2007 World Rowing Championships: race reports and interviews

The stars for Australia on the final day of the World Rowing Championships were unquestionably the women’s lightweight rowing squad with gold medals in the double and quadruple sculls.

The Olympic event for women’s lightweight rowing is the double scull which was won by Amber Halliday and Marguerite Houston.

RA: It was a gripping race. Through each of the individual 500 splits you went from fourth to third to second and ultimately as you crossed the line, in first. It suggested that your plan was to row steadily throughout.

AH: Our focus the process and what was going on in our lane. Happily it came together for us today. This year we’ve been trying to keep our stroke long and in today’s conditions, which were a slight cross head wind, it advantaged us because we are a lower rating, longer crew.

RA: Did you feel under pressure with so many crews so close to you throughout the race?

AH: We didn’t have thoughts like that during the race but we did have thoughts like that during the year. The training leading into these events is always the hardest thing. Racing is fun and if you can get through your training then you’re ready for it. We weren’t looking at anyone else at anytime just thinking about the next stroke and making it as technically sound as we possibly could.

RA: It was the closest race of the day. It was a credit to the quality of the field.

AH: We basically looked at the draw for the race and said to ourselves “Well we have to be worried about this crew, this crew, this crew, this crew and this crew.” Usually you can pick out two or three that you want to keep an eye on but this year it was the whole field. I’ve never seen a standard jump like this in just one year. I’m glad we were able to jump with it.

AH: You just don’t want to go off until you see the official confirmation. We held off on the celebrations until we saw it up on the big screen. We’re rowers so we’re not going to go too mad but we were certainly very happy. Very, very happy.

RA: What are some of the immediate thoughts you have about now being a World Champion?

AH: There’s relief, there’s a feeling of unity with your crew mate, there’s a feeling that I’ve done my parents proud, doing friends and family at home proud and then there’s the fact that you have done it for everyone in Australia. It’s a great feeling of satisfaction on a number of levels. There’s also the fact that when you stand in the middle of the podium you can call yourself a World Champion.

RA: Does that status of World Champion also come with a little bit more pressure?

AH: It really does. I’m feeling it already. To win the event in the pre-Olympic year creates expectations around winning next year. Our next challenge is to just try and make the Olympic team. In Australia, the competition is really hot for places so that is going to be the next priority.

RA: The other gold medal crew from today was the women’s lightweight quad scull.

AH: We were sitting up at the start line and from two kilometres away you could hear the national anthem being played. It was amazing. We were very happy for the girls. For me, I will enjoy tonight but really from tomorrow it’s all about next season and with such a lot of quality rowers around we’ll all be pushing ourselves all the way to Beijing.

RA: When you were presented with your medal by John Boultbee can you describe that feeling?

AH: It all happened really quickly with people asking for photos and doing interviews. But I know that in the future we’ll look back on this, take inspiration from it and say that it was at that moment we were the top of the world. It will also urge us on I think to do it again. It’s a great feeling.

The other major highlight of the day for the Australian team was the performance of the women’s lightweight quad scull who streeted the field to take gold.

RA: Bronwen that was a convincing performance. Against the best in the world you were able to win by a considerable margin.

BW: It worked out exactly as we had planned. We’ve been totally focused on the process of rowing and not the outcome. We benefited in every way from a solid preparation, fantastic coach, and great crew dynamic. We had fun in the heat, had a smile at the start line and it was just great.

BW: We had a few key things that we wanted to work on. The most important thing was to maintain a rhythm under pressure so we didn’t lose our length and sharpness. We watched crews yesterday who led out well and then lost their rhythm only to be mowed down so we didn’t want that to happen to us.

BW: I was happy to see the bubble line at the end. I think I did put both hands in the air as I thought of everyone who has helped out. It was the culmination of a lot of work and a lot of effort. It was great.

RA: Amber Halliday mentioned that they could hear the national anthem being played for your victory when they were on the start line. It must be nice to be the stars of the day?

BW: Australian lightweight women have been a force for the last few years particularly Amber and Marguerite. They are sensational athletes and it’s great to be put in the same group as them. I had a lot of time off before this season so it’s been a bit of a fairytale. It’s been a really enjoyable journey. I’ve had a fantastic time.

RA: You mentioned earlier about the crew dynamic, what would you attribute that feeling of teamwork down to?

