A quartet of crews through to semis at the opening world cup

The season’s international racing is underway. Several British crews were in action in Varese, Italy, this morning.

In nigh-perfect racing conditions, a trio of GB Rowing Team crews moved into the semi-finals of the season’s opening World Rowing Cup in Varese, Italy.

Nathaniel Reilly-O’Donnell and Matthew Tarrant controlled their men’s pair heat from start to finish as they qualified directly for tomorrow’s semi-finals with a confident performance.

They finished ahead of Serbia’s Nenad Bedik and Milos Vasic, who were bronze-medalists at last year’s World Championships in Aiguebelette.

Reilly-O’Donnell and Tarrant are joined in the semi-finals by the second GB pairing of Oli Cook and Callum McBrierty after they finished third in Friday afternoon’s repechage, a repeat of their placing in the morning’s heats.

Nick Middleton and Jack Beaumont also went into the men’s double scull repechage – taking place on Saturday – after finishing fourth in a high-quality heat won by Croatian brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic, the two-times World Champions who are now unbeaten in 19 races.

Beaumont is back racing after a serious injury sustained last summer and is returning to form.

Ellie Piggott and Emily Craig are through to the semi-finals of the lightweight women’s double scull after an exciting conclusion to their heat.

The GB crew applied some good early pressure to South Africa’s Kirsten McCann and Ursula Grobler, bronze-medalists at the 2015 World Championships, but then found themselves pegged back by Elisabeth Woerner and Ilse Paulis of the Netherlands with 500m to go.

Piggott and Craig responded well, though, and won a sprint for the line to take the second qualifying place behind South Africa.

Zak Lee Green and Jamie Kirkwood were eventually comfortable runners-up in their lightweight men’s double heat after a tight first half to the race when there was little to choose between the leading four.

Ireland’s Gary and Paul O’Donovan eventually pulled away to take the win, with Lee Green and Kirkwood also easing into the semi-finals as they finished 15 seconds clear of the third-placed crew from the Netherlands.

FISA, rowing’s World Federation, has revised the racing schedule for tomorrow and Sunday because of predicted adverse weather conditions. Finals of the international class races will be tomorrow and the finals of the Olympic class races will be brought earlier on Sunday.

For full information visit:  www.worldrowing.com

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