GIFU, Japan - The men's eight won its heat to advance directly to the finals, highlighting the second day of competition at the 2005 FISA World Rowing Championships on the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course in Gifu, Japan.
The men's eight of coxswain Marcus McElhenney (Lansdowne, Pa.), Beau Hoopman (Plymouth, Wis.), Bryan Volpenhein (Cincinnati, Ohio), Josh Inman (Hillsboro, Ore.), Dan Beery (Oaktown, Ind.), Mike Blomquist (Greensboro, N.C.), Steven Coppola (Buffalo, N.Y.), Matt Deakin (San Francisco, Calif.) and Paul Daniels (Burlington, Wis.) used a strong start to build a 1.82-second lead on the field by the 500-meter mark and then held off a hard-charging Italian crew to win the heat. With only one crew advancing directly to the final, the U.S. still held a 1.52-second advantage on Italy heading into the final quarter of the race, but the Italians put on a furious charge that came up just short. The U.S. clocked a 5:31.16, with Italy finishing in a 5:31.75. Poland finished third. Germany won the other heat with a time of 5:36.68 to qualify for the final.
Three-time national team members Julie Nichols (Livermore, Calif.) and Renee Hykel (Haverford, Pa.) finished second in their heat of the lightweight women's double sculls to advance directly to Friday's semifinals. The duo built a 1.37-second advantage during the first half of the race before Germany used a strong third 500 meters to edge past the Americans. Germany rowed on to a 1.41-second victory, clocking a 6:55.84. Nichols and Hykel stroked a 6:57.25 to finish second, followed by Ireland, Spain and Japan. The top three finishers in each heat moved on to the semifinals. Australia (6:55.86) and Poland (6:55.88) finished with almost identical times to Germany in winning the other two heats, setting up what should be very tight races in the semifinals and final.
The lightweight men's four of John Wachter (Mt. Laurel, N.J.), Tom Paradiso (Blue Bell, Pa.), Simon Carcagno (Pennington, N.J.) and Rich Montgomery (Batavia, Ill.) finished third in its heat to automatically qualify for the semifinals. The quartet sat in third position for the first half of the race before the Netherlands moved into the third and final qualification spot as the crews crossed the 1,500-meter mark. However, the U.S. battled back to finish third and earn a spot in the semifinals. France won the race with a time of 6:01.54, followed by Great Britain in a 6:05.04 and the U.S. in a 6:06.35. Germany and Ireland won the other two heats.
The women's eight of coxswain Mary Whipple (Sacramento, Calif.), Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.), Lindsay Shoop (Charlottesville, Va.), Megan Dirkmaat (San Jose, Calif.), Sam Magee (Simsbury, Conn.), Anna Goodale (Camden, Maine), Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.), Liane Malcos (Carlisle, Mass.) and Sharon Kriz (Somerset, N.J.) battled Romania the entire way down the course, but it was Romania who crossed the finish line first and earned the automatic berth into the final. The U.S. built a two-second lead just 500 meters into the race and still held a slight advantage as the crews crossed over the 1,500-meter mark. However, Romania was able to pass the U.S. in the final 500 meters to earn the victory. Romania clocked a 6:10.32, while the American boat finished with a time of 6:11.32. Belarus finished third, with Great Britain finishing fourth. The U.S. will now try to qualify for the final by racing in the repechage, or second-chance race, on Wednesday. The Netherlands won the other heat with a time of 6:11.82 and advanced to the final.
The women's quadruple sculls crew was forced to make a lineup change Tuesday morning after Caryn Davies (Ithaca, N.Y.) fell ill, so alternate Nicole Sylvester (New Durham, N.H./New Fairfield, Conn.) was forced into action. The crew of Anna Mickelson (Bellevue, Wash.), Sylvester, Margot Shumway (Westlake, Ohio) and Kelly Salchow (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished third in its heat and will now race in Wednesday's repechage. The boat held the third position the entire way down the course. Germany won the heat with a time of 6:19.60 and advanced directly to the final. Russia finished second in a 6:26.12. The U.S. came home in a 6:28.20. Great Britain won the other heat and also advanced to the final.
In the lightweight men's double sculls, Bjorn Larsen (Lake Stevens, Wash.) and Mike Altman (Marin County, Calif.) finished third in the first of four heats and will now race in Wednesday's repechages. Larsen and Altman sat in fifth position through the 1,000-meter mark before overtaking both Slovakia and Russia in the second half of the race. Italy took control of the heat from the start and rowed to an 8.08-second victory. The Italians came home in a 6:12.68, followed by Poland in a 6:20.76. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:22.16.
In the first of two heats of the lightweight men's quadruple sculls, the U.S. crew of Rob Zechmann (Lincoln, Neb.), Greg Ruckman (Cincinnati, Ohio), Matt Muffelman (Mathews, Va.) and Sean Wolf (New Haven, Conn.) finished third. The boat held the third position the entire way down the course, finishing with a time of 6:00.43. Italy won the race and an automatic berth in the final by stroking a 5:46.17. Austria finished second in a 5:51.85. Canada won the second heat in a time of 5:49.92, earning the second spot in the final up for grabs in today's heats.
The men's quadruple sculls of Ken Jurkowski (New Fairfield, Conn.), Dan Walsh (Norwalk, Conn.), Shane O'Mara (Tampa, Fla.) and Jonathan Burns (Vancouver, Wash.) finished fourth and now will race in Wednesday's repechage. Estonia won the race by clocking a 5:45.79, with Germany and Russia taking second and third, respectively. The U.S. finished with a time of 5:52.62. The top three finishers in each heat advanced to the semifinals.
The lightweight women's quadruple sculls quartet of Wendy Campanella (Needham, Mass.), Sarah Hirst Smith (Oak Ridge, Tenn.), Melissa Rice (Fairfax, Va.) and Heather Moon (Windsor, Vt.) finished fourth in its heat and will now race in Wednesday afternoon's repechage. With only the winner advancing directly to the final, the U.S. was never able to mount a challenge on Canada, which won the race and set a new world's best time with a time of 6:21.97. Great Britain finished second 3.39 seconds behind, followed by the Netherlands. The U.S. boat clocked a 6:37.62. Denmark won the other heat by recording a time of 6:24.39 to also advance to the final.
In total, the U.S. has 21 crews competing at the world championships. Repechages take place on Wednesday, with semifinals being held Thursday and Friday. Finals will take place on Saturday and Sunday.