Reed and Hodge in debut win as GB starts brightly
Pete Reed and Andy Triggs Hodge, two of GB Rowing’s Olympic gold medal winning men’s four crew from Beijing, opened their 2009 campaign with a debut win in the heats of the men’s pair at the world cup in Banyoles, Spain to move into tomorrow’s semi-finals.
“We are both happy with how it went”, said Reed afterwards. “I think we handled ourselves well. Raced one, won one. But the South Africans who won the other heat looked good and the French and the Czechs should not be underestimated”.
The women’s double scull combination of Annabel Vernon and Anna Bebington won their heat and qualify direct to Sunday’s finals. GB also had three other heat winners in Alan Campbell, men’s single scull, Matt Wells and Stephen Rowbotham, men’s double scull, and the new-look mens’ four of Alex Partridge, Rick Egington, Alex Gregory and Matt Langridge. Second-placed Rob Williams and Paul Mattick also move into tomorrow’s lightweight men’s double scull final.
There will be repechages of the lightweight and open men’s single sculls this afternoon for Adam Freeman Pask and Ian Lawson respectively.
Four other crews still have the chance to progress in tomorrow’s repechages.
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RACE REPORTS
Pete Reed and Andy Triggs Hodge were comfortable winners of their men’s pair heat this morning. Veteran racer Vaclav Chalupa with Jakub Makovicka of the Czech Republic were their nearest challengers with both pairs gliding across the line to qualify for tomorrow’s semi-finals unruffled by any serious challenge.
Reed and Hodge, gold medallists in Beijing in the men’s four, developed an early length’s lead and stayed there.
By contrast Stephen Rowbotham and Matt Wells were involved in the contest of the morning. From start to finish of their men’s double scull heat less than half a length separated the top four boats in a quality field including France’s 2004 Olympic champion Adrien Hardy.
It was Rowbotham and Wells who prevailed, timing their finish superbly to win in 6:19.96 ahead of the top Croatian boat. These two crews secured tomorrow’s semi-finals slots whilst the French will see if they can move through from this afternoon’s repechages.
GB Rowing is fielding a new four this world cup which includes some of its leading, established rowers in Rick Egington, Matt Langridge and Alex Partridge – all of whom won Beijing men’s eight silver – mixed with relative newcomer Alex Gregory.
Today, stroked by Langridge, the combination looked smooth as they won their heat in 6:00.25 ahead of Spain in 6:03.75 with both qualifying direct to Sunday’s finals.
Alan Campbell and Ian Lawson were GB Rowing’s two contestants in the men’s single scull. Lawson will want to concentrate on this afternoon’s repechages having finished fifth whilst Campbell, can focus on tomorrow’s semi-finals after winning his heat.
Campbell’s was not the easiest of tasks. His heat included Sweden’s Lassi Karonen who was a Beijing finalist. But the potential hindrance to Campbell’s eventual victory came instead from American Warren Anderson who forced Campbell to raise his mid-race pace.
Annabel Vernon and Anna Bebington, back in a double scull once more, were challenged heavily in the middle of their morning’s heat by the Italian duo of Laura Schiavone and Elisabetta Sancassani but held their lead to the line to qualify directly into Sunday’s final. Katie Greves and Beth Rodford stayed in contention with the leading boats throughout to take third place but must now use tomorrow’s repechages if they are to reach the final.
GB have a new lightweight men’s double scull this season with Paul Mattick, 2007 world champion in the lightweight men’s four, teaming up with 2008 Olympic reserve Rob Williams. They made a solid start to their season today with a second place in the heats to book passage to tomorrow’s semi-finals. Leading for the first half of the race they were overhauled by Marcello Miani and Elia Luini of Italy in the final push to the line.
The lightweight men’s four were not in such good form today. Packed with some exciting, new talent this quartet of Bob Hewitt, Stephen Feeney, Chris Boddy and Chris Bartley were holding third at the half-way point in a close race but dropped back in the second half to take fourth. They now race in tomorrow’s repechages.
GB Rowing’s lightweight women’s double of Andrea Dennis and Sophie Hosking have combined recently and today they were second to host nation, Spain. This puts them into tomorrow’s repechages. The British crew looked strong at the finish, having moved up from fourth at 500m, but never looked like besting the Spaniards who took victory in 7:01.69 to GB’s 7:07.01.
Alexandra Tsiavou of Greece led the morning’s heat of the lightweight women’s single scull featuring GB Rowing’s Laura Greenhalgh. The Briton had been set to race in the double scull with Andrea Dennis before injury to Olympian Hester Goodsell meant that Dennis moved into the double.
Greenhalgh came from the pack with a finishing surge to take second behind Tsiavou. With only the winner progressing to the final, though, Greenhalgh now faces a semi-final tomorrow.
