Lightweight women's double
In the first semi, the Romanians didn't really seem to throw down today; Germany shadowed them by 1/3 length to the 1000; but the margin back to third was very comfortable most of the way as the French and Aussies duked it out brutally until the Aussies blitzed out in the third 500, taking three seconds on the French. The Aussies went through , and even closed on the two leaders as the French refused to give in but didn't have enough to pull back into the A final.
Advancing:
Romania
Germany
Australia
Semi 2:
The Swiss crew, which includes two-time defending singles champ Pia Vogel, took a small lead on the start, but almost immediately after the settle, the USA pushed their bow out and started moving away quickly. The Swiss and Dutch then shadowed them for the rest of the race; the US never really broke away, but neither were they ever under siege - they had the fastest 500 in every segment of the race.
Semi 2 was five seconds slower than Semi 1, but a slight crosswind may have been coming up.
Prediction: the Swiss and Germans will push the pace of the medal hunt; impossible to tell if Sarah and Christine or the Romanians have the upper hand at this point.
The final:
USA
Romania
Germany
Netherlands
Switzerland
Australia
Lightweight men's double
The US drew a brutal semi:
- the defending Atlanta gold medalist Gier brothers from Switzerland
- the 1997-1998 gold medals Poles
- the red-hot defending silver medalist Australian double, which includes the heavily medaled Bruce Hick (1996 bronze),
- Germany, 1999 bronze medalists and Lucerne bronze medalists
The Poles slammed this one home; they look extremely strong. The rest of the field was pushed by the Aussie boat, but they came up short at the finish line, a spectacle that has become extremely unusual here on their home waters. The Gier brothers, followed the Poles, with Germany in third. The US crew couldn't match this pace, and finished fifth, eight seconds out of qualification for the A final.
Qualifiers:
Poland
Switzerland
Germany
Semi 2
Japan is on the rise; they've put what I believe to be the first Japanese crew ever into an A final.
The French took this one from Italy by two-tenths, rowing from behind from a third-place spot at the 1000 (Greece was in first); they put together the fastest third and fourth 500s. Japan also rowed themselves into the final from behind, overtaking the utterly spent Greeks in the final 500 - the Greeks had led the race to the 1500, this one had to hurt.
The time to the 500 was identical to the first heat; the final will blister.
Qualifiers:
France
Italy
Japan
Final A:
Poland
France
Switzerland
Italy
Germany
Japan
Lightweight men's four
The US drew another brutal semi in this one.
Austria, who lost to the French in Lucerne by a few hundredths France, who won Lucerne and every other World Cup they entered, new favorites after the Danish decline
The Aussies took it out fast, blasting to almost a full length lead by 500 gone. By the middle of the second 500, the finishing position began to cement: Australia, France, USA.
The Austrians pushed hard around 500 to go, and the US looked briefly vulnerable, but they responded extremely well and shoved their bow back out, taking out the Austrians entirely in the process. Meanwhile, the French charged the Australians aggressively to the finish, but the Aussies held on to win in a photo finish by
The luster seems to have come off the Austrian boat - could they have missed their peak by entering so many World Cups and expending so much energy trying to beat the French earlier in the summer?
Back in 1996, Tom Auth and Austrian stroke Wolfgang Sigl were both in the stroke seat of the double; when they met in the semifinal, it was Sigl who sent Auth to the B final. This time, Auth turned it around.
Auth said "We just wanted to keep Austria behind us. I just tried to stay long and relaxed, keep my outside arm long and stretched. They pushed back, but we moved again, and I knew we had them."
Semi 2
Is it possible that the Danish boat is coming together in these last few days of the Games? Last in the heats, first in the reps, they blasted out of the gates and led this semi for 1500 meters. With each 500, the field got closer, and they finally faltered in the final 500, likely due to the tremendous effort they exert to get their speed now, and the Italians won the semi, Danes second.
Third: South Africa. RSA's performance in Sydney is the story of the Games; apparently, Harry Mahon and Thor Nillsen sprinkled some magic dust on the RSA crews in the weeks leading up to the Games. Never underestimate the value of good coaching; they were less than a half-second behind the Danes, and sent the Canadians and Dutch to the B final.
Note that the winning time of 6:00.82 was identical in both semis.
The final:
AUS
ITA
FRA
DEN
USA
RSA
Men's 4x
Semi 1
The Germans look extremely strong, if not as slick as they've been; the stunning uniformity of German quads past isn't entirely apparent in this crew. They get it done with sheer will, it sometimes seems.
That said, for most of the way the race was the German out front, and then everybody else. Successive margins only started to develop just before the 1000, and even then it was extremely tight, with the Australians and Swiss in the two A final spots.
The third 500 cracked the race open, as France couldn't keep up the pace, and the Aussies chased down the Germans. The last 500 was the same, only more so.
Qualifiers:
Germany
Australia
Switzerland
Semi 2
With the Italians in the middle of the lake, the top spot was almost determined at the starting line. But the USA was willing to run with them, approaching the 500 just about even. The US and Ukraine led the way for finals spots, with the Dutch just barely behind to the 1000. The Dutch put themselves ahead of the USA by inches in the third 500, and looked ready to reel in the Ukrainians as well.
The US quad gave it another solid shot, pulling back on the Dutch, but the Dutch boat had spectacular momentum.
Qualifiers:
Italy
Ukraine
Netherlands
The Final:
Germany
Italy
Australia
Ukraine
Switzerland
Netherlands
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