Race reports
Day IV: Sunday 25 July
The men’s lightweight double scull of Adam Kachyckyj and Edward de Carvalho led off Australia’s crews on the final day of the 2010 Under 23 World Rowing Championships in Brest, Belarus.
After missing out on the A Final, they lined up in the B Final and from lane 6 found themselves in 5th place through the first two timing splits.
Home nation Belarus led proceedings at the 1000m mark but were overtaken by Bulgaria, before Sweden made their charge in the final 500m to take the win in the B Final.
Kachyckyj and de Carvalho made a late run to narrowly miss out on fourth place, finishing in a time of 6:57.63.
Jonothon Hookway, David de Lang, James Wilson and Tim Widdicombe were next in action as they contested the B Final of the men’s lightweight four.
Stroked by Hookway, Australia got off to a great start to sit in second position through 500m, narrowly behind the crew from Chile.
Chile held the lead at the 1000m mark, but Australia slipped back to fourth place, overtaken by Japan and Spain.
As the pace quickened in the closing strokes of the race, Australia was unable to hang on, recording a time of 6:35.43, to finish in sixth place.
Japan won the B Final ahead of Spain and Chile.
Sasha Belonogoff, Shane Jackson, Samuel Martin and Zac Cleaver lined up in the B Final of the men’s quad scull and raced from Lane 1.
The Australian crew was quick out of the start and held the lead in the first 500m, before reaching the halfway mark 1.5 seconds clear of second placed Italy.
Australia was getting pushed by the Italian crew and has their lead reduced to less than a second at 1500m, and despite their best efforts over the final quarter, were unable to hold off the Italian charge, finishing second in 6:10.09, just under two seconds down on the Italians.
The Australian men’s eight crew of Daniel Sweeney, Brendan Murray, Tom Gatti, Joshua Booth, Alex Fowler, Adam Wertheimer, Scott Laidler and Alex Scharp raced in Australia’s fourth B Final of the day and looked to draw inspiration from the good row from the men’s quad scull.
Coxed by Mark Alexander, Australia flew out of the start and was in first position at both 500m and 1000m, leading Estonia and France at the middle checkpoint.
Estonia and France then made their moves in the critical third 500m, while Australia remained within half a boat length.
Estonia held on to cross the line in first place, with France claiming second and Australia earning a third place finish in 6:00.27.
The Australian men’s four entered the A Final as Australia’s final hope of a medal at the regatta.
Joshua Dunkley Smith, Nicholas Purnell, Dominic Grimm and Will Lockwood had a disrupted week following Dunkley Smith’s contraction of a virus, but had made it through to the final and raced from Lane 5.
Italy led the Czech Republic and Great Britain out of the start, while Australia was in fourth place, retaining this position after the second 500m.
In an extremely close race Dunkley Smith upped the Australian rate and with just 500m remaining Italy, Great Britain and Australia were separated by only 0.63 seconds.
The race was there to be won for all three crews but Italy was able to produce a great finish to take the gold medal by just over half a boat length. Great Britain pipped Australia on the line by 0.07 seconds, Australia finishing in a time of 6:08.55 to take home the bronze medal.
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Day III: Saturday 24 July
Joshua Dunkley Smith was fit enough to resume his position as stroke of the men’s four as Day 3 of the 2010 Under 23 World Rowing Championships commenced in Brest, Belarus. Dunkley Smith joined Nicholas Purnell, Dominic Grimm and Will Lockwood in the semi-final of the men’s four and from the first strokes of the race it was clear that three crews were stronger than the others.
Italy led out of the blocks as the Czech Republic and Australia also showed their ability, and at the halfway mark the crews were in that order.
The Czech Republic looked to make a move on Italy with 500m to go, but Italy responded and went clear to win by three quarters of a boat length, with Australia another length back in third in a time of 6:07.44. All three crews qualified for the A Final.
Adam Kachyckyj and Edward de Carvalho raced in the semi finals of the men’s lightweight double scull and faced a tough task against a talented young field.
Kachyckyj and de Carvalho found themselves in sixth place at the 500m mark and the early pace was set by Greece, Azerbaijan and Germany.
Greece led at every timing buoy as they led the first three crews through to the A Final, while Germany took second and Azerbaijan third.
Australia could not make up the ground required in the second half of the race and finished in 6:41.58 and will now race in the B Final on Sunday.
Jonothon Hookway, David de Lang, James Wilson and Tim Widdicombe were the third crew in action as they chased a place in the final of the men’s lightweight four.
Italy, Germany and the USA were the crews to beat and they set the tone for the race from the outset as they pulled away from the field.
Australia was in fourth place through 500m, but dropped back to fifth at the halfway mark, before succumbing to the pace of the race, finishing sixth in 6:22.97.
Italy won the semi-final ahead of the USA, with Germany taking the last spot in the A Final.
The Australian men’s quad scull drew hot favourites Croatia again in the semi-final, with Croatia, winners of all three senior World Cups in 2010, expected to claimed gold at this regatta.
