The U.S. will have nine boats racing on the first day of competition at the 2006 FISA World Rowing Championships on Dorney Lake in Eton, England.
Michelle Guerette (Bristol, Conn.) took home the bronze medal in the women's single sculls from last year's world championships in Gifu, Japan. She is looking to get back on the medal stand in Eton after two fifth-place finishes on the world cup circuit this summer. On Sunday, Guerette will race scullers from France, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Cuba in the fourth of four heats. France's Sophie Balmary should be Guerette's toughest competition on the opening day. Balmary finished fourth at last year's world championships and won medals at two world cup events earlier in the year. The top two finishers in each heat move on to Thursday's semifinals, while the remaining scullers will race in Tuesday's repechages, or second-chance races.
Anna Mickelson (Bellevue, Wash.) and Megan Cooke (Los Gatos, Calif.) will be racing in both the women's pair and eight in Eton. On Sunday, the duo will race in the first of two heats of the pair against crews from Romania, New Zealand, Germany, Belarus, and Great Britain. Mickelson and Cooke won the pair at the world cup stop in Lucerne, Switzerland, while Germany's Elke Hipler and Nicole Zimmerman won the world cup race in Poznan, Poland, and finished second behind the Americans in Lucerne. The winner of each heat advances directly to Saturday's final, while the remaining boats will race in the repechages.
Likewise, Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.) and Brett Sickler (Los Gatos, Calif.) will be racing in two events this week - the women's double sculls and eight. On Sunday, the duo will race in the third of three heats of the double sculls against crews from Italy, Norway, Australia, and Belarus. Francia and Sickler's top competition should come from Belarus, which won bronze at the world cup race in Lucerne. The top three finishers will advance directly to the semifinals, while the remaining boats go to the repechages.
The men's pair includes Sam Burns (Seattle, Wash.) and veteran Dan Beery (Oaktown, Ind.), a member of the gold-medal winning men's eight at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Burns and Beery will take on crews from New Zealand, Greece, Georgia, Canada, and Germany in the first of three heats. New Zealand's George Bridgewater and Nathan Twaddle are the defending world champions in the event. The top two finishers in each heat advance to the semifinals, with the remaining crews moving on to the repechages.
The men's double sculls tandem is made up of newcomer Francis Cuddy (Amherst, N.H.) and two-time national team member Shane O'Mara (Tampa, Fla.). Like the men's pair, Cuddy and O'Mara get to race the defending world champions, Slovenia's Iztok Cop and Luka Spik, in their first race of the regatta. In addition to Slovenia, the U.S. duo will take on Croatia, China, Australia, and Poland in the second of four heats. The winner of each heat advances to the semifinals. The remaining crews will race in the repechages.
The men's four of Brett Newlin (Riverton, Wyo.), Josh Inman (Hillsboro, Ore.), Matt Schnobrich (St. Paul, Minn.), and Michael Blomquist (Greensboro, N.C.) also drew the defending world champions in its heat. The host British crew won the world title last year in Gifu and followed that up by winning all three world cup stops this summer. Racing in the second of three heats, the two crews also will take on Russia, France, Portugal, and Indonesia with the top two finishers moving on to the semifinals and the remaining crews going to the repechages.
Jamie Schroeder (Wilmette, Ill.), a 2004 Olympian in the men's four, returns to the team after taking last summer off. He will race in the men's single sculls for the first time internationally in Eton. Racing in the first of four heats, Schroeder will take on 2004 Olympic champion Olaf Tufte from Norway, as well as scullers from the Netherlands, Italy, Finland, and Austria. The top finisher in each heat advances directly to the semifinals, while the remaining scullers will go to the repechages.
At 41, Lisa Schlenker (Lake Oswego, Ore.) also returns to the team after taking a year off following the Olympics. The 10-time national team member is a two-time world championships medalist in the lightweight women's single sculls. Her quest for a third medal begins in the first of three heats where she will take on scullers from Spain, Italy, Great Britain, Colombia, and Hong Kong. Schlenker's toughest test on Sunday should come from Spain's Teresa Mas De Xaxars, last year's bronze medalist in the event. The top two finishers advance to the semifinals, while the remaining scullers will race in the repechages.
Rachel Jeffers (Los Gatos, Calif.), Esther Lofgren (Newport Beach, Calif.), Portia Johnson (Seattle, Wash.), and Erin Cafaro (Modesto, Calif.) will race in the first heat of the women's four. They will take on boats from Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands, with the winner of the heat advancing directly to the finals. The remaining crews head to the repechage.