a disappointing day for Australia with both the men’s four and women’s double scull missing out on Olympic qualification, further chances to make it to Beijing and World Championships medals are on the line on the final day of competition.
Rowing Australia Head Coach previews the final day in which 9 Australian crews compete.
Lightweight Men’s Four
Todd Skipworth, Ben Cureton, Anthony Edwards, Rod Chisholm
B Final
Unlucky not to feature in the A Final after showing some great form in the earlier heats of the competition. Their semi final row was just a fraction off their best which is all that is needed to miss out at this competition. The first five place getters in the B Final will be headed to Beijing and I expect that we will be one of them. There is no doubt that we will be trying to win the race which is necessary to demonstrate this by starting much better.
Women's Quadruple Scull
Amy Ives, Brooke Pratley, Sonia Mills, Catriona Sens
B Final
This is a cut throat event with only the winner going through to Beijing. We were pleased with the aggressive nature of the repechage and the willingness for the girls to change the seating of the boat to give it every chance to qualify. Even with this, it’s going to be very tough.
Men's Quadruple Scull
David Kelly, James McRae, James Gatti, Chris Morgan
B Final
For such a young crew they have barely done anything wrong at this regatta. They should feel confident about racing well again and qualifying the boat. The first five place getters go through to Beijing.
Men’s Eight
Marty Rabjohns (cox), James Tomkins, Karsten Forsterling, Cameron McKenzie-McHarg, Sam Conrad, Tom Laurich, Jeremy Stevenson and Matthew Ryan, James Marburg
B Final
Another cut throat event with only the winner going through. Although there have been some improved aspects of their racing, tomorrow they will need to put it all together and race confidently and faster from the beginning of the race.
Lightweight Men’s Pair
Michael McBryde, Ross Brown
A Final
Having won the heat and training well for the remainder of the week, they should go in to the race confidently and we expect them to lead and if all goes to plan they should be fighting out for the medals in the final parts of the course.
Lightweight Women’s Quad
Tara Kelly, Alice McNamara, Miranda Bennett, Bronwen Watson
A Final
They go into the race as favourites having won the heat over the reigning world champions and another performance like that will make them hard to beat.
Lightweight Women’s Double
Amber Halliday, Marguerite Houston
A Final
Last year’s silver medal crew has won both their heat and semi final. In a very deep field their form and experience will give them every chance to be on the podium.
Lightweight Men’s Double
Tom Gibson, Sam Beltz
A Final
After struggling a little bit in the heat and the quarterfinal they struck their training form in the semi final leading it for most of the way. With continuing improvement they have an opportunity of bettering their fourth place in this event from last year.
Women’s Eight
Lizzy Patrick (cox), Sarah Heard, Sarah Outhwaite, Natalie Bale, Kim Crow, Kate Hornsey, Robyn Selby Smith, Sarah Cook, Sally Kehoe
A Final
Given the double up with our women’s pair and the eight, winning the heat in this event has given the girls a fresh opportunity to repeat their performance from last Monday. A win over the reigning Olympic (Romania) and the current World Champions (USA) would be a great way to finish the regatta.
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Day VII: Saturday 1 September
Australian Head Coach Noel Donaldson
There is no question that yesterday was a disappointing day for Australia. But we march on and look to the opportunities that are ahead of us. We still have plenty of chances to qualify boats at the Olympics and win medals here, so we will focus on that.
Men’s Single Scull
Peter Hardcastle
B Final
Hardcastle has the opportunity to qualify this boat for the Olympics. He just has to finish in front of one other person. I’m sure the bookmakers probably have Peter in that 12th position at the moment but we’ve got all the confidence in the world that he can do it. We need to throw the gauntlet down to other countries like they through it down to us yesterday. He’s rowed a couple of really strong races at this regatta and if shows the same sort of form he will really achieve something special if he can get the boat to Beijing.
Women’s Double Scull
Amber Bradley and Kerry Hore
B Final
Two quality athletes with plenty of experience but they have a big job to qualify. We’d probably be ranked third at the moment in a race of 6 crews when only two qualify. They know what they have to do to get the boat to Beijing and while their form at this regatta has not been quite what they would have liked, we’re sure they’ll give a good account of themselves.
