The Pan Am rowing regatta at the Lagoa Rowing Centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (July 14 to 19) is heating up for Canadian crews, as final races are approaching.
The lightweight men's four won today's heat in 6:30.15 to advance to the final. The Pan Am lightweight men's four is Adam Reynolds of Ottawa, Ont., Andrew Borden of Toronto, Ont. John Haver of Saskatoon, Sask., and Paul Amesbury of Ottawa, Ont. It appears that the U.S. will be the light four's toughest competition in the medal round, as the Americans won the other heat in 6:22.79. In the lightweight women's double, Camille Brillon (Edson, Alta.) and Amber Cuthbertson (Harrowsmith, Ont.) won their rep this morning. This rep was originally scheduled for yesterday, but was postponed due to high wind.
"It was a solid race. We just focused on getting off the line clean and rowing well," said Cuthbertson, a member of the St. Catharines Rowing Club. "We worked on some technical points that we addressed after the heat and are satisfied with today's rep." The lightweight double's time was 7:33.4, followed by Mexico in 7:36.57 and Argentina in 7:42.77.
The women's quad - Cristin McCarty (Saskatoon, Sask.), Peggy Hyslop (Kamloops, BC.), Zoe Hoskins (Edmonton, Alta.), and Nathalie Maurer (North Vancouver, B.C.) - was second to the U.S. in a race for lanes early this morning. The Americans crossed the line in 6:57.11; Canada's time was 7:01.71 and Cuba was third in this race in 7:06.57. There was a headwind on the course today. Rowing finals begin tomorrow with Canadians in the women's pair, men's pair and lightweight men's double.