SEVEN GOLDS FOR SEVEN COUNTRIES – LAST DAY AT THE 2015 WORLD ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The last day of the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France ended with a bang as seven different countries won World Championship titles.

The blue riband women’s eight from the United States won the World Championship title and extended their winning streak to a total of ten consecutive World and Olympic titles. New Zealand’s women’s eight won their first ever medal (silver) in this boat class. Canada took bronze. The men’s eight ended in a stunning victory for Great Britain who made it three World Championship titles in a row. Olympic Champion Germany nearly overtook the British in the last couple of strokes of the race. The Netherlands followed Germany into third. “We just executed our race plan,” said Great Britain’s Matthew Gotrel. “It was the best row we’ve ever had. We had a lot of pressure, but it is the best job I’ve ever had.”

photo credit Detlef Seyb/myrowingphotos.com

The men’s single sculls came down to a stunning two-way duel between Olympic Champion Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand and World Champion, Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic. Synek won in the last three metres of the race. Lithuania’s Mindaugas Griskonis took bronze. The women’s single sculls went to Kim Crow of Australia, extending her unbeaten season. Olympic Champion Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic was second and Jingli Duan of China was third.

Croatia’s rowing heroes Valent and Martin Sinkovic successfully defended their World Championship title in the men’s double sculls. The Sinkovic’s were pushed so hard by silver medallists, Lithuania and bronze medallists, New Zealand that they nearly broke their own World Best Time. The women’s double sculls was won for a second year in a row by New Zealand. The crew of Zoe Stevenson and Eve MacFarlane took gold ahead of Greece and Germany.

Switzerland won an impressive gold in the lightweight men’s four, dominating a boat class field that is usually known for being incredibly close. Behind the Swiss, 2014 World Champions Denmark, won silver and France took bronze.

Topping the overall medals table for the 2015 World Rowing Championships was Great Britain with a total of 15 medals, five of them gold. Last year’s overall winners New Zealand finished second with nine medals, five of them gold. Germany was third winning three gold medals and a total of nine.

photo credit Detlef Seyb/myrowingphotos.com

Earlier in the day the B-finals concluded the qualifying places for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Overall 32 countries qualified boats for the Olympic Games along with 16 for the Paralympic Games. Great Britain has qualified the most getting 12 spots out of the 14 boat classes that will be raced at the Olympics. The United States have qualified ten boats including all six of the women’s boat classes. Germany and New Zealand both qualified nine boats. Doing the best for Latin America was Cuba with two boats qualified for Rio.

There will be further Olympic qualification chances at the continental qualification regattas as well as the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in May 2016.

GOLD FOR SIX COUNTRIES IN 2015 WORLD ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS FINALS

Six countries won World Championship titles and 13 countries took medals in the first of two days of Olympic-class finals at the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France.

Two gold medals went to New Zealand with both the men’s pair Eric Murray and Hamish Bond who made it 21 on their run of winning international regattas including this being the sixth World Championship title in the pair. Second and third went to Great Britain and Serbia respectively. New Zealand’s Julia Edward and Sophie MacKenzie earned their second senior World Championship title in the lightweight women’s double ahead of Great Britain and South Africa.

2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France. (C) FISA Igor Meijer

The home team – France’s Jeremie Azou and Stany Delayre – gave the local French crowd what they had hoped to see by winning the lightweight men’s double sculls. Azou and Delayre raced together at the London Olympics and they have been building up to today’s win – the first World Championship title in an Olympic boat class for France since 2010. The silver and bronze went to Great Britain and Norway respectively. “We tried to save as much energy as possible in the first half and then give everything in the second half. It’s only intense joy to finally be World Champion,” said Delayre after the race.

One of the biggest upsets of the day was when the United States women’s quadruple sculls surprised the reigning World Champions Germany for the gold. The United States’ win was the first World Championship title in this boat class for the US. Germany was second with the Netherlands in third. The men’s quadruple sculls went to Germany with Australia and Estonia taking the silver and bronze medals.

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning of Great Britain continued to dominate the women’s pair with New Zealand and the United States finishing second and third respectively. Italy won a surprise gold in the men’s four. The crew of Marco Di Costanzo, Matteo Castaldo, Matteo Lodo and Giuseppe Vicino held off Australia and Great Britain to win Italy’s first gold of this regatta.

2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France. (C) FISA Igor Meijer

Today’s B-finals had the added importance of being races for Rio Olympic qualification spots. The full Olympic qualification list will be released after racing finishes on Sunday.

The final day of racing, Sunday 6 September has A-finals beginning at 13:15 CET continuing through to 14:45 CET in the Olympic boat classes. These finals will be preceded by the B-finals starting at 12:00 CET, many of which have the added importance of being part of Rio 2016 Olympic qualification. All of the finals will be live streamed on http://www.worldrowing.com.

