Junior Men’s Pair (JM2-) – SemifinalsComing through to these semifinals Germany’s Frederik Prigge and Lukas Oberhausen have looked to be the crew to beat. But in semifinal one it was the Slovenians in the lead. Prigge and Oberhausen stuck closely to Slovenia and by the half-way point they had taken over at the head of the field. Slovenia’s Zan Cvet and Andraz Borstnar Vasle did not let the Germans get away and the two countries stuck close together. Meanwhile Denmark and France were vying for the final qualifying spot. Coming into the last 500m Denmark had the edge. France attacked. At the line Germany, Slovenia and a fast-finishing France get to go to the Final.
Despite Germany’s fast pace in the previous race, semifinal two recorded the faster qualifying time with Greece and Australia going head-to-head. Vasileios Ntalamagkas and Apostolos Lampridis of Greece are known for their ability to rate high and maintain it. Today Ntalamagkas and Lampridis showed their fluid style to stay just ahead of Ryan Edwards and Matthew Dignan of Australia. With the top two spots seemingly wrapped up, the real battle was going on for third. Georgia had it at the start but couldn’t hold the pace of the Americans. At the line Greece, Australia and Austin Brooks and John Paul Hogan of the United States earn the qualifying positions in the Final.
Junior Men’s Four (JM4-) – SemifinalsVery early on in semifinal one, three countries put themselves into those qualifying positions with the remaining three countries all but out of the opportunity. Australia took over in the lead with Great Britain and Germany following closely behind. As Australia maintained a slight edge, Great Britain and Germany proceeded to go stroke-for-stroke against each other. The British are defending World Champions, but Australia had come through their heat in dominating style. As the last 300m came into view there was practically nothing between Australia, Great Britain and Germany. All three would qualify for the Final but none of three wanted to finish this race in any position but first. At the line Australia had retained the lead, Germany take second and Great Britain finish third. These three crews will race each other again tomorrow in the Final.
Despite the close race in semifinal one, semifinal two ended in a slightly faster time. This was because for the majority of the race five boats were in striking distance of being first and this only narrowed down to four boats coming into the third 500. Bulgaria took the leading edge at the start with Romania then taking over through the middle of the race. Spain and France remained very much on the pace. The order began to change coming into the third 500m. Greece, who had been at the back of the field, took their rating up to 39 and held on. Spain went with them. Bulgaria sprinted and Romania’s four very powerful rowers, rating 35, hung on. At the line Romania remained in first, Greece take second and Spain earns third. These three crews are in the Final.
Junior Women’s Quadruple Sculls (JW4x) – SemifinalsThe reigning World Champions Germany have an entirely new crew this year but still managed to completely dominate their heat. In semifinal one the Germans again were unstoppable. Up against Italy, Germany made easy work of the race and all the Italians could do was hold off Sweden, then a last ditch sprint by Belgium, to remain in second. At the line Germany finish with easily the fastest qualifying time. Italy take second and Belgium qualify for the Final by getting ahead of Sweden to take third.
Semifinal two turned out to be much more exciting. At the start there was very little between the Netherlands, New Zealand and Belarus. As the Dutch began to fade, Belarus and New Zealand continued on with a battle at the head of the field. Then Greece started to move up. Rating 39 strokes per minute from the 1250m mark, Greece kept this high rating and overtook South Africa and then the Netherlands. The Greek egg-beater style was serving them well. At the line Belarus managed to hold off New Zealand to take first. New Zealand finish second and Greece gets into third. These three crews will meet again in tomorrow’s Final.
Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls (LM1x) – SemifinalsIran’s Mohsen Shadi Naghadeh gives everyone he races a run for their money. He did exactly that in semifinal one today. At the start Greece’s Ilias Pappas had the lead with Olympic medallist Lorenzo Bertini of Italy and Naghadeh tracking closely. By the half way point Bertini had taken over in the lead. Pappas hung on and Naghadeh chased hard. As Pappas found the pressure a bit too much, Naghadeh moved into second and Japan went after Pappas. At the line Japan’s Takahiro Suda had just missed out on making the Final. Bertini, Naghadeh and Pappas advance to the final.
At the start of semifinal two the entire six boats remained within spitting distance of one another. By the half way point this was no longer the case. At the head of the field reigning world champion Duncan Grant of New Zealand was trying to get the better of 2008 Rowing World Cup winner Jaap Schouten of the Netherlands. The two rowers were so close that the lead kept on swapping and changing. Schouten was rating 31 to Grant’s 34. Coming into the final sprint Grant took his stroke rate to 37, Schouten lifted to just 32. Crossing the line in first Schouten gained the psychological advantage going into the final. Grant finishes second and a gutsy performance by Austria’s Sebastian Sageder earns him third and an spot in Sunday’s Final.
Lightweight Men’s Pair (LM2-) – SemifinalsSwitzerland’s Simon Niepmann and Mario Gyr took off at a cracking pace in semifinal one. But in a very close start the spread between the six boats was small. By the half-way point Niepmann and Gyr still had the lead but the field was now spreading out with Great Britain, Ireland and Austria falling back. This was all about to change. Going through the third 500m a piece by Serbia’s Goran Nedeljkovic and Milos Tomic earned them the lead with a piece by the Netherlands giving the Dutch second. Serbia and the Netherlands held their pace into the final sprint with Austria giving it all they had. In a dramatic finish, Switzerland’s Gyr collapsed in his boat with just 100m left to row. Austria charged. At the line Serbia, the Netherlands and an exhausted Austria had qualified for the Final.
There is no denying the smooth, fluid rowing style of Greece’s Nikolaos and Apostolos Gkountoulas. Today in semifinal two the Greek duo rowed so well that they managed to rate the same as current world champions, Andrea
Caianiello and Armando Dell’Aquila of Italy and still stay ahead of them. The Italians stuck to Greece like glue, but the Gkountoulas brothers held just an ever so slight advantage. Russia, meanwhile, followed in third working hard to stay ahead of a very aggressive New Zealand pair. At the line Greece, Italy and Russia get to move on to the Final on Sunday.
Junior Men’s Pair (JM2-) 
