Day VIII: Sunday 30 August
Men’s quad claim stunning silver
The Australian men’s quad scull has defied the odds to win the silver medal at the 2009 FISA World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.
A tail wind swept down the course for the second day of finals action which created fast pace racing from all boat classes and especially in the men’s quad.
Dan Noonan (NSW), David Crawshay (VIC), Jared Bidwell (QLD) and Nick Hudson (NSW) had the task set before them against the world and Olympic champions from Poland but took it to the raging favourites over the first 1000m, leading them by a canvas through the halfway point.
Poland managed to put half a length on the Australian crew over the next quarter but stroked by the dogged Dan Noonan, Australia clung to the Polish and was able to hold off the challenge from Germany on the line to win the silver medal.
Poland crossed the line in 5:38.33, only two seconds shy of the world best time, with Australia just over a second behind in 5:39.66. They held off Germany by 19 hundredths of a second.
“We knew we had to get out to a really fast start,” Noonan said. “We found ourselves right up there at the 1000 and it just all came together.
“We had a few rough strokes towards the end there but we are ecstatic with the medal. The Germans are a really strong and we could see them coming at us but we had enough to hold them off.”
Noonan, Crawshay, Bidwell and Hudson was one of Australia’s form crews throughout the Australian winter and consistently recorded the best prognostic times during training.
Noonan stroked the men’s quad scull at the Beijing OlympicGames when it set a world record in the heat, before missing out on a medal by only one third of a second in the final.
Crawshay won the gold medal in the men’s double scull in Beijing last year with Scott Brennan (TAS), but with Brennan taking a year off, Crawshay focused his attention on the larger boat.
They were joined in the crew by world championship debutants Bidwell and Hudson and they grew in confidence throughout the week of racing, in what proved to be one of the tightest boat classes.
The Australian crew remained low profile while Poland and Croatia played mind games across the regatta.
The young Croatian crew announced at the beginning of the week that they wanted to win every world championships and Olympic Games until 2016, while Poland, the current Olympic and world champions claimed Australia only qualified for the final due to a favourable lane in the semi final.
Noonan said the Australian crew ignored the hype.
“We are the only non European nation in the final and after we finished fourth in the heat maybe were ignored. It shows a lot of courage to pull it off in the final.”
Alice McNamara (VIC) and Bronwen Watson (NSW) finished fifth in the final of the women’s lightweight double scull.
The Australian crew could not recover from a slightly slow start as Greece took the lead through 750 metres and finished clear of the field by five seconds in a time of 6:51.46. Poland was second and Great Britain third, while Australia crossed the line in 7:01.32.
McNamara and Watson are dual world champions in the lightweight women’s quad scull having won the title in 2007 and 2008.
They came together in 2009 in the priority lightweight women’s sculling boat and will aim to build upon this result in the coming three years before the 2012 London Olympic Games.
In the final race of the regatta Germany won the blue riband men’s eight by a boat length over Canada and Netherlands in 5:24.13.
For full race reports and schedule please visit www.rowingaustralia.com.au.
For all media enquiries please call
David Polglase on +48 787 676 639
back to top
Day VII: Saturday 29 August
Men’s Four add world championship silver
The Australian men’s four has won silver at the 2009 FISA World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland
In the cooler, tail wind conditions at the Malta Regatta Course, Francis Hegerty (NSW), Cameron McKenzie-McHarg (VIC), James Marburg (VIC) and Matt Ryan (NSW) added world championship silver to the Olympic silver they won last year.
Great Britain and Australia took the race out quickly as expected and the two crews had opened up a sizeable margin on the rest of the field at the halfway point.
Great Britain moved out to boat length lead by the 1250m mark and despite the best efforts of the Australian crew they were unable to reel in Great Britain who crossed the line in 5:47.28. Australia was three quarters of a length back in 5:49.20.
Hegerty, McKenzie-McHarg, Marburg and Ryan are one of the great success stories of Australian rowing. They missed out on selection in the Australian men’s eight in 2008, the priority sweep boat, and were placed into the four and given the opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Under the watchful eye of coach Tim Conrad they won World Cup 2, before winning the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta which was also held in Poznan.
At the Olympic Games they almost caused one of the biggest upsets of the regatta when they led the favoured British crew for 1800 metres before finishing in the silver medal position.
Stroke of the crew Francis Hegerty says the silver medal is still a great result.
