GB Team Off to Good Start at World Cup
Great Britain made the most of home advantage with a solid start to the Bearing Point World Cup regatta at Eton, with five wins, including an impressive victory by the new-look men鈥檚 four. With Camelot being announced as the lead sponsor of the GB Rowing team, the rowers repaid their sponsor鈥檚 faith.
News
David Tanner, Great Britain鈥檚 Team Manager was more
than happy with the news on both fronts, 鈥淲e鈥檙e really
pleased to be once again associated with Camelot,
although this time as a GB team lead sponsor. Camelot
and their Chief Executive Diane Thompson were hugely
supportive of 91桃色 in the lead-up to the Athens
Olympics and I am sure that this new sponsorship through
to 2008, will be a huge success. We intend to Camelot鈥檚
business success with our results on the water.鈥
鈥淭he men鈥檚 four produced a good performance – they
went out fast and have put a marker down – but I think
the encouraging news is that there鈥檚 more to come
from them.
And from the day鈥檚 other results it looks as though
there are a number of other crews that can compete
at the top level as Tanner explained: 鈥淚鈥檓 particularly
pleased with this morning鈥檚 racing because of the
strength of the field here. We鈥檝e got a large number
of nations 鈥 in the Olympic events, the nations who
have performed over the last two years all here
听鈥 albeit with new mixes.
Tanner was particularly heartened by the performances
of the single sculllers. Both Debbie Flood and Matt Wells
produced surprise wins in the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 singles
and there was promise for the future with wins for Naomi
Hoogester and Zac Purchase.听
As Tanner went on to explain, the crew scullers also
chipped in: 鈥淎s far as our scullers are concerned, in
all categories we had some wins and that shows that
we have some depth 鈥 particularly in our lightweight
scullers. We have an interesting lightweight women鈥檚
group coming on. The two Olympic lightweight men鈥檚
boats both came second and to be quite honest, that
was not quite what I expected. I think they鈥檝e shown
a racing ability today, which is quite a significant step
forward.
The men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 sweep boats also had their
moments in a packed day鈥檚 racing, with both pairs
qualifying for their semi-finals. The men鈥檚 pair
couldn鈥檛 quite catch Canada, although they produced
one of the closest possible finishes.
Tanner summed up the day鈥檚 action: 鈥淎s a general
standard it鈥檚 been good 鈥 we have one direct qualification
to the final in the men鈥檚 four. The trick now is to translate
the other promising performances into final places for
厂补迟耻谤诲补测.鈥
SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE
=============================== ===============================
New crew, familiar result
It was a case of a new season, fresh sponsorship
deal, new-look crew, but business as usual as Great
Britain鈥檚 lead men鈥檚 heavyweight boat put down a
marker as the BearingPoint World Cup got underway
at Eton today.
The men鈥檚 four started the season in determined
fashion, taking just 10 strokes to get their bow in
front and 300m to gain a length on strong opposition
in the form of the Dutch crew. In Athens veteran
Steve Williams鈥 words, 鈥淲e鈥檇 killed off the race
after 500m.鈥
But typically, despite qualifying directly for Saturday鈥檚
final, the crew was not content to rest on the laurels
of a good start to the competitive season.
鈥淭here are definitely things we can improve in the
middle of the race and we know we can go better鈥,
said Williams. There was also some personal
encouragement from one of Team GB鈥檚 younger
supporters, 鈥淢y five year old nephew couldn鈥檛
go to Athens, but ironically he鈥檚 come all the
way from Australia to be here today and judging
from the noise coming from the grandstand, he
made up for his absence last August.鈥
For Andy Hodge, it was a case of the new crew
creating its own identity after following in the
footsteps of some high-profile predecessors,
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of hype about the Olympic four 鈥
lots of posters and constant reminders of their
achievements. But as far as we鈥檙e concerned,
our first race shows we鈥檙e stepping in the right
direction. There is a lot of potential in this boat
鈥 whether it鈥檚 a one year or four year project 鈥
but there is some way to go before we realise it.
