POZNAN, Poland - Three U.S. crews won their heats to highlight the opening day of competition at the 2009 World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland. The women's pair, men's pair with coxswain and lightweight men's eight finished in front of the competition, while the women's double sculls and the men's pair crews finished second to advance from the heats.
Racing in the second of three heats of the women's pair, 2008 Olympic gold-medalists Erin Cafaro (Modesto, Calif.) and Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.) controlled the race from start to finish, winning with a time of 7:20.21 to advance to Thursday's semifinals. Cafaro and Francia, who are also racing in the women's eight, established an early lead to build a 2.66-second advantage over Australia's Kim Crow and Sarah Cook by the halfway point. Great Britain's Olivia Whitlam and Louisa Reeve made a strong push in the final 500 meters to move ahead of Australia and finish second in a 7:24.16. Crow and Cook finished third in a 7:26.94, also advancing to the semifinals.
The lightweight men's eight crew took the first step in defending its world-championship title status by winning the second of two heats to advance directly to next Sunday's final. The lineup of coxswain Kerry Quinn (Havertown, Pa.), Jimmy Sopko (Mathews, Va.), Andrew Diebold (North Wales, Pa.), Matt Muffelman (Mathews, Va.), Ryan Fox (Edgerton, Wis.), Kenny McMahon (Ladysmith, Wis.), Anthony Fahden (Lafayette, Calif.), Matt Kochem (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) and Skip Dise (Beverly Hills, Mich.) exploded off the line, gaining a two-second lead over the Netherlands in the first 500 meters. The U.S. crew controlled the race the rest of the way down the course, clocking a 5:51.22. The Netherlands finished second in a 5:53.41, also advancing to the final.
The men's pair with coxswain lineup of coxswain Marcus McElhenney (Lansdowne, Pa.), Henrik Rummel (Pittsford, N.Y.) and Troy Kepper (Tallahassee, Fla.) earned a spot in next Sunday's final with its victory in the second of two heats. The U.S. crew grabbed an early lead in a 2.13-second advantage on France in the first 500 meters. The trio held that margin through the 1,000-meter mark and continued to maintain the first-place position through France's charge in the sprint. The U.S. clocked a 7:04.25, with France second in a 7:05.16 and Germany third in a 7:12.53.
Racing in the second heat of the women's double sculls, Ellen Tomek (Flushing, Mich.) and Megan Kalmoe (St. Croix Falls, Wis.) finished second to advance directly to Thursday's semifinals. The tandem, who won gold at the world cup race in Lucerne and finished fifth in the event at the 2008 Olympic Games, held the lead for the first 1,500 meters of the race before slipping into second place in the final stretch. Australia's Phillipa Savage and Sally Kehoe were 0.53 seconds down with 500 meters to go before sprinting to a 2.47-second victory, clocking a 7:04.71. Tomek and Kalmoe finished second in a 7:07.18. Germany's Sophie Dunsing and Tina Manker crossed third in a 7:11.43 and also advanced to the semifinals.
Racing in the second heat of the men's pair, Charlie Cole (New Canaan, Conn.) and David Banks (Potomac, Md.) finished second to advance directly to Thursday's semifinals. Greece's Nikolaos and Apostolos Gkountoulas, who finished fourth behind Cole and Banks in Lucerne, won the race in a 6:36.99. The U.S. duo stayed in third place through the 1,500-meter mark, before sprinting ahead of Serbia's Goran Jagar and Nikola Stojic to cross second in a 6:39.12. Serbia clocked a 6:43.78 in third and also will advance to the semifinals.
The men's four of Brett Newlin (Riverton, Wyo.), Giuseppe Lanzone (Annandale, Va.), Steve Coppola (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Cameron Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.) finished third in its heat and will now race in the repechages, or second-chance races, on Tuesday. Rowing in the first of three heats, the quartet led from the start and held off Poland and Slovenia through the halfway point. Slovenia gained a 1.47-second lead on the U.S. by the 1,500-meter mark, with Greece and Poland battling it out for third place less than a second behind. In the final stretch, Slovenia continued to push, crossing in a 6:00.77 for the win. Poland kicked it in, passing the U.S. crew and finishing second in a 6:01.73. The U.S. missed the qualifying spot by 0.55 seconds, clocking a 6:02.28 in third.
Racing in the third heat of the lightweight women's single sculls, Meghan Sarbanis (Hampstead, N.H.) finished third and will now race in the repechages on Tuesday. Sarbanis made a comeback in the middle of the race after a rough first few strokes off the line, but was overtaken by Sweden's Sara Karlsson in the last 500 meters. Italy's Laura Milani won in a 7:49.61, followed by Karlsson in a 7:49.80. Sarbanis crossed third in a 7:51.41 with Czech Republic and Hong Kong in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Warren Anderson (Paso Robles, Calif.) finished third in his heat of the men's single sculls and will now race in the repechages on Tuesday. Racing in the second of four heats, the U.S. sculler sat in third position the entire way down the course, crossing the finish line in a 7:07.46. Great Britain's Alan Campbell led the race from start to finish, crossing 10.51 seconds ahead of the Czech Republic's Ondrej Synek (7:04.66) for the win. Ukraine and Iraq finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
In the men's lightweight single sculls, Cody Lowry (Bristow, Okla.) finished fifth in his heat and will now race in the repechages on Tuesday. Racing in the second of four heats, the U.S. sculler clocked a 7:19.85. South Africa's Lawrence Ndlovu led the first half of the race, but was overtaken in the third 500 meters. Denmark's Mads Rasmussen crossed first in a 7:10.72 to advance to the semifinals.
Racing in the third heat of the men's double sculls, the duo of Thomas Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Peter Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished fifth and will now race in the repechages on Tuesday. The U.S. crew flew off the line, crossing the 500-meter-mark in first place before settling back into fourth position. Lucerne gold-medalists Eric Knittel and Stephan Krueger of Germany won the heat in a 6:22.87, with Slovenia's Luka and Jan Spik in second. The U.S. duo clocked a 6:35.85.
In the women's single sculls, Margot Shumway (Westlake, Ohio) finished sixth in her heat and will now race in the repechages on Tuesday. Shumway, the stroke of the Beijing women's quadruple sculls that finished fifth at the 2008 Olympic Games, sat in third place for the first 1,000 meters before slipping back to cross the line in a 7:46.69. Lucerne gold-medalist Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic won the race in a 7:33.07, followed by three-time Olympic medalist Katherine Granger of Great Britain in second with a time of 7:36.59.
On Monday, the U.S. will have eleven more crews racing in heats. In total, the U.S. has entered 24 of the 27 events. The eight-day regatta features 973 athletes racing in 358 crews from 54 nations. Complete entry lists, heat sheets and results can be accessed throughout the regatta at www.worldrowing.com. Live coverage of the finals (August 29-30) will be streamed on the Web at http://fisa.feedroom.com.