The U.S. men's eight won its semifinal and the women's quadruple sculls also advanced to the final to highlight Friday's racing at the 2007 FISA World Rowing Championships in Munich, Germany.
In the second semifinal of the men's eight, the top three crews were separated by just 0.70 seconds, but the U.S. crew of coxswain Marcus McElhenney (Lansdowne, Pa.), Dan Walsh (Norwalk, Conn.), Steven Coppola (Buffalo, N.Y.), Josh Inman (Hillsboro, Ore.), Brett Newlin (Riverton, Wyo.), Patrick O'Dunne (Nazareth, Pa.), Wyatt Allen (Portland, Maine), Brodie Buckland (Olympia, Wash.) and Alex Hearne (Princeton, N.J.) came out on top and advanced to the final. Russia bolted off the line and tried to run away from the rest of the field, taking a 1.62-second advantage at the 500-meter mark and a 2.56-second lead at the midway point of the race. Russia continued to lead by more than two seconds as the crews entered the final 500 meters. Meanwhile, the U.S. was locked in a tight battle for second place with Poland, as the two crews were never separated by more than one second. In the final quarter of the race, however, Russia began to falter as the U.S. and Poland quickly closed the gap. The Americans edged Russia at the line by 0.20 seconds, while the Russians held off Poland by 0.50 seconds to finish second. The U.S. finished with a time of 5:35.29. All three crews advanced to Sunday's final, where they will take on Canada, Great Britain and Germany.
The women's quadruple sculls crew of Ellen Tomek (Flint, Mich.), Christen Brown (Tecumseh, Mich.), Liane Malcos (Carlisle, Mass.) and Lia Pernell (Seattle, Wash.) finished second in its repechage, or second-chance race, to earn a spot in Sunday's final. Racing in the second of two repechages, the U.S. got off the line quickly, taking a slight lead at the 500-meter mark. While Germany took over the top spot in the second quarter of the race, the Americans continued to pull away from the rest of the field to solidify second place and a spot in the final. Germany won the race in a 6:25.23, with the U.S. finishing in a 6:27.46. France finished third, more than two seconds back. Ukraine and Canada took the top two spots in the other repechage. The four crews will take on heat winners China and Great Britain in the final.
With the top three crews advancing to the final, the lightweight women's double sculls tandem of Jana Heere (Bensalem, Pa.) and Wendy Tripician (Needham, Mass.) battled four other boats through the 1,500-meter mark before falling into fifth place. Racing in the second of two semifinals, the duo got off the line in fourth position but moved into third place as the crews passed through the 1,000-meter mark. However, Heere and Tripician were unable to keep pace with the top three boats and dropped to fifth place over the last half of the race. China edged Greece by 0.13 seconds for the victory, clocking a 7:01.61. Germany finished with a time of 7:02.95, holding on for third place. The U.S. boat crossed the finish line in a 7:05.98 and will now race in the B final for places 7-12.
The lightweight men's four of Tom Paradiso (Blue Bell, Pa.), Patrick Todd (Cincinnati, Ohio), Colin Farrell (Oaklyn, N.J.) and Andrew Bolton (Old Lyme, Conn.) finished sixth in the second of two semifinals and will now race in the B final. The crew got off the line in sixth place but moved into fourth, just one position out of a qualification spot for the final, as the boats entered the last quarter of the race. However, the Americans could not close the gap on Denmark for third and fell to sixth place as the crews crossed the finish line. France held off Canada by 0.23 seconds to win the race in a 6:01.28. Denmark finished third in a 6:02.07, qualifying for the final. The U.S. clocked a 6:05.11.
The men's quadruple sculls crew of Mark Flickinger (Big Flats, N.Y.), Jamie Schroeder (Wilmette, Ill.), Deaglan McEachern (Portsmouth, N.H.) and J. Sloan DuRoss (South Portland, Maine) also finished sixth in its semifinal and will now race in the B final. Quick off the line, the crew sat in second place 500 meters into the race, just 0.26 seconds off of the pace being set by the Ukraine. However, the Americans began to fall back as the crews hit the 1,000-meter mark and dropped to sixth during the third quarter of the race. Italy edged Germany at the line to win the race by 0.06 seconds, finishing with a time of 5:50.48. Ukraine clocked a 5:51.35 to hold on for third. The U.S. shut down over the last 250 meters and finished with a time of 6:05.59.
In the lightweight men's pair, Simon Carcagno (Pennington, N.J.) and Matt Smith (Woodbridge, Va.) finished fourth in the first of two repechages and will now race in the B final. The duo held fourth position at every 500-meter split. Germany won the race in a 6:40.54, while Greece finished second to earn a spot in the final. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:45.55.
The lightweight men's double sculls tandem of Andrew Liverman (Oakton, Va.) and Richard Montgomery (Batavia, Ill.) won the D final to finish 19th overall. The duo took the lead in the second quarter of the race and pulled away from Turkey over the final 1,000 meters. Liverman and Montgomery crossed the finish line with a time of 6:37.46, 2.89 seconds ahead of Turkey.
The eight-day regatta, which serves as the primary country qualifier for the 2008 Olympic Games, features 1,285 athletes racing in 474 crews from 68 nations.