Good opening world cup weekend
Great Britain is enjoying a good opening world cup in Bled, Slovenia, this weekend, having qualified 19 boats into finals – 14 of which will race tomorrow and five later this evening in the non-Olympic and Paralympic boat classes.
Cautious of over-playing the level of success the British team management here is mindful that this is a first world cup, not all nations are here and there are still five months to the World Championships in November in New Zealand.
“What we’ve seen here is a great consistency from the squad. For instance, In events like the men’s open and women’s lightweight double sculls we have two boats through to the finals”, said GB Performance Director David Tanner. “So we really are having a good try-out here across the board”.
Britain’s semi-final winners this afternoon included the two men’s double sculls of Marcus Bateman and Matt Wells together with Sam Townsend and Bill Lucas. They were joined by Steph Cullen and Andrea Dennis in the lightweight women’s double scull and Alan Campbell in the single scull who raced with maturity beat his long-time rival Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic.
Matt Langridge stroked the reigning world champion men’s four to a smoother performance today than yesterday as they dominated their semi-final. “Every outing we do we are stepping up and getting back to where we were last year”, he said.
The lightweight men’s four were also impressive in pacing their race with skill to take victory.
Tomorrow’s finals will also feature Katherine Grainger who races in a double scull with Anna Watkins before the duo team up with Beth Rodford and Annabel Vernon to contest the quadruple scull final as a result of two heat victories yesterday.
The men’s eight, including Greg Searle, is also in the final.
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RACE REPORTS
Great Britain stormed out of the blocks to lead by a length from New Zealand at 500m gone in the men’s pair semi-finals but the Kiwis, world champions in 2009, were not dropped. in the middle 750m they attacked the GB lead and had overhauled them by the halfway mark to lead by over a second.
As both crews moved well clear of the remainder of the field Andrew Triggs Hodge and Pete Reed battled hard to get back level. At the 1500m mark, though, New Zealand were two lengths ahead and the British settled into staying ahead of the opposition to book a final place tomorrow.
Cameron Nichol and Tom Burton, racing as GBR 2, in the men’s pair contested the next semi-final. As new but potentially
quick combination they were in the mix in the first quarter of the race but dropped behind from there in. They ended up sixth and will now contest tomorrow morning’s B Final. The race was won by Germany as loud thunder rattled around the mountain-surrounded Lake Bled.
Marcus Bateman and Matt Wells are a new GB combination in the men’s double for this world cup. They showed well to win their heat yesterday and today were contending for the lead with Switzerland by the halfway mark in the open men’s double scull semi-finals.
Switzerland were still leading at 1500m as the skies darkened and the rain began to fall on Lake Bled and the thunder rattled through the nearby mountains. Less than two seconds separated them from the British duo and the chasing Italians. Matt Wells was renowned for his finishing sprint with previous partner Stephen Rowbotham. It looks like the new combination might have the same characteristic as GB burst through to take first place in 7:06.77 just a tenth of a second ahead of Switzerland with Italy third.
“We had a pretty awful start and conditions were very rough. As the race went on we started to come back and Matt kept making the calls, to be honest, as we got towards the line and I just kept going”, said Marcus Bateman.
Not to be outdone Sam Townsend and Bill Lucas, racing as GBR 2, worked their way into third place at 500m before moving up to lead the second semi-final in this event.
As the race moved through 1500m the duo were moving smoothly and confidently as they stroked their boat onto victory ahead of Switzerland and Canada. Both transferred, like Bateman, into double sculls for this event from their more accustomed role in last year’s men’s quadruple scull.
“It was really tricky at the start so we kept our sculling there compact to stay out of trouble. After 750m gone I felt we were under control and we just went from there”, said Lucas.
Britain’s world men’s four champions of Matt Langridge, Ric Egington, Alex Gregory and Alex Partridge were next to race. As potentially expected the quartet raced to an early lead in the opening semi-final in this event.
Behind them Poland and Serbia began to mount a challenge but it became clear by 1500m that they would not catch the British leaders who move through to tomorrow’s final. In the opposing semi-final the Czech Republic were the winners in a dramatic race to the line with Italy and Canada.
“We haven’t had a lot of time as four yet this year so every outing feels like we are stepping up and getting to where we were last year”, said stroke Matt Langridge. “Yesterday we didn’t row as well but today we got a better start”.
A mere sliver separated Alan Campbell from Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic as they soon left the remainder of the field in their wake, quite literally, in the opening 500m of their semi-final of the men’s single scull in Bled.
