Race reports
Day III: Sunday 1 June
Women’s Lwt 2x A Final
Amber Halliday and Marguerite Houston had gone to the final by winning their heat and are the current world champions however it was China who showed pace form the start of their event and after 500 metres Australia was at the rear of the field but only two seconds from China.
By halfway Canada had taken the lead from China with the Netherlands in third and Australia in fifth place.
The third 500 metres saw little change although Australia had moved to fourth. In the last 500 metres China grabbed the lead again and went on to win from the fast finishing Dutch crew with Canada third and Australia in fourth place.
This crew now go to atraining camp in Italy and will contest the third World Cup regatta in Poland in late June.
Men’s 4- A Final
The crew of Matt Ryan, James Marburg, Cameron McKenzie-McHarg and Francis Hegerty had made their way to the final in impressive fashion and knew the task ahead would be tough with such a strong field including the current world champions New Zealand.
The boys began well along with the USA and France and settled down in the lead narrowly over the USA and France.
At 1,000 metres Australia still led by just point 44 of a second over the USA, with the Netherlands improving.
The third 500 metres saw Australia consolidated in the lead and were point 39 in front entering the last quarter of the race. The crew rowed really well to hold off the challengers and stroke Francis Hegerty was very satisfied with the win saying “I thought we had them at the 1,000, it was great."
This crew now goes to Italy to prepare for the Olympic Qualification regatta full of confidence.
Women’s 4x A Final
Coach Nick Garratt has worked hard with this new combination in preparing for this regatta with their build up disrupted following a cycling injury to stroke Kerry Hore.
As expected the current world champions Great Britain took off like a shot and went to a handy lead by 500 meters over China and Germany with Australia in sixth place.
The British sat in the lead looking back at the field with China, Germany and Ukraine tyring to catch them as they went into the last 500 metres.
At that point China took the lead with a great burst of speed and went away to win from the fast-finishing USA with Great Britain hanging on for third and Australia in sixth place.
Women’s 8+ A Final
The Australian women had won in Munich and were the target for all of the other crews in this A Final. The current world champions USA took the lead around halfway with Germany, Canada and Australia all in the battle behind the USA.
The USA held the lead as Canada and Australia passed the Netherlands and went after the USA. In the last 500 metres Australia charged home but could not catch the USA with a margin of point 42 of a second at the end with Canada a similar margin back in third place.
The girls raced really well against the Olympic favourites and now know they are on the pace for medals in Beijing.
Men’s 8+ A Final
The Australian men’s eight took on world champions and Olympic gold medal favourites Canada in the A Final of this event.
Canada and China began best and Australia was dropped off the pace to be back in fourth about a length behind Canada by 1,000 metres.
The pace was hot at the front and Canada moved away to a clear lead in the third 500 metres.
Great Britain joined in the fight for the minor medals behind Canada and in the drive to the line it was Canada first, China second Great Britain third and Australia fourth.
Women’s 2- B Final
Phoebe Stanley and Robyn Selby Smith raced the B Final of this event where they faced the current world champions Belarus who also had not made the A Final.
Belarus led all the way to win, after a good start where they were second for the first thousand metres with Canada in third place.
Australia was unable to hold off the challenge from China who moved into second place in the last 1,000 metres while Canada held their third placing. Selby Smith and Stanley finished fourth at the line.
Men’s 2- B Final
Karsten Forsterling and Terrence Alfred raced the B Final after a very good semi final saw them just miss a place in the A Final.
They went to the lead after the first 500 metres and were being pressed by the Czech Republic and Serbia at that point.
The Czechs powered to the lead through the middle stages of the race with Australia holding second against all challengers, headed at this point by Germany and Ireland.
At the line it was the Czech Republic first and Australia second with Ireland in third place.
Men’s Lwt 2x B Final
Sam Beltz and Tom Gibson were looking for their best race of the regatta as they build up following Beltz’ back injury.
The main opposition appeared to be current world champions Denmark who had also not enjoyed a great regatta, however they withdrew due to illness before the race. Germany got away well and led from Australia and Canada with the Czech Republic in fourth place.
At halfway it was still Germany with Canada now second and Australia third. The Australian boys could not maintain their speed and dropped off to finish fourth in the event and now head to Italy for a training camp prior to racing in the third World Cup regatta in Poland later in June.
Men’s Lwt 4- B Final
This crew had raced very well in their semi final but just missed the A Final and were looking to build further on yesterday's effort.
Rod Chisholm, Anthony Edwards, Ben Cureton and Todd Skipworth took on a good field and got away quickly, establishing an early canvas lead over the USA with the Netherlands and Poland next.