MEDALS FOR PARA-ROWERS AT 2015 WORLD ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The medal rush at the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France began today with the four para-rowing boat classes.

Australia had a great start to these championships with two gold medals. Erik Horrie took gold in the para men’s single sculls (ASM1x) to become a three-time World Champion. Horrie stayed ahead of 2008 Paralympic Champion, Tom Aggar of Great Britain with Igor Bondar of Ukraine in third.

Australia’s second gold came in the para mixed double sculls (TAMix2x). Gavin Bellis and Kathryn Ross successfully defended their World Championship title in the double holding off Great Britain and France. Bellis commented on the tight finish, “It’s amazing to have such a close race, it is great for the sport.”

MEDALS FOR PARA-ROWERS AT 2015 WORLD ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Israel’s Moran Samuel improved on her 2014 silver medal by becoming a World Champion for the first time in the para women’s single sculls (ASW1x). Samuel finished ahead of Great Britain’s Rachel Morris and the 2014 World Champion Birgit Skarstein of Norway.

Overall Great Britain finished second on the para-rowing medals table winning medals in all four boat classes. Their best result came in the para mixed coxed four (LTAMix4+) when they defended their World Championship title by outsprinting the United States. Canada finished with bronze in this boat class.

Today’s racing also included semi-finals for six Olympic boat classes. These crews not only earn places in the A-finals but also secured Rio 2016 Olympic qualification spots. The men’s and women’s pairs have been dominated by New Zealand’s Eric Murray and Hamish Bond, and Great Britain’s Helen Glover and Heather Stanning respectively in recent years. Both are the reigning Olympic Champions and both have now qualified for the Rio Olympics. They will go to Saturday’s finals as favourites.

The lightweight men’s double sculls of France is looking in good form to lead the way. Jeremie Azou and Stany Delayre finished ahead of the reigning World Champions South Africa in their semi-final. For the lightweight women’s double sculls Canada’s Lindsay Jennerich and Patricia Obee won their semi-final and recorded a time slightly faster than the winner of the other semi-final, current World Champions Sophie MacKenzie and Julia Edward of New Zealand. They will meet in Saturday’s final.

2015 World Rowing Championships, Aiguebelette, France ©FISA Igor Meijer

Italy and the Netherlands are looking in winning form in the men’s four after winning their respective semi-finals today. Neither crew has dominated through this season, and they will both be pushed hard by Great Britain and Australia. The men’s quadruple sculls saw a turn of events when the World Champions Ukraine missed out on making the A-final. Instead an outstanding performance by Lithuania brought a new boat through to the final when they won their semi-final . They will meet Germany, the winner of the second semi-final, in Saturday’s final.

Friday’s finals begin at 11:50 CET and continue through to 13:35 CET with the International boat classes. All of the finals will be live streamed on http://www.worldrowing.com.

PARA-ROWING FINALS SET AT 2015 WORLD ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Para-Rowing Finals are now set for the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France. This event started off with the largest para-rowing entry ever seen at a World Rowing Championships indicating the growth of the sport and also that this regatta doubles as the main qualification regatta for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.

The team from Great Britain has put themselves in a strong position with boats in all four finals. This is led by the rowers in their para mixed coxed four (LTAMix4+) who are the World and Paralympic Champions, and have not lost a race since 2012. The British crew will meet, for the first time in the final, the crew from the United States who recorded a very fast time in their semi-final. They will also be up against last year’s silver medallists Italy.

Looking very impressive in the para women’s single sculls (ASW1x) is Moran Samuel of Israel. Samuel dominated her semi-final and will go on to meet the reigning World Champion Birgit Skarstein of Norway in the final as well as the ever-improving Rachel Morris of Great Britain. Morris started competing in para-rowing last year with a fifth-place finish in 2014 and this year she has been improving with every race.

The para men’s single sculls (ASM1x) attracted the biggest field with 24 countries entered. This has been narrowed down to the final six with two-time World Champion Erik Horrie of Australia, the favourite to retain his position. Horrie’s regular rival Alexey Chuvashev of Russia will be aiming to dethrone the Australian hoping to win a World Championships title.

The para mixed double sculls (TAMix2x) sees the return of 2014 World Champions Gavin Ellis and Kathryn Ross of Australia. They are likely to find their strongest competition coming from Brazil’s Josiane Lima and Michel Gomes Pessanha.

2015 World Rowing Championships, Aiguebelette, France ©FISA Igor Meijer

The top eight boats in each para-rowing boat class will qualify for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, thus all six finalists have already guaranteed their boat for their respective country. Horrie commented after today’s race, “Qualification is stage one of this championships and it is excellent to qualify the boat for Australia.” Skarstein added, “It feels incredible to be qualified for Rio. It has been a goal since the London Olympics and I am really excited that it will be my first Paralympics.”

The para-rowing finals begin at 16:40 CET and will be live streamed on http://www.worldrowing.com. The B-finals will also be live streamed beginning at 16:08 CET.

