GIFU, Japan - The U.S. will have eight boats racing on the first day of competition at the 2005 FISA World Rowing Championships on the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course in Gifu, Japan.
The U.S. men's single sculls, women's single sculls, lightweight women's single sculls, men's double sculls, women's double sculls, men's pair, women's pair and men's four all start their quests for medals beginning at 9:30 a.m. local time on Monday.
Bryan Volpenhein (Cincinnati, Ohio), Beau Hoopman (Plymouth, Wis.), Dan Beery (Oaktown, Ind.) and Matt Deakin (San Francisco, Calif.) helped the U.S. win a gold medal in the men's eight at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. On Monday, the quartet will begin its quest for a world championship in the men's four. The crew, which will also double up into this year's eight, will race in the third of three heats against boats from Denmark, Canada, New Zealand and India. Denmark won medals at two world cup stops this season. The top two finishers from each heat advance to the semifinals, while the remaining crews will race in the repechages, or second-chance races.
Wyatt Allen (Portland, Maine) also returns to the U.S. team after winning Olympic gold in the eight, but this year he will be testing his individual sculling skills in the men's single sculls. Allen finished ninth in the event at the world cup stop in Munich, Germany, in June and is looking to improve on that finish. On Monday, he will race in the second of four heats against scullers from the Czech Republic, Belgium, Indonesia, Great Britain and France. The winner of each heat will advance directly to the semifinals, while the remaining crews will race in the repechages.
Michelle Guerette (Bristol, Conn.), a 2004 Olympian in the women's quadruple sculls, moves to the women's single sculls this year. Guerette, who will race in the second of three heats, ended up with a tough draw that includes Belarus' Ekaterina Karsten and Russia's Yulya Levina. Karsten, a four-time Olympic medalist and two-time Olympic champion in the single, swept the three world cup races earlier this year. Guerette's heat also includes scullers from Australia and El Salvador. The top three finishers from each heat advance directly to the semifinals, while the remaining scullers move on to the repechage.
Lightweight women's single sculler Marika Page (San Rafael, Calif.) looked dominant at the U.S. Trials in making her first national team. Page will now race in the third of four heats against scullers from Finland, Switzerland, Croatia and El Salvador. Croatia's Mirna Rajle won a silver medal in the event at the 2003 World Championships and the world cup race in Munich earlier this year. The top three finishers advance to the semifinals, with the remaining scullers heading to the repechages.
National team newcomers Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.) and Lindsay Shoop (Charlottesville, Va.) will kick off their championships by racing in the first of two heats of the women's pair. The duo, which is doubling up into the women's eight as well, will take on crews from Belarus, Australia, Russia, Bulgaria and France. Australia won the world cup race in Eton, England, while Belarus took home the silver medal from the world cup race in Lucerne, Switzerland. The winner of the heat will advance directly to the final, while the remaining crews will race in a repechage.
Like the women's pair, the men's pair of Patrick O'Dunne (Nazareth, Pa.) and Matt Schnobrich (St. Paul, Minn.) are national team rookies. The duo will take on crews from Canada, Italy, Germany and India in the first of three heats. Italy won two medals on the world cup circuit this season, while the German duo finished sixth last year at the Olympic Games. The top two finishers in the heat will move on to the semifinals, while the remaining crews will race in the repechages.
In the women's double sculls, Megan Cooke (Los Gatos, Calif.) and Lia Pernell (Seattle, Wash.) will take on Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Belarus and Italy in the first of two heats. New Zealand's Evers-Swindell twins are the defending Olympic champions. The winner of each heat advances directly to the final, while the rest of the crews will race in the repechages.
Newcomer Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) and Olympian J. Sloan DuRoss (South Portland, Maine) will take on Japan, Hungary, Germany and Serbia and Montenegro in the first heat of the men's double sculls. Germany's Christian Schreiber and Rene Burmeister won the world cup race in Germany and followed that up with a second-place finish in Switzerland. The top two finishers in each heat go directly to the semifinals, while the remaining crews will race in the repechages.
In total, the U.S. has 21 crews competing at the world championships. The remaining crews will begin racing later in the week.