Media releases
Day III: Sunday 11 May
Australian Eights’ strike double gold
The Australian Women’s and Men’s Eight have won gold medals at the first rowing World Cup in Munich, Germany.
In an exceptional performance the Women’s Eight crossed the line in a time of 6:36.29 to lead home the Chinese by two boat lengths, while Romania won the bronze medal.
In calmer conditions than the first three days, China led Australia by just under a second at the halfway mark before Australia lifted their rate to charge to the line over the last 750 metres.
Sarah Tait, captain of the Women’s Eight, says that the crew was forced to change their race plan after a tricky start.
“We got caught in a bit of dirty water at the start of the race which put us further back than we wanted”, Tait said. “We wanted to build a lead from the start but we changed our plan which shows the great versatility of the group.”
Meanwhile the Men’s Eight led from start to finish to get off to a perfect start to their 2008 campaign. They recorded a time of 6:05.38 to win by just under a second from Great Britain, with China winning the bronze medal.
With each performance this week the Men’s Eight have improved and they broke to a boat length lead after only a quarter of the race. Despite Great Britain and China’s efforts in the middle half of the race Australia held off their challenge and crossed the line just under half a boat length clear.
Stephan Stewart, stroke of the Men’s Eight, says that while the victory was a boost for the squad it is only a stepping stone to Beijing.
“We got out to a great lead but hit some messy water in the second 1000m so just consolidated our position and then pushed when the others started coming back at us”, Stewart said. “It is great to win the gold but it is only the first step so we won’t get too carried away with this one.”
Earlier in the day both the Men’s and Women’s Quad Scull crews finished in 5th place in their respective finals.
Australia will now enter a two week training camp in Varese, Italy before all Australian crews will compete at World Cup 2 in Switzerland on May 30 – June 1.
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Australia claim bronze in Munich
Australian rowers David Crawshay (VIC) and Scott Brennan (TAS) have won a bronze medal in the Men’s Double Scull at World Cup 1 in Munich, Germany.
Crawshay and Brennan, who raced from Lane 1 in the final, finished two and a half boat lengths behind Great Britain and Germany in a time of 6:59.94.
Great Britain, represented by Matthew Wells and Steven Rowbotham and the German crew of Clemens Wenzel and Falko Nolte cleared out from the rest of the field in the first 1000m and staged a great race for the gold medal, with the British crew eventually taking the race by a quarter of a boat length.
Crawshay and Brennan, who only featured in the B Final at last year’s World Championships, will now look to build on this performance.
“We have had a good build up to this regatta and it is great to win the bronze medal”, Crawshay said. “We know that we still have a lot of work to do before Beijing but this is a good start to the season.”
In earlier racing, Sarah Cook and Kim Crow won the B Final in the Women’s Pair. Their time of 7:48.08 allowed them to win by a boat length from France, and was also a quicker time than that of China who won the A Final shortly afterwards.
Australia will feature in the four more finals starting from 10pm AEST. The Women’s Quad Scull, Men’s Quad Scull, Women’s Eight and Men’s Eight will all be looking to add to Australia’s medal tally.
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David Polglase on 0401 453 041
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Medals beckoning for Australia in Germany
A further four Australian crews qualified for the finals of their respective races at the first rowing World Cup in Munich, Germany.
Day 3 of the event provided another head wind, but the Men’s Eight, Women’s Quad Scull, Men’s Quad Scull and Men’s Double Scull joined the Women’s Eight in qualifying for the A Final on Sunday.
The only disappointment was the fourth place finish of Kim Crow and Sarah Cook in the semi final of the Women’s Pair, a result which will leave them racing in the B Final on Sunday.
The best performance was clearly that of the Men’s Eight who dominated their repechage and signalled that the problems of 2007 were clearly behind them as they crossed the line six seconds clear of the French in a time of 6:09.31.
The Men’s Eight sat in second place after the first 500m of the race but then lifted the pace and blew their opposition out of the water. They extended their lead to a clear two boat lengths with only 500m to go before easing off over the last stages of the race.
Marty Rabjohns, cox of the Men’s Eight, says that the crew held great form right throughout the race.
“We were happy with our race yesterday, but today was a significant improvement”, Rabjohns said. “We have been training really well and everyone is enjoying the chance to race the boat in international competition again.”