It’s great to get the silver, and although gold would have been nice, it shows we are a contender,” Hegerty said.
“Most of the guys in all the crews know each other pretty well and are forming a good rivalry. It’s really good in such a quality field that we are in a position to win medals.
“It was a bit bumpy out there today but you come to Poland expecting tricky conditions like that.”
Pippa Savage (QLD) and Sally Kehoe (QLD) finished fourth in the hotly contested final of the women’s double scull.
In one of the closest finals, which left all crews in with the chance of a medal with 250 metres remaining, Poland delighted the home fans by holding off Great Britain on the line to take the race in 6:47.18.
Bulgaria edged over the Australian crew in the last ten strokes to claim the bronze medal, while Savage and Kehoe recorded a time of 6:52.18.
Savage and Kehoe, who both herald from the non-rowing town of Toowoomba in Queensland, began rowing together for the first time in May of this year and formed a formidable combination.
Kehoe has previously been a dual world junior champion, firstly in the women’s double scull in 2003, and then the following year in the women’s single scull. At senior level Kehoe claimed a bronze in this event in 2005 with West Australian Amber Bradley, while she won a silver medal in the women’s quad scull in 2006.
Savage burst onto the scene in 2007 by winning national titles in the single, double and quad sculls at Nagambie Lakes in Victoria, and followed this up the following year with national titles in the single and double scull, before being selected as the women’s single scull for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games where she finished 10th.
Sarah Cook (ACT) and Kim Crow (VIC) finished fifth in the final of the women’s pair.
Cook and Crow were in fifth place at the halfway mark of the race, but only two seconds separated the entire field, with Romania leading the way in Lane 6. USA came over the Romania crew in the closing 500 metres to win in a time of 7:06.28 in front of Romania and New Zealand. Australia stopped the clock at 7:09.25.
Cook and Crow have been selected as the Australian women’s pair for the last three seasons now, finishing fourth in the 2007 World Championships and 10th at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. They also combined to win World Cup 1 in 2007.
Their improvement during every race in the regatta was noticeable, having finished third in their heat and then securing a second place finish in the semi-final to qualify for the medal race.
Emily Rose (WA), Libby Alderman (WA), Laura Osti (SA) and Sophia Robson (VIC) missed out on a medal by a third of a boat length in the women’s four
Australia was sixth through the first 500m and put in a hard middle 1000m to move into fourth place with a quarter of the race remaining, but were unable to overhaul Canada for the bronze medal.
Netherlands won the race in 6:31.34 ahead of USA and Canada, while Australia crossed the line in 6:37.71.
Rose, Alderman, Osti and Robson all made their senior world championships debut this year and are part of the exciting group of younger rowers coming through the Rowing Australia program.
Rose and Alderman won a silver medal in the women’s pair at the Under 23 World Championships in 2008, while Osti won a bronze medal in the women’s quad scull and Robson finished fifth in the women’s four.
For full race reports and schedule please visit www.rowingaustralia.com.au.
For all media enquiries please call
David Polglase on +48 787 676 639
back to top
Houlison claims debut bronze
Australian Ben Houlison has won the bronze medal in the adaptive men’s single scull at the 2009 FISA World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.
Houlison (NSW), who is competing in his first world championship regatta, slightly missed the start but showed his power through the middle of the race to move through the field and claim the bronze medal on the line over United States rower Ron Harvey.
Great Britain’s Tom Aggar defended his world title from 2007 with another commanding performance, finishing in a time of 4:51.48. He finished 15 seconds clear of Ukraine’s Andrii Kryvchun, while Houlison crossed the line in 5:12.11.
Houlison said he expected the field to get a good jump from the start.
“We had a tail wind so the plan was to pick a speed and stick to it,” Houlison said. “I had to come over the New Zealander and USA rowers in the last 250 but that was the plan.
“I’m ecstatic. The plan was to make the A Final and to come away with a medal is fantastic.”
The adaptive mixed coxed four of Henry Macphillamy (NSW), Peter Siri (QLD), Carol Cooke (VIC) and Alexandra Green (NSW), coxed by Lisa Brown (VIC), finished sixth in their final.
The crew, the last to be selected by Australia ahead of the World Championships, improved with every row during the season and produced a solid row in the final.
The race was taken out by Great Britain in a time of 3:25.33 ahead of Italy and Germany.