The last 500 metres was electrifying with four crews in the hunt for the placings but Australia just got up to win holding off the USA, the Netherlands and Poland with just point 52 of a second separating the first four crews at the line.
Men’s 4x B Final
This crew has not raced well in Lucerne after showing good form in their training camp in Italy and looked to this race for some encouragement to take from the regatta. Egypt led from Australia, Cuba and Argentina through the first thousand metres.
The narrow lead established by Egypt was held to the 1,500 metres mark when Australia lifted behind stroke Dan Noonan and strode to the lead. They went away to win by half a length on the line and can take some positives from the effort.
Women’s 2x B Final
As a crew attempting to qualify for Beijing, Cate Sens and Sonia Mills had raced well given they arrived in Europe only six days ago.
This crew began well as they had in their repechage and led the USA and Switzerland through 1,000 metres with Finland in fourth place. At 1,500 metres Australia led by almost two seconds with the order behind the same with the USA still the main danger.
The USA could not peg back Mills and Sens and they went on to score a good victory to set them up for their training camp prior to the Poland regatta where they hope to qualify the boat for Beijing.
Women’s 2- A Final
Kim Crow and Sarah Cook tackled a tough field with some confidence after good races in their heat and semi final. China got away best and led from Australia and the USA.
In the second 500 metres the USA moved into second with Australia now third and China moving away from the field. At 1,500 metres it was China from the USA in second and third with Australia back to fourth.
At the line it was the same order with China winning the gold medal from the USA in silver and bronze with Australia hanging on to fourth over New Zealand.
Men’s 2- A Final
Dual world champions Drew Ginn and Duncan Free changed their boat after their heat win and won their semi final well but knew they had a tough job to keep their winning run in tact with Canada and New Zealand showing good form in the regatta.
The Canadians had a great start and went to the lead from the outset with France and Australia next.
At 500 metres Canada had established a lead which they were looking to build on and hit halfway more than a length clear of Australia, with New Zealand now in third and France fourth.
In the second half of the race the Canadians were challenged by New Zealand who took silver and Australia faded a little to take the bronze medal from France in fourth place.
Ginn and Free now return to Australia where they will train for the Olympic Games.
Men’s 2x A Final
Scott Brennan and David Crawshay started well and had crews with good form on either side of them with Great Britain and Slovenia, however after 500 metres it was China in the lead.
At halfway it was Great Britain from China with New Zealand on the charge and Australia in fifth but less than a length from the leaders.
The Kiwis continued their push right to the finish line where they took gold from Great Britain with Crawshay and Brennan fighting back to grab the bronze medal.
Women’s 1x A Final
Pippa Savage had done extremely well in her first international regatta to make the A Final where she faced world champion Karsten from Belarus.
The Czech sculler Knapkova began well and led from Karsten, with China in third place and Savage settling in fourth place. By halfway the three leading scullers had moved away and remained in the same order with Australia now fifth behind New Zealand.
With 500 metres to go Savage was now sixth but in touch with the high-quality field.
Karsten moved through to win at the line by a length over Knapkova with China third and although Savage was sixth, she was only two seconds away from Olympic medallist Neykova from Bulgaria in fourth and reinforced the promise shown by Pippa at this regatta.
She now travels to a training camp in Italy before tackling the Olympic qualification regatta in Poland in late June.
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Day II: Saturday 31 May
SEMI FINALS AND REPECHAGES
Racing began with overcast and cooler conditions than day one but very good water for the competitors.
Women’s 1x Semi Final
Pippa Savage took on world champion Karsten from Belarus in her semi final after having finished second in her heat and winning her repechage on Day One of the regatta with the first three to go to Final A on Sunday.
The scullers to beat appeared to be Karsten and Czech sculler Knapkova with third spot up for grabs. Knapkova began well but so did Savage and after 500 metres it was Knapkova from Savage and Karsten.
At halfway Knapkova still led from Karsten with Savage now in fourth place behind Poland in third. In the third 500 metres Savage lifted her effort and was again in third place with 500 to go.
At the line Karten had taken the lead over Knapkova with Savage, competing in her first World Cup regatta taking third spot convincingly over the rest of the field. She now will contest the A Final on Sunday and look forward to the Olympic Qualification regatta in Poznan, Poland in June.
The first semi final was won by China.
Women’s 2- Semi Finals
The Australian women’s eight squad members Phoebe Stanley and Robyn Selby Smith raced in Semi Final One in tough head wind and rainy conditions. China, the USA and New Zealand were the crews to beat along with 2007 World Champions Belarus.
