Three U.S. crews won their semifinals on Saturday to highlight the second day of competition at the 2008 Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland. In total, the U.S. will have seven crews competing in tomorrow's medal races.
The men's four of Brett Newlin (Riverton, Wyo.), Giuseppe Lanzone (Annandale, Va.), Paul Teti (Upper Darby, Pa.) and David Banks (Potomac, Md.) rowed through Great Britain in the final 500 meters and held off a furious charge from France and New Zealand to win the first of two semifinals.
"We gained a lot of confidence today," Newlin said. "It's a tough event, and we have to go out tomorrow and do our best. In the sprint, you try to have tunnel vision, but we saw them coming. We did not want to let them get by."
The U.S. crew got off the line in third position but moved into second place behind the British boat during the second quarter of the race. The Americans steadily cut into Great Britain's lead over the next 500 meters before taking over the top spot. Meanwhile, France and New Zealand made strong moves during the last quarter of the race, overtaking Great Britain for the other two qualification spots for the final. At the line, the top four crews were separated by 0.83 seconds. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:04.72, followed by France in a 6:04.91, New Zealand in a 6:05.32 and Great Britain in a 6:05.55. In the second semifinal, Australia, The Netherlands and Germany #2 advanced to the final.
Both U.S. women's pairs advanced to Sunday's final. Racing in the second semifinal, the USA #1 crew of Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.) and Elle Logan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) overtook Australia in the final 1,000 meters to earn the victory. Lind and Logan finished with a time of 7:58.26, while Australia crossed the line in an 8:02.05. France edged out Canada for third place. In the first semifinal, the USA #2 duo of Anna (Mickelson) Cummins (Bellevue, Wash.) and Portia McGee (Seattle, Wash.) finished second behind China's Yulan Gao and You Wu. Cummins and McGee sat in fourth position after 500 meters before moving into second place at the midway point of the race. China led from start to finish, crossing the line with a time of 7:45.26. Cummins and McGee clocked a 7:51.28, followed by New Zealand in a 7:54.27. The top three finishers in each race advanced to the final.
In the women's double sculls, the USA #1 entry of Ellen Tomek (Flint, Mich.) and Megan Kalmoe (St. Croix Falls, Wis.) won the second semifinal to advance to tomorrow's final, while the USA #3 entry of Jen Goldsack (Henley-on-Thames, United Kingdom) and Renee Hykel (Haverford, Pa.) finished fourth in the same race, just missing the final. Tomek and Kalmoe passed Germany's Christiane Huth and Annekatrin Thiele in the final 500 meters to win their semifinal by 1.77 seconds. The American duo clocked a 7:23.90. France finished third in a 7:28.76, earning the other spot in the final. Goldsack and Hykel, who will represent the U.S. in the lightweight double sculls at the Olympic Qualification Regatta this June in Poznan, Poland, sat in fourth position the entire way down the course, finishing with a time of 7:32.72. In the first semifinal, China #1, China #2 and Great Britain advanced to the final.
In the men's single sculls, Ken Jurkowski (New Fairfield, Conn.) finished fourth and will now race in the B final for places 7-12. Racing in the second of two semifinals, Jurkowski battled The Netherlands' Sjoerd Hamburger for fourth place before overtaking the Dutch sculler in the final 500 meters. With the top three finishers advancing to the final, Jurkowski finished with a time of 7:51.35, 4.67 seconds out of third position. Great Britain's Alan Campbell won the race in a 7:42.40, followed by Norway's Olaf Tufte in a 7:45.35. Switzerland's Andre Vonarburg finished third. Jurkowski will race scullers from Germany, Brazil, Argentina, China and The Netherlands in tomorrow's B final.
In the lightweight men's four, Patrick Todd (Cincinnati, Ohio), Will Daly (Vail, Colo.), Mike Altman (Marin County, Calif.) and Tom Paradiso (Blue Bell, Pa.) also finished fourth and will now race in the B final for places 7-12. The U.S. crew passed the Dutch in the third quarter of the race to move into fourth place but was unable to challenge Denmark for and last qualification spot for the finals. The American boat finished with a time of 6:16.58. Germany won the race in a 6:08.45, followed by China and Denmark. The U.S. will take on The Netherlands, Poland, Australia, Switzerland and Canada in the B final.
In addition to the four boats that advanced during today's racing, the U.S. will have three more boats racing in tomorrow's finals. The men's quadruple sculls crew of Scott Gault (Piedmont, Calif.), Jamie Schroeder (Wilmette, Ill.), Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) and Matt Hughes (Ludington, Mich.) won its heat to advance directly to the final. The U.S. will take on Poland, France, Canada, Ukraine and Germany.
The women's eight of coxswain Mary Whipple (Sacramento, Calif.), Caryn Davies (Ithaca, N.Y.), Anna Goodale (Camden, Maine), Rachel Jeffers (Los Gatos, Calif.), Esther Lofgren (Newport Beach, Calif.), Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.), Erin Cafaro (Modesto, Calif.), Lindsay Shoop (Charlottesville, Va.) and Brett Sickler (Los Gatos, Calif.) also won its heat to advance directly to Sunday's final. The boat will face Australia, Canada, Germany, The Netherlands and Great Britain.
After finishing fourth in its seeding race on Friday, the women's quadruple sculls crew of Margot Shumway (Westlake, Ohio), Jennifer Kaido (West Leyden, N.Y.), Lindsay Meyer (Seattle, Wash.) and Lia Pernell (Seattle, Wash.) will take on China, Great Britain, Germany, Ukraine and Australia in tomorrow's final.
In total, more than 580 athletes in 234 boats from 38 countries are competing in Lucerne. Sunday's finals will be televised and streamed live through World Rowing's partner Web site, www.wcsn.com. In addition, live race tracker and live audio streaming of the race commentary will be available throughout the whole regatta on www.worldrowing.com. Complete results are available on www.worldrowing.com.
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