The Australian women’s eight performed creditably in finishing fourth in a top quality field. Whilst unable to produce the speed and rhythm of their heat win, it was only a narrow margin between them and the third place getter.

RA: While you would be disappointed with the “potato” medal for fourth, you can obviously take a lot of positives out of that performance.

SK: We can and we will. We had to start well which we did and that was so important because we just didn’t want to get left behind. It was a credit to the girls that we identified that as something that we had to do but unfortunately we weren’t able to find the solid rhythm of the heat. But we’ve qualified the boat for Beijing which is great and it’s a terrific base for next year.

RA: Robyn would you agree that you didn’t quite find your rhythm in the middle part of the race?

RSS: We didn’t have a lot of space in that race. It was really tight right across the field so when you’re under that much pressure, it’s hard to relax into your rhythm. Perhaps we didn’t quite have what we had in the heat but I can’t imagine anyone out their today could relax on it. It was a really tough race and we were beaten by some fantastic crews and we beat some fantastic crews so it was a good job.

RSS: The “potato” is never good. It’s always nice to have a bit of silverware but knowing we’re going to be there next year is definitely important and takes a bit of the sting out of the potato.

RA: How hard was it to sit around all week after that heat win knowing that the only race you have after that is the final?

SK: It can be hard to manage but I think we did it quite well. We organised a race piece through the middle of the week just to keep the heart rate going. I don’t think it was an issue in how we performed today. We rowed quite well but were just beaten by three better crews on the day.

RSS: That 1,200 metre piece was an “empty the can” piece so I think we were able to keep our competitive juices bubbling along. We came down to the course, watched some racing, enjoyed some of the efforts of the other Australians and generally just settled into it.

RA: From the Australian team point of view, how do you think we’ve performed at Munich considering we finished second on the medal tally?

The biggest heartbreak for Australian rowing fans on the final day of the World Championships was the second placing of the men’s eight behind China.

The placing means the eight will have to qualify for the Beijing Olympics at next year’s Lucerne regatta.

JT: Obviously we are very disappointed with the result. It’s also frustrating when your performance is so far below your expectations. That’s the hardest thing to deal with. We’ll go back to Australia, regroup and see where we go from there.

JT: I’ve got no idea. That’s the problem. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be mixing it with the top crews.

RA: As part of finding the way forward, what sort of things will you be discussing?

JT: I don’t know at the moment. Let’s give this a couple of weeks to settle and we’ll look at it then.

RA: This interview will be posted on the Rowing Australia website, what’s the message for the Australian fans from the men’s heavyweight sweep squad.

Coach of the Australian men's quad Rhett Ayliffe was an unhappy man when RA caught up with him after the B Final. While his crew qualified the boat for the Olympics, he wasn't pleased with the row ...

Rhett: It's the only thing that is some consolation but that was a really poor row from our guys. Really poor. We didn't handle the pressure. It was probably our worst row of the regatta. Even though it was a poor row, we toughed it out and got the job done which is encouraging. But really that just wasn't up to standard. We're a lot better than that.

RA:There was some speculation in the grandstand that you were rowing to qualify the boat. Is that correct?

Rhett: No we were rowing to finish in the top two and we didn't. We weren't racing Russia and we weren't racing for fifth. We did get the job done as I said but you can't be happy with that and I know the boys aren't.

RA: David Kelly, that's a blunt assessment from Rhett. Would you agree with him?

DK: Yeah I'm pretty tired now and I agree it wasn't where we wanted it to be. We did get the job done in terms of qualification but it was disappointing that we produced our worst row in the last race. In these sorts of regattas, the good crews get better as the days pass. Our goal was to finish at least second and we didn't reach it. But we did qualify and there are now seats available for the Olympics next year for people who are good enough.

RA: Chris Morgan, would it be fair to say that you have been happy with your efforts up until today and that you have rowed reasonably consistently?

CM: It's still a young crew. We've really made some improvements from the first World Cups this season and coming to this World Champs I think we've all learnt a hell of a lot. It's a really solid base for next year.

RA: What were some of the technical and tactical things you were hoping to achieve during today's race that you weren't able to?

