Day VIII: Sunday 30 August
Women's Lightweight Double Scull
They just missed the start a little bit by the looks of things and the field jumped.
In those sorts of conditions you have to be on your game and they probably hesitated a fraction off the line and suddenly they were left behind a bit.
It's pretty hard on the outside lane to feel as though you are in touch and they put themselves in a bit of a corner there. It was a hot field though and tricky conditions so they've done well to get that far and they will be looking to the future.
Men's Quad Scull
It was awesome. They showed some really good composure considering they have an interesting mix of experience and youth.
To be up there trading blows with the world and Olympic champions shows they did really well.
The conditions were hard and it is sensational for them to have come this far.
Their race plan was to go out hard and they stuck to their race plan and executed it really well. They showed a lot of class.
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Day VII: Saturday 29 August
Adaptive Men’s Single Scull
I was really pleased for Ben, he is a really good athlete and very mature in many regards considering he has only had a year or so in the boat.
He’s come here and had a crack and to get a bronze medal is certainly a really good result for him.
He gave me heart failure for the first 500m as he had a bit of a slow start but a really good result and something to work with for the future.
Adaptive Mixed Coxed Four
I think their main achievement was making the A Final which was a good target.
Crab or no crab they are competing and giving it a really good go. I was really impressed with them and they have a good framework for the boat for the future.
Women’s Four
When you have a really strong tail wind you just can’t miss a beat and they got a bit bogged down and missed their opportunity to get on the back of some crews through the second 500.
When you get those conditions like we had today you can’t rely on the last 500 metres and you have to put yourself in a good position earlier than that.
Overall though they should be really happy with their first senior world championships.
Women’s Pair
It was a pretty even field I guess. The times showed how even all six crews were and they moved through the first 1000 very well.
As it heated up over the second 1000 of the race they couldn’t quite hang onto the back but not a bad result and I think we can look forward to more in the future from these two girls.
Women’s Double Scull
With these sort of conditions, as I have said already, you really have to be in a position to attack in the last 500 and the girls were just shy of that.
They were just a bit down on their best through the middle of the race but that is international racing for you.
Men’s Four
I thought they rowed really well for about the first 1000 metres and got themselves in a pretty good rhythm.
When the Brits hit the turbos through the 1000m mark they moved a length clear in a pretty short amount of time and that made it tough for our guys.
I guess in some regards they didn’t quite get the result they wanted but it also shows they still have what it takes to win medals at this level.
Men’s Eight
They’re an exciting group of guys and have loads of talent in there that is waiting to be delivered.
I think if they keep chipping away and moving forward in the right direction then we are going to see some fireworks from them in the next few years.
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Day VI: Friday 28 August
Here is National High Performance Director Andrew Matheson’s take on the sixth day of the World Rowing Championships.
The day saw two more crews qualify for A Finals, and the men’s lightweight four finish second in the C Final.
Men’s Lightweight Four
They rowed well and it was a nice way to finish off the campaign. The whole regatta was a good step for them. They noticeably improved during each race and can take a lot away from the World Championships and into the future.
Women’s Lightweight Double Scull
It was a good race from them and they certainly stepped up. They were better technically but just juggling their race plan slightly.
They will pick up on their length and a couple of other things for the final and will have a good mix that will leave them in good shape for the final.
Men’s Quad
It is a tough event and there is a lot of depth in that field. They are holding their nerve really well considering there are a couple of young guys in there.
Overall it was a really pleasing performance and confident they will step up for the final.
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Day V: Thursday 27 August
Men’s Lightweight Four
It was a good result for the guys and puts them into the C Final today. The thing that is really pleasing is that they continue stepping up in every race and it shows that they are learning.
They have developed really well and are getting better and better. Hopefully they step up another notch today when they come up against the British crew again. It would be good to see them finish off the regatta with a bit of a flurry.
Women’s Pair
They definitely improved from where they were in their heat and I think what we have seen across the board is that performances in the heats have been a bit shaky which is understandable as it was their first race of the year.
They took a real step and their confidence would have got a good boost and the way they approached the race was great.
If they can raise the bar in the final again then we should be in for a good race.
Women’s Double Scull
They went out a bit slower than a couple of the crews but it shows that we are still a bit shy on racing and so we are juggling with race plans to get it right.
Their base speed is good though and if we get the race plan right tomorrow could be a good day for them.
Men’s Four
This could be one of the finals of the regatta and from speaking to them they really didn’t want a repeat of the semi-final from Beijing where they struggled a bit early and it shows the experience they have gained in a year.
They are trying to put their mark on the regatta and they went a long way to doing that yesterday.
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Day IV: Wednesday 26 August
Australia saw the men’s quad scull qualify for the semi-finals on Wednesday, while the men’s lightweight four and men’s eight just missed out on progressing to their respective semi-finals and final.
Men’s Lightweight Four
The lighty four have come a long way. What we are trying to do is set up some boats for the future and I think they raced really well today.
They worked on a couple of things they didn’t get right in the heat and moved up a notch. We are seeing that it is a pretty tough event out there. We have some of the big nations like GB in particular not even getting in the A/B semis which is tough. That’s good because that’s why we’re here.
I think they will take this experience and move on with it and at the end of the Olympic cycle we are going to have a good group.
