GB Rowing Team’s first London Olympic boat places booked
The GB Rowing Team won all three of its semis on a day when the women’s pair and men’s eight qualified for tomorrow’s finals guaranteeing these boat slots for the nation at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Heather Stanning and Helen Glover led early and then moved incrementally ahead of China to win their pairs semi. Glover said: “As I crossed the line I was only thinking about today but it’s also really exciting to have qualified for London. Hopefully, that will give the whole team a boost”.
The men’s eight, stroked by Dan Ritchie and featuring all new faces since GB’s Beijing silver, except Alex Partridge, were next to win their semi in a strong performance over the Olympic champions from Canada.
“It was important to qualify for London and this is our last opportunity to have a full dress rehearsal with all of the best crews in the world before the Games next year”, said Cameron Nichol. “So it’s step two of three here and now we’re looking forward to the final”.
The British women’s eight are also through to their final after taking an exciting repechage victory today.
“That was a definite step on for us today. We’re in a good place going into the final”, said Louisa Reeve, “but we’re not qualified yet for the Games so the final is going to be a fight”. Only five from six boats go forward to London from tomorrow’s final.
Earlier World U23 Champions Kieren Emery and Peter Chambers were winners in the lightweight men’s pair semi-final. Whilst theirs is not an Olympic class boat, the duo have already shown their ability to win on the big stage and are names for the future.
Britain’s other successes today included a quarter-final win for Alan Campbell in the men’s single scull. The Coleraine sculler now moves into Friday’s semis.
He will be joined there by Olympic lightweight men’s double champions Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase who eased down in the final 250m of a quarter-final in which they were second to the 2009 world champions from New Zealand.
Frances Houghton, Beijing Olympic quad scull silver medallist, dug deep to win her repechage of the women’s single after another injury-affected season and progress to Friday’s semi. Only nine boats qualify for London from this event so Houghton will need to at least finish in the top three of the B Final here.
Bled 2011’s first medals will be decided tomorrow with finals in the women’s pair, men’s eight and lightweight men’s pair – all featuring GB crews.
It will also be a tense day for the women’s quad who race their B final in which a London 2012 place is on offer only for the winner.
World champions Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins, will be in semi-final action as will the “Red Express”, their male counterparts, 2010 world silver medallists Matt Wells and Marcus Bateman.
Britain’s three other semi-finals include Richard Chambers, Paul Mattick, Chris Bartley and Rob Williams in the lightweight men’s four, as well as the two lightweight single-scullers Kat Copeland and Adam Freeman-Pask. and reigning Paralympic champion single sculler, Tom Aggar.
*SIEMENS is the high performance partner of the GB Rowing Team (as such they sponsor all the Olympic and Paralympic Class boats in the senior squad and add value to the GB Rowing Teams’ Start and High Performance Programme in Clubs Schemes)
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RACE REPORTS
Helen Glover, in the bow seat, and Heather Stanning looked composed and smooth as they focussed on seeking a place in tomorrow’s final of the women’s pair. By 300m gone they had their noses in front. At the 500m mark they had half a second’s lead which they extended gradually over China as the race moved through halfway.
From there they never looked like being challenged except by China who pushed up a little bit towards the end. Victory, though, to the women from opposite ends of the UK – Glover from Penzance and Stanning from Lossiemouth.
Both seemed unaware until told that they had just qualified Britain’s first boat for the 2012 Olympic Games to join the mixed adaptive double who had done the same yesterday by reaching their final here.
“That’s really exciting but I was just thinking about today out there”, said Glover. “Hopefully that will be a big boost for the rest of the team including our fantastic coaches and support team”.
For Stanning winning today and qualifying for the final was “another tick in the box”. “Every little bit counts”, she said of the way the still relatively-new combination drew away from China. South Africa took the third qualifying slot.
New Zealand, Australia and Romania pushed out the USA to take the three qualifying slots from the other semi-final.
The next boat with the same London “ticket” chance was the men’s eight. Expert prediction suggested that Canada, GB and Australia were the form boats – probably in this order – in this semi.