Men’s Double Scull
David Crawshay and Scott Brennan
B Final
We really need to look to win this B Final. I don’t think there will be too many problems qualifying for the games so they just need to have confidence in themselves and confidence in what may lie ahead. They were only narrowly beaten into fourth the other day and actually rowed quite well. They have tremendous potential.
Men’s Four
James Chapman, Sam Loch, Francis Hegarty, Nick Baxter
B Final
I think they will win the B Final. It again will be a very tight race and I am confident that they will qualify but again the best way to ensure that is to win the race. They have to row a full race, not just bits and pieces. Not to get a good start, not just a good finish but the whole thing. I’m sure they will give a good account of themselves.
Women’s pair
Kim Crow, Sarah Cook
A Final
Our women’s pair is right in the hunt. They could finish anywhere from first to fifth in what will be a tight race. In the semi final, they got a few things wrong technically that they will have to fix to win the gold but their ability is such that they are a chance of winning the final. If they race hard and fix the technical problems they could finish first.
Men’s Pair
Duncan Free and Drew Ginn
A Final
Not perfect but the way they have managed themselves through the regatta has been great. The way they train and prepare and the way they manage each race is first class. Each race is a step up from the last. They will take a hell of a lot of beating. Clear favourites and our best chance for gold.
Women’s Four
Vicky Roberts, Emily Martin, Katelynn Gray, Phoebe Stanley
They rowed well the other day and in this non-Olympic qualification event I would expect that they will win a medal in this event. They should be very confident in their ability to win a medal, it just depends on what colour it might be.
Men’s Coxed Pair
Jason Heard, Fergus Pragnell, Cox Marty Rabjohns
If they keep making the improvement they’ve been showing, they are an outside chance for a medal. It’s a non-Olympic boat so they don’t have that to worry about qualifying for Beijing. It will all be about getting a world championships medal and I think they can.
Arm’s Men’s Single Scull
Dominic Moneypenny
A Final
Our defending World Champion has worked hard this week in difficult circumstances. He’s still fighting in the face of a really strong challenge from the outstanding British competitor. He also needs to hold off one or two others who are performing well.
Trunks and Arms Double Scull
John Maclean and Kathryn Fox
A Final
A real chance of a gold medal. They’ve looked great all week and are showing signs of a really strong combination and rhythm in their rowing. They’ve made some good progress in a short period of time and should continue to improve.
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Day VI: Friday 31 August
Friday’s racing at the World Rowing Championships in Munich will feature 7 Australian crews.
Australian Head coach previews the chances.
Women’s Single Scull
Zoë Uphill
C Final
This is one of the toughest fields at the regatta and Zoë has done a great job in each of her races. I’d expect her improvement and learning to continue and she will give a good account of herself.
Lightweight Women’s Double Scull
Amber Halliday and Marguerite Houston
Semi Final 1
Another very tough category. Our double are experienced and in good form. When you’ve won straight from the heat to the semi final, it’s a bit of wait, wait, wait, and wait. We’re very confident that they will qualify. I’m just looking forward to them having the sort of race that will allow them to execute well in the final. They will race well.
Lightweight Men’s Double Scull
Sam Beltz and Tom Gibson
Semi Final 1
Our crew isn’t too far short of the mark. They know that and are now making their own internal changes to make the boat lighter and quicker through the middle of the race. They will try and rate a point higher and give themselves their best chance. Both semis are really tough so we’re going to have be right on our game to get through. The crew is actually quite confident.
Lightweight Men’s Four
Rod Chisholm, Anthony Edwards, Ben Cureton, Todd Skipworth
Semi Final 1
They are in very good form. The statistics have them first on times qualified from the quarter finals. They are also very confident about what they need to do. As long as they start well and set the race up well, their trump card is the middle part of the race. They will try and inch their way ahead in the middle part of the race which will leave them a little buffer at the end. They are quite excited they had a change up gear in the quarter final and that they can make the boat go faster when they need to. While they are getting closer to the full package, it doesn’t make it any easier. It’s an extremely competitive category.