Australia will compete in a further four A Finals during the Saturday program, with the women’s pair, women’s double scull, women’s four and men’s four aiming to add to the Australian medal haul.
For full race reports and schedule please visit www.rowingaustralia.com.au.
For all media enquiries please call
David Polglase on +48 787 676 639
back to top
Day VI: Friday 28 August
Australia lines up for eight finals at World Championships
Australia will contest eight A Finals after two more crews qualified from their respective semi-finals on Friday at the 2009 FISA Rowing World Championships in Poznan, Poland.
In hot and humid conditions at the Malta Regatta Course the women’s lightweight double scull and men’s quad scull both successfully negotiated their semi-finals to join the six other crews who are contesting medal races.
Six of these finals will be held on Saturday, while the women’s lightweight double scull and men’s quad scull will conclude proceedings with their final on Sunday.
The women’s lightweight double scull of Alice McNamara (VIC) and Bronwen Watson (NSW) qualified for the final with a third place finish in their semi-final.
Greece set an electric pace off the blocks and moved to almost two lengths clear of the field at the 1000m mark, with Australia in a battle for second and third with Cuba and Canada.
Watson and McNamara were able to go with Canada over the final 500m, leaving Cuba behind, and finished a canvas off Canada in a time of 7:32.13, two lengths behind winners’ Greece.
“We did what we had to do to reach the final so we are pretty happy,” McNamara said. “We have a couple of things to work on but it should be a tight race in the final on Sunday.”
The men’s quad scull crew of Dan Noonan (NSW), David Crawshay (VIC), Jared Bidwell (QLD) and Nick Hudson (NSW) produced an excellent final 200m sprint to finish second behind Olympic champions Poland in their semi-final.
Poland led for the entire race, with Australia in third place at the 1000m mark marginally behind the Ukraine crew. With 500m remaining, Croatia joined the hunt for one of the three qualifying places.
Poland held on to win in 5:56.04, while Australia edged Croatia on the line by five hundredths of a second in a time of 5:57.69, with all three crews progressing to the final.
“Poland and Ukraine went out pretty hard,” Crawshay said. “We expected it from Poland but not so much from Ukraine.
“We put in a pretty hard second 500 to set ourselves up for a good second half of the race. When there was 200 metres to go and we were level with Ukraine we all knew we had worked too hard to let it slip so gave it everything.”
In the earlier C Final of the lightweight men’s four, Angus Tyers (VIC), Ross Brown (WA), Tom Bertrand (VIC) and Darryn Purcell (QLD) finished second behind Great Britain to round out their regatta.
Great Britain led for the majority of the race, while Australia moved from third at the halfway mark into second and crossed the line in a time of 6:43.91.
For full race reports and schedule please visit www.rowingaustralia.com.au.
For all media enquiries please call
David Polglase on +48 787 676 639
back to top
Day V: Thursday 27 August
Australian crews shine on world stage
Three more Australian crews have qualified for A Finals on an excellent day of rowing for Australia at the 2009 World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.
In the most favourable conditions so far during the regatta there was only the very slightest of head winds blowing down the course as a large group of Australian supporters watched the men’s four, women’s double and women’s pair progress. They join the adaptive men’s single scull, adaptive mixed coxed four and women’s four in the A Final on Saturday.
The Australian men’s four underlined themselves as a medal favourite by blitzing their semi-final.
The silver medal crew from Beijing featuring Francis Hegerty (NSW), Cameron McKenzie-McHarg (VIC), James Marburg (VIC) and Matt Ryan (NSW) had put two lengths on the field by the 1000m mark and brought the boat home in a time of 6:00.94, a clear boat ahead of Belarus and the Czech Republic.
Bow seat of the men’s four, Matt Ryan, said the race went according to plan.
“The plan was to take it out pretty hard today,” Ryan said. “We had a rough start in the semi in Beijing so didn’t want that to happen again.”
They will face Great Britain in the final, who achieved a similarly comfortable victory in the first semi-final.
“It should be a great race against Great Britain again in the final. If we can get a good start again over the first 1000m and bring it home well it should be a good spectacle.”
Sarah Cook (ACT) and Kim Crow (VIC) rowed a strong semi final to finish second and progress to the final of the women’s pair.
Cook and Crow, who finished fourth in the same event at the 2007 World Championships, required a top three finish which was never in doubt after a steady start had them in second through 1000m. They kicked with the USA crew in the third 500m and crossed the line in 7:21.82, a length behind the United States.