Hodge, together with Williams, Alex Partridge
and Peter Reed will face the Czech Republic
in the final on Saturday, with the other places
decided through tomorrow鈥檚 repechages.
In the men鈥檚 pair, Josh and Kieran West lost
narrowly to a strong Canadian duo, by a margin
that made the men鈥檚 four鈥檚 victory in Athens
last August look comfortable. Just three hundredths
separated the two crews, producing a bittersweet
feeling for the Kieran West:
鈥淚t鈥檚 obviously disappointing to lose by such a small
margin 鈥 they must have got it on the surge. I thought
it was a really good row and we know there鈥檚 lots we can
do in the next race. They got a good lead and we kept
rowing them down, but didn鈥檛 quite make it.鈥
The result was sufficient to take the pair through
to tomorrow鈥檚 semi-final.
SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE
=============================== ===============================
Single Sculls make good start 鈥 but tough work ahead
Both of Great Britain鈥檚 leading scullers made a good
start to the BeraingPoint World Cup regatta at Eton
today, but know that today鈥檚 racing is the prelude
to tough semi-finals tomorrow.
Debbie Flood had not had the ideal run-in to Eton,
with final exams of her Physiology and Biochemistry
degree taking priority. But it proved no barrier to a
performance that 鈥済obsmacked鈥 her coach, Mark Banks
and to an extent, Flood herself, as she finished a
second ahead of Russian, Yulya Levina.
鈥淚 went out and didn鈥檛 really know what to expect.
As I鈥檇 never raced my single internationally and
I鈥檝e just finished my exams, I was a bit apprehensive.
But I just went out and did my normal start, focused
on myself 鈥 tried not to go too hard in the second
500m as I didn鈥檛 know how much energy I had,
but I wanted to avoid the repechage if I could.
鈥淚 tried to push on in the second half of the race
and although I鈥檓 not renowned for my finishes,
I decided to wind it up at the end and it worked
and I came through first. Hopefully that will set
me up for a good semi, although it鈥檚 going to be
really hard to get through to the final.鈥
Matt Wells was also a little unsure of what to expect,
having only had clearance to resume rowing last week,
after a three month spell of back trouble. His performance
will have pleased the medical staff from the English
Institute of Sport who were watching from the grandstand.
His victory was all the more impressive given the way
he held off the challenge from Swiss Olympic sculler
Andre Vonarburg. Wells put a part of his performance
down to the support of an enthusiastic home crowd.
鈥淚t is already a highlight of my year just to come to
Eton and compete in front of this crowd. I train here
all year and now to race here is just fantastic 鈥
I know it sounds corny, but it鈥檚 true!
鈥淚 feel that I鈥檝e matured now as an athlete as a
result of this injury. I鈥檝e had to be really focused
for the last three months, without being able to do
much training in the single.鈥
Flood and Wells can both look forward to their
semi-finals tomorrow, but do so in the knowledge
that a tough field remains.
SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE
=============================== ===============================
Lightweights make their mark
Great Britain鈥檚 lightweights had a good day on their
home water as a series of strong 鈥 and in some cases
unexpected performances 鈥 showed that progress has
been made at all levels.
Naomi Hoogester 鈥 one of the reasons why Durham
is fast gaining a reputation for rowing excellence 鈥
started things off with a win in the day鈥檚 second
race. Despite being a newcomer to rowing at the
international level, even her victory failed to meet
the tough standards she imposes on herself.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 good sculling, my shoulders were a bit
tight and I鈥檒l have to improve on that, but I was
putting down a lot in the water.鈥
Hoogester鈥檚 success in the women鈥檚 event, was
mirrored by that of Zac Purchase in the men鈥檚.
Purchase had benefited from a couple of weeks
training alongside Matt Wells and the results
suggested that the strategy paid off. Purchase
singled out his finish in the senior 鈥楢鈥 trials in
Essen as the breakthrough which made his heat
win possible.