Adam Freeman Pask led for the first half of the equivalent men’s heat. As the race moved through 1300m he was overhauled by eventual winner Lorenzo Bertini of Italy. Possibly feeling the pace of his opening 1000m, Freeman Pask slipped back to fourth and out of the semi-final places in the final 350m. He now races a repechage this afternoon.
The women’s single, quadruple scull, pair and eight and the men’s quadruple scull and eight all race for the first time tomorrow in contests which will determine the lane seeding for Sunday’s finals.
BBC coverage of Sunday’s finals can be viewed live on interactive (red button) on Sunday from 09.25 – 13.10 and as a highlights show on Monday on BBC2 from 13.00 – 14.00.
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RESULTS
OPEN
WOMEN
Double scull
1. Annabel Vernon/Anna Bebington (GREAT BRITAIN1) 7:06.92
2. Laura Schiavone/Elisabetta Sancassani (Italy) 7:09.53
3. Beth Rodford/Katie Greves (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:14.48
4. Magdalena Fularczyk/Natalia Madaj (Poland 2) 7:16.81
5. Fie Garugaard-Udby (Denmark1) 7:21.75
MEN
Pair
1. Pete Reed/Andrew Triggs Hodge (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:46.42
2. Jakub Makovicka/Vaclav Chalupa (Czech Republic) 6:49.02
3. Andrei Dzemyanenka/Yauheni Nosau (Belarus) 6:56.82
4. Mostafa Zeidan/Bakry El Yehia (Egypt 1) 7:01.09
5. Lionel Jacquiot/Michael Molina (France 2) 7:05.67
Four
1. Alex Partridge/Richard Egington/Alex Gregory/
Matthew Langridge (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:00.25
2. Spain 6:03.75
3. Italy 6:07.68
4. France 2 2 6:12.75
Single scull
Heat 1
1. Tim Maeyens (Belgium) 7:01.32
2. Iztok Cop (Slovenia) 7:03.55
3. Jakob Nils Hoff (Norway 2) 7:09.35
4. Fraser Berkhout (Canada) 7:14.66
5. Ian Lawson (GREAT BRITAIN 2) 7:18.66
6. Marko Marjanovic (Serbia) 7:20.39
Heat 4
1. Alan Campbell (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:55.83
2. Warren Anderson (USA) 7:02.19
3. Lassi Karonen (Sweden) 7:07.85
4. Denis Pribyl (Russia 1) 7:09.36
5. Valentinos Sofokleous (Cyprus) 7:18.72
Double scull
1. Matthew Wells/Stephen Rowbotham (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:19.96
2. Martin & Valent Sinkovic (Croatia 1) 6:20.03
3. David Dain/Damir Martin (Croatia 2) 6:20.60
4. Jean-Baptiste Macquet/Adrien Hardy (France) 6:21.13
5. Samuel Stitt/Glenn Ochal (USA) 6:39.29
6. Ahmed Khamis/Mostafa El Bestawy (Eqypt 1) 6:58.07
LIGHTWEIGHT
WOMEN
Single scull
1. Alexandra Tsiavou (Greece) 7:50.71
2. Laura Greenhalgh (GREAT BRITAIN2) 7:54.93
3. Laura Milani (Italy) 7;57.08
4. Coralie Simon (France 1) 8:00.05
5. Julianne Rasmussen (Denmark) 8:01.05
6. Coralie Ribeil (France 2) 8:20.24
Double scull
1. Teresa Mas de Xaxars/Ursula Grobler (Spain) 7:01.69
2. Andrea Dennis/Sophie Hosking (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:07.01
3. Lindsay Jennerich/Sheryl Preston (Canada) 7:12.91
4. Abelyn Broughton/Michelle Trannel (USA) 7:17.04
5. Helle Tibian/Marie Gottlieb (Denmark 1) 7:27.13
6. Helene Olsen/Mia Espersen (Denmark 2) 7:38.48
MEN
Four
1. Italy 2 6:05.99
2. France 6:07.66
3. Switzerland 6:09.08
4. Bob Hewitt/Stephen Feeney/Chris Boddy/Chris Bartley
(GREAT BRITAIN) 6:11.47
5. Poland 6:20.43
6. Canada 6:23.27
Single scull
1. Lorenzo Bertini (Italy2) 7:10.04
2. Timothee Heijbrook (Netherlands) 7:11.76
3. Mads Rasmussen (Denmark) 7:13.16
4. Adam Freeman-Pask (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:18.14
5. Marko Kusurin (Croatia) 7:31.77