After the race Cook said they were happy with the improved performance from the heat.
“We wanted to put together a really solid piece today and we did that and can now look forward to the final,” Cook said.
“We are looking to improve on every row we have together and we’re really happy.”
Pippa Savage (QLD) and Sally Kehoe (QLD) finished second in the women’s double scull semi-final to also move through to the final.
The Toowoomba pair was in third place at the halfway mark of the race behind the Czech Republic and Great Britain, but produced a customary strong final 750 metres to pass the Czech crew and finish half a length down on Great Britain in a time of 6:56.09.
National High Performance Manager Andrew Matheson said he was pleased with their race.
“The girls raced to a good plan today and did what they needed to do to make the final,” Matheson said. “The British crew is one of the favourites for the event and it was nice to get a run at them before the final.
“Pippa and Sally have shown they have a great finish on them and stood up today when they needed to and can now have a crack in the final.”
The men’s lightweight four recorded a win in the C/D semi final to secure a berth in the C Final on Friday.
Angus Tyers (VIC), Ross Brown (WA), Tom Bertrand (VIC) and Darryn Purcell (QLD) crossed the line in a time of 6:21.44 to finish two boat lengths of New Zealand, while Chile was third.
Australia will contest two further semi-finals on Friday, with the women’s lightweight double scull and men’s quad scull aiming to gain places in the A Final.
For full race reports and schedule please visit www.rowingaustralia.com.au.
For all media enquiries please call
David Polglase on +48 787 676 639
back to top
Day IV: Wednesday 26 August
Men’s quad wins through to World semi-finals
The men’s quad scull headlined Australia’s results on the fourth day of the 2009 FISA World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.
Under cloudy skies and with a light tail wind they progressed to the semi-final, while the men’s eight and men’s lightweight four could not advance.
The men’s quad scull surged into the semi-finals with a solid row in their repechage to get their regatta back on course.
After just missing out on direct qualification for the semi final in their heat on Monday, Dan Noonan (NSW), David Crawshay (VIC), Jared Bidwell (QLD) and Nick Hudson (NSW) finished a boat length clear in the repechage.
Their time of 5:46.93 was too quick for the rest of the field to handle, as they finished a boat length clear of the USA with Estonia in third place.
Australian men’s team captain and 3 seat in the quad scull, David Crawshay, said the crew have been happy with both rows so far.
“I don’t think we were off the board in the heat, it was just an extremely tough race and still executed it pretty well,” Crawshay said. “We only had a couple of minor things to work on and used this race very much as a rehearsal for the semi-final.
“We needed to get our intensity right from the 400m mark through to just after the 1000 and we got out to a good lead.
“We were intent on staying in the lead so we could get off the water and say we executed what we wanted to do.”
The men’s eight finished fourth in the repechage to fall short of qualifying for the A Final.
After only missing out on a direct place by 5 hundredths of a second in their heat, they were not able to match the pace of Poland in the repechage and finished in a time of 5:35.71, six seconds off the pace. Poland and Italy advanced to the final.
The men’s lightweight four of Angus Tyers (VIC), Ross Brown (WA), Tom Bertrand (VIC) and Darryn Purcell (QLD) narrowly missed out on a place in the semi-finals after a third place finish in their repechage.
Through 1000m the Australian crew sat just behind Switzerland in second place, with Canada in third, with the Canadians moving through Australia just short of the 1500m mark. Switzerland won the repechage in 6:02.59, with Canada 13 hundredths of a second further back and Australia crossing the line in 6:04.93.
The will now row in the lower ranked semi-finals tomorrow afternoon.
Semi-final action commences tomorrow with the Australian women’s pair, women’s double scull and men’s four all chasing berths in the final.
For full race reports and schedule please visit www.rowingaustralia.com.au.
For all media enquiries please call
David Polglase on +48 787 676 639
back to top
Day III: Tuesday 25 August
Australian crews book final berths
Three Australian crews have qualified for the final of their respective events at the 2009 FISA World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.
With a stiff head breeze still prevailing over the Malta Regatta Course Australia confirmed itself as one of the leading adaptive rowing nations after both boats qualified for the A Final.
Ben Houlison (NSW) won his repechage of the adaptive men’s single scull with a commanding performance that will set himself up for medal contention on Saturday.
Houlison recorded a time of 5:54.47 to finish eight seconds clear of USA rower Ron Harvey.