At 500m the Canada, the Olympic champions, had the lead and they carried on out front through the halfway. As it happened, they did not have enough to hold off the GB onslaught from that point. Victory to GB in 5:31.51 with Australia third.
Germany who won the quicker of the two semi-finals and will be in tomorrow’s final joined by the Netherlands and Poland from the opposite half of the draw.
“We’ve had lots of different goals here and qualifying for next year’s Games was one of them”, said Greg Searle. “So, that’s job done. I’ve got so much expectation and excitement about next year but we had to get the boat qualified first. Now it’s all about a best performance in the final here”.
Kieren Emery and Peter Chambers earlier led off GB’s three semi-final races today. The duo are World U23 Champions, having won their title earlier this summer in Amsterdam.
Australia, though, in the shape of Thomas Gibson and Blair Turnevitsch set the early place. They were a second up by 500m and almost two by the halfway point.
No wonder the GB contingent in the crowd roared as the crews appeared into better sight after 1500m. It was clear that the GB combination had put in a big effort to draw level and then slip beyond the grasp of Australia in 6:38.56. The Netherlands, coming up the inside, almost sprung a surprise but fell one tenth of a second short in third place.
So Emery and Chambers continue their successful season by reaching tomorrow’s final.
The canvas could not have been more perfect for Alan Campbell to paint his single scull quarter-final performance on today in Bled. The flags were flat, signalling no wind. Bled lake was shimmering in some soft sunlight for the first time in the morning session and Campbell started perfectly by settling into the tight leading pack with China and Croatia.
Campbell’s season has not been the best as he has struggled with consistency of delivery. At the 800m mark he stepped on the gas today and was leading by just over a second. In the “driving seat” he sat on his lead and extended it to a length and a half.
Surprisingly, behind the top three qualifying places sat Olympic champion Olaf Tufte of Norway. Would he get back into contention? By the 1500m mark he had narrowed the gap on third place to two tenths of a second.
Meanwhile, Campbell continued his seemingly effortless progress at the front to win in 6:56.18, allowing himself the luxury of easing off in the final ten strokes. Tufte did make it back, taking second ahead of China with Croatia in fourth.
“There was a bit of pressure after around the 1000m but after that I just settled in well”, said Campbell.
World and Olympic champions Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase featured today in the same quarter-final of the lightweight men’s double scull as Storm Uru and Peter Taylor of New Zealand – the 2009 world champions.
In the early phases the crews traded strokes at the front of the race, virtually level. Hunter and Purchase were marginally ahead throughout the second quarter and had just about half a length over the Kiwis at halfway.
In the third quarter the Antipodeans pushed hard and the lead dropped back to just under four tenths of a second. With Bled Island as a backdrop the crews were battling level but then the British duo startled everyone by taking their foot off the throttle and cruising over the line in second. No need, it seemed to do anything other than conserve energy for the semi-final on Saturday.
Earlier the GB women’s eight, stroked by Vicky Thornley and coxed by Caroline O’Connor were tucked into second place as the race moved through its first quarter today on a still and grey Lake Bled. The Netherlands had the lead.
By halfway GB had reversed those positions and were in the lead followed by the Dutch and then the Romanians. In that third 500m the Romanians stepped up the pace to overhaul the Dutch and challenge the British, using a lower stroke rate than the GB boat.
The Dutch made another big effort to get back into contention in the final sprint but O’Connor urged her charges on to take the verdict in 6:07.66. With China joining Romania, the Netherlands and GB in the final from this repechage, alongside the previously qualified Canadians and Americans, there is still more work to do for the GB women if they are to book the boat’s London place – only five boats from six will qualify for the Games from the final here.
“That was a definite step on for us today. We’re in a good place going into the final”, said Louisa Reeve, “but we’re not qualified yet for the Games so the final is going to be a fight”.
“Every race is different”, said O’Connor of the crew that had booked GB’s first place in an Olympic class final here. “We did
what we needed to do. We made changes between the heat and the rep and we are a stronger and a better crew now”.
Coach Nick Strange added: “They kept their heads under pressure when the fight was on, in the middle of the race. Now we go on into the final”.