鈥淓ssen meant that I could take the step I needed
to, to perform in this race. The difference was my
second half 鈥 I had the confidence to race hard at
the start and know that I would still be there in the
second 1000m.鈥
Purchase鈥檚 performance didn鈥檛 necessarily come
as a surprise to his coach, Darren Whiter, 鈥淚鈥檝e
coached a lot of guys, but Zac stands out as
someone who鈥檚 very mature and learns as he goes along.鈥
Other lightweight crews to progress were the
women鈥檚 and men鈥檚 doubles. Despite the men鈥檚
four鈥檚 impressive second in their heat they still
face a trip to tomorrow鈥檚 repechage. For the
men鈥檚 crews in particular the heats at Dorney
represented a renaissance.
鈥淎fter the results of the last few years, it was
a great feeling to be in a World Cup race and
look up and see the field behind you after the f
irst quarter鈥, said the doubles鈥 bow man Mark
Hunter. It was a sentiment echoed by Matthew
Beechey of the four, 鈥淚t was great to be leading
after 500m 鈥 something we haven鈥檛 experienced
for quite a while.鈥
SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE
=============================== ===============================
RESULTS World Cup 2005 Eton, Great Britain, 26-28 May
DAY ONE
HEATS
WOMEN – Lightweight
Single sculls
Heat 2
1.听 Naomi Hoogester (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:51.20
2.听 Daniela Nachazelova (Czech Republic) 7:51.43
3.听 Ismaray Marrero Aria (Cuba) 7:53.30
4.听 Nora Fiechter (Switzerland) 8:05.88
5.听 Ilona Hiltunen(Finland) 8:17.12
Heat 3
1.听 Lea Fluri (Switzerland) 7:53.48
2.听 Sinead Jennings (Ireland) 7:58.31
3.听 Hester Goodsell (GREAT BRITAIN) 8:03.10
4.听 Solenne Hamon (France) 8:06.88
5.听 Siobhan Jacob (Ireland) 8:11.34
Heat 4
1.听 Teresa Mas De Xaxars Rivero (Spain) 7:57.16
2.听 Jennifer Goldsack (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:59.41
3.听 Antonia Van Deventer (GREAT BRITAIN) 8:05.46
4.听 Ka Man Lee (Hong Kong) 8:18.66
5.听 Ibtissem Trimech (Tunisia) 8:32.01
Double sculls
Heat 1
1.听 Liliana Niga/Angela Alupei (Romania) 7:19.05
2.听 Jo Hammond/Helen Casey (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:19.76
3.听 Lena Karlsson/Sara Karlsson (Sweden) 7:22.28
4.听 Eva Val Del Rio/Meritxell Alonso Bertomeu (Spain) 7:45.77
5.听 Kwan Yau Yip/Siu Man Tong (Hong Kong) 7:57.76
Heat 2
1.听 Aina Chen/Dongxiang Xu (China) 7:06.18
2.听 Berit Carow/Laura Tasch (Germany) 7:09.16
3.听 Marit Van Eupen/Eeke Thomee (Netherlands) 7:11.12
4.听 Sanna Sten/Minna Nieminen (Finland) 7:14.28
5.听 Lorna Norris/Tanya Brady (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:18.05
MEN 鈥 Lightweight
Single sculls
Heat 1
1.听 Zac Purchase (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:07.51
2.听 Gerard Van Der Linden (Netherlands) 7:10.13
3.听 Fabrice Moreau (France) 7:16.55
4.听 Jacob Moeller (Denmark) 7:21.34
5.听 Dimitrios Mougios (Greece) 7:23.23
6.听 Rolandas Kazlauskas Hong Kong) 7:24.77
Heat 3
1.听 Mads Rasmussen (Denmark) 7:07.06
2.听 Tim Male (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:16.41
3.听 Michal Vabrousek (Czech Republic) 7:23.03
4.听 Jorgen Bauwens (Belgium) 7:24.00
5.听 Mohamed Abd El Moaty (Egypt) 7:32.08
