The Canadian lightweight men's four struck gold and the men's eight raced hard to win bronze on the final day of the rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland.
"There has been a lot of work done in the past year," said Canadian head coach Brian Richardson after today's racing, "and it's now starting to pay off with results. It's very encouraging for Canadian rowing."
In the lightweight men's four - a very competitive Olympic-class event - only a couple of seconds came between the first to fourth places, with the Canadian boat separating itself from the powerful European crews to win the gold. Canada's time was 5:55.51, followed by Italy in 5:57.42, and Austria in 5:57.48. France, winners of this event at the 2000 Olympics, finished in fourth in 5:57.57.
"We knew we were in a good position and that the heat and the semi races went well for us, but you're still on the edge of your seat," said veteran Gavin Hassett right after coming off the water. "It was tight for the first half of the race, but we opened it up a bit and it felt great." Despite his National Team experience, Hassett, a former World Champion in the lightweight eight and an Olympic silver medallist (1996) in the lightweight four, had never won gold in this event at a major international regatta until today.
Crew member Doug Vandor, in his first year in the lightweight four, also relished the win. "The whole weekend, we couldn't have asked for anything better," he said just before stepping onto the podium, "and today it really all came together."
The crew from Denmark that edged out the Canadians in last week's British Henley withdrew for medical reasons before the Lucerne World Cup. "It's difficult to say what would have happened if the Danes were here," said Hassett, "but it still means that we are top one or two in the world in this event."
Members of the four are Doug Vandor (Dewittville, Que.), Jon Mandick (Edmonton, Alta.), Iain Brambell (Brentwood Bay, B.C.) and Gavin Hassett (Victoria B.C.). They are coached by Terry Paul, who is based in Victoria, B.C.
The Canadian men's eight battled strong crews from Germany, the U.S. and Romania in their final – the last race of the day. The Canadians led at the 1500-metre mark, but finished the 2000-metre course only two seconds off the winners from the U.S. (5:28.68) and second-place Germany (5:29.80). Canada's bronze-medal time was 5:30.61 - they were followed by crews from Romania, Russia and Croatia.
The field will be just as strong at the upcoming World Championships, and this puts the Canadian crew in an excellent position with two months to go before rowing's biggest competition of the year.
"This is a big, big step for us to get to the podium at the Worlds," said men's eight coxswain, Brian Price. Only one member of the Canadian crew, Matt Swick, rowed in this event at the 2000 Olympics, so the experience of winning Henley last week and placing at a major World Cup is a big boost for this boat.
The World Cup bronze medallists are Andrew Hoskins (Edmonton, Alta.), Kyle Hamilton (Richmond, B.C.), Adam Kreek (London, Ont.), Kevin Light (Sidney, B.C.), Jeff Powell (Winnipeg, Man.), Ben Rutledge (Cranbrook, B.C.), Joe Stankevicius (Dundas, Ont.), Matt Swick (St. Catharines, Ont.) and Brian Price (coxswain, Belleville, Ont.). The men’s coach is Mike Spracklen, a British native who is now based in Victoria, B.C.
The lightweight women's double of former Olympian Fiona Milne of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. and relative newcomer Shona McLaren of Victoria, B.C. finished sixth overall (7.08.91) in a field of 18. Yesterday, the Canadian lightweight men’s double finished 13th overall.
The next major event for these crews is the FISA World Rowing Championships in Seville, Spain in September. The Canadian heavyweight women, including 2001 pair bronze-medallists Jacqui Cook and Karen Clark, will make their first international appearance in early August in Munich, Germany, for the final World Cup race of the year.
2002 Zurich Rowing World Cup - Lucerne (2000 metres) Canadian A Finals Results
Lighweight men's four: 1. CAN 5:55.51 2. ITA 5:57.42 3. AUT 5:57.48 4. FRA 5:57.57 5. GER 6:00.53 6. GBR 6:03.48
Heavyweight men's eight: 1. USA 5:28.68 2. GER 5:29.80 3. CAN 5:30.61 4. ROM 5:32.27 5. RUS 5:36.01 6. CRO 5:36.40 Lightweight women's double: 1. GER 6:59.24 2. GBR 7:02.32 3. NED2 7:04.12 4. NED1 7:06.43 5. DEN 7:08.46 6. CAN 7:08.91
Full results can be found at http://www.worldrowing.com