Cambpell led at the 500m mark but Synek moved into the lead rapidly after that to lead by just over two seconds at halfway. Described by Campbell’s coach Bill Barry as a “wily fox”, Synek has been a major rival of Campbell in the past several seasons. In the third 500m Campbell shaved the lead back to 1.34 of a second. Racing away from St Martin’s church on the Island towards the finish Campbell put in a sensational burst and drew ahead of Synek to win, both men having time to ease down at the line as they were already guaranteed of a place in the final.
“Alan’s much more mature in his racing strategy these days and I’m pleased with the win”, said Barry after watching his charge.
Heather Stanning and Helen Glover were the first of three GB Rowing Team women’s pairs in semi-final action this afternoon. The USA were very early leaders but were overhauled by Germany tracked by the British duo who have both come through GB Rowing’s “Start” talent identification and development scheme.
At halfway, the positions remained the same. In the final 500m, the Germans dropped back whilst the Americans surged forward and the Chinese challenged GB. As the crews sprinted to the line the American reigning world champions took the honours followed by China, Germany with the young British crew narrowly squeezed out of tomorrow’s final places in fourth.
The other two GB Rowing Team crews contested the opposing semi-final. Canada led this race out in the early phases with Olivia Whitlam and Louisa Reeve, racing as GBR1 in second place. Jess Eddie and Alison Knowles were a close third but with two Chinese crews tracking the leading trio.
Canada continued to lead through 1000m with the two British crews neck and neck behind them. As the heavens opened the race moved through 1500m and Canada still led. China 2 moved up onto the shoulder of Eddie and Knowles whilst Whitlam and Eddie fended off China 3.
Cheered on by a significant British crowd in the grandstand Eddie and Knowles, held on to their third place on the far side whilst Reeve and Whitlam wound up to a great final sprint to take second.
Hester Goodsell and Sophie Hosking, world championships bronze medallists in 2009, have emerged from some competitive in-squad
testing to race as GBR 1 in Bled. Today they were third at the 500m mark in their semi-final of the lightweight women’s double
scull. Greece were leading with the USA second but barely two seconds split the field.
In the second half the Americans emerged to take the lead and held on to win ahead of Goodsell and Hosking who were second having overhauled the Greeks.
“It was more business-like than ‘racey’ today. We knew we had to get out cleanly because of the conditions at the start rather than really push it. After that it was pretty flat-paced and it’s all about stepping on in every race. Tomorrow’s another day”, said Hosking.
Andrea Dennis and Steph Cullen needed a repechage to qualify for today’s semi-finals and, as such, were eventually a surprise
package in winning in 7:25.19. Racing on the far side of the course they were second through the first three timing points behind the Netherlands but came through strongly in the final 500m to win.
“It was difficult yesterday in the repechage after our bad heat. We knew what we were capable of and the repechage helped
restore confidence and self-belief and we knew we had that speed”, said a clearly- delighted Steph Cullen after qualifying for the final at her first world cup in an Olympic-class boat.
Ben Rowe and Peter Chambers, an U23 lightweight men’s double scull, almost used the repechage to qualify for today’s semi-final with both young rowers making their senior world cup debut here. At the 500m mark they were in fourth and holding their own amongst the pack chasing eventual winners Canada.
By halfway they had dropped a place and as the race moved towards its conclusion they were overhauled by China to finish sixth in 6:55.44. Both will have benefited from the experience of racing at this level.
Meanwhile, the lightweight men’s four, next in action for Great Britain featured Chambers’ older brother Richard who has already tasted success as world champion in this boat category. Racing here with his 2007 world champion crew-mate Paul Mattick, and relative newcomers Rob Williams and Chris Bartley, Chambers’ crew were ahead at 500m but by just a smidgen.
Behind them, and packed tightly, were Spain, Germany, Denmark and the Czech Republic. At halfway Great Britain had built on its slender lead with a 0.65 second margin over the others. Germany had emerged into second place whilst Spain seemed to fade after its early pace.
By 1500m gone, GB had a length over Germany who were being chased by the Czech Republic and Denmark. In a fascinating sprint to the line this boat class, always competitive, Britain held onto their lead with Denmark taking second and Germany third. Those three crews move through to tomorrow’s final.
Debbie Flood and Melanie Wilson both contested the repechage of the women’s single scull today hoping to progress to the final. Ultimately those hopes were dashed as they trailed the field to finish fourth and fifth. Flood is only recently back into full training after a year with HM Prison whilst Wilson is heavily entrenched in medical studies currently.
MORNING SESSION
In the early morning session Zac Purchase dominated his lightweight men’s single scull semi-final to win in 7:22.02. Adam Freeman-Pask and Chris Boddy came through to the final of the lightweight men’s pair by winning their repechage today in 6:50.75.
