A weather delay called just as the first heat of the women's eights pulled into the line threw the afternoon's racing into uncertainty; ultimately the racing was called, creating some logistical and tactical problems for Monday's racing for anyone who is doubling up in the eights.
(My first thought was, with the crews very nearly in the gates up at the line, the fastest way down the course might have been to race the event, but that would have left the crews in the other heat hanging, so the timing of the call was fortuitous and well chosen.)
Before the weather report, however, this just in: the Australian men's quad set a new world record with a winning time of 5:36.20, beating the Polish quad's 2006 record of 5:37.31; Italy also beat the old world record with a time of 5:36.42, but had the bad fortune of doing so in the same heat as the Australians. The crews are really moving, as although there was a tailwind, it wasn't such that there was any real chop on the water, and no one else came even close today. Find quotes from some of the participants below.
Back to the weather - In the women's eight in particular, the cancellation is a tricky one, as a few athletes in the events are doubling into the pair, and have reps in that boat tomorrow; to my knowledge, this includes only one of the oarswomen in the German crews, and Anna Cummins in the US crew. The Romanians are doubling, but they won their heat in the pair yesterday, so are not subject to a rep tomorrow.. A similar scenario in 2005 in Gifu, Japan, forced several athletes to row two flat out races in one day in the women's eight and pair, and seemed to me clearly to have an effect on the final outcome of the regatta come the following Sunday afternoon.
Well after nightfall, FISA released the following Programme Change: Following the race postponement of Sunday afternoon, 10 August 2008, a revised schedule can now be announced. The heats of the women's and men's eights will now take place on Monday, 11 August at 14:50, 15:00, 15:10 and 15:20 hrs. The repechage races for the women's pairs are now moved to Tuesday, 12 August at 17:20 and 17:30 hrs. "It's something that's going to happen in an outdoor sport," said Bryan Volpenhein, stroke of the men's eight. "We're used to this kind of stuff. We have to change practice times at Princeton sometimes due to weather, so we're used to it. We'll be alright. It's just something that happens."
The storm had been threatening all day, and even the night before: you could see lightning flashes from the finish line as late as about 40 minutes before the racing started, and the sky at the course was so dark that a couple photographers were unable to get any good photos, and completely packed it in during the men's quad events. The night before, television equipment that stays in place along the course succumbed to a direct lightning strike and at least three TV cameras were found almost literally to be toast when the crews arrived in the morning.
It wasn't the only malfunction in the mix; at 4pm yesterday during racing, the bubble line bailed out when the diesel generator used to run the line caught fire due to overheating. Firefighters had the situation under control within five minutes, and no racing was affected.
LIGHTWEIGHT WOMEN'S 2X
The US light women's double will go to the rep after spotting the field a bit too much in the early going of the race, the first race of the day. The US crew was a good 2.5 seconds out of the advancement ranks at the halfway point behind the Netherlands and Australia, and a storming last 500 fell just nine one-hundredths short of earning them a berth in Thursday's A/B semi; the crew will go through the reps on Tuesday.
Germany and Canada advanced in the second heat, and China and Denmark advanced in the third heat.
Quotes: Kirsten van der Kolk, NED: " We were satisfied, until we saw the time.I am satisfied with our performance; yes, we've had injury hiccups but we are experienced and can find a way through. We just make the best of it. We decided to come together again in November and chose gold shoes to remind us of our goal with every stroke."
Berit Carow, GER "We were happy with our performance and gload not to have to go to the repechage. This was a hard heat and we hoped to win, but you can't predict it. Our strong performances and the World Cups don't count because there are always unknowsn, especially, for us, Finland, who have been racing in the heavyweight category. The Olympic Village is more huge than we expected; every day is an adventure, which make it difficult to calm down and focus when you row."
Marguerite Houston, AUS: "It was great to have our first blowout. We were not at our best, but it's great to get the first heat out of the way and to get some air into our lungs."
YU Hua, CHN: "Our performance is okay, and we did all we can do because it's the first race we compete in. we need to move forward. The athletes from the Netherlands are more experienced and are more mature psychologically."
Melanie Kok, CAN: We got off to a good start, and made some good moves. But Germany were able to race past us. Not everyone races like it's the finals. Bring on the semifinals.
LIGHTWEIGHT MEN'S 2X
In the light men's double, the Great Britain duo of Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter remain undefeated this season after topping the Greek double; Hunter had this to say: "It's a very good start to the regatta. Greece has a very good crew, so it was great to get in front of the for this race. It was nerve-wracking before the start of this regatta not to know the form of the others. As for the weather, we came here extra early to get used to it, so we are trying not to make it a factor of our performance."
