LINZ, Austria - The junior men’s double sculls, junior men’s single sculls and junior men’s pair advanced to the quarterfinals on the second day of racing at the 2008 FISA World Rowing Senior and Junior Championships. In senior events, the lightweight men’s and lightweight women’s quadruple sculls crews advanced to the final from the repechages, or second-chance races.
Racing in the first of six heats of the junior men’s double sculls, Austin Meyer (Cohoes, N.Y.) and Tom Nesel (Duanesburg, N.Y.) crossed in a 6:49.33. The duo stayed even with Austria nearly the entire length of the course, pulling ahead in the last stroke to cross just 0.02 seconds ahead, in third place. Serbia won the race in a 6:41.91, with Denmark in second with a time of 6:43.27.
“The race went really well and we raced conservatively, staying on the edge of qualifying for the quarterfinals,” said Nesel. “We’ve got tough competition tomorrow. Slovenia had a wicked-fast heat, and Germany looked good today.”
The junior men’s double sculls event has the deepest field of the championship, with a total of 31 entries. Meyer and Nesel will take on Turkey, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania and Belgium in tomorrow’s second quarterfinal, with the top three crews advancing to the semifinal.
The junior men’s pair of John Hogan (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Austin Brooks (Costa Mesa, Calif.) finished second in the fifth of six heats to advance to the quarterfinals. Greece won the race in a 6:59.87, with the U.S. crossing in a 7:04.32. Serbia finished third in a 7:10.71, followed by Azerbaijan in fourth. Hogan and Brooks now race Portugal, South Africa, Slovenia, Croatia and Moldova in the first quarterfinal. The top three crews will advance to the semifinals.
In the fifth of six heats of the junior men’s single sculls, Kynan Reelick (Morris, Conn.) crossed in second place to advance to the quarterfinals. Reelick clocked a 7:36.99, while Russia’s Viacheslav Mikhaylevskiy won the heat in a 7:31.00. The U.S. sculler was first off the line and led the pack through the 1,000-meter mark, before being overtaken. Iran finished third in a 7:42.25, with Albania in fourth with a time of 7:46.04.
“He had a very good start,” said coach Guenter Beutter. “It will be important to focus on maintaining speed during the last half of the race, looking forward.”
Two senior crews advanced to the finals in the afternoon repechages. In the lightweight men’s quadruple sculls, Andrew Quinn (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.), Michael Aller (Santa Barbara, Calif.), Shane Madden (Ambler, Pa.) and Gavin Frase (Orinda, Calif.) finished second in the repechage to advance. The crew bursted from fifth to third place at the 1,000-meter mark, and then edged ahead of Germany in the last few meters. Czech Republic won the race in a 6:00.42, with the U.S. clocking a 6:01.33. Germany followed by just 0.02 seconds in a 6:01.35, with Turkey and Great Britain behind. Frase was a member of the lightweight eight that finished fifth at last year’s championships.
Libby Peters (New Hartford, N.Y.), Wendy Tripician (Needham, Mass.), Rebecca Smith (Torrington, Conn.) and Hannah Moore (Niskayuna, N.Y.) finished second in the repechage to advance to the final of the lightweight women’s quadruple sculls. Great Britain held the lead from wire-to-wire, finishing in a 6:41.52. The U.S. crew crossed just 1.6 seconds behind with a time of 6:43.14, followed by Denmark in third with a 6:50.95. Germany, the second-place crew in yesterday’s heat, finished fourth in a 6:53.96.
In the junior women’s double sculls, Mairi McKellop (Ridgefield, Conn.) and Emily Eiffert (Rochester, N.Y.) finished third in the first of three heats, clocking a 7:49.91. Bulgaria won in a 7:35.66, with Poland in second in a 7:37.09. The U.S. will now compete against Great Britain, Italy, Russia and Estonia in the first of two repechages, with the top three crews advancing to the semifinals.
The junior women’s pair duo of Mary Maginnis (Maple Glen, Pa.) and Shannon Stief (Mukilteo, Wash.) finished third in the second of two heats. Bulgaria won in a 7:43.33, with Austria in second in a 7:54.01. The U.S. clocked a 7:57.05, followed by Poland and Iran. Maginnis and Stief will take on Latvia, Romania and Iran in tomorrow’s repechage, with the top two finishers advancing to the final.
Cara Linnenkohl (Redmond, Wash.) finished second in the fourth and final heat of the junior women’s single sculls. Norway’s Tale Gjoertz won the race in a 7:44.43. The U.S. sculler clocked a 7:56.27 and will now race in the repechages. Bulgaria finished third in a 7:58.37, with Lithuania in fourth and Portugal in fifth. With the top two finishers advancing to the semifinals, Linnenkohl takes on Tunisia, Croatia and Latvia in tomorrow’s race.
The junior women’s four of Eliza Hastings (Berwyn, Pa.), Betsy Nilan (Milford, Conn.), Michelle Pearson (Pembroke, Bermuda) and Lucy Grinalds (Southport, Conn.) finished third in the first of two heats. New Zealand won the race in a 6:50.79 to advance to the final, while Germany crossed second in a 6:56.69. The U.S. crew clocked a 7:04.02 and will now race Hungary, Great Britain and Czech Republic in tomorrow’s repechages. The top two finishers will advance to the semifinal.
Coxswain Devon Teichman (Harleysville, Pa.), Andrew Lewis (Princeton Junction, N.J.), Kyle Schmidt (Sarasota, Fla.), Christopher Lutz (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Brian Searle (Somers Point, N.J.) of the junior men’s four with coxswain finished fourth in the first of two heats, crossing in a 6:36.62. Germany clocked a 6:23.44 for the win, with Italy second in a 6:27.67. Great Britain took third with a time of 6:29.08. The U.S. will compete against Ukraine and Great Britain in tomorrow’s repechage, with the top two crews advancing to the semifinal.
In the lightweight men’s single sculls, Rob Zechmann (Lincoln, Neb.) finished sixth in the repechage and will now race in the C/D semifinals scheduled for Friday. Iran won the race in a 7:07.62, with Austria in second, clocking a 7:09.70. Serbia finished third, followed by Russia and Hungary. The U.S. sculler clocked a 7:27.90.
In total, over 900 competitors from 55 nations are competing at this year’s championships. The junior men’s double sculls event has the largest number of entries will 31, followed by the junior men’s single sculls with 30. In senior events, the lightweight men’s single sculls has the largest number of entries with 26. The regatta course was built on the Danube River in 1972 and has since played host to a variety of international rowing competitions, including the 1998 FISA World Junior Championships.
For complete race results and schedule, visit www.worldrowing.com. For media information and athlete bios, visit http://www.usrowing.org/news_media/index.aspx.