Earlier Tom Aggar reached the men’s single scull final with a controlled semi-final win in 5:24.15 on the 1000m course for Paralympic boat classes, ahead of Spain and Australia. Andy Houghton joined him by winning the opposing semi-final in which he led Andrij Kryvchun of the Ukraine, the world 2009 silver medallist, by two lengths at halfway before easing down.
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RESULTS
(GB Boats only. Full results at: www.worldrowing.com)
SEMI-FINALS
OPEN
WOMEN
Pair
Semi-final 1
1. Francia Zsuzsanna/Erin Cafaro (USA) 7:28.30
2. Li Meng/Li Tong (China) 7:30.42
3. Kerstin Hartmann/Marlene Sinnig (Germany) 7:30.73
4. Helen Glover/Heather Stanning (GREAT BRITAIN 3) 7:33.14
5. Zhang Jiaying/Ding Yanjie (China 3) 7:50.06
6. Marta Novelli/Samanta Molina (Italy) 7:50.67
Semi-final 2
1. Krista Guloien/Ashley Brzozowicz (Canada) 8:03.02
2. Olivia Whitlam/Louisa Reeve (GREAT BRITAIN) 8:05.73
3. Jess Eddie/Alison Knowles (GREAT BRITAIN) 8:08.97
4. Sun Meiling/Sun Zhengping (China 2) 8:08.97
5. Lin Hong Li Xin (China 4) 8:12.01
6. Sonja Kerserac/Anic Maja (Croatia) 8:31.26
MEN
Pair
Semi-final 1
1. Eric Murray/Hamish Bond (New Zealand) 7:07.47
2. Peter Reed/Andrew Triggs Hodge (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:14.54
3. Nikolaos & Apostolos Gkountoulas (Greece 2) 7:17.86
4. Marko Marjanovic/Nikola Stojic (Serbia) 7:19.70
5. David Kuiper/Mitchel Steenman (Netherlands) 7:32.48
6. Pau Vela Maggie/Alexander Sigurbjoensson Benet (Spain) 7:38.30
Four
Semi-final 1
1. Alex Partridge/Ric Egington/Alex Gregory/Matt Langridge
(GREAT BRITAIN) 6:25.97
2. Poland 6:29.71
3. Serbia 6:31.65
4. Belarus 6:39.44
5. China 2 6:43.40
6. Iran 7:05.74
Single scull
Semi-final 1
1. Alan Campbell (GREAT BRITAIN 1) 7:10.15
2. Ondrej Synek (Czech Republic) 7:13.22
3. Ioannis Christou (Greece) 7:17.92
4. Zhang Liang (China) 7:22.84
5. Warren Anderson (USA) 7:24.98
6. Roel Braas (Netherlands) 7:28.41
Double scull
Semi-final 1
1. Matt Wells/Marcus Bateman (GREAT BRITAIN 1) 7:06.77
2. Andre Vonarburg/Florian Stofer (Switzerland) 7:06.87
3. Jean Smerghetto/Leopoldo Sansone (Italy 1) 7:13.36
4. Liu Hang/Shi Ziquiang (China) 7:16.64
5. Jakub Houska/Petr Vitasek (Czech Republic) 7:22.00
6. Paolo Perino/Domenico Montrone (Italy 2) 7:24.81
Semi-final 2
1. Bill Lucas/Sam Townsend (GREAT BRITAIN 2) 7:01.74
2. Allar Raja/Kaspar Taimsoo (Estonia 1) 7:02.59
3. Olaf Tufte/Iztok Cop (Norway) 7:06.39
4. Piotr Licznerski/Wiktor Chabel (Poland) 7:13.97
5. Gabriel Bergen/Steven Vanknotsenburg (Canada) 7:15.24
6. Valeri Prosvirnin/Vladimir Latin (Estonia 2) 7:19.97
LIGHTWEIGHT
WOMEN
Double scull
Semi-final 1
1. Abelyn Broughton/Ursula Grobler (USA) 7:26.63
2. Hester Goodsell/Sophie Hosking (GREAT BRITAIN 1) 7:30.50
3. Triantafyllia Kalampoka/Christina Giazitzdou (Greece) 7:33.02
4. Wang Xinnan/Huang Wenyi (China 1) 7:36.63
5. Pamela Weisshaupt/Olivia Wyss (Switzerland) 7:38.14
6. Maialen Arrazola Santesteban/Teresa Mas de Xaxars Riviero (Spain)
7:44.26
Semi-final 2
1. Steph Cullen/Andrea Dennis (GREAT BRITAIN 2) 7:25.19
2. Rianne Sigmond/Maaike Head (Netherlands) 7:27.12
3. Claire Lambe/Siobhan McCrohan (Ireland 1) 7:28.64
