GIFU, Japan - Women's single sculler Michelle Guerette and the men's four finished second in their semifinals to advance to the finals, highlighting Thursday's racing at the 2005 FISA World Rowing Championships on the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course in Gifu, Japan.
Guerette (Bristol, Conn.) finished second in the first of two semifinals of the women's single sculls. The Czech Republic's Mirka Knapkova won the race, with Guerette passing France's Sophie Balmary in the final 500 meters. Balmary finished third to also qualify for Saturday's final. The three scullers established a lead on the rest of the field early in the race and were never challenged for the qualifying spots. Up front, Knapkova held a half-length lead on Balmary at the midway point of the race, with Guerette a half-deck back on the French woman. During the third 500 meters, Knapkova opened up an open-water lead on her closest competitors, while Balmary held a slight advantage on Guerette as the two scullers crossed the 1,500-meter mark. At the finish line, Knapkova clocked a 7:07.44 to set a new world best time. Guerette clocked a 7:12.59, with Balmary finishing in a 7:14.29. Belarus' Ekaterina Karsten won the other semifinal in a 7:12.02, with Russia's Yulya Levina and Sweden's Frida Svensson also advancing to the final.
The men's four of Bryan Volpenhein (Cincinnati, Ohio), Beau Hoopman (Plymouth, Wis.), Dan Beery (Oaktown, Ind.) and Matt Deakin (San Francisco, Calif.) finished second in its semifinal to advance to Saturday's final. The Netherlands built a boat-length lead on the field during the first 500 meters, while the U.S. battled New Zealand for second place. During the second quarter of the race, the U.S. began to pull away from New Zealand and held a four-seat advantage at the 1,000-meter mark. While the Netherlands maintained an open-water advantage on the U.S., the Americans had built an open-water lead on New Zealand by the 1,500-meter mark. The quartet ended up besting New Zealand by a half length at the finish. The Netherlands clocked a 5:46.33 to finish 3.04 seconds ahead of the United States. The U.S. finished with a time of 5:49.37, with New Zealand stroking a 5:50.62. In the second semifinal, Great Britain, Canada and Denmark advanced. Great Britain won the race with a time of 5:45.46.
Lightweight women's single sculler Marika Page (San Rafael, Calif.) finished fourth in her semifinal and will now race in Saturday's B final for places 7-12. France's Benedicte Luzuy took the early lead before the Netherlands Marit van Eupen took control of the race at the 1,000-meter mark. Page sat in fifth place at the 1,000-meter mark before she moved into fourth position in the third quarter of the race. The American made several moves during the last 500 meters on Great Britain's Jo Hammond, who sat in third position, but the British sculler was able to hold off Page's challenge. Van Eupen won the race with a time of 7:26.34, followed by Luzuy in a 7:29.05 and Hammond in a 7:29.13. Page finished with a time of 7:31.03.
The men's double sculls tandem of Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) and J. Sloan DuRoss (South Portland, Maine) finished fifth in its semifinal and will now race in a B final on Saturday. Slovenia, the defending Olympic silver medalists, took an early lead and continued to build on its advantage through the 1,500-meter mark. After a slow start, Italy passed the Ukraine in the final 500 meters to take the second position. The Ukraine held on to the final qualifying spot. Slovenia won the semifinal with a time of 6:05.99, 1.25 seconds ahead of Italy. The U.S. finished in a 6:19.40. Germany, Belgium and Bulgaria advanced from the other semifinal.
Men's single sculler Wyatt Allen (Portland, Maine) won his C/D semifinal and will now race in Friday's C final for places 13-18. France grabbed the early lead at the 500-meter mark, but Allen gained control in the second quarter of the race. Allen held a length lead at 1,000 meters and continued to build on that through the 1,500-meter mark. Hungary made a late push, but Allen held off the challenge, clocking a 6:45.64. Hungary finished in a 6:46.00.
The men's pair of Patrick O'Dunne (Nazareth, Pa.) and Matt Schnobrich (St. Paul, Minn.) easily won its C/D semifinal to advance to Friday's C final. The crew took the lead in the first 500 meters of the race and rowed away from the field, establishing a 3.69-second advantage with 500 meters remaining. The duo cruised home, finishing with a time of 6:38.15 and earning an open-water victory. Lithuania finished second in a 6:40.88.
The men's pair with coxswain of coxswain Chase Phillips (Woodbridge, Va.), Micah Boyd (St. Paul, Minn.) and Jordan Smith (Forestville, Calif.) finished third in a seeding heat, which determined lane assignments for Saturday's final. Australia led from the start. The Aussies held a length advantage on the U.S. at the 1,000-meter mark, with Italy in third place. Italy moved into second place during the third quarter of the race, as the U.S. shut down to conserve energy for the final. All three crews were rowing at slow rates through the finish line. Australia clocked a 6:54.38, with Italy finishing in a 7:01.55 and the U.S. in a 7:19.00.
In total, the U.S. has 21 crews competing at the world championships. Semifinals continue on Friday, with finals taking place on Saturday and Sunday.
For a full schedule or results, please visit http://www.fisa.org/results/default.sps.