CM: It was more that we just got a little bit excited a little bit too caught up in the moment and we were probably a little too tense. You end up chasing rather than sitting with the field. The effort and the endeavour were there and we went beyond the effort in the other races we have done. No matter how badly we rowed we were not going to surrender the qualifying spots. It's been a good learning experience for next year because there will be alot more pressure next year.

RA: As a young crew what are some of the things you have learnt during this European season and particularly at this World Championships?

DK: I've learnt about the next level of racing at this senior level and what you need to do to be competitive.

DK: The main thing is that through the middle of the race you really need to be consistent. Not let the other crews get a margin on you because as soon as that happens it's almost impossible to come back. That is a valuable lesson to learn and hopefully I can carry it into next year. I will use the experience from here as a springboard into qualifying for next year.

DK: It has been really great. The people are friendly, the water's great and it's a top set up for a regatta. The weather hasn't been so good but you can't help that. It's been a really good experience for me. I know for Jimmy (James Gatti) in the three seat he's had a really good experience as well.

DK: I better not say no so yeah. I actually had Rhett when I was a junior and the first couple of years of Under 23 so we've got a bit of history together and it's been really good to work with Rhett again. He's been a really good mentor.

RA: And Rhett from your point of view, did you meet your expectations of this World Championships?

Rhett: Goal one, qualify the boats. Tick. Goal Two, make it to the A finals for the double and the quad. Didn't happen. Third goal was top 2 in the B Final for both boats and we didn't do that either. We certainly didn't fulfil everything that I wanted to but I've learnt alot. I've learned probably more than David, Jimmy and these guys have learned. This is my first year as a Senior A coach and I've learnt alot more about preparation. The last few weeks coming into this regatta watching Chris O'Brien and the way he goes about his business.

Rhett: In the double's case, one of the things was to try and keep the confidence when we had a few problems with our boat before the World Championships. We had a few difficulties and the guys lost a bit of confidence until we got that sorted. They didn't race well until later in the regatta. In the quad also, it was a matter of building the confidence. In Chris' case whether his crew races well or poorly, he evaluates the same way. He gets the information back the same way. and he understands his event thoroughly. He knows the speed they need to paddle at, he knows the race speed, he knows how hard they should be working. He just understands everything about the boat class. I now know alot more about sculilng and the double and the scud. It's been good.

After struggling for form throughout the early stages of the World Rowing Championships, a shift to the stroke seat for Brooke Pratley has paid off with the women's quadruple scull winning the B Final.

After the race, RA spoke to two of the crew members, Sonia Mills and Catriona Sens.

CS: Relief is a good word to describe the feeling. We had to qualify the boat for the Olympics and with only the winner going through there was pressure and expectation. But we got the job done and it's a great feeling.

SM: It's nice to pull together the race we knew we had in us. Better late than never. It was a big ask because we only came together as a crew four weeks ago. We had our best race today. Unfortunately it wasn't the A Final but we did what we had to do and that was to qualify the boat for Beijing.

SM: Second 1,000. We knew we had good boat speed and it was a matter of keeping clear heads and doing what we needed to do all the way to the line. We didn't do that so well in the first two races so it was a case of finding our rhythm and enjoying it.

CS: I think we all enjoyed it. Getting Brooke into the stroke seat to do what she does was great. She had a really solid rhythm and I felt I could back her up really well. Changing her to the stroke seat for this race really worked in our favour.

CS: After the repechage. Coming into the regatta I don't think Brooke had the confidence she needed to do the job in the stroke seat but as we settled into the regatta it became obvious she was best placed to do the job. She delivered.

RA: Did you have some problems steering the boat? It seemed to be a bit wobbly on the way down the course.

SM: We'd moved the steering away from Brooke and put it bow seat so that was the first time that Amy (Amy Ives) had steered so we really did have a few changes. It didn't enter my mind once. It wasn't an issue.

CS: It felt like it wasn't exactly straight down the course. In Amy's defence it is very hard steering. I was steering in stroke and then steering in three seat but I didn't have enough perspective on the course. It's a tough job. We changed a heap of things today and thankfully it paid off. It was a solid row. We haven't really had the time to become a slick unit but I certainly think we've made the best out of the circumstances. We pulled together as a crew and went out there and did what we needed to do.

RA: What about the pressure during the week. There were big expectations about qualifying the boat for Beijing, and going into today's race your form wasn't fantastic.