Frances Houghton is a many times world champion as well as twice Olympic silver medallist. Last season she was injured but managed to battle back into the women’s quad selection, raced twice and won the world title.
This season has not yet had such a fairytale ending. The Oxford woman is competing here in the single scull as she comes back to racing fitness and was today involved in a tough repechage.
With 1000m gone she was in third place behind Lithuania and Estonia. In the third 500m of the race she put in a Herculean push to get within a second of the LIthuanian, overhauling the Estonian. As the boats moved past the Island she pushed again and found the verve and pace to take the verdict in 7:42.55 from Lithuania and Estonia. Now through to the semi-finals, Houghton needs a top nine finish to qualify the boat for GB for London.
Asked where she found today’s massive effort from she said: “From my soul, I guess. ‘Stubbornness’. Houghton also paid tribute to the British supporters. “You can hear them from the Island onwards. Aren’t they amazing? It makes a big difference. I just love rowing and it’s amazing to be here and racing”.
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RESULTS
(Events featuring GB Rowing Team crews only. Full results:
www.worldrowing.com)
SEMI-FINALS
OPEN
WOMEN
Pair
1. Helen Glover/Heather Stanning (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:11.72
2. Wu You/Gao Yulan (China) 7:13.21
3. Naydene Smith/Lee-Ann Persee (South Africa) 7:16.95
4. Claudia Wurzel/Sara Bertolasi (Italy) 7:21.29
5. Natallia Helakh/Yuliya Bichyk (Belarus) 7:21.90
6. Alice Mayne/Stephanie Dechand (France) 7:24.17
MEN
1. Nathaniel Reilly O’Donnell/Cameron Nichol/James Foad/
Alex Partridge/Mohamed Sbihi/Greg Searle/Tom Ransley/
Dan Ritchie/Phelan Hill (cox) (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:31.51
2. Canada 5:32.37
3. Australia 5:33.79
4. China 5:37.53
5. France 5:39.52
6. Czech Republic 5:44.89
LIGHTWEIGHT
MEN
Pair
1. Kieren Emery/Peter Chambers (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:38.56
2. Thomas Gibson/Blair Tunevitsch (Australia) 6:39.71
3. Arnoud Greidanus/Joerl Bruschinski (Netherlands) 6:39.83
4. Li Zhongwei/Liang Mingyang (China) 6:44.08
5. Tang Chiu Mang/Kwan Ki Cheong (Hong Kong) 6:52.71
6. Silvan Zehnder/Nicola Edelmann (Switzerland) 6:54.07
QUARTER-FINALS
OPEN
MEN
Single scull
1. Alan Campbell (GREAT BRTAIN) 6:56.18
2. Olaf Tufte (Norway) 6:58.60
3. Zhang Liang (China) 6:59.99
4. Mario Vekic (Croatia) 7:00.34
5. Mohsen Shai Naghadeh (Iran) 7:11.10
6. Sawarn Singh (India) 7:12.35
LIGHTWEIGHT
MEN
Double scull
1. Storm Uru/Peter Taylor (New Zealand) 6:18.64
2. Zac Purchase/Mark Hunter (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:26.19
3. Milosz Jankowski/Mariusz Stanczuk (Poland) 6:28.34
4. Michael Schmid/Raphael Jeanneret (Switzerland) 6:33.32
5. Leung Chun Shek/Lok Kwan Hoi (Hong Kong) 6:41.66
6. Oskar Russberg/Dennis Bernhardsson (Sweden) 6:44.14
REPECHAGES
OPEN
WOMEN
Eight
1. Alison Knowles/Jo Cook/Jess Eddie/Lindsey Maguire/Natasha
Page/Louisa Reeve/Katie Solesbury/Vicky Thornley/
Caroline O’Connor (cox) (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:07.66
2. Romania 6:08.72