听听听 Imanol Calvo Ortiz (Spain) DNS
Double sculls
Heat 1
1.听 Zsolt Hirling/Tamas Varga (Hungary) 6:27.61
2.听 Takahiro Suda/Daisaku Takeda (Japan) 6:27.97
3.听 Ting Wai Lo/Sau Wah So (Hong Kong) 6:41.32
4.听 Ali Brown/James Stephenson (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:47.50
5.听 Kwong Wing Chow/Ming Cheung Ho (Hong Kong) 6:53.83
Heat 3
1.听 Arnaud Pornin/Frederic Dufour (France) 6:28.81
2.听 Mark Hunter/James Lindsay-Fynn (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:32.13
3.听 Jan Vetesnik/Ondrej Vetesnik (Czech Republic) 6:37.26
4.听 Vladimir Varfolomeyev/Denis Moisseyev (Russia) 6:42.13
5.听 Nuno Mendes/Pedro Fraga (Portugal) 6:51.71
Four
1.听 Spain 6:07.35
2. Paul Mattick/Dave Currie/Matthew Beechey/Nick Wakefield (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:08.84
3.听 Ireland 1 6:12.72
4.听 Netherlands 1 6:13.84
5.听 Ireland 2 6:19.07
WOMEN
Single Sculls
1. Debbie Flood (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:37.76
2. Yulya Levina (Russia) 7:38.88
3. Anet-Jaklin Bushman (Bulgaria) 7:46.04
4. Nuria Dominguez Asensio (Spain) 7:55.73
Double Sculls
1.听 Rumyana Neykova/Miglena Markova (Bulgaria) 7:01.39
2.听 Yuliya Bichyk/Volha Bernazniova (Belarus) 7:05.76
3.听 Elise Laverick/Annie Vernon (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:05.79
4.听 Josephine Wartenberg/Magdalena Schmude (Germany) 7:11.90
5.听 Marianne Nordahl/Heidi Veeser (Norway) 7:13.37
6.听 Annekatrin Thiele/Anne-Katrin Kochan (Germany) 7:15.12
MEN
Single Sculls
Heat 2
1.听 Iztok Cop (Slovenia) 6:57.76
2.听 Ondrej Synek (Czech Republic) 7:00.61
3.听 Sjoerd Hamburger (Netherlands) 7:09.78
4.听 Igor Kuzmin (Estonia) 7:13.60
5.听 Ian Lawson (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:28.34
Heat 4
1.听 Nikola Stojic (Serbia & Montenegro) 7:01.79
2.听 Colin Smith (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:04.59
3.听 Ivo Yanakiev (Bulgaria) 7:11.85
4.听 Charalampos Christou (Greece) 7:27.80
Heat 6
1.听 Matthew Wells (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:02.26
2.听 Andre Vonarburg (Switzerland) 7:11.83
3.听 Akos Haller (Hungary) 7:15.82
4.听 Julien Bahain (France) 7:18.86
Quad sculls
1.听 Poland 1 5:50.46
2.听 Australia 5:53.81
3.听 Alan Campbell/Stephen Rowbotham/Alex Gregory/Matthew Langridge (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:55.84
4.听 Poland 2 6:00.39
5.听 Russia 6:01.27
6.听 China 6:09.09
WOMEN
Open
Pairs
1.听 Kate Hornsey/Sonia Mills (Australia) 7:26.85
2.听 Tamara Samakhvalava/Natallia Helakh (Belarus) 7:27.27
3.听 Beth Rodford/Alison Knowles (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:28.05
4.听 Annemarieke Van Rumpt/Laura Posthuma (Netherlands) 7:28.25
MEN
Open
Pairs
1.听 Ben Rutledge/Kyle Hamilton (Canada) 6:43.15
2.听 Josh West/Kieran West (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:43.18
3.听 Chris Liwski/Mike Blomquist (United States) 6:54.99
4.听 Petr Masek/Jakub Litera (Czech Republic) 7:15.32
Four
1.听 Steve Williams/Peter Reed/Alex Partridge/Andrew Hodge (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:58.38
2.听 Netherlands 6:00.30
3.听 Denmark 6:04.56
4.听 France 6:09.15
5.听 Switzerland 6:21.70
听