SM: We had high expectations of ourselves because we knew we had it in us. Initially we were chasing the A Final and then it was to qualify the boat. We went out there today knowing we had it in us. It was pleasing that we were able to put it together.

The Australian men's lightweight four returned to form today with a convincing win in the B Final on the final day of the World Rowing Championships in Munich.

RA: Anthony that was something of a return to form for the crew. What did you do today that you weren't able to do in the semi final?

AE: Our adrenalin was up today whereas in the semi final we were pretty nervous. It was a final race on Friday and we frustrated ourselves by just not getting out fast enough. Today we just thought we've got to go harder and try and blow them apart.

RA: Is it fair to say that you had a clear intention today of winning the race, not just finishing inside the qualification numbers?

AE: Definately. We did put pressure on ourselves to win the event. We really had to prove to ourselves and to our opposition that we are alot better crew than the one that missed out on the A Final.

AE: Our stroke was on fire today. He took us out at 49 strokes a minutes and we moved out with Egypt who blew them apart in the semi final as we all know. Came through the middle at about 38 strokes and I called a squeeze at the 1,500 and Skippy (stroke Todd Skipworth) took us up to 41. I don't think we could have got much higher for the last 500 so we just held that to the line.

RA: It's been a promising morning for Australia with both the men's and women's heavy quad sculls qualifying for Beijing.

AE: Yeah it's been a hard week for the team. Obviously the men's pair was a great result but other than that we've just had reasonable results. It's been hard for the team to have to front up in B Finals. It's hard mentally to front up knowing that you're disappointed but knowing that you've still got a job today.

AE: No doubt they'll be disappointed and now you can only look to next year and Lucerne and what needs to be done to get the boat to Beijing.

AE: Getting back to the family is the first priority. From the crew point of view we just need to find another half a second. We''ll get that through myself getting a bit fitter and a bit stronger and the same with Benny (Ben Cureton). We just need to take a bit of that toughness. This has been a great learning experience for us as a four and we'll be better next year. In 2003 we finished 7th and in 2004 at the Olympics we ended up with a silver medal. So really we'll be looking at the same process.

The Australian crew of Rod Chisholm, Anthony Edwards, Ben Cureton and Todd Skipworth had advanced to the Final B after a disappointing result in their semi final in which they had a bad start and suffered the consequence.

They knew they had to finish top five to qualify the boat for Beijing and ensured they didn’t miss the start again and jumped straight to the lead when the starter said go.

The crew established an early lead over a very tightly bunched field and held that lead through the first 1,000 metres by 2.62 seconds over Egypt.

The boys led the field for the full trip and scored a good win at the line over the improving Polish crew with Egypt holding on to third.

The women’s quad of Amy Ives, Sonia Mills, Catriona Sens and Brooke Pratley took on the Final B after a disrupted preparation knowing they had to win this race to qualify the boat for Beijing.

From the outset it was Romania in the lead with Australia back in fourth but only 1.52 seconds from the leaders. By half way the Aussie girls had moved in to second spot but were still 1.62 seconds in arrears of Romania with the French crewing starting to join in the battle.

At 1,500 metres the Australian girls were really settled well in to their rhythm and although still second they had improved to be only 0.65 seconds behind Romania.

In the last 500 metres the work and stroke rates increased by Australia and they powered past Romania in a stirring finish to win the Final B by 2.30 seconds and qualify the boat for Beijing.

The young Australian crew of Chris Morgan, James Gatti, James McRae and David Kelly coached by Rhett Ayliffe had understood from the beginning of the regatta that a place in the Final A was a bonus but that the real task was to qualify the boat for Beijing.

In this Final B they had to finish in the top five boats and got away slowly from the blocks and were back in sixth early behind the tearaway leaders from Russia with the USA in second and Estonia third.

At halfway Australia had moved in to the vital fifth spot and it was Belarus under pressure to qualify.

In the drive to the line Russia maintained the lead they had held all the way down the course from Estonia in second the USA third and the Aussie boys sprinted home in the fastest last 500 metres to finish fourth and qualify the boat for the Olympic Games in 2008.

The Australian crew of James Marburg, Matt Ryan, Jeremy Stevenson, Tom Laurich, Sam Conrad, Cameron McKenzie-McHarg, Karsten Forsterling and stroked by James Tomkins with Marty Rabjohns as coxswain took on the Final B with the job of winning to qualify the boat for Beijing.