Houlison will face Paralympic and world champion Tom Aggar in the final but is confident of a strong performance.
“I have been happy with both my performances so far and have completed the first aim of making the A Final,” Houlison. “I know I have the pace and plan to challenge in the final so looking forward to racing on Saturday now.”
The adaptive mixed coxed four finished second in their repechage to also secure a place in the main final on Saturday morning.
Coxed by Lisa Brown (VIC), the crew of Henry Macphillamy (NSW), Peter Siri (QLD), Carol Cooke (VIC) and Alexandra Green crossed the line in a time of 4:02.03, four lengths behind the winning Canadian crew.
The women’s four crew of Sophia Robson (VIC), Libby Alderman (WA), Laura Osti (SA) and Emily Rose (WA) raced for lanes for the final due to only six entries for the regatta.
They finished third in the race in a time of 7:20.95. The Netherlands won the race by a length from USA, while Australia was just over a length further back.
For full race reports and schedule please visit www.rowingaustralia.com.au.
For all media enquiries please call
David Polglase on +48 787 676 639
back to top
Day II: Monday 24 Augst
Lightweight double cruises into semi-final
Australia had a mixed morning of results with only one more crew progressing to the semifinals at the 2009 World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.
Conditions grew tougher all morning into a stiffening head breeze with four Australian crews in action following the adaptive races earlier.
The women’s lightweight double scull of Alice McNamara (VIC) and Bronwen Watson (NSW) finished second in their heat to qualify for the semi-finals.
Matched up against the form international crew of 2009, Great Britain, Australia held with the world cup winners down the course and finished half a boat back in a time of 8:03.94.
Watson said the conditions were challenging.
“It was very tough, but we are really pleased to get our first race under the belt,” Watson said. “The GB crew will be the main contenders so it’s good we got an idea of their pace and what we can do against them.”
Australia’s men’s eight narrowly missed out on direct qualification for the final after being pipped on the line by Great Britain.
With two crews qualifying directly for the final, the young Australian crew stroked by Richard Allsop (NSW) finished third in a time of 5:59.53 to cross the line behind Germany and Great Britain. They will race in the repechage on Wednesday and will need a top two finish to make the A Final.
The men’s lightweight four of Angus Tyers (VIC), Ross Brown (WA), Tom Bertrand (VIC) and Darryn Purcell (QLD) finished fourth in their heat and will row in the repechage. They were third through the 1000m mark but could not hold off Great Britain over the closing stages to finish in a time of 6:46.86. Czech Republic won the heat, with Spain in second and Great Britain third.
Dan Noonan (NSW), David Crawshay (VIC), Nick Hudson (NSW) and Jared Bidwell (QLD) finished fourth in their heat of the men’s quad scull forcing them into a repechage row on Wednesday.
Olympic champions Poland won the heat ahead of France and Slovenia, while Australia finished in 6:22.08.
For full race reports and schedule please visit www.rowingaustralia.com.au.
For all media enquiries please call
David Polglase on +48 787 676 639
back to top
Adaptive crews start world campaign
Australia’s two adaptive crews have completed their heats on the second morning of the 2009 FISA World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.
Ben Houlison (NSW), racing in his first world championships, finished third in Heat 1 of the men’s adaptive single scull as a head breeze greeted the athletes.
Houlison finished behind Great Britain rower Tom Aggar, the defending Olympic and world champion in the category. Aggar recorded a time of 5:37.37, while Ukraine rower Andrii Kryvchun was second and Houlison third in 5:50.02.
Houlison will now race in the repechage tomorrow morning and will require a top two four finish to reach the final.
The adaptive mixed coxed four of Henry Macphillamy (NSW), Peter Siri (QLD), Carol Cooke (VIC) and Alexandra Green (NSW), coxed by Lisa Brown (VIC), rowed a strong heat to finish behind Paralympic champions Italy in second place.
Italy won the heat in 3:49.31, while Australia crossed the line in 3:58.37 and will now race in the repechage tomorrow morning.
Cox of the adaptive mixed four, Lisa Brown, said the race plan went well.
“We went in with a specific race plan and pumped it out well,” Brown said. “The Italians rowed a good race but we are happy with where are placed after the first row.”
For full race reports and schedule please visit www.rowingaustralia.com.au.