“Tomorrow will be another day but we are glad to be involved in the major race on Sunday.”
The Men’s Double Scull - David Crawshay (VIC) and Scott Brennan (TAS), the Men’s Quad Scull - Dan Noonan (NSW), James McRae (SA), Peter Hardcastle (NSW) and Brendan Long - and the Women’s Quad Scull – Amber Bradley (WA), Zoe Uphill (NSW), Kerry Hore (TAS) and Amy Ives (NSW) - safely made it through to the final after all finishing third in their respective semi finals.
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Day III: Saturday 10 May
Semi final showdown for Australian crews
Five more Australian crews will have the chance tonight to join the Women’s Eight in the A Finals on Sunday at the first rowing World Cup in Munich, Germany.
The Women’s Eight secured qualification for the final last night after winning their heat in convincing fashion so will not be required to race tonight.
The Men’s Eight will enter their semi final tonight full of confidence after a strong showing in their heat.
Despite the late withdrawal of James Chapman (NSW) through sickness, Sam Conrad (QLD) said the crew adapted well.
“It was a setback but Karsten (Forsterling) is a great oarsman so there were never any concerns in the boat”, Conrad said.
Stephan Stewart, stroke of the Men’s Eight, said the whole crew was looking forward to the chance to race again tonight.
“The more racing we can do the better we will get”, Stewart said. “The crew has one of the best rhythms and length that I have stroked and it is really enjoyable from where I sit. I can't wait to race again.”
The Men’s Quad Scull of Dan Noonan (NSW), James McRae (SA), Peter Hardcastle (NSW) and Brendan Long (TAS) won their repechage last night, but must continue to improve tonight.
Hardcastle said that the improvement in last night’s repechage came from a couple of minor changes.
“We focused on some technical changes within the crew, which helped us set up a better race from the start”, Hardcastle said. “All crews will be competitive tonight, but the German’s have shown some good speed by winning the heat.”
The Women’s Quad Scull of Amber Bradley (WA), Zoe Uphill (NSW), Kerry Hore (TAS) and Amy Ives; the Women’s Pair of Sarah Cook (ACT) and Kim Crow (VIC); and the Men’s Double Scull of David Crawshay (VIC) and Scott Brennan (TAS) round out the Australian crews in action tonight.
Racing will commence just after 11pm AEST with the semi finals of the Women’s Pair.
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David Polglase on 0401 453 041
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Women’s Eight enjoy perfect start in Munich
The Australian Women’s Eight has produced an excellent race to qualify directly for the final on the second day of the first Rowing World Cup in Munich, Germany.
With only one crew qualifying for the final from each of the two heats, the Australian crew led from start to finish in the head wind conditions, announcing their attentions for the coming year.
Stroked by Sarah Heard (VIC), Australia increased their lead over the closing stages of the race to win in a time of 6:38.36 and by three quarters of a boat length over the Netherlands.
Heard says that the crew combined really well and now can take confidence into the final.
“We have had a really good preparation here in Germany since we arrived on Sunday and it felt great to test the boat in race conditions today”, Heard said. “We knew that getting a fast start was important and we worked well as a group to hold off the other crews.”
“We can now focus on the final instead of worrying about the repechages and it promises to be a great race on Sunday.”
Australia’s main challenge in the final will come from the Chinese crew that won the second heat, as well as the reigning Olympic Champions, Romania.
The Australian Men’s Eight finished in second place behind Great Britain in their heat and will now be required to race in the repechages on Saturday.
They were hampered by the late withdrawal of James Chapman (NSW), who was forced to withdraw due to illness. He was replaced by Karsten Forsterling (VIC).
Great Britain and Australia traded blows over the first 1500 metres, with both crews sharing the lead, before the British crew finished stronger over the last 500 metres to win by two seconds in a time of 6:06.04.
The Men’s Quad Scull crew of Dan Noonan (NSW), James McRae (SA), Peter Hardcastle (NSW) and Brendan Long (TAS) won their repechage in convincing fashion to secure a place in the semi finals on Saturday.
In an assured performance they led for the majority of the race to win in a time of 6:24.55 ahead of the Czech Republic and Romania.