Sasha Belonogoff, Shane Jackson, Samuel Martin and Zac Cleaver were in sixth place at the 500m mark as Croatia surged to a strong lead over Ukraine and the Czech Republic.
The pace being set by the extremely talented Croatian crew left the remainder of the field playing a chasing game and Australia was unable to quite reel in the other crews in the run to the line.
They finished sixth in a time of 6:10.40 and will race the B Final on Sunday.
Coxed by Mark Alexander, the Australian men’s eight crew of Daniel Sweeney, Brendan Murray, Tom Gatti, Joshua Booth, Alex Fowler, Adam Wertheimer, Scott Laidler and Alex Scharp drew a semi-final against USA, Netherlands, Poland, Estonia and Turkey.
USA took the initiative from the start and stroked to a second and a half lead over the field through 500m, while Australia was in fifth place.
The Australian crew had moved up to fourth place through 1000m and set their sights on third placed Netherlands. Australia however was unable to reel in the Netherlands, who in fact moved into second place to cross the line behind USA. Poland took third, Estonia fourth and Australia (5:47.11) had to settle for fifth and a B Final row on Sunday.
The Australian women’s four crew of Jessica Molsher-Jones, Peta White, Renee Chatterton and Mary Connelly raced in the first A Final of the regatta and targeted a medal. The all South Australian crew was in third place after the first 500m as Belarus led the way in front of their home crowd.
Australia made their move in the second quarter of the race and assumed the lead, before holding onto it with just 500m remaining.
The USA then charged and managed to overhaul Australia in the final quarter of the race to win the gold, with Australia holding onto an excellent silver medal.
Their time of 6:43.19 was three seconds shy of USA, while Germany was a further second back in the bronze medal position.
Australia’s women’s lightweight quad scull was the next crew to chase a medal as Hannah Jansen, Annabel Gibson, Alexandra Hayes and Gabrielle Kukla looked to match the bronze medal that had been won in 2009.
Italy controlled the race from the start and showed their class in the first half, opening up a lead over the field. Italy, Germany and France held the medal positions into the last 500m, as USA, Australia and Japan looked to make an impression on the leading three.
Australia made a move on the French with 300m remaining but the French were able to hold on to third behind Italy and Germany.
Australia claimed fourth in 6:42.84 ahead of the United States and Japan.
In the last A Final of Day 3 the Australian women’s quad scull looked to add a medal to the Australian tally.
Alexandra Hagan, Sarah Perkins, Amy Fowler and Georgia Baker were in sixth place through both the 500m and 1000m marks but began to come back to the field and were only two seconds down on a medal with 500m to go.
They eventually finished in fifth place in a time of 6:39.67, while Germany won ahead of Russia and Romania.
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Day II: Friday 23 July
The second day of competition began with the heats of races that had been scheduled for the previous evening and the Australian women’s quad scull was the second race to take to the regatta course in Brest, Belarus.
Alexandra Hagan, Sarah Perkins, Amy Fowler and Georgia Baker needed to win their heat to go straight through to the A Final and they were in a tight fourth place through the first 500m, before picking up a place in the next 500m, to be less than two seconds behind leaders Russia.
Russia was able to pull away from the six boat field in the second half of the race however, and Australia crossed the line in fourth place behind Romania and Great Britain, with all three boats finishing within 2.5 seconds of each other. Australia’s time was 6:39.61 and they were to line up later in the day in a repechage to attempt to qualify for the final.
Hagan, Perkins, Fowler and Baker needed a top two finish in their repechage to make Saturday’s A Final and they had a great start, sitting in second place by only 0.16 after 500m, before moving to the lead by the 1000m mark.
By 1500m there was a terrific battle going on between Australia and Romania, with the European nation drawing less than half a second in front. Australia pushed them to the line to finish in second in 6:35.75 a book their place in the A Final.
The Australian men’s quad scull crew of Zac Cleaver, Sam Martin, Shane Jackson and Alexander Belonogoff drew the toughest heat, squaring up against senior World Cup champions, Croatia.
Croatia, as expected dominated the race from the start, clearing out to over a boat length lead after only the first quarter, and extending this margin through 1000m. Australia came off the line in 5th place and was able to hold this through the middle 1000m.
In the final 500m, Croatia maintained their advantage while the German and Swiss crews gave good accounts for themselves to finish second and third, but only Croatia and Germany as the top two finishers progressed straight to the semi-final.
Australia crossed the line in 5th place in a time of 6:12.14 and would have to row a repechage later in the day.
Entering the repechage the men’s quad scull required a top three finish to make the semi-final stage of the regatta and the main threats were set to come from the Czech Republic, Switzerland and home nation, Belarus.
Australia led through 500m before the Czech’s and Switzerland moved through them in the second quarter, Australia holding onto third place.
