U.S. lightweight single sculler Meghan Sarbanis advanced to the final to highlight competition Friday at the 2009 World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.
The Hampstead, N.H.-native took second in the first semifinal and will now have the opportunity to take home some hardware in Sunday's final. After winning her repechage by over ten seconds on Tuesday en route to today's race, Sarbanis crossed the finish line 1.47 seconds behind Switzerland's Pamela Weisshaupt, who won the semi in an 8:08.37. The U.S. sculler crossed the first 500 meters in fourth place, but took the lead by the halfway point with a 0.47-second advantage over Weisshaupt. Sarbanis maintained position over the third 500 meters, but slipped back in the last stretch to cross the line in an 8:10.10. The U.S. sculler will meet Switzerland and Australia again in the final, along with Italy, Denmark and Belgium from the second race.
"I'm ecstatic to make the final," said Sarbanis. "This is probably my most successfully-completed race plan ever. The biggest thing I have going is my endurance; for me it's all about being aggressive and controlled at the start. I feel really blessed to have had the competition I've had in the lightweight field. This is my first time at the world championships in the lightweight single and to have the support of all the people back home in the States has been great."
In the lightweight men's four, the U.S. boat finished fourth, missing a spot in the final by just over a second. Racing in the second semifinal, the crew of Will Daly (Vail, Colo.), Brian de Regt (Rowayton, Conn.), Nick LaCava (Weston, Conn.) and Taylor Washburn (Andover, Mass.) were in fifth place at the 500-meter mark and moved up into fourth by the halfway point. The Netherlands squeezed past to cross the finish line third in a 6:13.55, with the U.S. clocking a 6:14.61 in fourth. Germany and Denmark finished in a dead heat for first, clocking a 6:11.76. The U.S. will now race in Saturday's B final for places 7-12.
The men's quadruple sculls crew of Glenn Ochal (Philadelphia, Pa.), Will Miller (Duxbury, Mass.), Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) and Elliot Hovey (Manchester-By-The-Sea, Mass.) finished fifth in the second semifinal and will now race in Saturday's B final for places 7-12. The U.S. quartet was in sixth place through the 1,500-meter mark before sprinting into fifth and crossing in a 6:02.19. The Lucerne gold-medalists from Germany won the race in a 5:57.52, followed by Italy second in a 5:58.98 and France third in a 5:59.72. The Czech Republic crossed 2.37 seconds ahead of the U.S. in fourth with a time of 5:59.82.
The lightweight women's double sculls duo of Michelle Trannel (East Dubuque, Ill.) and Kristin Hedstrom (Concord, Mass.) finished sixth in the semifinal and will now compete in the B final on Saturday for places 7-12. The U.S. got off to a rough start and couldn't manage to gain back its momentum as it continued to fall back over the length of the course, clocking a 7:46.78 at the line. Greece won the race in a 7:29.50, with Canada and Australia in second and third, respectively.
In adaptive racing, the U.S. adaptive mixed four with coxswain crew of coxswain Tim Edsell (Louisville, Ky.), Eric McDaniel (Weeki Wachee, Fla.), Andrew Johnson (Greenwich, Conn.), Emma Preuschl (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Jen Klapper (Philadelphia, Pa.) finished second in Friday's B final for an eighth-place finish overall. Ireland edged 0.37 seconds ahead in the sprint to win in a 4:03.46, with the U.S. second in a 4:03.83.
In addition, five U.S. crews competed in the C finals on Friday including the lightweight men's single sculls, women's single sculls, lightweight men's double sculls, men's double sculls and men's four.
The men's four crew of Brett Newlin (Riverton, Wyo.), Giuseppe Lanzone (Annandale, Va.), Steve Coppola (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Cameron Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.) won its race in a 6:32.85 for 13th place overall. After missing a spot in the semifinals by just 0.04 seconds in the repechage, the U.S. crew led from wire-to-wire, finishing 0.52 seconds ahead of Ukraine. The Ukrainian boat clocked a 6:33.37 in second, followed by Egypt third in a 6:43.68 and India fourth in a 6:47.11.
In the women's single sculls, 2008 Olympian Margot Shumway (Westlake, Ohio) dominated her race to win by 3.77 seconds and finish in 13th place overall. The U.S. sculler took the lead early and widened the gap with Norway's Tale Gjoertz in the final stretch to cross in an 8:26.17. Norway crossed second in an 8:29.94, followed by Spain's Nuria Dominguez Asensio third in an 8:41.42.
Cody Lowry (Bristow, Okla.) finished second in his final of the lightweight men's single sculls for 14th place overall. Lowry took the lead from the start, but fell behind Slovakia's Lukas Babak and Spain's Jesus Gonzalez Alvarez in the third 500 meters. The U.S. sculler managed a push in the sprint to cross second in a 7:54.98. Slovakia won the race in a 7:52.24, with Spain third in a 7:58.87.
In the lightweight men's double sculls, Andy Quinn (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) and Shane Madden (Ambler, Pa.) finished third for 14th place overall. Quinn and Madden moved into third in the second half of the race, clocking a 7:12.37 behind Bulgaria. Slovenia won in a 7:09.80.
The men's double sculls duo of Thomas Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Peter Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished fourth in its final for 16th place overall. The U.S. duo sat in fourth position through each of the 500 meter splits crossing the finish line with a time of 7:10.29. Norway won the race in a 7:00.14.
Racing continues tomorrow with the first set of finals. The eight-day regatta features 973 athletes racing in 358 crews from 54 nations. Complete entry lists, heat sheets and results can be accessed throughout the regatta at www.worldrowing.com. Live coverage of racing August 27-30 will be streamed on the Web at www.universalsports.com.