Canada's women's eight again proved it will be a boat to watch at the upcoming Olympics with a win at the Samsung World Rowing Cup in Munich, Germany, today.
Canada's time was 6:19.31, with Romania taking silver in 6:20.72, and Great Britain (6:22.31) overtaking the Netherlands for the bronze (results below).
"We went out to set the tone through the middle of the race, and it paid off with a decent margin going into the last 500 metres," said team veteran Darcy Marquardt. "This is just another step on the road to London and we're excited to go home and get faster before the big competition in August."
The World Cup gold medalists are Janine Hanson of Winnipeg, MB, Rachelle Viinberg of Regina, Sask., Krista Guloien of Port Moody, B.C., Lauren Wilkinson of North Vancouver, B.C., Natalie Mastracci of Thorold, Ont., Ashley Brzozowicz of London, Ont., Darcy Marquardt of Richmond, B.C., Andreanne Morin of Montreal, and (coxswain) Lesley Thompson-Willie of London, Ont. The crew's coach is John Keogh.
"We raced well today," said two-time Olympian Andreanne Morin. "Last night, we reminded ourselves that we are capable of racing in all scenarios whether we are ahead or when we have to push through crews. We were ready to do what it takes to fight and get our bow ball ahead."
The eight had a close encounter with gold last month in Lucerne, when they were beaten by only .03 of a second by the U.S. The Americans, however, were not in Munich, and the Olympic women's eight race promises to be one to watch for North American rowing fans.
Said crew member Krista Guloien: "We leave inspired and ready to head home to gain more speed! A lot was learned on our European tour."
Women's eight results - 2000m (Munich 2012) 1. CAN 6:19.31 2. ROU 6:20.72 3. GBR 6:22.31 4. NED 6:22.68 5. AUS 6:24.48 6. GER 6:34.69 Source: www.worldrowing.com
In the women's pair final, also today, Carolyn Ganes of Saskatoon, Sask. and Larissa Lagzdins of Burlington, Ont. finished fifth in 7:47.95. Great Britain, New Zealand and Romania reached the podium in this event. Although Canada does not have an Olympic berth in this event, the crew still had a decent showing here in Munich.
Yesterday, the Canadian Paralympic mixed four finished sixth overall.
These were the only three Canadian crews in Munich, and this is the final international test for rowing nations before the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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