Race reports
Day III: Sunday 11 July
Men’s Quad Scull – Semi-Final 2
The men’s quad scull had not been contested on Saturday following a minor incident. The judging boat got caught in the lane ropes 1700m into semi-final 1 and the races were postponed until 7.30pm local time before a massive thunderstorm his, cancelling the remaining races.
Semi-final 2 of the men’s quad scull featured all three 2009 World Champs medallists, as Croatia, Poland and Australia locked horns again.
Australia finished fourth at World Cup 2 this year, while the young and ambitious Croatian crew had won gold at both World Cups.
Dan Noonan, David Crawshay, Karsten Fosterling and Chris Morgan did not let the delay affect them and they were close to leaders Ukraine in second position through 500m, before Croatia came through to assume the lead in the next part of the race.
Australia, Ukraine and Croatia controlled the second half of the race and World and Olympic Champions Poland never had a chance, missing the A final in a major boilover. Croatia won ahead of Australia (5:47.67), while Ukraine was third.
Men’s Lightweight Four – B Final
Australia 1 (Todd Skipworth, Anthony Edwards, Sam Beltz and Blair Tunevitsch) and Australia 2 (Perry Ward, Ross Brown, Michael McBryde and Angus Tyers) squared off in the B Final of the men’s lightweight four.
Australia 1 was in second place through 500m behind the Czech Republic before they asserted their dominance on the race to move into the lead through 1000m.
Australia 2 was in sixth place just off the back of the main field but Australia 1 was supreme as the crossed the line in 6:00.21 to win the B Final.
Australia 2 finished in sixth in a time of 6:11.18.
Women’s Pair – A Final
Phoebe Stanley and Pauline Frasca (Australia 1) and Sarah Cook and Sarah Tait (Australia 2) were the first Australian finalists as they contested the women’s pair final.
Australia 1 found themselves second through 500m, while Australia 2 was 5th.
Australia 2 moved into fourth place over the next 500m, while Australia 1 fell back to sixth place after the start took its toll.
The New Zealand pair, who was raging favourites to win gold, did not disappoint and led from start to finish while Australia 2 made a gallant effort to take bronze but fell just shy of third placed Canada in a time of 7:16.82. Australia 1 crossed in fifth with a time of 7:18.20.
Women’s Double Scull – A Final
Sally Kehoe and Kim Crow were the next Australians in action as they looked to put the heat on the raging favourites Great Britain.
Australia had pushed the British all the way in the heat, while they comfortably won their semi-final yesterday.
Great Britain came out of the blocks with their normal pace, but Australia held with them and throughout the race were always within a boat length.
Great Britain was able to hold on while Australia celebrated a silver medal in a time of 6:52.60. There was clear water to third placed USA 2.
Men’s Four – A Final
Francis Hegerty, Cameron McKenzie-McHarg, James Marburg and Matt Ryan raced from Lane 3 in the final of the men’s four after winning their semi-final.
The British crew took the race to the rest of the field from the opening stroke and underlined their status as the number one crew in the event.
Australia was in sixth placed through 500m and 1000m and tried to surge in the second half of the race but the pace did not drop from the rest of the field, and Australia finished in fifth place.
They recorded a time of 6:00.53, while Great Britain, New Zealand and France took home the medals.
Women’s Lightweight Double Scull – A Final
Hannah Every Hall and Alice McNamara took on a strong field in the women’s lightweight double scull.
They entered the final as the sixth quickest qualifiers and were in sixth place at 500m, before improving one spot in the second quarter of the race.
Poland and Greece led the way, but Australia was unsighted as they flew in the third 500m to assume the lead.
It was a great move by Every Hall and McNamara and Great Britain was not able to respond in time, with Australia surging to the line to win by three-quarters of a boat length. Their time of 7:07.85 was enough to claim gold.
Men’s Quad Scull – A Final
Daniel Noonan, David Crawshay, Karsten Forsterling and Chris Morgan raced from Lane 5 in the final of the men’s quad scull in a star studded field.
They got a good start and settled into a good rhythm over the first 300m, settling into a close fifth place at 500m.