The Women’s Quad Scull finished third behind Germany and China in a time of 7:08.54. Kerry Hore (TAS), Zoe Uphill (NSW), Amy Ives (NSW) and Amber Bradley (WA) combined well in their first international race together and will now need to finish in the top 4 of their repechage tomorrow to progress to the final on Sunday.
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David Polglase on 0401 453 041
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Day II: Friday 9 May
Men’s Eight embark on their quest for gold
The Australian Men’s and Women’s Eight will begin their international season tonight at the first Rowing World Cup event in Munich, Germany.
Following mixed success for the Australian crews on the first day of the regatta, the Women’s Quad Scull will also be in action for the first time at the 1972 Olympic course.
Most of the attention will focus on the performance of the Men’s Eight, however, as they embark on a campaign to win their first gold medal at the Olympic Games. They have won silver on two occasions, the last being in Sydney eight years ago.
After a disappointing 2007 season which saw the crew only qualify for the Olympics after the disqualification of the Russian crew from the World Championships, there is a new drive within the boat.
James Chapman (NSW), one of the four new members of the crew this year, says that he is looking forward to the first race of the season tonight.
“Our expectations are to race hard and well”, Chapman said. “We want to learn about ourselves and our competition at this stage of the season.”
Chapman went on to say that the crew has not lost sight of the bigger picture.
“We've also kept the intensity up in our training as we haven't targeted this regatta as an event we are going to freshen up for”, Chapman said. “We need to keep the long term target Beijing in mind, rather than short term victory.”
The Men’s Eight will be stroked tonight by returning Olympian Stephan Stewart (NSW), who is the sole survivor of the crew that won bronze in Athens in 2004. David Dennis (WA), stroke of the Men’s Four in Athens, has also returned to the fold and added an extra level of experience to the crew.
Add James Tomkins (VIC), soon to be a six times Olympian, along with a mix of youth and power and there will be a few countries taking note of Australia’s form this week.
Terrence Alfred (NSW) and Karsten Forsterling (VIC) will be the first Australian crew in action this evening in the repechages of the Men’s Pair at 8.30pm AEST.
The Men’s Quad Scull of Dan Noonan (NSW), James McRae (SA), Peter Hardcastle (NSW) and Brendan Long (TAS) will need to claim a top three finish in their repechage at 1.20am AEST to progress to the semi finals.
This race will be preceded by the heats of the Women’s Quad Scull. Kerry Hore (TAS), Amber Bradley (WA), Amy Ives (NSW) and Zoe Uphill can qualify directly for the final with a win in their heat.
The same task will present itself to the Men’s and Women’s Eight, with a win guaranteeing a place in the final on Sunday and thus avoiding the repechages on Saturday night. The heats of these two events will round out the second day of racing at 1.30am AEST.
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David Polglase on 0401 453 041
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Day I: Thursday 8 May
Australia has steady start in Munich
Australian crews have fared well on the first morning of the first rowing World Cup of the 2008 season in Munich, Germany.
In strong head wind conditions four Australian crews have got their campaigns under way, with the Women’s Pair of Sarah Cook and Kim Crow the standout Australian crew.
Cook and Crow, who finished fourth in the 2007 World Championships, cruised through their heat to finish second in a time of 8:10.19 and easily qualify for the semi final on Saturday.
Germany won the heat by seven seconds but after the race Crow said that they were happy with their first row in Europe in 2008.
“It is always good to get the first international race out of the way”, Crow said. “They were really difficult conditions out there today but we can now look forward to the semi final on Saturday.”
David Crawshay (VIC) and Scott Brennan (TAS) were also successful in qualifying for the semi finals in the Men’s Double Scull.
Brennan and Crawshay led at the 1500m mark to be eventually overtaken by the German crew, but with two crews qualifying for the semi finals, the Australians safely progressed. They finished just over a second behind the Germans in a time of 6:44.75.
The Men’s Quad Scull of Dan Noonan (NSW), James McRae (SA), Peter Hardcastle (NSW) and Brendan Long (TAS) finished fourth in their heat and will be required to race in the repechages on Friday.
The reserve Men’s Pair of Karsten Forsterling and Terrence Alfred finished 5th in their heat and will also need to move through the repechages on Friday if they want to qualify for the semi finals.
The Men’s and Women’s Eight, along with the Women’s Quad Scull will race their heats on Friday.
For more information please call
David Polglase on 0401 453 041
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