USRowing will have six crews racing at the first stop of the 2010 Rowing World Cup May 27-30 in Bled, Slovenia. The U.S. contingent includes one entry each in the men's single sculls, women's double sculls, lightweight men's double sculls, lightweight women's double sculls, men's pair and women's pair.
In the women's pair, Erin Cafaro (Modesto, Calif.) and Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.), 2008 Olympic gold-medalists and defending world champions in the event, will compete in a field of thirteen crews. Racing in the second of three heats, the U.S. duo will take on Great Britain's Jessica Eddie and Alison Knowles, Italy's Marta Novelli and Samanta Molina, and Canada's Krista Guloien and Ashley Brzozowicz. The top three finishers advance to the semifinals, while the remaining crew goes to the repechage, or second-chance race.
In the men's pair, Charlie Cole (New Canaan, Conn.) and Jake Cornelius (Brooktondale, N.Y.) will compete in a field of 17 crews. Cole finished fifth in the event at the 2009 World Rowing Championships, while Cornelius was a member of the men's eight that finished ninth in Poznan. Coming off its victory in the pair at National Selection Regatta #2, the U.S. crew will compete against Germany, Serbia, Great Britain, France and reigning world champions Eric Murray and Hamish Bond of New Zealand, in the third heat. The top two finishers advance to the semifinals, with the remaining crews moving on to the repechages.
Warren Anderson (Paso Robles, Calif.), who served as an alternate on the 2008 Olympic Team, will compete in the men's single sculls. Leading the way in the number of entries with 27, the event includes two finalists from the 2008 Olympic Games - silver medalist Ondrej Synek from the Czech Republic and Great Britain's Alan Campbell. Anderson, who won the single and double sculls at the first two national selection regattas, respectively, will race in the sixth heat for a top-three finish and a spot in the quarterfinals.
Racing in the first of two heats of the women's double sculls is Kate Bertko (Oakland, Calif.) and Stesha Carle (Long Beach, Calif.). The U.S. duo will take on Czech Republic, Spain and two crews from France, with the top two finishers advancing to the final. The field of nine includes Great Britain's Katherine Grainger, a three-time Olympic silver medalist and last year's second-place finisher in the single sculls in Poznan. Bertko and Carle won the women's double sculls at NSR #2 and were members of the women's quadruple sculls crew that took silver at the 2009 World Rowing Championships.
Abby Broughton (Tetonia, Idaho) and Ursula Grobler (Pretoria, South Africa) will compete against 21 other crews in the lightweight women's double sculls. Broughton, a silver-medalist in last year's world championship lightweight women's quadruple sculls crew, and Grobler, who won the lightweight single sculls at NSR #1, will take on Spain, Ireland, China and Greece in the third of four heats. The winner advances to the semifinals, with the remaining crews moving on to the repechages.
Coming off its victory in the lightweight men's double sculls at NSR #2, the duo of Brian de Regt (Rowayton, Conn.) and Jon Winter (New Haven, Conn.) will compete in a field of 22 crews. With the top crew advancing to the semifinals, the U.S. will race Portugal, China, Italy and Czech Republic in the third of four heats. Winter finished sixth in the lightweight men's quadruple sculls at the 2009 World Rowing Championships, while de Regt was a member of the lightweight men's four that finished 12th.
Racing begins Friday at 10:30 a.m. local time with heats. Finals will be held Sunday beginning at 9:30 a.m. local time. U.S. crews that finish in the top four will have the opportunity to be nominated to the 2010 Senior National Team that will compete at the 2010 World Rowing Championships in Lake Karapiro, New Zealand. Event finals will be streamed live on Sunday, May 30 beginning at 10:50 a.m. CET (4:50 a.m. EDT) on the World Rowing website at http://fisa.feedroom.com/. For complete schedule and results, visit http://www.worldrowing.com/index.php?pageid=213.
More than 650 athletes from 38 countries are entered in the first stage of the 2010 Rowing World Cup series, which serves as a test event for the 2011 World Rowing Championships. Lake Bled has played host to three World Rowing Championships in 1966, 1979 and 1989. The Rowing World Cup series was launched in 1997 and includes all 14 Olympic boat classes. The overall Rowing World Cup winners are determined after a series of three regattas. Germany has dominated the series since its beginning ten years ago. This year, the three stages of the series are held in Bled, Slovenia (May 27-30), Munich, Germany (June 18-20) and in Lucerne, Switzerland (July 9-11).