3. Netherlands 6:09.48
4. China 6:13.37
5. Germany 6:13.89
6. Ukraine 6:17.67
Single scull
1. Frances Houghton (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:42.55
2. Donata Vistartaite (Lithuania) 7:46.29
3. Kaisa Pajusalu (Estonia) 7:47.90
4. Jo-Hayley Arther (South Africa) 7:52.77
5. Camila Vargas Palomo (El Salvador) 7:59.05
6. Devi Lakshmi Narengham (India) 8:25.52
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GB ROWING TEAM CREW-LISTS
2011 World Rowing Championships, sponsored by Samsung
August 28 – September 4, 2011
(listed bow to stroke plus cox)
OPEN
WOMEN
Pair
Helen Glover (Minerva Bath/Penzance/17.06.86)/
Heather Stanning (Army RC/Lossiemouth/26.01.85)
Coach: Robin Williams
Eight
Alison Knowles (Thames RC/Bournemouth/27.03.82)/
Jo Cook (Leander Club/Sunbury-on-Thames/22.03.84)/
Jessica Eddie (Univ of London BC/Durham/07.10.84)/
Lindsey Maguire (Wallingford RC/Edinburgh/15.01.82)/
Natasha Page (Gloucester RC/Hartpury/30.04.85)/
Louisa Reeve (Leander Club/London/16.05.84)/
Katie Solesbury (Leander Club/Oxford/02.09.82)/
Victoria Thornley (Leander Club/Wrexham/30.11.87)/
Caroline O’Connor (cox) (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Ealing, London/25.04.83)
Coach: Nick Strange
Single scull
Frances Houghton (Leander/Oxford/19.09.80)
Coach: TBC
Double scull
Anna Watkins (Leander Club/Leek, Staffs/13.02.83)/
Katherine Grainger (St. Andrew BC/Aberdeen/12.11.75)
Coach: Paul Thompson
Quadruple scull
Debbie Flood (Leander Club/Guiseley/27.02.80)/
Beth Rodford (Gloucester RC/Gloucester/28.02.82)/
Annabel Vernon (Leander Club/Wadebridge/01.09.82)/
Melanie Wilson (Imperial College BC/London/25.06.84)/
Coach: Ade Roberts
RESERVES
Ro Bradbury (Leander/Banstead, Surrey/17.12.88)
Emily Taylor (Leander/Lincoln/28.06.87)
OPEN
MEN
Pair
Pete Reed (Leander Club/Nailsworth, Glos/27.07.81)/
Andrew Triggs Hodge (Molesey BC/Hebden, N. Yorks/03.03.79)
Coach: Jürgen Grobler
Four
Matthew Langridge (Leander Club /Northwich/20.05.83)/
Richard Egington (Leander Club/Knutsford/26.02.79)/
Tom James (Molesey BC/Wrexham/11.03.84)/
Alex Gregory (Leander Club /Wormington, Glos/11.03.84)
Coach: John West
Eight
Nathaniel Reilly O’Donnell (Univ of London BC/Durham/13.04.88)/
Cameron Nichol (Molesey BC/Glastonbury/26.06.87)/
James Foad (Molesey BC/Southampton/20.03.87)/
Alex Partridge (Leander Club /Alton, Hants/25.01.81)/
Mohamed Sbihi (Molesey BC/Surbiton/27.03.88)/
Greg Searle (Molesey BC/Marlow/20.03.72)/
Tom Ransley (York City RC/Cambridge/06.09.85)/
Daniel Ritchie (Leander Club/Herne Bay/06.01.87)/
Phelan Hill (cox) (Leander Club/Bedford/21.07.79)
Single scull
Alan Campbell (Tideway Scullers/Coleraine/09.05.83)
Coach: Bill Barry
Double scull
Matthew Wells (Leander Club/Hexham, Northumberland/19.04.79)/
Marcus Bateman (Leander Club/Torquay/16.09.82)
Coach: Mark Earnshaw
Quadruple scull
Tom Solesbury (Leander Club/Petts Wood, Kent/23.09.80)/
Stephen Rowbotham (Leander Club/Winscombe, Somerset/11.11.81)/
Sam Townsend (Reading Univ BC/Reading/26.11.85)/
Bill Lucas (London RC/Kingswear/13.09.87)/
Coach: Mark Banks
RESERVES
Tom Broadway (Leander Club/Newport Pagnell/21.08.82)
Constantine Louloudis (Isis BC/London/15.09.91)/
