SCHINIAS, Greece - Lane draws for the heats of the 2004 Olympic rowing competition were released on Thursday at the Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Center.
The U.S. will be competing in 12 events including the women's single sculls, men's double sculls, lightweight men's double sculls, lightweight women's double sculls, men's quadruple sculls, women's quadruple sculls, men's pair, women's pair, men's four, lightweight men's four, men's eight, and women's eight.
The U.S. has five boats scheduled to compete on Saturday, the first day of heats. Jennifer Devine (Seattle, Wash.) will be racing in the third of four heats of the women's single sculls. Devine will be racing two-time defending Olympic champion Ekaterina Karsten from Belarus, as well as scullers from Thailand, China, Brazil, and Uzbekistan. The winner of each heat will advance directly to the semifinals, while the remaining scullers will race in a repechage, or second-chance, race.
The women's pair of Kate MacKenzie (Novi, Mich.) and Sarah Jones (Stanwood, Wash.) will race in the first of two heats. The duo will face crews from Germany, Belarus, Great Britain, and France. Belarus' Natallia Helakh and Yulia Bichik finished second at the 2004 BearingPoint World Cup stop in Lucerne, Switzerland, while the British duo of Cath Bishop and Katherine Grainger won the 2003 FISA World Championships. The winner of each heat advances directly to the final, while the remaining crews will race in a repechage.
Artour Samsonov (Stoneham, Mass.) and Luke Walton (Poway, Calif.) will race in the second of three heats of the men's pair. The duo will take on last year's world championships' silver and bronze medalists in Croatia and South Africa, respectively. The Czech Republic fills out the four-boat heat. In the men's pair, the top three finishers in each heat advance directly to the semifinals, while the remaining crews head to the repechage.
The men's double sculls tandem of Henry Nuzum (Chapel Hill, N.C.) and Aquil Abdullah (Washington, D.C.) will take on boats from Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Great Britain in the second of three heats. Italy won the silver medal at last year's world championships and the gold medal at the world cup event in Lucerne in June. Like the men's pair, the top three finishers in each heat advance to the semifinals, with the remaining crews moving on to a repechage.
The men's four of Wolf Moser (Moultonboro, N.H.), Mike Wherley (Sun Prairie, Wis.), Jamie Schroeder (Wilmette, Ill.), and Garrett Klugh (Los Angeles, Calif.) will take on Slovenia, Great Britain, and Italy in the second of three heats. The top three finishers move on to the semifinals, while the remaining crews will race in a repechage.
In Sunday's heats, the U.S. will have seven crews competing. The lightweight women's double sculls tandem of Stacey Borgman (Homer, Alaska) and Lisa Schlenker (Lake Oswego, Ore.) kicks off Sunday morning's racing for the U.S. team. The duo will take on crews from Germany, Hungary, China, Mexico, and the Netherlands in the second of three heats. Germany won the gold medal at last year's world championships and a bronze medal at the world cup race in Lucerne. The winner of each heat advances directly to the semifinals, while the remaining crews move on to the repechage.
Greg Ruckman (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Steve Tucker (Mooresville, Ind.) will race in the fourth and final heat of the lightweight men's double sculls. The duo will take on Ireland, Belgium, Uruguay, and the Czech Republic. Ruckman and Tucker finished fourth at the world cup event in Lucerne. The winner of each heat will advance directly to the semifinals, with the other crews heading to the repechage.
The lightweight men's four of Steve Warner (Livonia, Mich.), Paul Teti (Upper Darby, Pa.), Pat Todd (Cincinnati, Ohio), and Matt Smith (Woodbridge, Va.) will take on crews from Ireland, Australia, and Russia in the third of three heats. Australia finished third in Lucerne. The top three crews will advance directly to the semifinals, while the remaining crews will race in a repechage.
The women's quadruple sculls quartet of Danika Holbrook (Durham, N.H.), Kelly Salchow (Cincinnati, Ohio), Hilary Gehman (Wolfeboro, N.H.), and Michelle Guerette (Bristol, Conn.) will take on Germany, Denmark, and Australia in the second of two heats. Australia won last year's world championship, while Germany finished third. The Germans finished second at the world cup race in Lucerne, while the U.S. crew finished third. The winner of each heat will move directly to the final, while the remaining crews will race in the repechages.
Racing in the first of three heats, the men's quadruple sculls crew of Kent Smack (Clinton, N.J.), J. Sloan DuRoss (South Portland, Maine), Brett Wilkinson (Hyde Park, N.Y.), and Ben Holbrook (Hartland, Wis.) will race against Germany, Australia, Switzerland, and Estonia. Australia is coming off a victory in Lucerne, while Germany won the world championships last year. The top three finishers in each heat move on to the semifinals, while the remaining crews head to the repechages.
The women's eight of Mary Whipple (Sacramento, Calif.), Lianne Nelson (Seattle, Wash.), Caryn Davies (Ithaca, N.Y.), Laurel Korholz (La Jolla, Calif.), Anna Mickelson (Bellevue, Wash.), Alison Cox (Turlock, Calif.), Megan Dirkmaat (San Jose, Calif.), Sam Magee (Simsbury, Conn.), and Kate Johnson (Portland, Ore.) drew Romania, Germany, and Australia in the first of two heats. The draw made for a tough heat as the U.S. won two world cup events this season, Germany won the world championships last year, and Romania won the silver medal at last year's worlds and is the defending Olympic champion. The winner of the heat advances directly to the final, while the remaining crews will race in a repechage.
The men's eight of Pete Cipollone (Ardmore, Pa.), Bryan Volpenhein (Cincinnati, Ohio), Beau Hoopman (Plymouth, Wis.), Dan Beery (Oaktown, Ind.), Matt Deakin (San Francisco, Calif.), Joey Hansen (Bakersfield, Calif.), Chris Ahrens (Milwaukee, Wis.), Wyatt Allen (Portland, Maine), and Jason Read (Ringoes, N.J.) also will get an immediate test as it will take on Canada, Italy, and Great Britain in the second of two heats. Canada is the two-time defending world champions, while Italy won a bronze medal at the world cup in Lucerne. The U.S. won the silver medal at last year's world championships. Like the women's eight, the heat winners advance directly to the final, while the remaining crews will have to race in a repechage.