China began well as is their custom however Stanley and Selby Smith went through 500 metres well placed in second ahead of Belarus and the 2005 Champions New Zealand. That early speed started to take its toll and they had dropped back to fifth by 1,000 metres with the USA and New Zealand on the improve.
The order remained the same to the finish line with China winning from the USA and New Zealand and Australia in fifth place. This Australian crew will now contest the B Final on Sunday.
The number one Australian crew of Sarah Cook and Kim Crow took on Semi Final Two where again China and the USA were the crews to watch.
Cook and Crow began well and were leading after the first 500 metres from Great Britain and the USA. At 1,000 metres they were two seconds clear of the USA with Great Britain third and China in fourth place.
With 500 metres to go the USA had drawn level with Australia and had their bow just point two of a second in front. The USA were too strong over the closing stages and went on to win well by clear water over the fast-finishing French who just failed to peg back Australia.
Sarah and Kim will contest the A Final on Sunday.
Men’s 2- Semi Finals
Men’s eight squad members Karsten Forsterling and Terrence Alfred raced in Semi Final One where Canada and New Zealand were the favoured crews. They began well and were in third place after 500 metres behind Canada and the Kiwis with China in fourth place.
At halfway Canada still led from New Zealand with Australia a close third and China fourth. This order remained at 500 metres to go and in the last 500 metres Forsterling and Alfred were unable to withstand the blistering finish from France and finished fourth just point three of a second behind third place. They will no race the B Final on Sunday.
Dual world champions Duncan Free and Drew Ginn tackled Semi Final Two after what was, by their standards, a somewhat lacklustre win in their heat.
They began well and led narrowly through 500 metres in front of China which had led them in the heat on Friday and the Czech Republic in third. A challenge came form the Czechs who took the lead and held it through halfway. Free and Ginn lifted to get their bow back in front and they were able to maintain that lead down the course and withstand all challenges.
At the line they won from China and South Africa in what was very tough conditions with head winds and rain.
Women’s 2x Semi Final
The goal of Sonia Mills and Cate Sens is to qualify for Beijing and they raced well in their semi final to hold third place for the first 1,500 metres.
With China finishing first and second Australia could not hold off the finish from Great Britain who took third with Cate and Sonia in fourth place. They will now tackle the B Final on Sunday and should be satisfied with a good start to their campaign and the ultimate goal of qualifying for Beijing.
Men’s 2x Repechage
Scott Brennan and David Crawshay had not raced particularly well in their heat and went into the repechage looking for one of the first two sports to qualify for the A Final.
After not a great start where they settled down in fourth place the boys picked off the crews in front of them, 500 by 500 to hit the line first. Olympic gold and silver medallists Slovenia led at the first mark from Germany and Belarus.
Australia knew it had to lift and the crew rowed the fastest second 1,000 metres of the race to hit the lead when it counted.
The Slovenians held second on the line and will take on Australia again in Sunday's A Final.
Scott and David will be looking to better their bronze medal won in Munich three weeks ago.
Men’s 4- Semi Final
After a very good heat row which they won, the crew of Matt Ryan, James Marburg, Cameron McKenzie-McHarg and Francis Hegerty were looking for a place in the A Final as they build for the Olympic Qualification regatta in Poland.
Germany began best and led to the first 500 metres albeit narrowly over Australia and the Netherlands. The order stayed that way until the 1,000-metre mark when Australia began their push for the lead.
They had reached the lead by 1,500 metres and went for home against a quality field. The Dutch and Germans chased them to the line but it was Australia first, the Netherlands second and Germany third.
This crew now races the A Final on Sunday and has started well in the bid for Olympic qualification.
Women’s Lwt 2x Semi Final
Amber Halliday and Marguerite Houston, world champions in 2007 had won their heat on day one of the regatta and took on Semi Final One of this Olympic-category event.
They settled in second spot behind Canada with Denmark in third place. By halfway Australia had moved to the lead over Canada, and Denmark was battling with Germany for third spot.
Halliday and Houston are strong finishers and once they got to the lead they were not going to be headed again and hit the line first in front of Canada and Germany.
They now race the A Final on Sunday.
Men’s Lwt 2x Semi Final
Sam Beltz and Tom Gibson had raced well to win their repechage after a poor heat row and began their semi final well, holding third spot after 500 metres behind world champions from 2007 Great Britain and New Zealand, with China in fourth place.
That was still the order at halfway however Australia was under threat from China while Great Britain and New Zealand battled for the first two spots.
With 500 metres to go China had moved into third over Australia, and Great Britan still held the lead. At the line it was Great Britain first, New Zealand second, China third and Australia a tiring fifth.