The Aussie boys got away better than in all of their previous races; it was Australia and China that jumped to the lead in the first 500 metres with Australia narrowly leading and the rest of the field bunched behind them, including France and The Netherlands.

By halfway the Chinese held a 1.7 seconds lead and Australia’s traditional strong finish was going to be required to haul them in. With 500 metres to go China had increased its lead over Australia to 2.63 seconds.

The Australian crew of Ross Brown and Michael McBryde qualified directly to the Final A having won their heat on day one of competition comfortably Great Britain and Greece.

In the early stages of the final it was France in the lead but by the 500 metres mark Australia had gone to the lead over France and Italy.

In the second 500 metres Australia continued to lead by about a canvas from Italy and the improving Germany who had come from sixth in to third spot by the halfway mark.

In the third 500 metres Australia was being challenged by the Under 23 World Champions from Italy and Germany but was clinging to that narrow lead.

Early in the last 500 Italy went to the lead over Australia and Germany responded to the huge home town crowd to move into second.

After the young Australian crew of bow Bronwen Watson, Miranda Bennett, Alice McNamara and stroke Tara Kelly caused a huge boilover in clearly defeating the World Champions from 2006 China in Heat 1 of the women’s lightweight quad scull they went in to the Final A with high hopes but knew the 2006 Champions would be out for revenge.

The Australian crew coached by Ellen Randell missed the start slightly and China grabbed the early lead and at 500 metres it was China leading Australia with Great Britain in third place.

In the second 500 the girls moved in to another gear to edge away from China and were 1.7 seconds clear of China with the USA moving into third place over Great Britain.

At 1,500 metres Australia led by a length from Great Britain then came China and Germany.

They continued to lead in the last 500 metres and won the Gold Medal by a length on the line from Great Britain and China in a time of 6.35.97.

Australia’s Silver Medallists from 2006 Amber Halliday and Marguerite Houston had won their heat and quarter final and went in to the Final A as one of the favourites along with 2006 Champions China, Finland and Greece.

The Germans jumped to the early lead from lane one and after 500 metres it was Germany from Finland and Australia was in fourth place 1.77 seconds from the leaders.

In the second 500 metres Germany led form Finland, China and Australia and it was still 1.77 seconds from first to third.

At 1,500 metres Australia had moved in to second and were out after the Finnish crew.

The Aussie girls produced a barnstorming finish to grab Finland in the last five strokes and win Gold from Finland with Silver and a dead heat for third between Germany and Denmark in the closest finish of the Championships.

The Australian crew, fourth in the 2006 Championships, have trained well in Europe and Sam Beltz in bow and Tom Gibson in stroke took on the Final A after qualifying through a brave row in the quarter finals.

In the first 500 metres Italy led from World Champions from 2006 Denmark, with Sam and Tom holding third place 0.74 seconds behind.

By 1,000 metres Denmark had opened up a nice lead over Greece, Italy and Australia with Great Britain improving.

In the second half of this event with the most depth of any field at the regatta the Danish moved ever so slowly away from Greece and Australia with Great Britain joining in the fight for medals.

At the line it was Gold for Denmark, Sliver to Greece and Bronze to Great Britain with Australia in fourth place for the second year running.

The Australian crew of Sally Kehoe, Sarah Cook, Robyn Selby Smith, Kate Hornsey, Kim Crow, Natalie Bale, Sarah Outhwaite and stroke Sarah Heard coxed by Lizzie Patrick had won their heat and advanced straight to the Final A.

As with the heat the USA led the race early with this time Canada in second place and Great Britain third with Australia in fourth place.

In the second 500 metres Australia was still back in fourth as the Romanians began to move in to the lead bunch to challenge the USA and Canada was dropping back.

In the second half of the race Australia tried to mount its challenge but the opposition was fighting back every challenge.

At the line the USA held off all challenges to win Gold from Romania with Great Britain third and Australia in fourth place and qualifying the boat for Beijing.

The brilliant controlled performance of the Australian Pair of Duncan Free and Drew Ginn was the highlight for Australia on Day 7 of the World Rowing Championships.

