BEIJING - Women's single sculler Michelle Guerette (Bristol, Conn.) and the men's pair of Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.) finished second in their semifinals on Wednesday to advance to the finals, highlighting the fifth day of rowing competition at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.
The Winklevoss twins used a blistering final 500 meters to move from fifth position to second place, securing a spot in Saturday's final. Racing in the second of two semis, the duo clocked the fastest final 500-meter split of the day to earn its spot in the race for the medals. While Australia took command of the top spot early in the race, Serbia and Italy established themselves firmly in second and third position going into the final 500 meters. However, the U.S. and Germany put on furious charges over the final quarter to grab the last two qualifying positions. Australia won the race in a 6:34.29. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:36.65, with Germany clocking a 6:37.26. In the first semifinal, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa earned qualifying spots for the final.
"We were just trying to do the same thing, trying to row fast and clean, and just keep bumping it up a little bit intensity wise," Tyler said about the final 500 meters.
"Because we are pretty new, we were happy to just get our nose in it and be there with the other guys down the course," Cameron said. "When we started hitting the stands, the noise picked up, and we started saying, 'hey, let's give it a little bit more.' Before we knew it, with 250 meters left, we went for it because we could smell the finish line and it was good enough to get us qualified."
In the women's single sculls, Guerette finished second in the first of two semifinals to earn a spot in Saturday's race for the medals. Guerette sat in third position at the 500-meter mark before taking the lead during the second quarter of the race. The American continued to build her lead over the middle 1,000 meters, taking a 1.86-second advantage over China's Xiuyun Zhang into the last 500. Zhang made a strong push in the final stretch to take over first place, as Guerette was content to cross the line securely in second with a spot in the final. Zhang finished with a time of 7:31.33, while Guerette crossed in a 7:35.69. The Czech Republic's Mirka Knapkova finished third in a 7:38.14, earning the other spot in the final. In the second semifinal, Belaurs' Ekaterina Karsten held off Bulgaria's Rumyana Neykova by 0.43 seconds to win the race in a 7:32.68. Poland's Julia Michalska claimed the last spot in the final.
"I think I got caught a little (with Zhang's sprint). Coming to the 1,000, I was excited to be right with Mirka, right with China," Guerette said after the race. "We were three boats across and maybe I got up a little bit somewhere in there. I just saw China come with a very big push. I tried to go up a little, but it wasn't a very organized effort. I was (thinking) 'Get going, get going. The race isn't over.' I saw her take off, gave a push and kind of got bogged down. I just thinking keep it trucking and hold second. (The competition) has gotten harder and harder every day. I'm taking every race one day at a time, one stroke at a time."
In the men's single sculls, Ken Jurkowski (New Fairfield, Conn.) finished fifth in his semifinal and will now race in the B final on Thursday, which determines overall places 7-12. Jurkowski sat in fourth position through the 1,000-meter mark but dropped to fifth over the second half of the race. The Czech Republic's Ondrej Synek won a tight battle for first place, finishing in a 7:03.57. Great Britain's Alan Campbell finished second in a 7:05.24, with New Zealand's Mahe Drysdale coming in third in a 7:05.57. Jurkowski finished with a time of 7:11.52.
In the men's four, the crew of Brett Newlin (Riverton, Wyo.), Giuseppe Lanzone (Annandale, Va.), Paul Teti (Upper Darby, Pa.) and David Banks (Potomac, Md.) came up short in a four-way sprint to the finish for the last two qualifying spots for the final. The crew sat in third position through the 1,500-meter mark behind Great Britain and France. However, Australia made a strong push over the final quarter of the race, and France held on for third place as the crews hit the line. Great Britain won the race in a 5:54.77, with Australia finishing in second in a 5:56.20. France's 5:56.73 was good enough to hold off New Zealand (5:57.31) and the U.S. (5:57.52).
In other action, the men's double sculls tandem of Elliot Hovey (Manchester-By-The-Sea, Mass.) and Wes Piermarini (West Brookfield, Mass.) defeated Iraq in the C final to finish in 13th-place overall. The duo finished with a time of 6:33.15, 18.87 seconds ahead of Iraq.