It was a light, but successful day for Canadian crews at the 2009 World Rowing Championships, held on Poznan's Lake Malta in Poland.
In the men's coxed pair repechage, the top four boats moved to the final. France won the rep in 7:32.65, Germany took second spot in 7:33.28 and Canada followed in 7:33.77 in a tight finish, while Italy was back from the pack in 7:47.39 to also qualify for the A final. The Ukrainian boat was eliminated. The Czech Republic and the U.S. already qualified for the final based on their heat wins.
The coxed pair is Jan Tize of West Vancouver, B.C., Conlin McCabe of Brockville, Ont., and (cox) Mark Laidlaw of Mississauga, Ont.
"At no point can we assume that any of the crews are going to be out of this race. We decided after the heat to have a more aggressive mentality today and keep the boat moving," said Laidlaw, who is also the coxswain of the men's eight that already qualified for the eight final - both medal races for Laidlaw will be held on Sunday.
Laidlaw is the 2008 World Champion in this event, but Tize and McCabe - who is the youngest Canadian team member turning 19 this August 20 - are new to the senior national team. Tize and McCabe are also here to back-up the men's eight boat in the event a crew member gets injured.
The adaptive team provided the other highlight of today's schedule for Canada, with the coxed four winning its rep in 3:53.32 - with top two moving to the final, Australia was second in this rep in 4:02.03. The adaptive event course is 1000 metres, compared with the Olympic distance of 2000 metres. Germany won the other rep in 3:54.43, so the final on Saturday promises to be an exciting race.
The first adaptive races appeared at the Worlds in 2002, so it's a sport that is still developing. "Each year it seems more competitive.... Italy and Great Britain seem stronger this year, and the Ukraine has also stepped it up, which is great to see," said Meagan Montgomery, who medaled at the 2006 Worlds at this event and was part of the Paralympic team that made the finals in Beijing.
This adaptive event - the legs, truck and arms mixed coxed four - includes both males and females with physical disabilities in the same boat with a coxswain who may be able-bodied.
The Canadian crew is Anthony Theriault of Nanaimo, B.C., Meghan Montgomery of Winnipeg, MB, Stuart Starkey of Winnipeg, MB, Victoria Nolan of Toronto, Ont., and (cox) Laura Comeau of St. Catharines, Ont.
In a race for lanes, Sandra Kisil of Ancaster, Ont., Sarah Waterfield of Kingston Ont., Jennifer Tuters of Peterborough, Ont., and Emma Darling of Vancouver, B.C. were fourth in 7:23.52 in a women's four boat. The Netherlands (7:14.23), the U.S. (7:17.27) and Australia (7:20.95) crossed the line before Canada.
"We felt it was a solid race, but we definitely have to pick up the intensity for the final," said Tuters, another newcomer to the senior team.
With at total of six entries in this event, the final race will be held on Sunday morning.
Tomorrow, the reps for the lightweight four and women's eight will have Canadian entries. The lightweight women's quad will make its first appearance at this regatta.
The regatta runs until Sunday, Aug. 30. More info at www.worldrowing.com