DF: We had a good start, nothing special mind you but still pretty good. The rest of the field knew we were going to go out quick and put the focus on the second 500 metres. The New Zealanders were particularly mindful of that so they pushed themselves to stay with us in the second 500 metres. But then we put our foot down over the third 500 metres and that’s where we made our big break and we held that through until the end of the race.

RA: What did you do technically over that third 500 metres that helped you to stretch the field?

DF: I don’t think we lifted the rating up at all; maybe half a point but it was mainly what we were doing through the water and the intensity of our work that was helping to generate the speed.

DF: It really was that third 500 metres that created the issues for the rest of the field. We put the foot down and they didn’t respond. In hindsight I’m glad we did that because I was starting to feel the pinch a bit by the end.

RA: From a personal point of view, you’ve been in the sport for a long time now and you are starting to enjoy real success with your second World Championship. What does it mean to you?

DF: Well I was going to give it away after 2004 so I’m glad I didn’t. Switching over to sweep from sculling and rowing with Drew has meant the results are starting to come which is really pleasing. We’ve put in a lot of hard work and thought into our rowing and today we delivered the product of that effort.

RA: What is it like to row with Drew and why do you think he has been so successful?

DF: When we came together we both talked about what we wanted to get out of it and what we needed to do to make it work. We try to be very diligent in what we do both on and off the water. When we have a session we have clear goals for what we want to achieve. Living in different states as we do (Free in Queensland, Ginn in Victoria) we really have to make the most of the time we spend together.

RA: Certainly a great day for you and Drew, but less than successful for the Australian team with the men’s four and women’s double failing to qualify for Beijing. As a member of the team’s leadership group you must be disappointed?

DF: From my point of view and the point of view of the men’s sweep program, you want the pair, four and eight all to qualify to open it up for as many athletes in your category as possible. The same goes for other categories. There’s still the qualification next year and I think the eight can really go ahead and do something special on the last day of the regatta, win the race and qualify.

RA: It’s fair to say that the depth of international rowing is growing. The Germans and the British also had very lean days today while plenty of medals are being shared among a range of countries particularly from Eastern Europe and New Zealand. Would you agree that it is getting harder to win races at this level?

DF: Especially in a qualification year for the Olympics. Everyone is sending their best athletes at the peak of their form. Not only do you have people having a crack for the medals in the A finals but you have crews working hard in the B finals to make sure they qualify. It is never easy to win races at World Championships or to qualify and it’s getting tougher all the time.

DF: We did it. For everyone who’s helped us along the way, family and friends, everyone involved in the sport at a lot of different levels, we’d just like to say thanks. It really is a matter of keeping the balance in life with work, family and rowing so a lot of people make a lot of sacrifices to allow us to do what we do. I’m pleased that today we could go out there and win the race for them as much as for ourselves. We’ll be home soon with a medal and we’ll make sure we catch up for a beer.

Interiew with Sarah Cook

The other major final contested by the Australian team on Day 7 of the World Rowing Championships was the women’s pair of Kim Crow and Sarah Cook. After jumping out of the start they’d built a strong lead but weren’t able to go on with it finishing fourth and out of the medals.

SC: We’ve been building up to this race and planned to have our best race of the regatta in the pair which I think we did. We ticked off a couple of goals today and although the outcome wasn’t what we were looking for I think it’s put us in a good position and we’ve learnt a lot going into Beijing next year.

SC: We didn’t go out to empty the can. The whole point of the race was to have a technical focus and to row it as well as we possibly could because physically we know we’re going to give it 100% so the only other thing you can do it row as well as you can so that’s what we went out to do, to row a technical and precise race and I think we did that.

SC: We just wanted to complete an even and competitive 1500 and see where we were at that point. I think it was maybe a little bit of inexperience in that last 500 metres that meant we couldn’t hold onto our lead.

RA: Kim also had the misfortune of catching a “crab” which halted your momentum and pushed you into the Germans lane alongside you.

SC: Once that happened we did drop out of medal contention but still maintained fourth position. Our aim was to qualify the boat and learn as much as we could as we go into Beijing next year. We’ve done that and I’m really excited about what’s coming up.

RA: So what are some of the things you have learnt here at the World Championships?