RECORD NUMBER OF ENTRIES FOR 2015 WORLD ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Entries have now closed for the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France and FISA, the World Rowing Federation, is delighted to announce a record 1,300 athletes from 77 countries will be lining up to race at this year’s most prestigious rowing event.

The 2015 World Rowing Championships also acts as the main qualification regatta for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games so athletes will not only be racing for World Championship titles, but also for the coveted 129 qualification spots for the Rio Olympics Games and the 24 spots for the Paralympic Games.

FISA President Jean-Christophe Rolland notes that the large number of entries is a reflection of the work that has gone into increasing rowing’s universality. “FISA has grown to 142 member federations and by the end of this year’s congress we will have at least 146,” says Rolland. “This growth internationally is reflected in the number of countries participating at the World Rowing Championships, and I am very pleased to welcome rowers from all corners of the globe and especially the newer rowing nations to Aiguebelette.”

“Having Olympic and Paralympic qualification spots available has also added to huge interest in this regatta,” says Rolland who won a gold medal in Aiguebelette in 1997, the last time the event was staged there.

The United States lead the way with the largest number of entries. They have entered boats in all 27 boat classes with the women’s eight their flagship crew. The US women’s eight has not lost a major race since 2006 with Canada being their nearest rival.

One of the largest fields is the men’s single sculls with 41 countries lining up. Two scullers, the reigning World Champion Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic and reigning Olympic Champion Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand, have been the front-runners in the single. Now Cuba’s Angel Fournier Rodriguez, bronze medallist last year, is a clear threat along with the return to the international stage of Alan Campbell from Great Britain.

2015 World Rowing Junior Championships, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil COPYRIGHT: FISA Igor Meijer

The women’s single sculls sees 35 countries represented. Australia’s Kim Crow is the favourite in this boat class as she comes into the regatta following an unbeaten season. Crow’s main challenges will come from Olympic Champion Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic and Genevra Stone from the United States.

The lightweight men’s double sculls has attracted substantial interest especially for the home crowd. Jeremie Azou and Stany Delayre of France have dominated the 2015 season. But they will have to contend with current World Champions John Smith and James Thompson of South Africa as well as 2013 World Champions from Norway Kristoffer Brun and Are Strandli.

Winner of the 2015 World Rowing Cup series and the 2014 World Rowing Championship overall winner was New Zealand. They have entered 16 boats including entries in all of the Olympic boat classes.

Competition goes from 30 August to 6 September with racing spread across 27 boat classes comprising of 14 Olympic, eight International and five Para-rowing boat classes.

NEW ZEALAND TOPS WORLD ROWING CUP SERIES FOR 2014

The 2014 World Rowing Cup series had its final day today in Lucerne, Switzerland. Twenty finals were raced with New Zealand finishing the World Rowing Cup series at the top of the medals table.

The World Rowing Cup series kicked off in Sydney (AUS) in March with Australia coming out on top. Following the second World Rowing Cup in Aiguebelette (FRA) last month, Australia remained as the leading country. Then a string of medals for New Zealand at the third World Rowing Cup in Lucerne (SUI) today, put them ahead of Australia.

New Zealand secured gold medals in the men’s pair with the Olympic and World Champion crew of Eric Murray and Hamish Bond continuing their unbeaten winning streak. Mahe Drysdale and Emma Twigg then made it a double header by winning the men’s and women’s single sculls respectively. A fourth gold was taken in the lightweight men’s four with the New Zealanders keeping ahead of World Champions Denmark.

With New Zealand earning 141 points for the series, Great Britain finished in second with 126 points and Australia was third with 125. Overall 36 countries earned World Cup points.

But the most successful nation at Lucerne was Great Britain. The British earned 64 points helped by gold medal success in the women’s pair. Olympic Champions, Heather Stanning and Helen Glover held off New Zealand to take gold. The formidable British men’s four then struck gold ahead of World Champions from the Netherlands with Canada taking third. Great Britain’s third gold medal came in the lightweight women’s double sculls. The crew of Imogen Walsh and Katherine Copeland held off strong challenges from Australia and Canada who took silver and bronze respectively.

One of the most highly anticipated races was the men’s eight with Olympic Champions, Germany racing World Champions Great Britain and new talents Russia. This was Germany’s first major race of the season and they proved to still have the winning edge by finishing ahead of Russia. Great Britain was third.

The 2014 World Rowing Cup series is now complete. Up next is the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Varese (ITA) from 23-27 July 2014. Then the World Rowing Junior Championships will take place in Hamburg (GER) from 6-10 August 2014. The highlight of the season, the World Rowing Championships, will be held from 24-31 August in Amsterdam (NED).

NEW ZEALAND TOPS WORLD ROWING CUP SERIES FOR 2014. photo credit : WORLD ROWING Media