Double scull
1. Miani Marcello/Elia Luini (Italy 1) 6:27.19
2. Rob Williams/Paul Mattick (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:28.42
3. Brice Menet/Pierre-Etienne Pollez (France 2) 6:36.02
4. Tommasso Sacchini/Davide Babboni (Italy 2) 6:50.33
5. Steffen Jensen/Sophus Johannesen (Denmark 1) 6:54.08
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CREW LISTS
(club/home town/d.o.b in brackets)
WORLD CUP, BANYOLES, SPAIN
May 29-31
OPEN
WOMEN
Pair
Olivia Whitlam (Agecroft/Warrington/16.09.85)/
Louisa Reeve (Leander Club/London/16.05.84)
Single scull
Katherine Grainger (St Andrew BC/Aberdeen/12.11.75)
Double scull – two boats
Annabel Vernon (Marlow RC/Wadebridge/01.09.82)/
AnnaBebington (Leander Club/Leek, Staffs/13.02.83)
Katie Greves (Leander Club/Oxford/02.09.82)/
Beth Rodford (Gloucester RC/Burton-on-Trent/ 28.12.82)
Quadruple scull
Katie Greves (Leander Club/Oxford/02.09.82)/
Beth Rodford (Gloucester RC/Burton-on-Trent/ 28.12.82)/
Anna Bebington (Leander Club/Leek, Staffs/13.02.83)/
Annabel Vernon (Marlow RC/Wadebridge/01.09.82)
Eight
Alice Freeman (Wallingford RC/Oxford/06.09.78)/
Jennie Farmer (Molesey BC/Isleworth/26.03.85)
Jo Cook (Leander/Nottingham/22.03.84)/
Lindsey Maguire (Wallingford/Edinburgh/15.01.82)/
Olivia Whitlam (Agecroft/Warrington/16.09.85)/
Louisa Reeve (Leander Club/London/16.05.84)/
Natasha Page (Reading Uni BC/Hartpury/30.04.85)/
Jess Eddie (Uni of London BC/Durham/07.10.84)/
Caroline O’Connor (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Ealing/25.04.83) (cox)
Additional U23 Pair
Jacqui Round (Nottingham RC/St Neots/01.07.87)/
Monica Relph (Nottingham RC/Cambridge/15.01.88)
MEN
Pair
Pete Reed (Leander Club/Nailsworth, Glos/27.07.81)/
Andrew Triggs Hodge(Molesey BC/Hebden, N.Yorks/03.03.79)
Four
Matthew Langridge(Leander Club/Northwich/20.05.83)/
Richard Egington (Leander Club/Knutsford/26.02.79)/
Alex Gregory (ReadingUni BC/Wormington/11.03.84)/
Alex Partridge (Leander Club/Alton, Hants/25.01.81)
Eight
Tom Wilkinson (Leander Club/Reading/04.07.85)/
James Foad (Molesey BC/Southampton/20.03.87)
James Orme (Leander Club/Colchester/01.04.84)/
Tom Burton (Leander Club/Barton-le-Clay, Beds/24.05.80)/
Mohamed Sbihi (Molesey BC/Surbiton/27.03.88)/
Tom Solesbury (Isis BC/Petts Wood, Kent/23.09.80)/
Tom Ransley (Cambridge University BC/ Ashford, Kent/06.09.85)/
James Clarke (London RC/London/31.12.84)/
Phelan Hill (cox) (Leander Club/Bedford/21.07.79)
Single scull – two boats
Alan Campbell (Tideway Scullers/Coleraine/09.05.83)
Ian Lawson (Leander Club/Otley, W Yorks/04.03.77)
Double scull
Matthew Wells (Leander Club/Hexham, Northumberland/19.04.79)/
Stephen Rowbotham (Leander Club/Winscombe, Somerset/11.11.81)
Quadruple Scull
Charles Cousins (Reading Univ BC/Cambridge/13.12.88)/
Marcus Bateman (Leander Club/Torquay/16.09.82)/
Bill Lucas (Reading Univ BC/Kingswear/13.09.87)/
Sam Townsend (Reading Uni BC/Reading/26.11.85)
LIGHTWEIGHT
WOMEN
Single scull
Laura Greenhalgh (London RC/Oxford/02.09.85)
Double scull
Andrea Dennis (London RC/Oxford/03.01.82)/
Sophie Hosking (London RC/Wimbledon/25.01.86)
MEN
Single scull
Adam Freeman-Pask (Imperial College BC/Windsor/19.06.85)
Double scull
Rob Williams (London RC/Maidenhead/21.01.85)/
Paul Mattick (Leander Club/Frome, Somerset/25.04.78)
Four
Bob Hewitt (Tees RC/Scarborough/27.04.87)/
Stephen Feeney (London RC/Coleraine/12.05.85)/
Chris Boddy (Tees RC/Stockton-on-Tees/16.11.87)/
Chris Bartley (Leander Club/Chester/02.02.84)
