GB Rowing Team takes world champs gold hat-trick for first time
As the Great Britain Rowing Team’s lightweight men’s four of Chris Bartley, Rob Williams, Paul Mattick and Richard Chambers crossed the line to win gold in New Zealand this afternoon it marked the moment when GB won a hat-trick of Olympic-class golds at a World Championships for the first time in history.
The lightweight men’s double scull of Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase and the women’s quadruple scull had gone before them yesterday. GB has more chances of medals tomorrow.
Meanwhile Britain added a further two silvers and a bronze to their overall tally today. Andrew Triggs Hodge and Pete Reed were involved in the what one expert described as the “race of the century” in the men’s pair when they came closer – within three tenths of a second – than ever before to beating the New Zealanders Eric Murray and Hamish Bond before narrowly missing out.
Scotland’s Heather Stanning and Cornwall’s Helen Glover, rookies in the senior GB Rowing Team, were silver medallists also behind New Zealand opposition and Alan Campbell added bronze in the final race of the day – the men’s single scull.
“The lightweight men’s four broke GB’s world championships gold medal record with a fabulous performance in the tightest race of the day to cap a great season for them”, said GB Rowing Team Performance Director David Tanner.
“Pete and Andy, in the men’s pair, produced their best ever performance today in an epic struggle with the New Zealanders just conceding the title on the line by a slither”, he added. “Alan Campbell very nearly took Mahe Drysdale on the line in the men’s single and won his second successive world championships medal. But the breakthrough performance of the day undoubtedly came from Heather Stanning and Helen Glover in the women’s pair who showed no fear in their first senior World Championships to take GB’s first silver of the day”.
Only the lightweight women’s quadruple scull missed out on the rostrum. They were fourth in a race won by Germany.
Tomorrow Britain has further chances of medals with both eights racing as well as Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins, the overall 2010 world cup winners, in the double scull and Matt Wells and Marcus Bateman in the equivalent men’s boat. Peter Chambers, brother of world champion Richard Chambers, contests the lightweight men’s single scull final.
Full racing schedule can be found at: www.worldrowing.com
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RACE REPORTS
Rob Wiliams, Paul Mattick, Richard Chambers and Chris Bartley got off to a cracking start in the lightweight men’s four final. They were narrowly ahead of the Italians after the first 20 strokes but nothing much more than a canvas split the top four crews of GB, Australia, Germany and Italy. At the 500m timing point GB had the advantage by just five hundredths of a second.
In the second phase of the race Germany and Australia took a slender lead with GB in third by half a second at the 1000m mark. The third 500m has been the strong part of GB’s repertoire all season. They applied a bit of pressure and moved back to second place within a whisker of the German leaders before taking a slim lead again at 1500m. Could they hold their control and shape in the final 500m fight?
In answer, the British quartet decided to take the challenge head on. They put their foot down and toughed it out and took it at the line by seven hundredths of a second with Australia in second themselves just a hundredth of a second ahead of China in bronze.
“We knew we were out in front at 1500m gone and when there is a gold medal on offer you throw everything at it”, said Williams.
Bartley added: “We knew everyone else would go out hard so we just tried to keep the same rhythm and then push on through the third 500m. The last 500m was incredibly close but I knew we had it under control. That’s what winning a gold medal is all about.”
Mattick admitted: “I looked around with 250m to go and after that I tried not to. We’ve got a good sprint, we’ve been practising it all year and we put it into practice today”.
Chambers said: “In that last 500m it was so choppy and rough. I was just calling “go, go, go”. That was so tight”.
It felt like a piece of history in the making – one of those times when the world turns more slowly. One of those rare moments in sport. People stood mesmerised watching the boats appear down the lake, checking often on the big screen, just to make sure. It did not matter if you were New Zealander or Brit. You knew you were watching something special.
For Andrew Triggs Hodge and Pete Reed to be early race leaders against the reigning world champions Eric Murray and Hamish Bond of New Zealand is not unusual. To be in the lead at 1000m and then again at 1500m was more unprecedented. It became a gladiatorial battle. Two boats isolated from the rest of the field. All the focus was on them. Could the British duo pull it off? Could they stay with the strongest pair in the world on their home water?