George Nash (Cambridge Uni BC/Guildford/02.10.89)
LIGHTWEIGHT
WOMEN
Single scull
Katherine Copeland (Tees RC/Ingelby Barwick, Stockton-on-Tees/01.12.90)
Coach: James Harris
Double scull
Hester Goodsell (Imperial College BC/London/27.06.84)/
Sophie Hosking (London RC/Wimbledon/25.01.86)
Coach: Paul Reedy
Quadruple scull
Steph Cullen (London RC/Bury, Lancs/27.11.80)/
Imogen Walsh (London RC/Inverness/17.01.84)/
Kathryn Twyman (OUWBC/Edmonton, Canada/29.03.87)/
Andrea Dennis (Imperial College BC/Oxford/03.01.82)/
Coach: Ben Reed
LIGHTWEIGHT
MEN
Pair
Peter Chambers (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Coleraine/14.03.90)/
Kieren Emery (Leander Club/Newcastle-upon-Tyne/01.06.1990)
Coach: Peter Sheppard
Four
Richard Chambers (Leander Club /Coleraine/10.06.85)/
Chris Bartley (Leander/Wrexham/02.02.84)/
Paul Mattick (Leander Club /Frome, Somerset/25.04.78)/
Rob Williams (London RC/Maidenhead/21.01.85)/
Coach: Rob Morgan
Single scull
Adam Freeman-Pask (Imperial College BC/Windsor/19.06.85)
Coach: Darren Whiter
Double scull
Zac Purchase (Marlow RC/Tewkesbury/02.05.86)/
Mark Hunter (Leander Club /Romford, Essex/01.07.78)
Coach: Darren Whiter
ADAPTIVES
MEN
Arms & shoulders single scull (ASM1x)
Tom Aggar (Royal Docks RC/London/24.05.84)
Coach: Tom Dyson
Trunk & arms mixed double scull (TAMix2x)
Nick Beighton (Guildford RC/Yateley/29.09.81)/
Sam Scowen (Dorney BC/Wokingham/29.10.87)
Coach: Tom Dyson
Legs, trunk & arms mixed coxed four (LTAMix4+)
Pamela Relph (Birmingham Uni BC/Aylesbury/14.11.89)/
Naomi Riches (Marlow RC/Harrow/15.06.83)/
James Roe (Stratford upon Avon BC/ Stratford upon Avon/28.03.88)/
David Smith (Reading Uni BC/Dunfermline/21.04.78)/
Lily van den Broecke (cox) (Headington School BC/Oxford/08.01.92)
Coach: Mary McLachlan
SUPPORT STAFF
Performance:
Team Manager: David Tanner
Chief Coach Men: Jürgen Grobler
Chief Coach Women & Lightweights: Paul Thompson
Assistant Team Manager (Adaptive): Louise Kingsley
Medical & Sports Science:
Doctor: Ann Redgrave
Lead Physio: Mark Edgar
Physios: Liz Arnold, Sally Brown
Psychologist: Chris Shambrook
Physiologists: Craig Williams
Nutritionist: Wendy Martinson
Media/Admin/Logistics:
Assistant Team Manager (admin): Maggie Netto
Resources Manager: Maurice Hayes
Boatman: John Tetley
Sponsorship Liaison: Fran Bullock
Press Officer: Caroline Searle
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SCHEDULE OF MEDALS/EVENTS IN BLED
WHEN ARE THE MEDALS DECIDED?
(events featuring GB crews only)
Thursday 1 September
Women’s pair and quad;
Men’s eight
Lightweight men’s pair
Friday 2 September
Women’s eight and quad;
Men’s double
Lightweight men’s four
Lightweight men’s and women’s single sculls
Men’s adaptive single scull
Saturday 3 September
Women’s double
Men’s pair, single and squad
Lightweight women’s quad
Mixed adaptive double scull
Sunday 4 September
Women’s single
Men’s four
Lightweight men’s and women’s double sculls
Mixed adaptive coxed four
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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Sunday 28 August- Morning
Heats of the:
Women’s pair, double and quadruple scull;
Men’s pair, eight, double and quadruple scull;
Lightweight men’s single, pair and four.