Men’s Quad
Chris Morgan, James Gatti, James McRae, David Kelly
Semi Final 2
They have raced well so far but they will really need a first class effort to make the final. They face two of the powerhouses of men’s quad racing in Italy and Germany but they did show in Amsterdam that they can mix it with the best when everything goes well for them.
Men’s Eight
James Marburg, Matt Ryan, Jeremy Stevenson, Tom Laurich, Sam Conrad, Cameron McKenzie-McHarg, Karsten Forsterling, James Tomkins, cox Marty Rabjohns
Semi Final 2
A really good effort in the heat. They showed some real toe over the last 500 metres which I’m sure will give them all alot of confidence. They’ll need to get off to a good start, make sure they get their length off the back, their weight on their feet so they can push the boat the boat along rather than belt it along. They should qualify for the final. Their main opposition will be the Russians and the Dutch
Women’s Quad Scull
Amy Ives, Sonia Mills, Brooke Pratley, Catriona Sens
Repechage 1
They didn’t have the best of heats and will really need to put their best performance forward if they are to qualify for the final from the repechage. 2 boats will go through to the final. A bit of desperation is needed but they are certainly capable. They are all talented athletes.
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Day V: Thursday 30 August
Adaptive LTA Double
John MacLean and Kathryn Ross face all medallists from last year's final in their quality-laden semi final of the adaptive LTA double. Canada, USA, Belarus, Poland and China will all line up in a semi that is clearly the strongest of the two. The first three finishers go through to the final.
Adaptive Men's Single
Dominic Monypenny was cranky with himself after he was beaten into second place in the heats. The defending two time world champion takes on the silver medallist from last year, while a Chinese athlete has come from nowhere to prove a threat. The top three progress to the final.
Men's Double Scull
Crawshay and Brennan are improving with every row. The "rhythm kings" will be looking to be accurate on each stroke and to find the length that will make them competitive at the top level. Strong performers from early in the season and their class is expected to show through tonight. Olympic qualification is in their sight.
Women's Double
The women's double benefited from a shift in seating and gearing from the heats to the repechage. If their improvement continues they are capable of great things. Olympic qualification is up for grabs.
Men's Pair
The experienced combination of Ginn and Free will have lane position for the final in the back of their minds. Likely to start strongly and row with even rhythm. Their main rivals, from New Zealand, will row in the other semi final.
Women's Pair
The women's pair of Cook and Crow is one of the great emerging stories of Ausrtalian rowing. Young, keen and committed they will enter the semi final with lane position in the final also on their minds. Great form in the eight will keep their natural confidence high.
Men’s Single Scull
Peter Hardcastle produced an outstanding row to make it through to the semi finals and stand on the edge of Olympic qualification. Hardcastle is now in the land of giants. Another quality row will take him one more step closer to his goal of qualifying the boat for Beijing.
Men's Four
The Men’s Four of Nick Baxter, Francis Hegerty, Sam Loch and James Chapman were impressive in their repechage after originally missing out on the semi finals in their heat. This relatively young crew are growing in confidence with every row, but it would be considered a significant achievement to make it to the A Final.
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Day IV: Wednesday 29 August
Australian Head Coach Noel Donaldson previews day four.
There’s not too much racing on day four.
Two of our key boats the men’s lightweight double and the men’s lightweight four are both in the water in quarterfinals. They will both be very tough races like the men’s single was yesterday. Watching Peter Hardcastle qualify today showed just how tough it is to get through.
Both these crews should qualify. How they will finish is an unknown but I’d be surprised if we weren’t in the top two in each event which should set us nicely for the semi finals.
Lightweight Men’s Double
Beltz and Gibson
They didn’t actually race their heat that well. They were lagging through the middle a bit so we’ve lightened their gearing to try and make their rhythm a little bit brighter though the course. What was pleasing is that the GPS data showed us that when they sprinted at the end and lifted their rating at the end of the race, they increased boat speed which is something they haven’t been able to do in competition previously, be it last year or this year.