Yes. They stayed, they focussed they held on and held on. Then, agonisingly, just when the British
supporters on the bank began to believe it might go their way for the first time in 13 match-ups between these two outstanding crews the New Zealanders found something extra to ease into the lead and take the verdict by three-tenths.
“It’s been a great two years with Pete in the pair”, said Hodge afterwards. “There have been small margins and big margins but today was one of the closest. It was a really, really good race and I’m just sorry we came out just on the wrong side of it. There have been disappointing silvers along the way but this was a stepping stone silver of which we can be proud. Now it will be back to training, pushing ourselves every day against the clock and against ourselves to take it that bit further”.
“I take a lot of pride from that”, added Reed. “They are an outstanding pair but we are too. I am proud of us. The excitement of the rivalry between the two crews has been massive out here. It has made for a lot of enjoyment”.
Minutes before Reed and Hodge came so close to victory another British pair lost to New Zealand,too, and by a bigger margin. Not that the GB spectators were unhappy. In fact they were quite ecstatic. They had just witnessed an exceptional debut at World Championships level from Heather Stanning and Helen Glover who are as babies to the experience of Reed and Hodge.
The British women’s pair have both come through talent identification schemes into the sport and whoever spotted them must have felt on top of the world today as Stanning (of the British Army) and Glover (a former PE teacher in Bath) held doggedly onto the coat-tails of the reigning world champions to take silver – not for a second allowing anyone else to come back on them.
“We knew what we were capable of but we just had to go out and do it”, said Glover afterwards.
“It’s been a long week since the heat on Monday. We knew we wanted to be on the podium. We both have high standards and I don’t think we would have been happy with anything else”, added Stanning.
Alan Campbell, as is his wont, streaked off the start to lead by a canvas in the men’s single scull final at 250m gone. World Champion Mahe Drsydale, Ondrej Synek and Itzok Cop were all in contention as was Olaf Tufte the Olympic champion, who trailed during the opening 300m.
Campbell led at 500m gone but Synek, always the form man and the danger this season, drew up level with Drysdale racing hard in between them. Just after halfway Synek pulled ahead and Drysdale moved through Campbell but the margins were still quite slight.
As the race approached the 1500m point Campbell dropped back by two-thirds of a length behind Synek. Drysdale held second and Campbell was still in contention in third.
Despite massive home support Drysdale could not produce the Kiwis third consecutive gold of the afternoon in the race for the line. Synek spoilt the party by taking gold in 6:47.49 with Drysdale just holding off his great friend and rival, Campbell, who came home with bronze in 6:49.83 – just fourth tenths behind silver.
Campbell said: “I had a really good race. I felt that I was pushing on in the third 500m but they were going hard and fast. I really just tried to hold my head and keep pushing in the last 500m. I could see that I was catching them and although Ondrej had gone I thought I could catch Mahe. I’m pleased with the race and what I did”.
The lightweight women’s quadruple scull of Laura Greenhalgh, Andrea Dennis, Jane Hall and Steph Cullen were in contention in the early phases of today’s final. They were fourth at the 500m mark behind the race leaders who were Germany, the USA and China.
Just before halfway the British, realising perhaps that they had dropped back somewhat, put in a push and drew past Italy to get back into fourth and began to challenge the Chinese for third place.
Having got ahead, though, the Chinese never looked like yielding. They held on strongly to keep all the British attacks at bay and took bronze in 6:49.50 to Britain’s fourth in 6:49.84. The Germans won gold in 6:44.94 with the USA in silver.
B FINAL
Katie Solesbury‘s world championships campaign came to an end today with a third place in the final of the women’s single scull in 7:52.18. The result put her in the world’s top 10 and constituted a great performance for the team’s reserve.
