Two New Zealand crews progressed further in the regatta on the third day of the Under-23 World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. One crew moved directly to their A final after an encouraging performance in the repechage, and the other advanced further in the regatta through to the quarter-finals.
The men's lightweight double scull combination of Bryce Abernethy and Matt Dunham competed in the quarter-finals and required a top three placing to make the semi-final. The New Zealand crew remained composed throughout the race sitting in third position through to the halfway marker. Dunham and Abernethy made their defining move in the second half of the race to finish by rowing through their opponents with 100m left to run to secure first place in 6:33.20. The duo from the Czech Republic followed in second exactly three seconds back and Serbia rounded out the qualifying positions.
The women's four raced the repechage and required a top two finish to proceed to the medal final. The kiwi crew produced a solid race to finish runners-up behind Great Britain. Great Britain won in 6:42.34 while New Zealand finished in 6:44.95 well clear of the other two opponents from Romania and Italy. New Zealand will meet Canada, Australia, Great Britain, USA and Germany in the A final.
New Zealand will compete in semi-finals for the women's double, women's lightweight double, men's lightweight double and men's quad on day four (Saturday 25 July) and two crews will race for medals in the men's coxed four and women's four events. The women's quad will also contest the B Final.
New Zealand is represented in seven under-23 age group boat classes at the 2015 Under-23 World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. There are 820 international competitors from 51 countries competing in 21 boat classes at this year's championship event.