Lightweight Men’s Four
Skipworth, Cureton, Edwards, Chisholm
We assessed their race profiling after their first heat and it was excellent. They’ll look to squeeze another point of rating out and if they can match boat speed with an extra point of rating they will be very hard to beat in the quarterfinal. Then it gets a lot tougher in the semi final and final again but certainly they had a good day on Monday and we expect another good day tomorrow.
Heavyweight Men’s Quad Scull
Kelly, McRae, Gatti, Morgan
The “plucky” men’s quad didn’t race too badly on Monday and finished 6th fastest overall. A tough heat pushes you through to a repechage. We would expect them to come through that and win through to the semi final. They need to row a little bit longer, a little bit more efficiently. If they do that and take a step, they should be on the verge of the final all the way through the competition. They’ve got to show what they’re made of in the repechage to earn the right of a place in the semi final and stay on the edge of the A Final.
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Day III: Tuesday 28 August
Following a promising start to the World Championships, day three begins with the Repechage from Day One racing.
Rowing Australia head coach Noel Donaldson previews the Australian chances.
Mens Coxed Pair
Jason Heard, Fegus Pragnall, Cox – Marty Rabjohns
Repechage
We’re changing the rig on their boat. It’s a pretty much do or die effort for them. I’m confident that they will do well. They’ve drawn well. They have to beat the Germans who they raced yesterday and the Czechs from the other heat so it will be tough but they are good athletes and with a strong performance we could see them through.
Women’s Single Scull
Zoe Uphill
Quarter Final
Unfortunately Zoe has drawn a very tough race to get through to the semi final. It’s a race with plenty of rowers with historically better credentials. She rowed well to get into the quarters so let’s wait and see.
Men’s Single Scull
Peter Hardcastle
Quarter Final
Peter has probably got to beat a Cypriot bloke to get through to the A/B finals and if he can do that it’s looking very tasty. He still has to beat someone home in an A/B final so his whole regatta will rest on beating one guy tomorrow. Peter understands what he has to do and I have a great deal of confidence in him. His row on the first day was a great effort and I was pleased for him.
Women’s Double Scull
Amber Bradley, Kerry Hore
Repechage
I’m really looking forward to this one because we have done some GPS technology testing on the boat and it’s certainly running a lot better today than it was yesterday. We need that to come to the fore in racing. The boat is moving better but we need to see that on the water in competiton, the girls have got to show plenty of character and I’m sure they will.
Men’s Double Scull
Scott Brennan, David Crawshay
Repechage
They were really disappointed with their heat row and are obviously keen to turn things around. They have historically raced the early races of the World Cups this year slowly and then really blossomed over the next couple of races. You can’t underestimate the road ahead for them in either the A or B final but if history repeats itself, they should improve. They are both popular members of the team who make a strong contribution so I know everyone is wishing them all the best. It could be a nailbiter but let’s wait and see.
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Day II: Monday 27 August
Following the opening day of racing at the FISA World Rowing championships, the focus for Australia will now shift to the “big boats” and Australia’s classy lightweight crews.
Rowing Australia Head coach Noel Donaldson says while the performances on the first day were in line with expectations, Day 2 is harder to predict.
“We don’t have any clear winners but we are confident that our crews will be at or about the mark”, Donaldson said. “All three of our lightweight boats have trained strongly.”
The women’s lightweight double of Amber Halliday and Marguerite Houston were silver medallists last year while the men’s double of Sam Beltz and Tom Gibson finished fourth. Those two crews in particular face very strong competition with both fields exceptionally strong.
The men’s lightweight four have prepared well and are reaching the sort of speed expected to challenge for medals. They stand a good chance of moving through to the next stage of the regatta.
The men’s and women’s eights both have difficult assignments with only 5 women’s and 7 men’s crews winning through to the Olympic games. All international eyes will be focused upon James Tomkins as he returns to stroke the men’s eight. Racing will resume on the second morning at 9.30am local time (5.30pm EAST) with the heats of the lightweight men’s pair.
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