For all media enquiries please call
David Polglase on +48 787 676 639
back to top
Day I: Sunday 23 August
Toowoomba double leads Australia into semi-finals
All three Australian crews in action have won through to the semi-finals on the opening morning of the 2009 FISA World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.
The first day of the championships was greeted with sunny skies, with a light wind that moved between a cross and cross-tail.
Pippa Savage (QLD) and Sally Kehoe (QLD), competing in their first international race together, were impressive in winning their heat of the women’s double scull.
Savage and Kehoe have combined well since coming together in June and sat behind the United States crew over the first 1500m before surging to the front over the closing stages of the race.
They won in a time of 7:04.71, a full boat length clear of USA, while Germany also progressed to the semi-finals.
After the race Kehoe said their first race had gone to plan.
“We have only been rowing together for eight weeks now and it was good to get the first one out of the way,” Kehoe said. “We knew the Americans would be fast starters so we just wanted to use them as the benchmark.”
The Australian men’s four of Francis Hegerty (NSW), Cameron McKenzie-McHarg (VIC), James Marburg (VIC) and Matt Ryan (NSW) showed they will be one of the crews to beat in 2009 as they won their heat.
The silver medallists from Beijing in 2008 have remained together this year and were in second place behind the Germans with 500m remaining, before rowing through to take the race in 5:57.83.
Hegerty said the crew was pleased to be racing again.
“It was good to get back out on the world circuit and get the first race under the belt,” Hegerty said. “It’s a really strong field again this year and we can’t take anyone for granted.”
Sarah Cook (ACT) and Kim Crow (VIC) finished third in their heat of the women’s pair to qualify for the semi-finals.
Cook and Crow were second through 1000m behind the USA, before being passed by the Great Britain crew in the last 750m to cross the line in a time of 7:26.94. USA won the heat in a time of 7:20.21.
Six Australian crews will race on the second day of the regatta.
For full race reports and schedule please visit www.rowingaustralia.com.au.
For all media enquiries please call
David Polglase on +48 787 676 639
back to top
Saturday 22 August
Aussie Bolt second on water
South Australian Matt Bolt has finished second in the men’s single scull spares race at the 2009 ICF World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.
With racing set to commence on Sunday 23 August all team reserves have the opportunity to race and Bolt, who is providing cover for all the male crews at the regatta, finished second behind Germany.
Earlier in the international season Bolt was part of the Under 23 men’s quad scull that won bronze at the Under 23 World Rowing Championships, before he joined the Senior A squad shortly before they flew out from Australia.
Bolt has proved an invaluable member of the team, as noted by Men’s Head Coach Noel Donaldson.
“He’s been great since he came into camp after the Under 23’s,” Donaldson said. “We’ve had to probably use him 50 per cent of the time and it’s a credit to him that he has been able to sweep on both sides of the boat and keep his sculling up.
“He’s been really good, minds his own business, gets on with the job and does all the right things.
“He was a bit fatigued today, showing the role he has had to play as reserve. He got away pretty well but showed his tiredness near the end.”
The draw (pdf, 36kb) for the 2009 FISA World Rowing Championships will be released at 5pm this afternoon.
Australia will have three crews competing on Sunday, with the women’s pair the first in action, followed by the women’s double scull and men’s four.
For more information on all Australian crews please visit www.rowingaustralia.com.au.
For all media enquiries please call
David Polglase on +48 787 676 639
back to top
Thursday 20 August
Championships loom as Australia enters Poland
The Australian Rowing Team is settling into Poland as they finalise preparations ahead of the start of the 2009 FISA World Rowing Championships on Sunday 23 August.
The team arrived in Poznan on Tuesday following an eight day training camp in Varese, Italy and have completed a few sessions on the Malta Regatta Course.
All 10 Australian crews are eager to begin their world championship campaign against the best rowers from around the world.
19 of the Australian team are making their senior team world championships debut, while 11 return from the 2008 Beijing Olympic team.
National High Performance Director Andrew Matheson says the eight days spent in Varese has left the team in good shape.
“The training facilities in Varese are superb and the AIS have done a superb job with all their facilities there and not just the rowing,” Matheson said. “We had some excellent water to row on for the entire camp.
“I have been impressed with the way all our crew have progressed since selection and I am looking forward to seeing them in action over the course of the regatta.”
The final draw will be made on Saturday at 3pm.
Please visit www.rowingaustralia.com.au for more information on the world championships.
For all media enquiries please call
David Polglase on +48 787 676 639