The German crew then accelerated markedly and broke the race open, storming to close to a two boat length lead at 1000m, with Australia struggling to adapt to the pace.
Germany set sail for home but the Croatians showed their class at the death to make up the distance in the final ten strokes to win gold and complete a clean sweep of the World Cup season.
Australia recorded 5:59.46 to add a fifth place to their fourth from World Cup 2.
Men’s Eight – A Final
Coxed by Toby Lister, the crew of Joshua Dunkley Smith, Nicholas Purnell, Sam Loch, Will Lockwood, Brodie Buckland, Fergus Pragnell, Tom Swann and Tom Larkins had impressed on Saturday with their win in the repechage.
In the final they faced the might of Germany, Great Britain, the USA and Canada in what shaped as a great race in the blue riband event.
Australia enjoyed a measured start and was in fifth place at the 500m mark, before edging into frame at the halfway mark.
Germany had made their move to overtake Canada and Great Britain in the third 500m, before the young Australian crew starting putting on the pressure to motor into medal contention.
Dunkley Smith was getting everything out of the crew and in the final quarter Australia raced past Canada and Great Britain and only narrowly missed out on reeling in the Germans.
Germany won by a quarter of a length, with Australia winning silver in 5:31.31.
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Day II: Saturday 10 July
Men’s Single Scull – Final D
Nick Hudson showed marked improvement on Friday in his two races and was out for a good showing in the D Final. Hudson had been strong over the first strokes in his first two races and he was no different in this race as he tucked in behind the Belgian sculler at the 500m mark.
Hannes de Reu of Belgium had built a five second lead at the 1000m as Hudson was involved in a three way battle for second, with Greece and Finland challenging.
Hudson however was unable to maintain the pressure in the second half of the race and fell back slightly to eventually cross the line in fifth place, recording a time of 7:12.93.
Women’s Lightweight Single Scull – Final C
Ingrid Fenger narrowly missed out on the semi-finals and lined up in the C Final from Lane 6 as she looked for a good finish to her regatta.
Fenger reacted slightly slower at the start compared to the others in the six boat field and she was in fifth place at 500m, and she was unable to make up ground over the next two sections.
USA’s Meghan Sarbanis had a stranglehold on the C Final and crossed to win, while Fenger recorded a fifth place finish, in a time of 8:07.46.
Men’s Pair – Final C
Dominic Grimm and Bryn Coudraye raced from Lane 4 in the C Final of the men’s pair after missing out on a place in the semi-finals.
The young Australian pair struggled with the electric pace set by Cuba and the Czech Republic and never moved out of fifth place across the 2000m.
Coudraye, who celebrates his birthday tomorrow, and Grimm clocked a time of 6:56.86 and will now return home and aim to make the 2010 Australian World Championships team.
Men’s Double Scull – Final C
Danjels Reedman and Jared Bidwell were looking to bounce back from their heartbreaking omission from the men’s double scull semi-finals.
Reedman and Bidwell were only passed in the closing stages of the quarter-final to finish in fourth place.
Reedman and Bidwell recorded a first split of 1:33.35, to trail leaders Argentina by 0.02 through 500m. Argentina extended this lead to just over a second over Australia at the halfway mark, while Estonia was in third place.
Despite Bidwell and Reedman digging deep over the last 1000m Argentina was able to hold on to win by a second, Australia finishing second in 6:23.87.
Women’s Pair – Repechage 1
Australia 1 (Pauline Frasca and Phoebe Stanley) and Australia 2 (Sarah Cook and Sarah Tait) were drawn against each other in the repechage of the women’s pair, against two Chinese crews and a South African pair.
Australia 1 had looked strong in their first outing of the international season yesterday, while Cook and Tait were slightly off the pace in their heat.
But the Australians took the race to their opposition from the start and Australia 1 led Australia 2 through both the 500m, 1000m and 1500m marks.
The China 1 crew made an effort to take the Australian crews in the final quarter of the race, but the Australian pairs were too strong, recording a one-two finish to both qualify for the A Final.