4. Magdalena Kemnitz/Agnieszka Renc (Poland) 7;32.48
5. Liu Jing/Pan Feihong (China 2) 7:33.73
6. Eugenie Vince/Elise Maurin (France) 7;35.78
MEN
Four
Semi-final 1
1. Richard Chambers/Paul Mattick/Rob Williams/Chris Bartley
(GREAT BRITAIN) 6;08.55
2. Denmark 1 6:09.38
3. Germany 6:11.62
4. Czech Republic 6:12.78
5. France 6:16.78
6. Spain 6:24.98
Single scull
Semi-final 1
1. Zac Purchase (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:22.02
2. Lukas Babac (Slovakia) 7:23.76
3. Daniel Sigurjoersson Benet (Spain) 7:24.11
4. Daniel Zielinski (Denmark) 7:25.71
5. Artyom Kudryashov (Uzbekistan) 7:31.82
6. Cathal Moynihan (Ireland) 7:37.03
Double scull
Semi-final 1
1. Douglas Vandor/Cameron Sylvestor (Canada) 6:41.43
2. Nemanja Nesic/Milos Stanojevic (Serbia) 6:44.87
3. Lorenzo Bertini/Elia Luini (Italy 2) 6:47.39
4. Panagiotis Magdanis/Eleftherios Konsolas (Greece) 6:50.14
5. Zhang Fangbing/Zhang Guolin (China 2) 6:51.65
6. Benjamin Rowe/Peter Chambers (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:55.44
REPECHAGES
OPEN
WOMEN
Single scull
1. Tang Bin (China) 8:05.43
2. Julia Levina (Russia) 8:07.73
3. Natalia Madaj (Poland 2) 8:11.75
4. Melanie Wilson (GREAT BRITAIN) 8:11.48
5. Debbie Flood (GREAT BRITAIN) 8:16.75
Pair
1. Adam Freeman-Pask/Chris Boddy (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:50.75
2. Vincent Cavard/Nicolas Moutton (France 2) 6:52.80
3. Luca Motta/Giorgio Tuccinardi (Italy 3) 6:53.24
4. Fabian Qyarzun Zbinden/Miguel Cerda Silva (Chile) 6:54.26
5. Salvatore Di Somma/Armando Dell’Aquila (Italy 2) 6:58.33
ADAPTIVES
SEMI-FINALS
MEN
Single scull
Semi-final 1
1. Tom Aggar (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:24.15
2. Edorta De Anta Lecuona (Spain) 5:25.68
3. Benjamin Houlison (Australia) 5:28.26
4. Pascal Daniere (France2) 5:37.87
5. Verfel Ofer (Israel) 5:41.47
6. Efrem Morelli (Italy) 5:49.47
Semi-final 2
1. Andrew Houghton (GREAT BRITAIN 2) 5:30.03
2. Andrii Kryvchun (Russia) 5:33.34
3. Alexey Chuvashev (Russia) 5:34.89
4. Luciano Luna de Oliveira (Brazil) 5:41.77
5. Karol Doherty (Ireland) 5:48.34
6. Olivier Mazenod (France 1) 5:48.45
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CREW LISTS
2010 Rowing World Cup, Bled, Slovenia (28-30 May)
(listed bow to stroke plus cox)
OPEN
WOMEN
Pairs – three boats
Olivia Whitlam (Agecroft RC/Warrington/16.09.85)/
Louisa Reeve (LeanderClub/London/16.05.84)
Jessica Eddie (Uni of London BC/Durham/07.10.84)/
Alison Knowles (Thames RC/Bournemouth/27.03.82)/
Helen Glover (Reading Uni BC/Penzance/17.06.86)/
Heather Stanning (Army RC/Lossiemouth/26.01.85)
Eight
Jo Cook (Leander Club/Sunbury-on-Thames/22.03.84)/
Louisa Reeve (LeanderClub/London/16.05.84)/
Natasha Page (Reading Uni BC/Hartpury/30.04.85)/
Victoria Thornley (Minerva Bath/Wrexham/30.11.87)/
Jessica Eddie (Uni of London BC/Durham/07.10.84)/
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)
Single scull – two boats
Melanie Wilson (Molesey BC/London/25.6.84)
Debbie Flood (Leander Club/Guiseley/27.02.80)/
Double scull – two boats
Katherine Grainger (St Andrew BC/Aberdeen/12.11.75)/
Anna Watkins (Leander Club/Leek, Staffs/13.02.83)
Quadruple scull