SC: It’s really taught me and I think Kim to race better. How to keep our cool under pressure. We’re both still Under 23’s and so we haven’t been rowing together for 20 years like some of our rivals. We’re just trying to get as much as we can from each race and each scenario. Learning to manage ourselves on and off the water. Over the season we faced lots of different challenges and I think it will definitely hold us in good stead in the races to come.

SC: I definitely want to go out and smash that ight tomorrow. I’m really very excited about the Eight. It’s going so well and I think a gold medal is within our grasp in that event. Our focus will be to have a really solid race. 8 perfect 250’s, one stroke at a time. Just trying to execute the perfect race tomorrow.

Silver medallist in the trunk and arms adaptive category were Australian’s John Maclean and Kathryn Fox.

JM: I had to say that we’re pretty pleased with that given it’s the first time that Kathryn and I have rowed together at an international regatta. We’ve only been together for a couple of months and our coach Pedro Albasar has given us a really good insight into how you row so we’re looking forward to improving in Beijing.

JM: We’re both not, and me probably more than Kathryn, are not great technicians at this stage so that’s something we need to work on when we get back home. If we can do better technically, we will make the boat go faster. Our goal is gold in Beijing so we’re on the way.

RA: You also faced some pretty good opposition today from the Brazilians who won the Gold medal.

JM: Yeah, they were very quick off the mark. They beat us by two seconds in the heat and it was three seconds today. We obviously need to improve on our starts. Once we can do that, I’m confident that we can match them for boat speed after that. It will be an interesting race in Beijing.

JM: I always set myself high expectations and that expectation was to win a gold medal, we’re not here for the tracksuit, but given that we’ve only been in the sport for a short while, it’s a pretty good result. Kathryn moved from Warnambool to Penrith to train which showed great commitment to our crew and I think there are bigger things ahead. We’re happy with silver, it’s time to go and celebrate and then we’ll get back into our training and start preparing for next year.

JM: The beautiful thing about rowing is there is a great sense of inclusion and to be here with the world’s best rowers and to be a part of the Australian team and for everyone to embrace us as adaptive rowers, it’s very special.

RA: It certainly is aligned well isn’t it, with the adaptive featuring as just another event in the regatta.

JM: It’s a beautiful sport and we really do feel like we belong. We’re part of the Australian team, we compete for Australia and everyone gets in behind us.

RA: This interview will be published on the Rowing Australia website, is there anyone you’d like to send a message to back in Australia?

JM: I really want to thank Kathryn in particular and our coach Pedro for all the hard work that they’ve put in. In a short amount of time we’ve made big steps. We look forward to bigger and better things next year. We row out of Lakes Rowers in Penrith so I’d like to thank them and also all the people who have supported us and we look forward to catching up with everyone when we get home.

Peter Hardcastle represents Australia in this event and has made it to the B Final where he had the chance to qualify the boat for Beijing if he could beat one sculler home.

Peter started conservatively with that fifth place in mind and was near the rear of the field after 500 metres behind the early leader Tim Maeyens from Belgium with the Netherlands sculler in second place.

By 1,000 metres Belgium was still leading with the Australian interest being in the race for fifth and sixth and that final place in to Beijing as Hardcastle had dropped back in to sixth at that point.

At 1,500 metres Peter was still sixth but stalking the sculler from Bulgaria who was in fifth.

Peter Hardcastle did a terrific job to move in to clear a fifth place in the last 500 metres and qualify the boat for Australia.

The Australian crew Kerry Hore and Amber Bradley took on the women’s double scull B Final with the task of finishing in the top two placings to qualify the boat for Beijing.

The girls got away well and were near the lead after 500 metres in a tightly bunched field with Italy close behind Australia.

At 1,000 metres it was Italy leading Australia and the USA in a close third place and those three boats had moved clear of the rest of the field.

In the third 500 metres Italy hung on to the lead and the Australian girls were being pressured by the USA. As they went through the 1,500 metre mark it was a canvas and a canvas the margin between the top three boats with only the top two to qualify.

At the line Italy crossed first with the USA second by a very slender margin over just 0.07 of a second over Australia in third place.

Scott Brennan and David Crawshay contested the B Final after missing out on the A Final by a storming finish by New Zealand in the semi final.

When the starter set them off the USA jumped straight to the lead with Australia in a bunch for the other placings and knowing that the first five would qualify for Beijing.