In a bow-ball-to-bow-ball finish Australia 1 led home Australia 2 by just less than half a boat length in a time of 7:14.72.
Women’s Double Scull – Semi-Final 2
Kim Crow and Sally Kehoe pushed the highly rated British crew in the heat on Friday to give the new crew plenty of confidence ahead of the semi-finals.
Crow and Kehoe were rewarded with a middle lane for the semi-final with Germany, the United States and Italy looming as the main three contenders to make it through to the A Final on Sunday.
Germany led the Australian double through 500m but Kehoe and Crow then upped their rate and burst to a second lead at the halfway mark.
The third 500m set the race up for Australia as they opened up a five second lead over USA and Germany.
Australia was able to ease off in the final 250 metres and finished in 6:54.17, four seconds clear of Germany and USA, with all three crews qualifying for the A Final.
Men’s Four – Semi-Final 2
Francis Hegerty, Cameron McKenzie-McHarg, James Marburg and Matt Ryan were slightly off the pace on Day 1 of the regatta and were looking for a stronger performance on semi-final day.
Australia had a slow start and were in fifth place at both the 500m and 1000m marks before their experience shone through.
Francis Hegerty lifted the rate of his crew and they flew past three crews and began chasing down New Zealand 2 in the final quarter of the race.
Australia powered past New Zealand 2 and won the semi final in 5:56.30, with New Zealand 2 just left than half a second behind. United States 1 claimed the final position in the A Final.
Women’s Lightweight Double Scull – Semi-Final 2
Alice McNamara and Hannah Every-Hall rowed with good poise in their repechage of the women’s lightweight double scull and secured semi-final place with a clear water victory.
Australia was drawn against Canada, Germany and Greece in the semi-final and were chasing a top three finish to make it through to the A Final.
McNamara and Every-Hall went through the 500m mark in fourth place behind Germany, Greece and Canada, and the positions remained the same through both the 1000m and 1500m time checks.
The Australian crew then pushed past Canada to claim the third and final place in the A Final in a time of 7:02.27, to continue the excellent day for the Australian team.
Men’s Lightweight Four – Semi-Final 1
Australia 2 was drawn to race from Lane 6 in their semi-final and they were handed a tough race against Switzerland, Denmark, Great Britain, Czech Republic and France.
Perry Ward, Ross Brown, Michael McBryde and Angus Tyers made the semi-final of World Cup 2 and were looking to go one step further in Lucerne.
The pace of the semi-final was too much for Australia 2 to handle though, as Great Britain, Denmark and Switzerland charged down the field.
Despite a gutsy effort in the last 1000m, Australia 2 finished in fifth place and will row the B Final on Sunday.
Men’s Lightweight Four – Semi-Final 2
Todd Skipworth, Anthony Edwards, Sam Beltz and Blair Tunevitsch had changed their seat order from World Cup 2 and breezed through their quarter-final on Friday afternoon.
Racing from Lane 5, Australia 1’s challenge looked set to come from the middle lanes that were occupied by Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.
It was the closest race of the second day as five crews surged towards the line, looking to finish in the top three and race in the A Final on Sunday.
Australia had occupied third in the entire race, but in the final strokes missed out on a place in the final by 0.08 seconds, finishing fifth in 5:59.27.
The top five crews finished within 1.4 seconds of each other in a pulsating end of the race.
Men’s Eight – Repechage 1
The Australian men’s eight had rowed with no fear in their heat on Day 1 of the regatta and pushed the favoured German crew all the way to the line.
Despite finishing in second place in their heat, Australia still gained confidence out of the row and faced a repechage against Estonia, China, Poland and the Netherlands.
In the repechage, Australia came out with confidence and settled in behind Poland after the 500m mark.
Led by stroke Joshua Dunkley Smith, Australia continued to pressurise Poland across the 1000m, and 1500m marks, before they moved past Poland to win the repechage and qualify for the final in 5:34.99.
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Day I: Friday 9 July
Lightweight Women’s Single Scull – Heat 1
Ingrid Fenger lined up for her debut international appearance for the Australian senior team in the heats of the women’s lightweight single sculls.
