The United States will have five crews racing in semifinals on Thursday at the 2006 FISA World Rowing Championships on Dorney Lake in Eton, England.
The women's single sculls, men's single sculls, lightweight women's single sculls, women's double sculls, and men's four all will be racing for spots in the finals.
In the women's single sculls, Michelle Guerette (Bristol, Conn.) advanced to Thursday's semifinals with a second-place finish in her heat. Racing in the first of two semis, Guerette will take on scullers from Belarus, Sweden, Spain, Italy, and Serbia. Belarus' Ekaterina Karsten, a multiple-time world champion, and Sweden's Frida Svensson both won their heats on Sunday and will be the top seeds in the first semi. The top three finishers in each semifinal move on to Saturday's final.
The men's four of Brett Newlin (Riverton, Wyo.), Josh Inman (Hillsboro, Ore.), Matt Schnobrich (St. Paul, Minn.), and Michael Blomquist (Greensboro, N.C.) also finished second in its heat to advance to the semifinals. The crew will take on boats from New Zealand, the Netherlands, Spain, France, and the Czech Republic in the first of two semifinals. New Zealand and the Netherlands come in as the top seeds in the race having won their heats on Sunday. The top three finishers in each semifinal will advance to Saturday's final.
In the women's double sculls, Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.) and Brett Sickler (Los Gatos, Calif.) finished third in their heat to advance to the semifinals. The duo, which is doubling up into the eight, will take on Belarus, Germany, Great Britain, France, and Hungary in the second of two semifinals. Belarus is the lone heat winner in the race, while Germany and Great Britain finished second in their respective heats. The top three finishers in each semifinal move on to Saturday's semifinals.
In the lightweight women's single sculls, Lisa Schlenker (Lake Oswego, Ore.), a 10-time national team member and two-time medalist in the event, won her repechage, or second-chance race, to advance to the semifinals. On Thursday, Schlenker will face off against scullers from Germany, Austria, Italy, Thailand, and France in the second of two semifinals. Germany's Berit Carow is the lone heat winner in Schlenker's race, while the Austrian and Italian scullers both advanced by finishing second in their heats. The top three finishers in each semifinal advance to Saturday's final.
In the men's single sculls, Jamie Schroeder (Wilmette, Ill.) finished second in his repechage. Schroeder will take on scullers from Norway, the Czech Republic, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Cuba in the first of two semifinals. Norway's Olaf Tufte, the defending Olympic champion in the event, and the Czech Republic's Ondrej Synek are the top two seeds in Schroeder's semifinal having won their opening heats. The top three finishers in each semifinal move on to Saturday's final.
The men's pair of Sam Burns (Seattle, Wash.) and Dan Beery (Oaktown, Ind.) finished second in its repechage, earning a spot in the semifinals. The duo will take on crews from New Zealand, South Africa, China, Germany, and Slovenia in the first of two semifinals. New Zealand and South Africa won gold and silver, respectively, in the event at the 2005 World Championships. Both crews also won their opening heats. The top three finishers in each semifinal move on to Saturday's final.
The men's double sculls tandem of Francis Cuddy (Amherst, N.H.) and Shane O'Mara (Tampa, Fla.) did not race in Wednesday's scheduled C/D semifinals as the day's racing schedule was cancelled at 10:30 a.m. due to weather. Cuddy and O'Mara now will race on Thursday in the C/D semifinals, which determines the crews that will race in the C final for places 13-18 and the D final for places 19-24. The duo will take on crews from Indonesia, Estonia, Australia, Italy, and Slovakia.
Racing continues on Friday with a second day of semifinals. Finals will take place Saturday and Sunday.