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10/07/2009

The scene was standard. At the third Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland, racing on day one began in flat calm conditions under semi-cloudy skies. Racing in the heats got off to a fine start but throughout the morning a head wind would rise and then fall, making race times vary.

Laura Milani from Italy competing in the Lightweight Women's Single Sculls at the 2009 Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland.Lightweight Women’s Single Sculls (LW1x)

After weighing in two hours prior to racing, the three heats required a top two finish for these athletes to move on to the semifinal. All of these rowers are 59kg or less and often it means exercising early this morning prior to racing. Italy’s Laura Milani overtook Julianne Rasmussen of Denmark to lead for most of the race in heat one. Milani went under the magic eight-minute mark in these perfect conditions to finish first. Rasmussen had to hold off a last-minute sprint by Austria2 to take the second qualifying spot.

Recording the same finishing time as Milani, Pamela Weisshaupt of Switzerland led Heat Two from start to finish. Weisshaupt is the reigning World Champion and began her international rowing career in 1995. Chasing Weisshaupt down the Rotsee regatta course was Italy2, Erika Bello. Bello is also a rowing regular. She first raced on the Italian team in 1993 until the 1996 Olympics. Bello then took a 10-year break and is back and on to the semifinals after finishing second.

Olympian Alexandra Tsiavou of Greece recorded the fastest qualifying time in Heat Three. Tsiavou was pushed down the course by Sina Burmeister of Germany2 who had to put in a last ditch sprint when Sweden’s Sara Karlsson charged at the line. Karlsson will have to return for the repechage. Surprisingly Germany1, Daniela Reimer was back in fourth.

Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls (LM1x)Frederic Hanselmann from Switzerland competing in the Lightweight Men's Single Sculls at the 2009 Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland.

These rowers weigh in at 72.5kg or less. There are 16 of them racing today, divided into three heats and looking to finish in the top two to guarantee a spot in the semifinal. Heat one contained the first of four Italian entries. Lorenzo Bertini is Italy1 and he proved his worth by not only winning, but doing it with the fastest qualifying time. Bertini is one of Italy’s top lightweight rowers but is often on the edge of their top boats. In 2004, however, he made the Olympic crew and finished third in the lightweight four. In second, Japan’s most accomplished rower, Daisaku Takeda, was right behind Bertini to qualify.

Current World Champion Duncan Grant of New Zealand led the way in Heat2. Grant raced last weekend in the open single at Great Britain’s Henley Royal Regatta and, although he did not make the Final, he dethroned last year’s Henley winner, Ian Lawson (GBR) in the first round. An impressive second 1,000m gave Switzerland’s Frederic Hanselmann the second qualifying spot. Hanselmann had to work through from the back of the field and overtake Italy2, Fabrizio Gabriele, to earn the second position.

Heat Three had Great Britain’s Adam Freeman-Pask in the lead for the entire race. This is impressive as Freeman-Pask was ahead of Olympic medallist (LM2x) Mads Rasmussen of Denmark for the entire race. Freeman-Pask has won bronze already twice this season and will be hoping to step up to a brighter colour. With Radsmussen settled into second, this heat turned into a procession. Great Britain and Denmark qualify for the semifinal.

Lightweight Men’s Pair (LM2-)

This event was all about finishing in the top three for a direct path to the semifinal. Lined up in three heats, Heat One turned out to be a seeder’s nightmare. Seeding is designed so that the top two boats are placed in the middle two lanes so that potentially the race will end with an arrow shape. This heat saw none of that. After overtaking Denmark’s Jacob Barsoe and Lasse Dittmann, lane one of Italy’s Jiri Vlcek and Bruno Mascarenhas took over in the lead. Going with the Italians was lane five, Nicolas Moutton and Francois Marty of France. Denmark did manage to hold on enough to get third, but it was Vlcek and Mascarenhas, rating 36, who crossed the line first. Italy, France and Denmark are in the semifinal.

Both Jean-Christophe Bette and Fabien Tilliet (FRA1) were at Beijing last year racing in the lightweight men’s four. They finished in the heartbreaking fourth place. But they are back and today they won Heat Two of this non-Olympic event and they won it easily. Denmark’s Ulrik Romme and Christian Moelvig sat in second, never challenging France. Germany (Martin Eiermann and Moritz Hafner) remained back further in third. The order remained unchanged to the line. France, Denmark and Germany are in the semifinal.