After coming off the line in fourth, Italy won a tight race with China and Austria; bowman Marcello Miani said "This was a satisfactory performance but we normally start faster. At 500m we were third - it's a high standard here. We maintained our rhythm, didn't waste too much energy, pushed through and won. Obviously we hope to win but it'll be really close." Mads Rasmussen DEN: The first 500 meters wasn't that good. But after 700m we got into a good rhythm. Going into the last 1000m we had a lot more to give. We could have made a longer sprint is we needed to, but we stayed controlled." On pre-regatta illnesses: "We are totally fit today, we have no excuses if we do not get the results we hope for. We have a good medal chance and our goal is to win."
Rasmus Hansen, DEN: "At 1000m we were pretty sure we were in front, and in the last 400m, we were totally sure we had won it. We will be training harder over the next few days, but one and a half days before the race we will only do light training."
Douglas Vandor, CAN: "We were both surprised to get such a good start on the other crews but that's a good thing."
Cameron Sylvester, CAN On the start: "That's a pointer our coach has given us, he told us not to underestimate anyone in these regattas."
Dimitrios Mougios, GRE: "The Great Britain crew was one of the favorites, they are a very stable team. We've beaten them before, so we hope to do it again."
WOMEN'S 4X
Both the GB and Chinese crews appear to be on track for a showdown next weekend; both won their heats, the Chinese with the faster time and the lesser challenges. The GB crew was happy with their race: France's Houghton said "That was really good. We had a good start. It was very exciting, it wsa hard but calm and composed, really satisfying. For next week we'll just be trying to get better and better, fine tuning and technique." Debbie Flood had a cut on her hand from the standard sculler's knuckle graze, and was bleeding a bit; medics were taking no chances. "The Chinese medics thought I was dying so rushed over," she said after the blood had dried.
The US women's crew seemed to have a decent row; with only one to qualify from each heat, it was a rough advancement.
MEN'S 4X
After setting the new world record, Australian stroke Chris Morgan said "We are very surprised to have done the world's best time! It just felt so good out there. We weren't focusing on the time or the place, just on the boat, and we had a really good rhythm from the start. The Russians are very good starters so we weren't surprised by their fast start. For three of us it's our first Olympic Games, so everything is very exciting. Our aim is to make the A final, and we'll think about the medal after that."
Polish stroke Adam Korol took solace from his crew's win in their heat after struggling in the World Cups this summer: "Today was much better weather. We are happy because we had a very good race and especially a very fast start. This is what we were nervous about after our slow start in Poznan, which put us in only third position. We are very surprised that Australia beat the World Best time in the other heat; we are in shock! We all went to the Opening Ceremony but sat in the tribune."
The US crew paced in third position all the way down the course to take the third of three Semifinal A/B spots; they seemed neither to have a great row, nor a bad row. Hopefully they'll find a return to the form that won them the World Cup just a few weeks back.
LIGHTWEIGHT MEN'S 4-
The Danes look pretty darn good, I have to say, and they go damn hard, as always - even in their practice start before the race, they were just going bananas on the end of the oar. The top of this field is pretty tightly bunched - not quite like the heavy four yesterday, of course. The US crew never seemed to get any reliable traction in their heat today, and finished fourth of four, a couple lengths off the leaders; with three advancing to the semis, they will row in the rep.
Zhang Lin, CHN: The top six teams in this race were all world champions before. We are almost at the same level. I think our result in this heat is better than in training."
Gearoid Towey, IRL: "We are not normally that quick of of the start. We are not like the French. The Poles have never beaten us before. We certainly didn't expect them to hold on for so long, but I think that when they saw the French beside them, they pushed on and we lost, unfortunately. I'm disappointed. It would have been nice to go straight to the semis, but it is sort of a luxury having one or two days between the races."
Catello Amarante, ITA: "We didn't give the full importance to this race, and the weather conditions affected us. The next target is the final. We shouldn't think about the bad things from this race but just concentrate on the good ones in order to race well next time. We don't think we will get a medal but in everybody's heart you dream of a gold medal."
Jochen Kuehner, GER: There are seven to eight who could win medals. Great Britain, Holland and China are hot favorites. There's harmony, we are a team, and we have pulled together well."
Rod Chisholm, AUS "China showed good form. They've set down their intentions early and it's up to us to show what we are made of. The semifinal is going to be the final, and the final is going to be on a different level.. On rowing for Australia after being born in Britain: "It's pretty enjoyable, they are a good, fun team. I know the Aussie way now - start like a scalded kangaroo."
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