Men’s Quad Scull
I think they just needed to get a bit of a blow out today and they did a pretty comfortable job of that in a reasonably good time.
They will have a tough semi-final on Friday but it should be a cracking race so we can look forward to that.
Men’s Eight
It’s always nice to get a result but it’s probably a bit disappointing for them as athletes. We know they are a lot quicker than that. The speeds they were doing in Penrith only a matter of weeks ago in cold water and a cold day with no wind assistance was not much different to the times they were doing here.
To me that was a learning experience that hopefully they can get something out of because they are definitely a lot better. They will learn something that repechage racing at the world championships is a very tough gig.
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Day III: Tuesday 25 August
Australia qualified all three boats in action for the A Final on Day 3. Here is Andrew Matheson’s take on proceedings.
Adaptive Men’s Single Scull
Ben’s been really consistent in his training and racing and in all the preparation he has done so it was no big surprise that if he stuck to his race plan he would make the final.
He put in a really good display and despite being put under a bit of pressure around the 500m mark just stuck to his guns and did a really good job.
In the final it looks like there will be four guys going for three medals so it will be a tough race but Ben has the ability to feature in the medals.
Adaptive Mixed Coxed Four
They rowed really well today and came under some considerable pressure but pushed through after the 500m mark and held their advantage over the other crews.
A really good performance and once again emphasising it was a good selection to let them come over here.
Women’s Four
It’s been really hard for them as we are up to Tuesday and haven’t had a race for them, while everyone else in the camp has had one or two races.
It was tough for them to sit around and wait and wait and wait and it probably showed a bit in their first 500 when they were a bit zippy but they then got their control and length back and did well from then on.
They did better as the race went on and it was a good one for them to get out of the way heading into the final. The Dutch and United States are strong but they should walk away from this with real confidence and they were really competitive, so as long as they stick to the way they need to row and move the boat anything could happen.
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Day II: Monday 24 August
Day 2 Review with Andrew Matheson
The second day of the 2009 World Rowing Championships provided tricky racing conditions for all the crews. Here is how National High Performance Director Andrew Matheson viewed the racing.
Adaptive Men’s Single Scull
I thought Ben had a good row. He probably didn’t quite stick to his race plan out of the blocks but that’s just his first international race for a while.
His middle piece through the race was really good. He has a bit to improve on but will be really happy overall.
His heat was the quickest by far and he should be confident that he has a lot of speed there.
Adaptive Mixed Coxed Four
They certainly showed they were worthy of selection today. They raced well and has some really good rhythm out there.
They were getting pushed on with 250 to go but showed good strength over the closing stages to finish it off.
Women’s Lightweight Double Scull
We were drawn against the form crew of the year in Great Britain and they raced pretty well. They were a bit nervous and that showed a bit in the first part of the race when they didn’t quite settle into the rhythm they were looking for.
They still had a really good race, and what we are still seeing as a carry on from yesterday is that we haven’t been up here racing in Europe so we shouldn’t expect to be winning all our races early on.
Men’s Lightweight Four
They are a pretty young crew and did very well today. Chris Bigg was only ruled out two weeks ago and Tom Bertrand has come in and done a good job.
Once again, speaking to Chris O’Brien about the race, there are a few things he saw they could work on but I think they have come a long way from some of the performances we saw at selections in April.
I am really impressed with the work Chris has done with them and the group as a whole. They are right amongst it and if they can work on a few things that Chris has talked about they can have a good regatta.
Men’s Quad Scull
The conditions right across the board today, particularly towards the latter part of the day, were very challenging with a really strong head wind which you have to be right on your game to get it right.
The quad is quick but it was not really their conditions and they didn’t quite adjust to it.
They have got the base speed that they require and some determination and I think the extra race in the repechage will only help them.
Men’s Eight
I think if you look and do a head count on the amount of experience in our boat and compare it to our competitors you could say that we are inexperienced, especially in the volume of training done over the years.
This boat is more part of our longer term plan of building lots of really good athletes across the Olympic cycle and they have put a stake in the ground as a group there and shown they want to compete at this level.
They took it to the Germans and British today and that will leave them in good shape for the repechage on Wednesday.
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Day I: Sunday 23 August
Day 1 Review with Andrew Matheson
National High Performance Director Andrew Matheson reviews the first day of the 2009 FISA World Rowing Championships.
Women’s Pair
It was a good start to racing today for Australia. The women’s pair started it off well in their heat.
It was good to see them go through. I think they probably have a few things they can work on which is encouraging as we will be able to get a bit more speed out of them. They looked a little bit rusty out of the blocks but a good promising start for them.
Women’s Double
Sal and Pippa in the double haven’t raced together in the double before but I thought they showed a lot of maturity.
They bided their time well and held their boat speed, they didn’t rush things and when they were ready to go they put the hammer down and cleared out so I thought that was a really mature race for a reasonably new combination.
It was good for them to up against the United States early on, as they won world cup 3.
It gives us a really good gauge of where we are at and shows we are in the hunt come finals day.
Men’s Four
Probably one of the pleasing things with them is that there are a few things they can work on as well.
It was a good one to get out of the way. It is always hard coming in as one of the leading boats from the year before and not having international racing to date so I thought that was a really good race from them.
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