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RESULTS
(Events featuring GB crews only. For full results visit: www.worldrowing.com)
OPEN
WOMEN
Pair
1. Juliette Haigh/Rebecca Scown (New Zealand) 7:17.12
2. Helen Glover/ Heather Stanning (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:20.24
3. Zsuzsanna Francia/Erin Cafaro (USA) 7:22.46
4. Sarah Tait/Phoebe Stanley (Australia) 7:22.58
5. Krista Guloien/Andreanne Morin (Canada) 7:22.97
6. Kerstin Hartmann/Marlene Sinnig (Germany) 7:28.69
MEN
Pair
1. Eric Murray/ Hamish Bond (New Zealand) 6:30.16
2. Pete Reed/Andrew Triggs Hodge (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:30.48
3. Georgios Tziallas/Ioannis Christou (Greece) 6:36.00
4. Lorenzo Carboncini/Niccolo Mornati (Italy) 6:42.49
5. Andreas Kuffner/Eric Johannesen (Germany) 6:49.96
6. Sebastien Lente/Adrien Hardy (France) 6:55.50
Single Scull
1. Ondrej Synek (Czech Republic) 6:47.49
2. Mahe Drysdale (New Zealand) 6:49.42
3. Alan Campbell (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:49.83
4. Olaf Tufte (Norway) 6:55.68
5. Liang Zhang (China) 6:57.58
6. Luka Spik (Slovenia) 7:09.44
LIGHTWEIGHT
WOMEN
Quadruple scull
1. Germany 6:44.94
2. USA 6:47.99
3. China 6:49.50
4. Steph Cullen/Laura Greenhalgh/Andrea Dennis/Jane Hall (GREAT
BRITAIN) 6:49.84
5. Italy 6:56.09
6. Thailand 7:36.20
MEN
Four
1. Richard Chambers/Paul Mattick/Rob Williams/Chris Bartley (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:10.71
2. Australia 6:10.78
3. China 6:10.79
4. Germany 6:11.27
5. Netherlands 6:11.94
6. Italy 6:15.02
B FINALS
OPEN
WOMEN
Single scull
1. Sophie Dunsing (Germany) 7:45.55
2. Duan Jingli (China) 7:45.62
3. Katie Solesbury (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:52.18
4. Lindsay Meyer (USA) 7:56.05
5. Tetiana Kolesnikova (Ukraine) 8:01.74
6. Nuria Asensio Dominguez (Spain) 8:05.29
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GB ROWING TEAM CREW-LISTS
2010 World Rowing Championships, Lake Karapiro,
New Zealand, October 31-November 7, 2010
(listed bow to stroke plus cox)
OPEN
WOMEN
Pair
Helen Glover (Reading Uni BC/Penzance/17.06.86)/
Heather Stanning (Army RC/Lossiemouth/26.01.85)
Coach: Miles Forbes Thomas
Eight
Jo Cook (Leander Club/Sunbury-on-Thames/22.03.84)/
Louisa Reeve (Leander Club/London/16.05.84)/
Jessica Eddie (Uni of London BC/Durham/07.10.84)/
Victoria Thornley (Minerva Bath RC/Wrexham/30.11.87)/
Natasha Page (Reading Uni BC/Hartpury/30.04.85)/
Lindsey Maguire (Wallingford RC/Edinburgh/15.01.82)/
Olivia Whitlam (Agecroft RC/Warrington/16.09.85)/
Alison Knowles (Thames RC/Bournemouth/27.03.82)/
Caroline O’Connor (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Ealing/25.04.83) (cox)
Coach: Miles Forbes Thomas
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/28.12.82)/
Frances Houghton (Tyrian Club, Uni of London/Henley/19.9.80)/
Annabel Vernon (London RC/Wadebridge/01.09.82)
Coach: Ade Roberts
RESERVES:
Ro Bradbury (Jesus College BC/Banstead/17.12.88)
Katie Solesbury (Leander Club/Oxford/02.09.82) – racing spare W1x
Melanie Wilson (Molesey BC/London/25.06.84)
OPEN
MEN
Pair
Pete Reed (Leander Club/Nailsworth, Glos/27.07.81)/
Andrew Triggs Hodge (Molesey BC/Hebden, N.Yorks/03.03.79)
Coach: Jurgen Grobler
Four
Alex Partridge (Leander Club/Alton, Hants/25.01.81)/
Richard Egington (Leander Club/Knutsford/26.02.79)/
Alex Gregory (Leander Club/Wormington, Glos/11.03.84)/
