LUCERNE, Switzerland - Women's single sculler Jennifer Devine and the lightweight men's double sculls tandem of Steve Tucker and Greg Ruckman won their heats on the first day of competition at the 2004 Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland.
In the women's single sculls, Devine (Portland, Ore.) won the third of three heats, advancing directly to Tuesday's semifinals. Devine, a 1996 Olympian in the women's double sculls, clocked an 8:19.87 to finish 10.27 seconds ahead of Croatia's Mirna Rajle. Devine led her heat from start to finish and clocked the fastest first 1,500 meters of any heat, before paddling to the finish line. With the top three finishers from each heat advancing directly to the semifinals, Rajle also moved on. The other heat winners included Sweden's Frida Svensson, who clocked an 8:18.03 in the first heat, and the Netherlands' Femke Dekker, who clocked an 8:30.62 in the second heat. With 13 entries, the women's single sculls was the only event to have more than 12 entries and require semifinals. The final will be held on Wednesday with the top three finishers earning berths to the Olympic Games.
The duo of Tucker (Mooresville, Ind.) and Ruckman (Cincinnati, Ohio), who were both members of the 2000 Olympic Team, won their heat of the lightweight men's double sculls and advanced directly to Tuesday's final. Tucker and Ruckman sat in third place at the 500-meter mark before taking control of the race in the middle 1,000 meters, building a 4.34-second lead heading into the final quarter of the race. The duo clocked a 6:47.25, followed by the Czech Republic in a 6:48.62. Russia won the other heat, clocking a 6:53.23, to advance directly to the final. The top four finishers in Tuesday's final will earn berths to the Games.
Conal Groom (Northford, Conn.), a 2000 Olympian in the lightweight men's double sculls, finished third in the second of two heats of the men's single sculls. With only the heat winners advancing directly to the final, Groom will now race in the repechages, or second-chance races, on Monday. On Sunday, Groom sat in fourth position for much of the race, before moving into third during the last 500 meters. Hungary's Gabor Hangya Bencsik clocked a 7:28.97 to hold off Ireland's Sean Casey by 1.55 seconds and win the heat. Groom finished in a 7:40.32. Bulgaria's Ivo Yanakiev, who finished fifth in the event at the 2000 Olympics, won the first heat in a time of 7:26.34 to earn the other automatic berth in the final. The top three finishers in Tuesday's final will qualify for the Olympics.
In second heat of the women's double sculls, Ala Piotrowski (Manchester, N.H.) and Carol Skricki (Norwood, Mass.) also finished third and will now race in the repechages. Piotrowski and Skricki sat in second position through the first 1,000 meters and clocked a 7:21.90 to finish 7.27 seconds behind Bulgaria. Bulgaria finished in a 7:14.63, with France coming in second. In the other heat, Hungary held off China to win by just 0.03 seconds. Hungary clocked a 7:20.74 to advance directly to the final, while China has to come back tomorrow and race in the repechages. The top two finishers in Tuesday's final will qualify for the Games.
With only six entries in the men's quadruple sculls, the U.S. quartet of Kent Smack (Clinton, N.J.), Brett Wilkinson (Hyde Park, N.Y.), Sloan DuRoss (Old Orchard Beach, Maine), and Ben Holbrook (Hartland, Wis.) will take to the water on Tuesday in the final with the top two crews earning berths to the Olympics. The U.S. will face boats from Belgium, China, Greece, Slovenia, and the Ukraine.
The Olympic Qualification Regatta is the last chance for countries to qualify for the Olympic Games. Country qualification began at last year's world championships and continued at several regional qualifiers earlier this year. The final qualifier is open to crews from the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, as well as countries with crews wishing to qualify in an event that was not on the program of the Olympic qualification regatta held in their region. The U.S. failed to earn automatic berths for the Olympics in the men's single sculls, women's single sculls, women's double sculls, lightweight men's double sculls, and men's quadruple sculls at the 2003 World Championships necessitating that those five crews race this week in Lucerne.
A total of 120 boats from 43 countries are vying for the remaining spots. The regatta continues on Monday with repechages beginning at 5 p.m. local time. Finals will be held on Tuesday, June 15, and Wednesday, June 16.