The young Tasmanian, who was ruled out of World Cup 2 through injury, lined up in Heat 1 requiring a top three finish to make it directly to the quarter finals and was placed fifth through the opening quarter of the race.
The German sculler led the field at the halfway mark ahead of Brazil, while Fenger had improved into fourth place, only half a boat length down on third place.
Fenger dug deep over the closing 750 metres as she attempted to reel in the Japanese athlete but despite her best efforts could not reduce the margin. She recorded a time of 7:58.85 and will now have to wait on other times in the remaining heats to see if she progresses.
Women’s Pair – Heat 1
Following the withdrawal of the United States women’s pair, the draw was reformed to a two-heat format, with six boats in each heat.
The change in format allowed the two Australian combinations to row in separate heats, after originally Pauline Frasca and Phoebe Stanley were drawn against Sarah Cook and Sarah Tait
Frasca and Stanley, who were ranked Australia’s number one pair after the April selection trials, raced in Heat 1 and required a win to progress to the semi-final.
The Victorian pair missed World Cup 2 but looked in fine form in the heat as they settled into third position through the opening 1000m of the race.
Canada held a commanding lead over the field, and after Germany struck trouble in the closing stages, Australia raced past them to secure a second place finish, crossing the line in a time of 7:15.18.
It was a good first up race for Stanley and Frasca and they will enter the repechage tomorrow with good confidence.
Women’s Pair – Heat 2
Sarah Cook and Sarah Tait faced the all-conquering New Zealand pair in their heat of the women’s pair.
New Zealand had won the two world cups contested in 2010 and entered World Cup 3 as strong favourites to make it a clean sweep.
New Zealand came out of the blocks with great pace and led by half a boat length through 500 metres, while Cook and Tait lay in fourth place behind Great Britain and USA 2.
Cook and Tait made good headway over the middle section of the race and despite staying in fourth place, were still in touching distance of Great Britain and USA 2.
The Australian pair was able to pass Great Britain in the final 500m and recorded 7:09.99 to finish in third place.
Men’s Pair – Heat 1
Dominic Grimm and Bryn Coudraye were improving with every row in Munich and entered Lucerne with good confidence.
They were drawn against World Cup favourites Hamish Bond and Eric Murray of New Zealand who had not lost a race since forming in 2009.
With two progressing straight to the semi-final, Grimm and Coudraye pushed out hard from the pontoon and swept into second place over the first quarter of the race, half a length behind New Zealand.
The quick pace of the race hurt Grimm and Coudraye in the next stage however, and they dropped to fourth place at 1000m and held this position through 1500m. New Zealand had the heat won and Italy also was comfortable over the closing part of the race to secure a semi-final place.
Australia finished in fourth place, setting a time of 6:44.53, some three seconds shy of third placed Germany 1. Grimm and Coudraye will race the repechage later this afternoon.
Women’s Double Scull – Heat 1
Kim Crow and Sally Kehoe joined forces in the women’s double scull after both making the final of the women’s single scull at World Cup 2.
Kehoe and Crow drew Anna Watkins and Katharine Grainger of Great Britain in their heat, the combination that had won both world cups in 2010.
Great Britain took the challenge to Kehoe and Crow in the first strokes and led by just over a second through the first time check.
It was quickly turning into a two-boat race at the halfway mark as Great Britain and Australia opened a ten second gap over the other four crews.
Kehoe and Crow were pushing the favourites and held within just over a second of the lead with 500m remaining, assuring themselves of progression to the semi-finals with the first two crews to move through.
Great Britain took the line honours, while Crow and Kehoe stated their intentions for the remainder of the regatta, crossing in 6:52.65, just over two seconds down on Great Britain.
Men’s Four – Heat 4
The Australian men’s four of Francis Hegerty, Cameron McKenzie-McHarg, James Marburg and Matt Ryan entered Heat 4 needing a win to progress directly to the semi-finals.
New Zealand 2 led from the start as Australia settled into second place behind their Trans Tasman rivals.
