The Canadian men's eight got off to a fast start today at the 2006 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Hazewinkel, Belgium.
The eight won its heat in 5:34.75 to advance directly to the final.
"The eight looked impressive today," said Alan Roaf, Rowing Canada Aviron high performance director. "They had an excellent row and will provide some leadership for the rest of young team here." The Canadian under-23 men's eight with a different lineup - won a bronze last year.
The U23 men's eight is coxswain Mark Laidlaw of Mississauga, Ont., Daniel Casaca of Toronto, Ont., Chris Aylard of Victoria, B.C., Will Crothers of Kingston, Ont., Jan Tize of West Vancouver, B.C., Max Wyatt of Victoria, B.C., Brendan Robinson of Brentwood Bay, B.C., Rob Gibson of Kingston, Ont. and Max Lang of Lumby, B.C.
Canada's rivals - Germany - won the other heat in this event, also to advance directly to the finals in 5:32.03.
Earlier today, the women's four of Katrina Wechselberger of Vancouver, B.C., Stephanie Connolly of Victoria, B.C., Stephanie Morrison of Nelson, B.C. and Allison Kryszkiewicz of Victoria, B.C. were second in a heat in 6:55.64. They will now row in a repechage tomorrow to further advance.
"This is a young women's team - 13 of the 17 rowers here will still be under 23 next year," said Roaf. "Another race (in the repechage) will be helpful for our crews to gain valuable experience at this level."
The men's coxed four of Brent Holmes-Heron of Peterborough, Ont., Andrew Rastapkevicius of Kingston, Ont., Michael Wilkinson of North Vancouver, B.C., Daniel Matthews of Vancouver, B.C and Matthew Swaile of Victoria, B.C. were fourth in 6:28.66 today.
Although the Canadian lightweight men's four (Kurtis Boyd of Brockville, Ont., Simon Gowdy of Montréal, Que., John Haver of Saskatoon, Sask. and Rob Pratt of Kingston, Ont.) was fifth in 6:10.96, they were less than a second from a qualifying spot. They will also row in the repechage.
The lightweight men's double of Cameron Sylvester of Caledon, Ont., and Tim Colson of London, Ont. was third in 6:33.71, with only the top two boats advancing directly to the semi-finals in this event, they will also row in a rep tomorrow.
The men's pair of Liam Brennan of Perth, Ont. and Graham Rusk of Victoria, B.C. had a time of 6:56.56 to finish fourth in the heat.
The women's pair - Laura Pidgen of Orillia, Ont. and Anne Cowan of London, Ont. - was fifth in 7:48.68.
Lightweight women's double of Susan Ross of Kingston, Ont. and Michelle Burnham of Surrey, B.C. finished fourth in 7:19.28.
The women's single of Kara Farquharson of Mississauga, Ont. finished sixth in her heat in 8:11.32.
Canadas women's eight was fourth in 6:28.28. Women's eight members are Elizabeth McCord of Toronto, Ont., Sarah Waterfield of Kingston, Ont., Evan Wilson of Toronto, Ont., Meghan Thomas of Victoria, B.C., Larissa Lagzdins of Burlington, Ont., Cara Troelstra of Halifax, N.S., Kerry Maher of Welland, Ont., Kristina Macdonald of Langley, B.C., and Julia MacDonald of Port Moody, B.C. (coxswain).
The heat wave in Europe has been an issue at this regatta, with organizers changing the schedule today to finish early. Racing continues, with the medal rounds on Sunday, July 23.
Canadian Results - Heats
2006 World Rowing Under 23 Championships
(2000 metres)
Women's four
1 GER 6:52.67
2 CAN 6:55.64
3 BLR 6:59.65
4 POL 7:03.68
Men's coxed four
1 NZL 6:16.10
2 GBR 6:18.33
3 AUS 6:19.72
4 CAN 6:28.66
5 POL 6:36.26
Women's single
1 SCG 7:46.22
2 ARG 7:55.17
3 HUN 7:59.21
4 AUT 8:01.61
5 FIN 8:03.70
6 CAN 8:11.32
Women's pair
1 ROM 7:24.18
2 BLR 7:31.42
3 NED 7:33.90
4 GRE 7:40.18
5 CAN 7:48.68
6 CZE 7:55.40
Men's pair
1 SCG 6:47.00
2 CZE 6:51.86
3 POL 6:54.71
4 CAN 6:56.56
5 CHI 7:00.41
Women's lightweight double
1 GER 7:10.45
2 ITA 7:15.19
3 AUS 7:17.93
4 CAN 7:19.28
5 HUN 7:19.75
6 SUI 7:24.95
Men's lightweight double
1 NZL 6:26.54
2 CZE 6:30.81
3 CAN 6:33.71
4 RUS 6:37.30
5 SLO 6:50.55
Lightweight men's four
1 ITA 6:07.51
2 GER 6:08.97
3 SUI 6:10.18
4 USA 6:10.29
5 CAN 6:10.96
Women's eight
1 ROM 6:16.90
2 GER 6:18.64
3 RUS 6:23.61
4 CAN 6:28.28
Men's eight
1 CAN 5:34.75
2 ROM 5:37.46
3 UKR 5:40.54
4 EST 5:41.91
5 CRO 5:44.47
6 NED 5:45.55