GIFU, Japan - The U.S. men's four won its heat and advanced to Thursday's semifinals to highlight the first day of competition at the 2005 FISA World Rowing Championships on the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course in Gifu, Japan.
The crew of Bryan Volpenhein (Cincinnati, Ohio), Beau Hoopman (Plymouth, Wis.), Dan Beery (Oaktown, Ind.) and Matt Deakin (San Francisco, Calif.) sat in second position behind New Zealand through the midway point of the race before taking control of the heat just after the 1,000-meter mark. The quartet built nearly a boat-length advantage during the third 500 meters and held off a hard-charging Danish crew to earn the victory. The U.S. finished with a time of 5:52.45, followed by Denmark in a 5:53.53 and Canada in a 5:54.40. New Zealand finished fourth. The Netherlands and Great Britain won the other two heats.
In her first world championships as a single sculler, Michelle Guerette (Bristol, Conn.) finished second in her heat behind Belarus' Ekaterina Karsten to advance directly to Thursday's semifinals. Guerette, who raced in the women's quadruple sculls at the 2004 Olympics, held a slight advantage over Russia's Yulya Levina at the 500-meter mark before using a strong second quarter of the race to solidify her position. While Karsten led from start to finish, Guerette did challenge the two-time Olympic champion in the event through the 1,000-meter mark as she sat only 1.47 seconds behind at the midway point of the race. Karsten, a four-time Olympic medalist, finished with a time of 7:18.23, while Guerette came home in a 7:21.92. The duo finished with the top two times from all of the heats. The Czech Republic's Mirka Knapkova and France's Sophie Balmary easily won the other two heats.
National team rookies Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.) and Lindsay Shoop (Charlottesville, Va.), who are doubling up into the women's eight, finished second in their heat of the women's pair and now will race in a repechage, or second-chance race, on Wednesday. The duo did its best to try to win the heat and an automatic berth in Saturday's final. Lind and Shoop got off to a blistering start and held a 1.5-second advantage over Australia after just 500 meters. The duo built its lead to 2.05 seconds at the midway point of the race but that's when the Australian crew began to reel in its American counterparts. Australia rowed through the U.S. in the third 500 meters before pulling away for the victory, clocking a 7:01.96. Lind and Shoop finished with a time of 7:08.40, followed by Belarus in a 7:11.25. New Zealand won the other heat and also advanced directly to the final.
The men's pair of Patrick O'Dunne (Nazareth, Pa.) and Matt Schnobrich (St. Paul, Minn.) finished third in its heat and will now race in a repechage on Wednesday. The pair used a strong start to gain a one-second advantage over the field as the crews hit the 1,000-meter mark. However, Italy, which won two world cup medals this season, passed the American boat in the third 500 meters. Canada then passed the U.S. in the final quarter of the race to claim the last qualifying spot for the semifinals. Italy won the heat with a time of 6:24.73, followed by Canada in a 6:26.44 and the U.S. in a 6:32.11. Germany finished fourth.
In the women's double sculls, Megan Cooke (Los Gatos, Calif.) and Lia Pernell (Seattle, Wash.) also finished third and will now race in the repechage. Cooke and Pernell sat in fourth position through the 1,000-meter mark before passing Australia during the second half of the race. New Zealand, the defending Olympic champions, led from wire-to-wire to earn an automatic berth in the final. Italy finished second, more than eight seconds back. New Zealand clocked a 6:46.16, followed by Italy in a 6:54.17 and the United States in a 6:56.57. Bulgaria won the other heat to also advance to the final.
The men's double sculls tandem of Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) and J. Sloan DuRoss (South Portland, Maine) finished third in its heat, just missing an automatic berth into the semifinals. Germany led from start to finish, winning the heat with a time of 6:15.21. The U.S. boat battled Hungary and Serbia and Montenegro for much of the race, with Hungary taking second place and the last qualifying spot for the semifinals. Hungary clocked a 6:19.40, with the U.S. finishing in a 6:20.94. Serbia and Montenegro finished fourth.
Lightweight women's single sculler Marika Page (San Rafael, Calif.) finished third in her heat and will now race in a repechage on Wednesday morning. Switzerland's Lea Fluri jumped out to an early lead and kept her advantage throughout the race. With the top two advancing directly to the semifinals, Page challenged Croatia's Mirna Rajle the entire way down the course and sat just 0.17 seconds out of second place as the scullers entered the final 500 meters of the race. However, the veteran Rajle, a silver medalist in the event in 2003, slowly pulled away from Page during the final quarter of the race to take second place and an automatic berth in the semifinals. Fluri won with a time of 7:36.27, with Rajle finishing in a 7:38.63. Page finished two seconds behind in a 7:40.63.
In the men's single sculls, Wyatt Allen (Portland, Maine) finished fourth in his heat and will now race in a repechage on Wednesday. Allen, who held the third position for the first 1,500 meters of the race, crossed the finish line with a time of 7:02.58. The Czech Republic's Ondrej Synek, who won two gold and three total medals on the world cup circuit, won the heat with a time of 6:41.77. Belgium's Tim Maeyens, a 2004 Olympic finalist in the event, finished second in a 6:49.65. Great Britain's Colin Smith finished third. Synek advanced directly to the semifinals, along with the other heat winners New Zealand's Mahe Drysdale, Norway's Olaf Tufte and Germany's Marcel Hacker.