In a tense finish, Belarus was coming home quickly in a bid to take the final qualifying spot, but the Australian crew held tough to finish third in 5:59.38, a 13 second improvement from their heat row, and will now row the semi-final on Saturday.
The men’s eight was the third Australian crew to enter the heats on Friday and a top three finish would move them through to the semi-finals.
They drew perennial powerhouses USA and Great Britain in the heat and all three crews were close through 500m, before the British looked to break the race open.
USA was able to just hold onto the British, while Australia was comfortable in third and as the race entered the final 750m, USA kicked past the British and in a bow ball –to-bow ball finish, took the win.
Australia claimed third place in 5:45.77 to ease through to the semi-finals.
In one of the closest finishes of the day, the men’s lightweight four crew of David de Lang, Jonothon Hookway, Timothy Widdicombe and James Wilson, was pipped on the line by 0.25 seconds and pushed into the repechages.
In the heat, the Aussie crew had been in second place through the first 500m, before holding third for the majority of the race until the final strokes.
Hungary came storming home to deny the Australian crew a direct place in the semi-final, with Australia recording 6:17.42.
Australia was strong in their repechage, knowing a top three finish would be enough to row on Saturday in a semi final.
They were third behind Germany and France for the first 1500m before showing their strength and fitness over the final quarter to surge past France and claim second place behind Germany.
Their time of 6:17.94 was four seconds behind the Germans, while they were two seconds clear of the French.
The women’s lightweight quad scull of Hannah Jansen, Annabel Gibson, Alexandra Hayes and Gabrielle Kukla was looking to improve as the regatta went on and aimed for the top four finish in their repechage to make the A Final on Saturday.
The Australian crew led through the first half of the race over France and Japan, before USA and France moved past Australia in the next 500m, leaving Japan and Australia to fight it out for third place.
Australia pipped Japan on the line by 0.05 seconds in a time of 6:47.98 to claim third, although both crews moved to the A Final, along with USA and France.
Adam Kachyckyj and Edward de Carvalho raced in the third repechage of the men’s lightweight double scull aiming for a place in the semi-final.
Kachyckyj and de Carvalho chased a top two finish and were never troubled as they joined Bulgaria in a two-boat contest that had two much pace for the remainder of the field.
They broke with Bulgaria in the second 500m and opened up a six second gap on the remaining two boats, before eventually finishing in 6:36.49, only 0.27 clear of Bulgaria, but some 15 seconds clear of third placed Belarus.
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Day I: Thursday 22 July
The first day of racing produced a bit of everything for the Australian crews at the Under 23 World Rowing Championships, as racing started with flat, tail wind conditions, before racing was abandoned in the afternoon due to severe thunder storms.
In front of a good crowd in Brest, Belarus, Australia enjoyed a strong start to the regatta as the women’s four of Jessica Molsher-Jones, Peta White, Renee Chatterton and Mary Connelly won their heat to move directly to the A Final on Saturday.
The all South Australian crew made use of the tail wind conditions to overpower the German, British and Belarus opposition and win in a time of 6:46.02, some 1.5 seconds clear of Germany.
The Australian women’s lightweight quad scull of Hannah Jansen, Annabel Gibson, Alexandra Hayes and Gabrielle Kukla lined up next for Australia and came up against a red hot Italian crew.
The Italians moved out to an early lead and were never headed across the 2000m, claiming the win and the added bonus of moving straight into Saturday’s A Final.
Australia enjoyed a battle with France for second position, but the Europeans held off Australia over the closing stages of the race, with Australia having to settle for third position in a time of 6:47.51.
They will now row the repechage on Friday for a place in the final.
Drama struck the Australian men’s four as young gun and stroke of the crew, Joshua Dunkley Smith, had to withdraw from the heat due to a virus, being replaced by men’s eight member, Alex Fowler.
Three crews were set to move through to the semi-final on Saturday and despite the change in plan for the young and talented Australian crew, Fowler adapted well, and with Dominic Grimm moving to stroke seat, Australia finished third to safely qualify.
Grimm and Fowler, along with Nicholas Purnell and Will Lockwood, recorded a time of 6:21.43, which was eight seconds behind the winning Czech crew, but nine seconds ahead of fourth placed Argentina. Dunkley Smith will be monitored over the next day to see if he will be available for the semi-final.
The men’s lightweight double scull crew of Adam Kachyckyj and Ed de Carvalho faced a tough heat, with only one crew set to progress through to the semi-finals.
Germany took charge of the race from the opening strokes and set the precedent for the race as they guaranteed their place in final, while Australia joined Belarus and Azerbaijan in a race for second.
Kachyckyj and Ed de Carvalho could not quite go with Belarus and Azerbaijan over the second half of the race and finished in fourth place, recording a time of 6:44.56. They will now in repechages on Friday.
With four more Australian crews already warming up for their heat row, a massive thunder storm struck the regatta and forced officials to suspend the rest of racing on Thursday.
Organisers have rescheduled the program, with the remaining heats to begin early morning on Friday, from 8am local time.
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