New Zealand showed excellent form through the majority of the race and held onto the lead, while Slovenia began to challenge Australia for second place reaching the final 500m.
With the New Zealand crew assured of progression, Slovenia pipped Australia on the line for second place, Australia crossing the line 0.19 behind in a time of 6:01.44. They will race in the repechages later today.
Women’s Lightweight Double Scull – Heat 2
Alice McNamara and Hannah Every-Hall dropped down to weight after rowing the heavyweight class in Munich.
The British and Chinese crews had been the leading boats this year, but were not been drawn with the Australian crew.
McNamara and Every-Hall found themselves in third place at the start of their heat, and settled in behind Germany 1 and Poland.
Germany 1 gained ascendency over the field over the middle portion of the race while Australia challenged and then overtook the Polish crew.
With only the winner progressing straight to the semi-finals, Australia gained confidence with a second place finish, finishing three seconds shy of Germany in 7:06.40. They will now row a repechage later this evening.
Men’s Double Scull – Heat 4
Danjels Reedman and Jared Bidwell raced the C Final in Munich and were looking to improve on this result in Lucerne.
Both Reedman and Bidwell are young and very talented rowers and a top three finish would place them in the quarter finals.
France led the race through 500m, ahead of Norway and Australia, while Cuba was in fourth place.
Bidwell and Reedman held their form through the middle half and entered the final 500m still in third place, and did enough to remain in third to progress to the quarter-finals later tonight.
They clocked a time of 6:25.73, to finish four seconds behind first placed France, and a second clear of Cuba in fourth place.
Men’s Lightweight Four – Heat 1
Todd Skipworth, Anthony Edwards, Sam Beltz and Blair Tunevitsch entered Heat 1 of the men’s lightweight four after an A final appearance in Munich three weeks ago.
They were matched up against Italy, who claimed bronze at World Cup 1.
Italy led through the first half of the race ahead of Australia, holding a half length boat lead, with this margin staying the same in the next quarter of the race.
Australia then surged in the final quarter of the race to pass the Italians and hold on to the lead as they finished the race in 6:03.09.
Australia led Italy and Japan through to the quarter-finals, which will be held later in the Friday program.
Men’s Lightweight Four – Heat 6
Australia 2, featuring Perry Ward, Ross Brown, Michael McBryde and Angus Tyers were B Finalists in Munich.
They entered the sixth heat looking for a top three finish to make the quarter finals and rowed confidently throughout to secure their place.
Germany led the race for the entirety, while Australia was always a boat length behind, finishing in a time of 6:11.74, some five seconds clear of Poland.
Men’s Quad Sculls – Heat 1
Daniel Noonan moved into the stroke seat for the men’s quad scull in Lucerne, replacing Karsten Forsterling who rowed in the 2 seat, while David Crawshay and Chris Morgan stayed put in 3 seat and bow respectively.
Australia hit the lead over the first quarter of the race, leading Germany through the first marker, while United States held down third place.
Germany assumed the lead in the next 500m, some one second clear of the Australian crew, while the United States was a further two seconds further back.
With three crews set to qualify for the semi-finals, Australia and Germany looked assured as they broke away from the field in the second half of the race.
Germany did enough to hold on for first place, while Australia crossed the line in 5:48.10, five seconds clear of the United States.
Men’s Single Scull – Heat 3
Nick Hudson entered his second world cup as in the men’s single scull, after improving with every row in his first outing three weeks ago in World Cup 2.
With a large field entered in the boat class, four rowers would progress to the quarter finals from the heat stage.
Hudson was in second place at 1000m and held his place through 1500m before ending in third in 7:09.99.
Men’s Eight – Heat 1
The men’s eight entered their first regatta for 2010 in a very tough heat, matched against USA, Germany and the Netherlands.
Germany had won World Cup 2, while the USA and the Netherlands are perennially strong.
Coxed by Toby Lister, Australia pushed the united states crew all the way through the race in a promising performance.
With only one crew moving through to the A Final, USA held on in a pulsating final to edge out the young Australian crew who finished in 5:37.91.