Annabel Vernon (Marlow RC/Wadebridge/01.09.82)/
Beth Rodford (Gloucester RC/Gloucester/28.12.82)/
Anna Watkins (Leander Club/Leek, Staffs/13.02.83)/
Katherine Grainger (St Andrew BC/Aberdeen/12.11.75)
OPEN
MEN
Pair – two boats
Peter Reed (Leander Club/Nailsworth, Glos/27.07.81)/
Andrew Triggs Hodge (Molesey BC/Hebden, N.Yorks/03.03.79)
Cameron Nichol (Molesey/Glastonbury/26.6.87)/
Tom Burton (Leander Club/Barton-le-Clay, Beds/24.05.80)
Four
Alex Partridge (Leander Club/Alton, Hants/25.01.81)/
Richard Egington (Leander Club/Knutsford/26.02.79)/
Alex Gregory (Leander Club/Wormington/11.03.84)/
Matt Langridge(Leander Club/Northwich/20.05.83)/
Eight
Tom Wilkinson (Leander Club/Reading/04.07.85)/
James Clarke (London RC/London/31.12.84)/
James Orme (Leander Club/Colchester/01.04.84)/
James Foad (Molesey BC/Southampton/20.03.87)/
Mohamed Sbihi (Molesey BC/Surbiton/27.03.88)/
Greg Searle (Molesey BC/Marlow/20.03.72)/
Nathaniel Reilly-O’Donnell (Uni of London/Durham/13.04.88)/
Daniel Ritchie (Herne Bay RC/Herne Bay/06.01.87)/
Phelan Hill (cox) (Leander Club/Bedford/21.07.79)
Single scull – two boats
Alan Campbell (Tideway Scullers/Coleraine/09.05.83)
Brendan Crean (Agecroft/Lewes/07.02.85)
Double scull – two boats
Matthew Wells (Leander Club/Hexham, Northumberland/19.04.79)
Marcus Bateman (Leander Club/Torquay/16.09.82)/
Bill Lucas (Reading Uni BC/Kingswear/13.09.87)/
Sam Townsend (Reading Uni BC/Reading/26.11.85)
LIGHTWEIGHT
WOMEN
Double scull – two boats
Hester Goodsell (Reading Uni BC/London/27.06.84)/
Sophie Hosking (London RC/Wimbledon/25.01.86)
Stephanie Cullen (London RC/Putney, London/27.11.80)/
Andrea Dennis (Reading Uni BC/Oxford/03.01.82)
LIGHTWEIGHT
MEN
Pair
Chris Boddy (Leander Club/Stockton-on-Tees/16.11.87)/
Adam Freeman-Pask (Imperial College BC/Windsor/19.06.85)
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)
Single scull
Zac Purchase (Marlow RC/Tewkesbury/02.05.86)
Double scull
Ben Rowe (Tees RC/Middlesbrough/05.11.88)/
Peter Chambers (Oxford Brookes Uni RC/Coleraine/14.03.90)
ADAPTIVE
Mixed adaptive coxed four
Kelsie Gibson (Maidstone Invicta RC)/
James Roe (Stratford-upon-Avon BC//Stratford-upon-Avon/28.03.88)/
Ryan Chamberlain (King’s College London BC/London/03.04.86)/
Naomi Riches (Marlow RC/Harrow, London 15.06.83)/
Rhiannon Jones (Reading Uni BC/Hereford/16.09.87) (cox)
ASM1x – two boats
Tom Aggar (Royal Docks RC/Barnet, London/24.05.84)
Andy Houghton (Maidenhead RC/Newbury/06.04..81)
COACHES
MEN’S SQUAD
Jurgen Grobler/Christian Felkel/Mark Earnshaw/Mark Banks/John West/Bill Barry/Paul Stannard
WOMEN AND LIGHTWEIGHTS SQUAD
Paul Thompson/Miles Forbes-Thomas/Ade Roberts/Darren Whiter/Rob Morgan/Paul Reedy/Peter Sheppard
ADAPTIVE SQUAD
Tom Dyson/Mary McLachlan
Management & Support Staff
David Tanner, Team Manager
Maggie Netto, Assistant TM
Louise Kingsley, Adaptive TM
Fran Bullock, Sponsor Liaison
Ann Redgrave, Doctor
Mark Edgar, Physiotherapist
Andrew Griffin, Physiotherapist
Pat Dunleavy, Adaptive Physiotherapist
Chris Shambrook, Psychologist
Wendy Martinson, Nutritionist
Maurice Hayes, Resources Manager
John Tetley, Boatman
Drew Robertson, Driver
Andy McCartney, Driver
Caroline Searle, Press Officer