Heat Three featured Italy’s number one crew of Armando Dell’Aquila and Andrea Caianiello. The duo are former World Champions and current under-23 champions. Last year they were second at the World Rowing Championships. How will they do this weekend? Today Dell’Aquila and Caianiello got off to a great start by leading their race from start to finish. Behind them three crews conducted an incredibly close battle. Two German crews and Switzerland were practically neck-and-neck for the entire 2,000m. The race ended in a sprint for the line with the two German crews rating in the high 30s. Germany3 were the unlucky ones. Italy, Switzerland and Germany1 are in the semifinals.

The German Women's Pairs with Kerstin Hartmann (b) and Mariene Sinnig (s) competing at the 2009 Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland.Women’s Pair (W2-)

The day that began perfectly now turned to a gusty, but relatively small, head wind causing the flat waters of the Rotsee to show marked ripples. This is what the two heats in the women’s pair faced. They also faced the aim of finishing in a top two position if they wanted to go directly to the Final.

Heat One opened with Munich World Cup winners Emma Feathery and Rebecca Scown of New Zealand in the lead. After an initial challenge by USA2, Feathery and Scown pushed away to a boat length lead by the half-way point. Meanwhile USA1 of Mara Allen and Erin Cafaro were working hard to overtake their team mates in USA2. Coming into the final 500m, Allen and Cafaro had got themselves into second as the boats began to spread out. At the line New Zealand and USA1 are the boats that had earned a spot in Sunday’s Final.

Olivia Whitlam and Louisa Reeve of Great Britain are hoping to come back from their fifth-place finish at last month’s Munich World Cup. They got off to a good start by leading Heat Two from start to finish. However, Whitlam and Reeve were not confronted with any great challenge. Getting a full boat length’s lead by the 500m mark, Whitlam and Reeve were then able to keep an eye on the rest of the field and watch a close fight between China and Germany for the second place. China’s provincial crew of Li Dai and Liang Wang managed to prevail. Great Britain and China are in the Final.

Men’s Pair (M2-)

First place was the position to get in these two heats. That position would give crews a direct path to Sunday’s Final. It was no surprise to see New Zealand’s Eric Murray and Hamish Bond in the lead of Heat One. Murray and Bond caused an upset when they beat first World Cup winners Great Britain at the second Rowing World Cup last month. Murray and Bond come out of their country’s Olympic four and their long smooth strokes mean they make rowing look easy. Murray and Bond go directly to the Final after leading from start to finish.

In Heat Two, New Zealand’s rivals, Great Britain (Andrew Triggs Hodge and Peter Reed) raced. Today they made easy work of their heat and will meet the New Zealanders again in the Final. Surprisingly in this heat, back in fourth and hardly racing, were Olympic finalists, South Africa. Will they be able to pick it up in the repechage?

The Polish Women's Double Sculls with Magdalena Fularczyk (b) and Julia Michalska (s) competing at the 2009 Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland.Women’s Double Sculls (W2x)

The two heats in this event required a top two finish for the direct path to the Final and in Heat One three crews wanted it and they wanted it bad. Coming out of the start there was very little between Germany, Bulgaria and New Zealand. Going through the half-way point there was even less. Only half a second separated the top three boats. Germany’s Annekatrin Thiele and Christiane Huth are Olympic medallists. Bulgaria contains Olympic Champion in the single Rumyana Neykova with doubles partner Miglena Markova and New Zealand are a new double crew (Anna Reymer and Paula Twining) who hope to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, the Olympic Champion Evers-Swindell twins. Coming into the final sprint, New Zealand began to lose ground. Germany then pushed ahead of Bulgaria. Germany and Bulgaria go directly to the Final.

Heat Two was rather more pedestrian. Megan Kalmoe and Ellen Tomek of the United States took the lead ahead of Munich World Cup winners Julia Michalska and Magdalena Fularczyk of Poland. The Poles did not challenge the leading Americans and also were not under any threat from Italy in third. USA and Poland are in the Final.

