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Huge field for Head of the Charles

16/10/2008

October is a beautiful time to be in Boston, United States. Over 8,200 rowers will agree with that. The 2008 Head of the Charles gets under way this weekend with 4.8km of hard rowing set against a backdrop of a rainbow of autumn colours.

The event started 43 years ago with just 100 competitors and has built up to today with 19 countries represented on top of American athletes from 38 states. A predicted 300,000 spectators will be watching the race along the banks of the Charles River.

The growth in popularity of the Head of the Charles, which began as a singles only regatta for local scullers, means that 30 per cent of entries are turned away. A lottery system is used to determine who gets to race with a guaranteed entry given to those who won in the previous year and those that came within 5 per cent of the winning time.

The course is unique in its winding fashion that has rowers navigating under seven bridges and hours of careful planning and calculations put in by some competitors to work out the best path to row as determined by differing flows of the river.

Executive director of the Head of the Charles, Fred Schoch, brings together 1,200 volunteers to make the weekend run smoothly. Schoch also actively encourages international rowers to race, especially in the prime events, the championship men’s and women’s single.

Fronting up in the championship men’s double are Greek rowing legends Vasileios Polymeros and Dimitrios Mougios. The duo won silver at the Beijing Olympics in the lightweight double and they will be up against US national team heavyweights Sloan DuRoss and Sam Stitt.

Olympic silver medallist in the single USA’s Michelle Guerette is teaming up with Olympic Champion from the eight, Caryn Davies, to race in the championship women’s double. Also leaving the Olympic single behind is New Zealand’s Emma Twigg. She will race with Olympian from the women’s pair, Juliette Haigh. Both of these crews will have to beat the two-time defending champions, Liz Mygatt and Margaret Matia from the United States.

Second and third places from last year, New Zealand’s Mahe Drysdale and Nathan Cohen are back again to be the two hot favourites in the championship men’s single. Drysdale and Cohen both competed at the Beijing Olympics with Drysdale winning bronze in the single and Cohen a finalist in the men’s double.

The championship women’s single is dominated by United States rowers with last year’s second place finisher, Liane Malcos looking to step up to first. Malcos will be challenged by US national team member Brett Sickler.