Matthew Langridge (Leander Club/Northwich/20.05.83)/
Coach: Mark Banks
Eight
Tom Broadway (Leander Club/Newport Pagnell/21.08.82)/
James Clarke (London RC/London/31.12.84)/
Cameron Nichol (Molesey BC/Glastonbury/26.06.87)/
James Foad (Molesey BC/Southampton/20.03.87)/
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)
Dan Ritchie (Herne Bay RC/Herne Bay/06.01.87)/
Phelan Hill (cox) (Leander Club/Bedford/21.07.79)
Coaches: Christian Felkel/John West
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
Charles Cousins (Reading Uni BC/Cambridge/13.12.88)/
Sam Townsend (Reading Uni BC/Reading/26.11.85)/
Bill Lucas (Reading Uni BC/Kingswear/13.09.87)/
Stephen Rowbotham (Leander Club/Winscombe, Somerset/11.11.81)
Coach: Mark Earnshaw
RESERVES
Brendan Crean (Agecroft RC/Lewes/07.02.85)
Nathaniel Reilly-O’Donnell (Uni of London BC/Durham/13.4.88)
Tom Wilkinson (Leander Club/Reading/04.07.85)/
LIGHTWEIGHT
WOMEN
Double scull
Hester Goodsell (Reading Uni BC/London/27.06.84)/
Sophie Hosking (London RC/Wimbledon/25.01.86)
Coach: Paul Reedy
Quadruple scull
Jane Hall (Leander Club/Surbiton/20.10.73)/
Stephanie Cullen (London RC/Bury, Lancs/27.11.80)/
Laura Greenhalgh (London RC/Cuddeson,Oxon/2.9.85)/
Andrea Dennis (Reading Uni BC/Oxford/03.01.82)
Coach: Tom Gale
LIGHTWEIGHT
MEN
Pair
Adam Freeman-Pask (Imperial College BC/Windsor/19.06.85)
Chris Boddy (Leander Club/Stockton-on-Tees/16.11.87)/
Coach: Rob Morgan
Four
Richard Chambers (Leander Club/Coleraine/10.06.85)/
Paul Mattick (Leander Club/Frome, Somerset/25.04.78)/
Rob Williams (London RC/Maidenhead/21.01.85)/
Chris Bartley (Leander Club/Chester/02.02.84)
Coach: Rob Morgan
Single scull
Peter Chambers (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Coleraine/14.03.90)
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
ADAPTIVE BOATS
AS Men’s Single scull
Tom Aggar (Royal Docks RC/London/24.05.84)
Coach: Tom Dyson
AS Women’s Single scull
Helene Raynsford (Guildford RC/Farnborough/29.12.79)
Coach: Tom Dyson
LTA Mixed Coxed four
Kelsie Gibson (Maidstone Invicta RC)
James Roe (Reading Uni BC/Stratford-upon-Avon/28.03.88)/
Ryan Chamberlain (King’s College London BC/Wandsworth, London/03.04.86)
Kate Jones (Aberdeen BC/Eskdale Green, Cumbria/28.02.86)
Rhiannon Jones (cox) (Reading Uni BC/Hereford/16.09.87)
Coach: Mary McLachlan
MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT STAFF
Performance:
Team Manager and Performance Director: David Tanner
Chief Coach Men: Jurgen Grobler
Chief Coach Women & Lightweights: Paul Thompson
Assistant Team Manager/Adaptives: Louise Kingsley
Medical and Sports Science:
Doctor: Ann Redgrave
Lead Physiotherapist: Mark Edgar
Physiotherapist: Liz Arnold
Physiotherapist: Sally Brown
Psychologist: Chris Shambrook
Physiologist: Mark Homer
Nutritionist: Wendy Martinson
Media/Admin/Logistics:
Assistant Team Manager (admin): Jo Bates
Assistant Team Manager (logistics): Judi Read
Sponsorship liaison Manager: Francesca Bullock
Resources Manager: Maurice Hayes
Boatman: John Tetley
Press Officer: Caroline Searle
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TIMINGS OF FINALS IN KARAPIRO
(Events featuring GB crews only)
Sunday 7 November (local NZ time* 14.03 – 15.33)
Open Men: Double and eight
Open Women: Double and eight
Lightweight: Men’s single
*All times are subject to change. NZ is 13 hours ahead of the UK