The New Zealander Men's Double Sculls with Matthew Trott (b) and Nathan Cohen (s) competing at the 2009 Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland.Men’s Double Sculls (M2x)

This race contained three heats with the top three in each heat getting a direct path to the semifinal. Olympic medallists Great Britain (Matthew Wells and Stephen Rowbotham) took off in the lead followed closely by Switzerland and the United States. By the half-way point Wells and Rowbotham had earned a handy boat length lead while a very close battle went on between the entire rest of the field. Germany, Switzerland, the United States and France went through the half-way point with only half a second separating them. Who had the better second 1,000m? Who had the stamina? Germany then dropped right back with the United States also loosing power. This left France and Switzerland to take on Great Britain. France’s Cedric Berrest and Julien Bahain had it in them. Overtaking Great Britain, the French crossed the line in first. Great Britain take second and Switzerland’s Andre Vonarburg and Florian Stofer take down the pressure but do enough to earn third.

Heat Two featured winners of last weekend’s Henley Royal Regatta, Matthew Trott and Nathan Cohen of New Zealand. The usually aggressive starting Kiwis were more sedate today. Estonia’s Allar Raja and Kaspar Taimsoo opened as leaders with Slovenian brothers Luka and Jan Spik in second and New Zealand back in third. But margins were close. Coming into the final 500m sprint only a quarter of a second separated these three crews. Who would sprint the finish? Trott and Cohen decided a first would be nice and moved into the lead. The Spiks looked satisfied just to qualify and finish in third and Estonia take second.

From start to finish nothing changed in the order of Heat Three. In the lead were winners of the Munich World Cup Eric Knittel and Stephan Krueger of Germany. Knittel and Krueger remained ahead of Belarus in second and Poland in third. Despite Belarus’s Dzianis Mihal and Stanislau Shcharbachenia doing a last-minute charge, Germany remained in front. Germany, Belarus and Poland are in the semifinal.

Frida Svensson from Sweden competing in the Women's Single Sculls at the 2009 Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland.Women’s Single Sculls (W1x)

The 19 singles lining up in this event were split into four heats with the top two crews from each heat going directly to the semifinal. Heat One welcomed back to the Rotsee New Zealand’s Emma Twigg. Last weekend Twigg raced at the Henley Royal Regatta and finished first. Today she led from start to finish. Behind Twigg, Switzerland was trying to hold on to second. However, a stronger second half by Belgian Annick De Decker gave Belgium the second qualifying spot and a position with Twigg in the semifinal.

First World Cup winner Katherine Grainger of Great Britain was incredibly disappointed not to medal at the second Rowing World Cup. Today Grainger raced in Heat Two and led from start to finish. This must give Grainger a huge confidence boost as in leading she stayed ahead of Sweden’s Frida Svensson. Svensson missed the Munich World Cup due to injury but she comfortably held on to the second qualifying spot today.

Winner of the Munich World Cup and this year’s Holland Beker winner Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic is on a roll. In Heat Three Knapkova raced a very controlled and comfortable race from the front. In the absence of a still injured Ekaterina Karsten (BLR), Knapkova could be looking at another gold this season. Behind Knapkova, Tale Gjoertz of Norway was able to push ahead of Poland to take the second qualifying spot. Gjoertz, 19, had just come out of junior racing and looks to be following in the footsteps of her fellow countryman, Olaf Tufte.

China’s top female sculler, Xiuyun Zhang raced in Heat Four. Zhang missed the second Rowing World Cup after a last-minute withdrawal, but today she raced her Olympic talent to record a very comfortable win. Germany2 (Juliane Domscheit) managed to put a spanner in the works for the German selectors by beating Germany1 to the line. Zhang and Domscheit are in the semifinal.

Ondrej Synek from the Czech Republic at the start of the Men's Single Sculls at the 2009 Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland.Men’s Single Sculls (M1x)

The 22 boats entered in this event were divided into four heats with only the first place getting a direct path to the semifinal. As these events are seeded, at the end of the four races, the top four boats from the Beijing Olympics had earned a spot in the semifinal. This is how it happened.

In heat one Olympic silver medallist Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic took the lead and already had a full boat length by the half-way point over Germany2. Synek has not had a good season so far and is yet to medal. But today he looked very comfortable leading in his bright orange boat. Surprisingly, Olympian Ioannis Christou of Greece sat at the back of the field. Synek is in the semifinal.

Heat Two featured fourth-placed Olympian Tim Maeyens of Belgium. As with Synek, Maeyens led from start to finish. Maeyens has been dabbling in the double this season under the guidance of new coach Harald Jarhling. Today he is back in the single and it looks likely that this will be the boat he races at the World Rowing Championships. Maeyens was not challenged for his lead and he moves comfortably on to the semifinal.

Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand has been in Europe for four weeks. In that time he has won the Munich Rowing World Cup. He has won the Holland Beker in the Netherlands and he has won the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta. Today Drysdale won heat three at the final Rowing World Cup of the season. Drysdale had the race practically won after 500m and spent the remaining 1,500m expending just enough energy to remain in a comfortable lead. Drysdale will race in tomorrow’s semifinal.

The final heat, heat four featured “the Farmer”, rowing’s Olympic Champion Olaf Tufte of Norway. Tufte does not often get off the line at a fast pace and today he had the lead at the start but was being challenged by both the United States and Germany. By the half-way point Warren Anderson of the United States still was close to Tufte and managed to close the gap on the champion. Tufte held on and crossed the line in first to go to the semifinal.

Men’s Four (M4-)

The two heats required a top two finish if athletes wanted to skip a repechage race and go straight to the Final. Rowing World Cup yellow jersey holders Great Britain took the lead in Heat One and got in the position that they love. The Czechs held on at the start and still had an overlap on the British going through the half-way point. Coming into the final sprint the Czech Republic were still in second and the qualifying spot. The United States then charged. This is the first time for this American line-up to be racing internationally and on top of that medical reasons caused the swapping of one crew member at the eleventh hour. The United States and the Czech Republic charged for the line. The United States had the better sprint. Great Britain and the USA are in the Final.

After the Munich Rowing World Cup, Germany’s winning eight became two fours. Today these two fours raced in Heat Two. Seat racing to choose the World Rowing Championship boat perhaps? Germany1 got into the lead at the start followed closely by Germany2 and France. By the half-way point Germany2 had fallen back with France still close to attacking position on the leading German crew. Then Slovenia began to move. Slovenia finished fourth at the Munich Rowing World Cup and frequently show medal potential. Today they indicated a strong second 1,000m and by the finish they had nearly caught the Germans by rating 40 in the final sprint. Germany and Slovenia are in the Final.

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (LW2x)

This event consisted of three heats with the top two boats in each heat able to advance directly to the semifinal. Heat One featured Munich Rowing World Cup winners, Hester Goodsell and Sophie Hosking of Great Britain. Goodsell and Hosking’s win at Munich was the first time a British lightweight double had won a World Cup gold. This looks to be repeated here in Lucerne with Goodsell and Hosking managing to hold off Greece to finish first. Greece’s Triantafyllia Kalampoka and Christina Giazitzidou presented a very concerted effort to beat the Brits, but Goodsell and Hosking remained just in front. Great Britain and Greece are in the semifinal.

There was nothing slow about Heat Two when Belgium and Germany went head to head and in the process recorded the two fastest qualifying times of the heats. Germany’s Anja Noske and Marie-Louise Draeger are the yellow jersey holders and, as they felt it was their right, they took the lead. But Belgium’s Jo Hammond and Evi Geentjens were not giving much away. The Belgians remained within attacking distance and in the final sprint charged for the line. Germany tried to hold them off, but at the line Belgium had first by a smidgen. Belgium and Germany are in the semifinal.

Canada’s Lindsay Jennerich and Sheryl Preston raced at the first Rowing World Cup back in May, and finished third. They return for this final World Cup of the season racing in Heat Three. Jennerich and Preston got off the line in first position, but it was only just ahead of Austria in second. Austria remained in touch going through the middle of the race but then began to slip. This gave Poland’s Magdalena Kemnitz and Agnieszka Renc the opportunity they had been looking for. The Poles began to close on Austria. A solid final sprint coupled by the un-reactive Austrians, gave Poland the second spot. Canada and Poland go to the semifinal.

The French Lightweight Men's Double Sculls with Frederic Dufour (b) and Jeremie Azou (s) competing at the 2009 Rowing World Cup in Munich, Germany.Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x)

The 20 boats in this event were split into four heats and they were required to finish in the top two positions if they wanted to go directly to the semifinal. Heat One featured Great Britain’s new 2009 line up, Rob Williams and Paul Mattick. Williams and Mattick have two fourth-place finishes from this season and they must be itching to get into the medals. Today they led this heat from start to finish. Behind the Brits, Austria’s second crew of Joschka Hellmeier and Florian Berg slipped into the second place and worked at holding off Denmark in third. The second half of the race turned into a procession as Great Britain remained in front and Austria held on to second. Great Britain and Austria are in the semifinals.