Women’s Lightweight Single Scull – Quarter Final 4
Ingrid Fenger raced in quarter final 4 of the women’s lightweight single scull as she aimed for a top three finish to make the semi-final stage on Saturday.
Fenger was unable to match the pace of the British and Greek scullers out of the pontoon and found herself in fifth place through the first 500 metres of the race.
The Greek and British scullers continued to build open water on the field through the middle strokes of the race as Fenger looked to make ground on third and fourth place, but the young Tasmanian was unable to reel them in and held in fifth place to the finish line.
Fenger crossed in 7:58.74, some five seconds behind the third and final semi-final place, and will row in a minor final later in the regatta.
Men’s Pair – Repechage 1
Dominic Grimm and Bryn Coudraye needed a top two finish in their repechage of the men’s pair to qualify for the semi finals.
The Australian pair settled in behind South Africa out of the blocks and held their place at the 1000m marker, setting themselves up for a strong finish.
Germany was less than half a boat length behind Grimm and Coudraye with 500m remaining, but the young Australian duo held on in and incredible finish to the race, booking a place in the semi-finals with a tie in second place with Germany, crossing the line in 6:35.93.
South Africa finished only 0.11 clear of Australia and Germany in the closest race on the first day of the World Cup.
Men’s Four – Repechage 4
Francis Hegerty, Cameron McKenzie-McHarg, James Marburg and Matt Ryan entered the repechage after finishing third in their heat earlier on Friday.
A top two finish was required by the Olympic and World Championship silver medallists to book a place in the semi finals.
Australia didn’t come out of the blocks as well as France and China, but passed the Chinse in the second quarter of the race.
Despite not overtaking the French, Australia cruised through in second place in 6:01.69.
Women’s Lightweight Double Scull – Repechage 3
Alice McNamara and Hannah Every-Hall looked impressive in their heat and took confidence into their repechage.
The Australian lightweight duo came quickly off the start line and established a canvas lead over Italy.
Australia kept the pace up and accelerated away from the field in the middle half of the race, close to two boat lengths clear of their of opposition.
They recorded a time of 7:10.07, easing off at the end to lead home Spain and Italy.
Men’s Double Scull – Quarter Final 4
Jared Bidwell and Danjels Reedman chased a top three finish to make the semi-finals in the men’s double scull. It promised to be a close contest and New Zealand set the pace, leading at all timing buoys to set up their win.
The Czech Republic also was supreme and claimed the second spot, leaving Australia to fight it out with Poland for third.
Australia held third place heading into the 1500 mark, a second clear of Poland, but the Polish came flying home to pip Reedman and Bidwell by a canvas.
Men’s Lightweight Four – Quarter Final 3
Todd Skipworth, Anthony Edwards, Sam Beltz and Blair Tunevitsch raced from Lane 3 in their quarter final and started well to sit behind the British and Serbia after the first 30 strokes.
Australia 1 were stroking well and passed the Serbs at around the 1200m mark and set their sights on the British.
It was a tense battle over the last 300m as Great Britain, Australia and Serbia began to overlap and in a photo finish Great Britain grabbed the win over Australia (6:02.96), with Serbia only 0.03 further back.
The top three crews all progressed to the semi-finals.
Men’s Lightweight Four – Quarter Final 4
Perry Ward, Ross Brown, Michael McBryde and Angus Tyers looked to join their lightweight team mates in the semi finals.
Australia 2 faced a tough battle against the Netherlands, Denmark and USA and was involved in a close contest all the way down the picturesque Lucerne course.
With the Netherlands and Denmark just edging clear, Australia 2 did enough to hold off USA for third place and will race in the semi-final on Saturday.
Men’s Single Scull – Quarter Final 1
Nick Hudson was drawn in a tough quarter final against sculling legend, Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand.
Hudson burst out from the start and held the lead over the other five scullers, before moving to fourth place after the next quarter of the race.
Hudson was valiant as he continued to fight fatigue and chase a place in the semi-finals and rowed all the way to the line to record a time of 7:15.88, earning fifth place and only six seconds behind a place in the semi-final.
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