Men’s Lwt 4- Semi Final
The Australian lightweight four had made the semi finals through the repechage and faced a tough task from lane six against 2007 World Champions Great Britain, France, Canada and Ireland.
Great Britain began quickly, as necessary in this boat category, and led after 500 metres from France with Australia holding third place after a better start than on the previous day's racing, and Ireland in fourth position.
At halfway Great Britain still lead with Australia not far away in second place and France still in the hunt as well along with Ireland.
In the best race of the day there were four crews locked together for the last 600 metres but at the line it was France narrowly over Great Britain with Ireland grabbing third in front of Australia.
While the crew will be slightly disappointed it was a good effort after only arriving in Europe six days ago and augurs well for the rest of the season, including the Beijing Olympic regatta.
Men’s 4x Repechage
This crew of Peter Hardcastle, Brendan Long, James McRae and Dan Noonan did not race well in their heat and took on the second repechage with only two spots available in the A Final.
Germany and Ukraine got away best with Australia in third spot, less than a second behind Ukraine with Egypt at the rear of the field.
That order remained at halfway although Australia had cut back the deficit to less than half a second behind Ukraine with Germany still holding the front position.
In the second half Australia was unable to peg back the two leading boats with Ukraine winning from Germany and Australia. This crew will now race the B Final on Sunday.
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Day I: Friday 30 May
HEATS
Day 1 of the second Word Cup regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland began under leaden skies, however, without rain.
Women’s single scull
Australian representative in the women’s single scull Pippa Savage is attempting to qualify the boat for the Beijing Olympic Games Regatta and took on a hot field in heat 4 of the event.
Savage began well in her first outing in international competition and was placed fourth after 500 metres with prolific world championship finalist Sophie Balmary of France leading from Czech sculler Knapkova.
Pippa continued to improve her place through the race and was third at 1,000 metres behind Knapkova and Balmary.
At the finish line Savage finished second behind the Czech Sculler and indicated she has the speed to challenge some of her more fancied rivals in further racing.
Women’s 2-
Australia has two crews entered in the women’s pair event with the number one crew of Sarah Cook and Kim Crow who finished fourth in last year's world championships in Munich racing in heat one.
Cook and Crow began well and led from 2007 Champions Belarus with Germany third and the USA fourth. At half way the USA had moved through the field to lead from Australia and Belarus.
The order remained the same to the finish line with all three crews advancing directly to the semi finals of the event.
The second Australian pair contained women’s eight squad members Phoebe Stanley and Robyn Selby Smith and they took on the field in heat two and faced the favourites for the event from China.
China led from Australia in the early stages with Germany in third and Canada at the rear.
In the second 1,000 metres China held the lead to win from Canada and Australia with these three crews advancing to the semi finals. Both Australian pairs will now race the semi finals on Saturday.
Men’s 2-
Current world champions Drew Ginn and Duncan Free raced in heat two of the men’s pair with the Chinese crew leading them in the early stages of the race from Australia with Germany in third place. At halfway there was no change in the order and the crowd was looking for an upset.
In the third 500 metres the Australian dual world champions took the lead from China and Germany, which they held through to the finish line and have advanced straight to the semi final on Saturday.
Men’s eight squad members Karsten Forsterling and Terrence Alfred took on the field in heat four of the men’s pair. The Australian crew began very well and led the field until 1,000 metres, with the Czech Republic in second and Canada holding down third place.
Australia was unable to hold off the Czechs in the second half but finished a very creditable second place and will now tackle the repechage on Friday evening.
Women’s 2x
Catriona Sens and Sonia Mills are attempting to quality the boat for Beijing and are using this regatta as preparation for the qualifying regatta in Poland in June. They tackled heat two of the women’s double scull where they were to face Olympic champions New Zealand. Unfortunately the Kiwis withdrew due to injury and Germany led the race for most of the 2,000 metres.
After a careful start where they settled in third place the Australian girls moved in to second place and held that to the finish line and have advanced straight to the semi finals. This was a good effort with less than three seconds between Australia and Germany and augurs well for later in this regatta and more importantly for their chances of qualifying for Beijing.
Men’s 2x
David Crawshay and Scott Brennan raced very well in World Cup number one in Munich where they won the bronze medal and took on gold medallists Great Britain and Olympic champions France in their heat.
The French began quickly and led from Great Britain with Australia in fourth place after 500 metres. By halfway Great Britain had gone to the lead from France with Australia improving into third place.
The order remained the same to the finish line with Australia now having to race the repechage on Saturday.
Men’s 4-
The Austalian men’s coxless four is attempting to qualify the boat (for Beijing) in Poland later in June and began that campaign in heat three of the event in Lucerne.