A very tight battle went on between Canada and France in Heat Two. France’s Frederic Dufour and Jeremie Azou got a slight edge at the start, but it was not much more than a smidgen. Canada’s Douglas Vandor and Cameron Sylvester had raced at Beijing but illness meant they did not get to race past the semifinals. They are back for another season and showed that they have a good second 1,000m. At the line Canada finished first with France taking the pressure off a little to earn second. Canada and France go to the semifinal.

Germany has a new lightweight double. In Heat Three Christian Hochbruck and Lars Hartig of Germany got ahead of the fast-starting Italians and held them off for the rest of the race. Italy’s Marcello Miani and Elia Luini are usually at the front of the field, but have had mixed results this season. Today, Germany and Italy headed for the finish line in that order and under no threat from the rest of the field. Germany and Italy are in the semifinal.

Winners of the Munich World Cup, Storm Uru and Peter Taylor of New Zealand, featured in heat four. Uru and Taylor got their nose in front of Poland’s Mariusz Stanczuk and Robert Sycz and remained there. The final sprint looked like a walk in the park with Poland happy to let New Zealand take first. Hungary, in third, was putting no pressure on the Poles.

Lightweight Men’s Four (LM4-)

The three heats in this event meant that crews had to get in the top three if they wanted to go on the direct path to the semifinal.

Germany took the lead in Heat One, but held only a small margin over the Czech Republic, France and the United States. The Czech Republic remained the closest threat to the Germans going through the middle of the race and it looked, even coming into the final sprint, that these two boats would be first and second. But then France broke into their stride and charged for the line. Germany and the Czech Republic looked unable to react. With the United States dropping right off the pace, France, Germany and the Czech Republic become the qualifying boats – in that order.

In Heat Two, Japan, under their new German coach, took the bull by the horns and grabbed the lead, despite being up against the mighty Danes. Japan, stroked by Hideki Omoto remained in the lead through the middle of the race. The Danes then did their move. At the line Denmark, winners of the two previous World Cups, was in first. Japan held on for second and Switzerland qualifies from third.

Italy raced a great race from the lead of Heat Three. After getting away to a good start over Great Britain, Italy found a good rhythm and held the edge. Coming into the final sprint, the Netherlands moved on the Italians by rating 36 with Great Britain edging through at 38. The Italians held them off. Italy, the Netherlands and Great Britain are in the semifinal.

The Slovenian Men's Quadruple Sculls with Janez Zupanc (b), Gasper Fistravec, Janez Jurse and Iztok Cop (s) competing at the 2009 Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland.Men’s Quadruple Sculls (M4x)

This race had two heats and a top-two finish was required for a place in the Final and presented some of the most interesting races of the day. In Heat One France’s new line-up got the best start. But then Slovenia took over. Slovenia is stroked by their most accomplished rower, Iztok Cop, who has stated he will keep rowing if the boat he is in is doing well. Coming through to the finish, the new United States line-up then pushed past France and got into a qualifying position. France had no response. Slovenia and the United States go directly to the Final.

The second heat was a much faster race with the Germans, who were out in front, setting a cracking pace. The Czechs tried to hold on to the Germans, but the rearranged line up looked strong and confident. Then Great Britain gave it a good bash to get up to the Germans. But Germany, now stroked by Tim Bartels, was having none of it. With supporters blowing horns towards the finish, the Germans finish first. Great Britain take the second qualifying spot. Italy’s new-look crew, surprisingly sat at the back of the field.

Start of the Men's Eight heat at the 2009 Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland.Men’s Eight (M8+)

The two heats in this final event of the morning required boats to finish first if they wanted to go straight to Sunday’s Final. Canada featured in Heat One. The Canadians are the current Olympic Champions, but they have almost an entirely new line-up this year. Despite this, Canada got out in front and had a solid lead and the opportunity to watch the remainder of the field. Behind Canada, the United States, Italy and Poland had a very tight fight. The Canadians remained unperturbed. Canada goes to the Final.

Germany followed Canada’s example in Heat Two. Formed by last month’s two fours that raced to first and second at the Munich Rowing World Cup, Germany showed that they had a medal-winning line up. By the half-way point Germany had over a boat length margin and the Netherlands, in second, did not look like they could catch them. Germany go to the Final looking in fine form.