At half way it was still the USA over Germany and Croatia with Australia in fifth position.

In the third 500 metres Australia began to improve and moved in to fourth place and went out after the leading couple of boats. At the 1,500 mark Australia was officially in fifth place but not far from the leaders.

The last 500 metres saw a cracking race with the Croatian crew grabbing the lead in the shadows of the post to win with the Australian crew snatching second place over the USA. Australia qualifies the boat for Beijing.

The Australian crew of Nick Baxter, Francis Hegerty, Sam Loch and James Chapman coached by Andrew Randell took on a full field of six in this race and knew they had to finish top five to qualify the boat for Beijing.

In the first 500 metres Australia was back a little behind the Czech Republic who led from Germany and the USA.

In the middle stages of the race Australia tried to improve its place and moved in to fifth at 1,500 metres narrowly in front of Belarus with all crews knowing the required task.

The Australian crew finished sixth and therefore the boat has not qualified at this stage for the Beijing Games.

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 the A Final knowing they had already qualified the boat for Beijing.

The girls took the lead in the very early stages of the race from Germany and Belarus with Romania in fourth place and established a length's lead after 500 metres.

In the second 500 metres the young Australian crew moved to a clear water lead over Germany and Belarus with the Olympic Champions Romania still in touch.

The crew from Germany almost drew level with Australia in the third 500 metres but Cook and Crow answered the challenge to lead narrowly at the 1,500 metres mark.

The last 500 metres saw a frantic finish with Belarus storming down the middle of the course to grab the lead as the Australian girls put in one dirty stroke which allowed Germany to take second and Romania third.

While there was no medal Sarah and Kim have shown they have the potential to compete at the highest level in the pair.

Australia’s World Champions from Eton in 2006 Duncan Free and Drew Ginn took on a field of six and jumped straight to a narrow lead in front of France and New Zealand and by the 500 metres mark it was Australia by a very narrow margin over New Zealand.

In the second 500 metres the Kiwis moved past Australia with a concerted push but at 1,000 metres Australia had again put their bow in front of the New Zealand boat.

In the third 500 metres the Australian boys put the hammer down and began to move away from New Zealand with Great Britain in third place.

The pair went on to win Australia’s first Gold Medal in emphatic style and to establish a psychological dominance over the field prior to Beijing.

The Australian crew of Vicky Roberts, Emily Martin, Katelynn Gray and Phoebe Stanley faced a straight final of this event with only six entries but they had raced for lanes earlier in the week where they finished in second place.

The girls got off the line well but were behind the early leaders Germany in the first 500 metres with the USA in third place.

In the second 500 metres Germany maintained the lead with the USA moving into second over Australia in third.

At 1,500 metres the USA had taken the lead over Germany with Australia still holding third place.

In the last 500 metres the home town crowd tried to lift Germany but they could not match the USA with the result being USA Gold, Germany Silver and Australia Bronze.

The crew of Jason Heard, Fergus Pragnell and coxswain Marty Rabjohns had worked their way in to the A Final through heats and repechage and had improved with each effort.

In the early part of the race it was Poland and Croatia in the lead with Italy on their heels.

In the middle stages of the race Poland led from Italy and Canada from Croatia with Australia in fifth place at half way.

At the line it was Poland first, Italy second and despite a great last 500 metres from Australia it was Canada third and our boys in fourth place.

Dominic Monypenny from Australia, World Champion for the past two years took on the toughest field he has met to date in the race for Medals .

He knew form the heats that the Israeli and British scullers were his main threats and that is the way it panned out in the race.

Great Britain went to the lead from the outset with Dom settled in second place ahead of the sculler from Israel. The giant of a man representing Britain proved too strong for Dom in the second half of the race winning by just on a length with Dom hanging on for silver just in front of the fast finishing Israeli. Dom wins silver and qualifies the boat for the Beijing Paralymic Games.

The Australian crew of Kathryn Ross and John Maclean were taking on their first major rowing event and had made the Final A by winning their repechage well and were a good chance in the final.

The Brazilian crew got away best form the start and established a length's lead by 1,000 metres over Australia with Poland in third.

The order did not change during the race with the Aussie crew striving hard to haul in the Brazilians but at the line were well pleased with winning a sliver and qualifying the boat for the Beijing Paralympic Games.