The crew of Matt Ryan, James Marburg, Cameron McKenzie McHarg and Francis Hegerty tackled the in form Czech Republic, Germany and the USA. The Australian crew began well and led after 500 metres over the USA, Czech Republic and Germany.
In the second 500 metres the USA took the lead from Australia by half a second with Germany holding third and the fancied Czechs at the rear. The order remained the same until 500 metres to go when the Australian crew lifted their rate and again took the lead from the USA.
At the line Australia had won from the USA, Germany and the Czech Republic, which will give the crew's confidence a real shot in the arm as they prepare for the semi finals.
Women’s Lwt 2x
World champions Amber Halliday and Marguerite Houston began their international season in heat three of their event with Poland and France appearing to be their main opposition.
The Australian crew got away well and led after 500 metres from Poland and France and held that lead to 1,000 metres. The experienced Australian crew held their form all the way down the course and won well at the line from Poland with both crews advancing to the semi finals on Saturday, a good start for the world champions.
Men’s Lwt 2x
Tom Gibson and Sam Beltz have been fourth in the last two World Championships and they began their Olympic campaign in Lucerne by tackling heat three of their event.
The boys settled in fourth place and remained there for the full 2,000 metres behind current world champions Great Britain, France and Austria. This crew will now race the repechage later today.
Men’s Lwt 4-
The Australian crew that won the B Final at last year's World Championships, Rod Chisholm, Anthony Edwards, Ben Cureton and Todd Skipworth started conservatively settling in fourth and maintained that position to the finish line behind Germany, France and Olympic champions Denmark. They will now race the repechage late Friday evening (Australian time).
Women’s 4x
Following a late scratching that left just six crews the women's quad scull had a race for lanes where they took on world champions Great Britain.
Men’s 4x
The men’s quad scull crew of Peter Hardcastle, Brendan Long, James McRae and Dan Noonan clashed with three-times world champions Poland in their heat and were no match for the favourites for Olympic gold.
The Polish dominated the race and the Australian’s found it hard to get in to the rhythm of the event and finished at the rear of the field in fifth place.
Women’s 8+
The Australian women’s eight, fresh from winning gold at the first World Cup regatta, took on China, Great Britain and New Zealand in their heat.
The Australian women behind stroke Sarah Heard took the lead from the outset and never let the other crews into the contest. They led at each 500 metres and scored first by more than five seconds on the line over Great Britain and China to repeat their finals performance from Munich.
This crew now goes straight to the final on Sunday afternoon following this very impressive display. The other heat was won by defending world champions the USA.
Men’s 8+
The Australian men’s eight began well and led by half a canvas after 1,000 metres following a battle with Germany and Great Britain.
In the third 500 the Germans challenged Australia for the lead and Great Britain also raised their effort in an attempt to take the lead away from Australia. The Australian’s held off all challenges to win by 1.64 seconds at the line and advance to a centre line in Sundays’ final.
The defending world champions Canada won the other heat impressively and will be hard to beat in the final.
Repechages Day I
Women’s 1x
After a very good showing in her heat earlier in the day, Pippa Savage took on the field in repechage number one of the women’s single scull looking to secure a place in the semi finals to be rowed on Saturday.
Savage went to the lead from the start and was never challenged. She rowed conservatively in the first thousand metres but still led by over two seconds and went on with the job to win by nearly seven seconds at the line. A great effort for an athlete undertaking her first World Cup regatta and she will get even better from here.
Men’s 2-
Karsten Forsterling and Terrence Alfred had rowed well in their heat on Friday morning and tackled repechage one in the evening in Lucerne knowing first or second would see them in to the semi finals.
They began well to lead the field with Germany holding second place and France in third. Forsterling and Alfred led until the last 250 metres when they allowed Germany to pass them and finished in second place therefore making the semi finals.
Men’s Lwt2x
Following what by their standards was a poor result in the morning's heat Tom Gibson and Sam Beltz had the job in front of them in their repechage, including facing the world champions from the last three years, Denmark.
Beltz and Gibson got away well, which they had failed to do in their heat and led the world champions early with Ireland and Austria also fighting for one of two spots in the semi finals.
The Australian crew led from start to finish to advance to Saturday's semi finals and had the type of hit out required after the long flight to Europe just a week ago.
Men’s Lwt 4-
The lightweight needed to improve after finishing fourth in their heat and were able to do so by leading the full length of the 2,000 metres to score first ahead of Switzerland and Poland.
This places the crew in Saturday's semi finals and the fight for a place in the A finals on Sunday.
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