Three U.S. crews won their repechages on Thursday to highlight the second day of competition at the 2009 World Rowing Junior Championships in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France. In addition, two other American boats advanced.
The junior men's eight of Dylan Fish (Saratoga, Calif.), Alexander Bunkers (Maitland, Fla.), Preston Sandbakken (Folsom, Calif.), Brian Wettach (Wakefield, Mass.), Austin Hack (Old-Lyme, Conn.), Whitney Blodgett (Stanfordville, N.Y.), Patrick McGlone (Newton Square, Pa.), Jason Kopelman (Winnetka, Ill.) and Alex Taaffe (Sarasota, Fla.) won its repechage, or second-chance race, by just over a boat-length to earn a spot in Saturday's final. France got off the line quickly and held a slight advantage over the American crew at the 500-meter mark. But, the U.S. used a strong move during the second quarter of the race to take control at the midway point. As Spain moved past France for second place, the U.S. continued to increase its lead to more than three seconds going into the final 500 meters. At the finish line, the crew had clocked a 5:59.05 to finish 3.70 seconds ahead of Spain. The Spanish boat earned the other qualification spot for the final, finishing in a 6:02.75.
After just missing a spot in the semifinals during yesterday's heat, the women's pair of Lucy Grinalds (Southport, Conn.) and Kristine O'Brien (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) came back to win its repechage in dominant fashion to earn a spot in the semis. With three to advance, the American duo took a 4.87-second lead in the first 500 meters and continued to walk away from the field the rest of the way down the course. Grinalds and O'Brien crossed the finish line in a 7:47.13, 9.87 seconds ahead of second-place France. The Czech Republic finished third to also advance to the semifinals.
In the women's quadruple sculls, Kimberly Hopewell (Ridgefield, Conn.), Samantha Warren (Davis, Calif.), Alexandria Chrumka (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.) and Margaret Bertasi (Weston, Conn.) won their repechage to move on to tomorrow's semifinals. With two crews advancing, the U.S. boat took control during the first half of the race, building a 4.66-second lead over Austria at the 1,000-meter mark. Entering the final 500 meters, the American crew still held a four-second lead over Belgium, which had overtaken Austria. Belgium made a strong charge on the U.S. over the final 500 meters, but the Americans held on for a 0.96-second victory. The crew finished with a time of 6:58.71, with Belgium crossing the line in a 6:59.67.
Men's single sculler Matthew Maddamma (Pittsburgh, Pa.) finished second in his quarterfinal to advance to tomorrow's semifinals. Maddamma started quickly, taking the lead in the first 500 meters over Serbia's Milos Vasic. While Vasic moved into the top position during the second quarter of the race, Maddamma continued to hold the second spot over Russia's Viacheslav Mikhaylevskiy. The Russian cut Maddamma's lead to less than a second going into the final 500 meters, but the American met the challenge and crossed the line more than two seconds ahead. Vasic won the race in a 7:18.04, with Maddamma finishing in a 7:19.71. Mikhaylevskiy finished third in a 7:22.31, claiming the last spot in the semifinals.
The women's four of Elizabeth Nilan (Milford, Conn.), Jennifer Stockwood (Winchester, Mass.), Chandler Lally (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) and Faith Richardson (Wellesley, Mass.) advanced to Saturday's final thanks to a third-place finish in the repechage. With four to advance, the crew took the third position in the second quarter of the race and remained there the rest of the way down the course. China won the race in a 7:13.71, with Germany finishing second in a 7:16.07. The American boat clocked a 7:17.37, with France claiming the final qualification spot in a 7:22.09. Belarus finished fifth.
The men's four with coxswain of Elliott Oakley (Arlington, Va.), Sam Hoidal (Evergreen, Colo.), Alec Macrae (Los Gatos, Calif.), Lenny Futterman (New York, N.Y.) and Nick Jaroszewicz (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished third in its repechage and now will race in the B final for overall places 7-12. The crew sat in fourth place through the 1,500-meter mark before passing Poland in the final stretch. With two to advance to the final, France caught Great Britain at the line to win the race in a 6:35.41. The British crew, which led throughout, finished 0.02 seconds behind in a 6:35.43. The U.S. clocked a 6:39.32.
The women's double sculls crew of Katie Burke (Lutz, Fla.) and Abby Knight (Clifton Park, N.Y.) finished third in its repechage and will now race in the C/D semifinals, which determines who will advance to the C final for overall places 13-18 and the D final for overall places 19-24. Burke and Knight were third off the line and stayed in contact with Bulgaria and Ukraine through the 1,000-meter mark. However, the top two crews pulled away from the Americans over the second half of the race to earn the spots in the semifinals. Bulgaria won the race in a 7:30.37, with Ukraine clocking a 7:33.58. Burke and Knight crossed the finish line in a 7:44.67.
Matt Clark (Winnetka, Ill.) and Viktor Romanov (Moscow, Russia) finished fourth in their quarterfinal of the men's pair and will now race in the C/D semifinals. Romanov and Clark sat in third place after 500 meters, but Lithuania passed the American boat in the second quarter of the race. The U.S. was unable to keep pace with the top three crews over the final 1,000 meters. Bulgaria won the race in a 6:54.96, with Lithuania and Germany finishing second and third, respectively. Clark and Romanov clocked a 7:06.36.
In the women's single sculls, Nicole Bielawski (Old Westbury, N.Y.) finished fifth in her quarterfinal and will now race in the C/D semifinals. With three to advance to the semifinals, China and Ukraine established themselves in the top two positions early in the race. Bielawski got off the line in third position, but Japan's Tomomi Akao passed her in the second 500 meters. The American was unable to get back into contention for a top three finish. China's Ting Cao won the race in an 8:02.72, with Ukraine's Nataliya Dovgodko finishing second in an 8:03.28. Akao took third in an 8:10.28. Bielawski crossed the line with a time of 8:20.40.
The men's quadruple sculls crew of Michael Wales (Mercer Island, Wash.), Mason Leasure (Jacksonville, Fla.), Gabriel Fort (Miami Beach, Fla.) and Will Dannemann (New Canaan, Conn.) finished fifth in its quarterfinal and will now race in the C/D semifinals. With the top three crews advancing, the U.S. boat was in third place after 500 meters. However, Ukraine, Italy and Russia began to pull away from the rest of the field during the second quarter of the race. Ukraine earned the victory in a 6:05.49, with Italy and Russia finishing second and third, respectively. The U.S. came home in a 6:20.51.
Racing continues on Friday with semifinals and several placement finals. Finals will be held Saturday. Racing begins each day at 9:30 a.m. local time.