Sunday 28 August – Afternoon
Heats of the:
Women’s single;
Men’s four and single scull;
Lightweight men’s double scull
Monday 29 August – morning
Heats of the:
Women’s eight,
Men’s coxed pair;
Lightweight women’s double and quadruple scull
Adaptive women’s and men’s single sculls; mixed double and coxed four
Repechages of the:
Women’s pair and single and quadruple scull;
Men’s four, eight and single and double scull;
Lightweight men’s pair, four and single and double scull
Tuesday 30 August – morning
Repechages of the:
Women’s double
Men’s pair and quad
Lightweight women’s single
Adaptive men’s and women’s single, mixed double and coxed four
Quarterfinals of the:
Men’s double
LIghtweight men’s four and single
Wednesday 31 August – Morning
Repechages of the:
Women’s eight and single
Men’s coxed pair
Lightweight women’s double and quad and men’s quad
Quarter-finals of the:
Men’s four and single
Lightweight men’s double scull
Semi-finals of the:
Women’s pair and quadruple scull
Men’s eight
LIghtweight men’s pair
Adaptive women’s single scull
Thursday 1 September – Morning
Semi-finals of:
Men’s double scull
Lightweight men’s four and single scull
LIghtweight women’s single scull
Adaptive men’s single scull
B Finals of the:
Women’s pair and quadruple scull
Men’s eight
Lightweight men’s pair
FINALS OF THE:
Women’s pair and quadruple scull
Men’s eight
Lightweight men’s pair
Adaptive women’s single scull and mixed ID coxed four
Friday 2 September – morning
Semi-finals of the:
Women’s double
Men’s pair, single and quadruple scull
Adaptive mixed double scull
B-Finals of the:
Women’s eight
Men’s double and coxed pair
Lightweight men’s four and women’s and men’s single scull
Adaptive men’s single scull
FINALS of the:
Women’s eight
Men’s double and coxed pair
Lightweight men’s four, men’s and women’s single scull
Adaptive men’s single scull
Saturday 3 September – Morning
Semi-finals of the:
Women’s single
Men’s four
Lightweight men’s and women’s double scull
Adaptive mixed coxed four
B Finals of the:
Women’s double scull
Men’s pair and single and quadruple scull
Mixed adaptive double scull
FINALS of the:
Women’s four and double scull
Men’s pair and single and quadruple scull
Lightweight women’s quadruple scull
Mixed adaptive double scull
Sunday 4 September
B Finals of the:
Women’s single scull
Men’s four
Lightweight men’s and women’s double scull
Adaptive mixed coxed four
FINALS of the:
Women’s single scull
Men’s four
Lightweight men’s and women’s double scull, men’s quadruple
scull and eight
Adaptive mixed coxed four
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BBC TV and Radio Coverage from Bled
TV
Thursday 1 and Friday 2 September
Red button coverage -more details to follow
Saturday 3 September
1400-1630, BBC One/online
Sunday 4 September
1545-1700, BBC Two/online
RADIO 5 Live Sports Extra on DAB Radio
Thursday 1 September
From 11.15
Friday 2 September
From 10.55
Saturday 3 September
From midday live on 5 Live (not 5 Live Sports Extra)
Sunday 4 September
From 10.55
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FINAL DIARY DATE
SEPTEMBER
16-18
European Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
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CONTACT DETAILS
For media enquiries about The GB Rowing Teams please contact:
Caroline Searle, Andy Sloan or Miranda Edwards on:
T: (01225) 443998
M: Caroline Searle (07831) 755351
M: Andy Sloan (07714) 168391
GB Rowing Team website www.gbrowingteam.org.uk – full biogs available
here.
Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/gbrowingteam
Follow us on twitter @gbrowingteam: www.twitter.com/gbrowingteam
See our season’s preview on YouTube
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Sports Fund as part of UK Sport’s Podium Programme.
GB Rowing Team News bulletins are issued by the GB Rowing Team office
