There was only one race for Canada Thursday at 2009 World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.
Despite a decent race start, the men's pair of Dan Casaca of Toronto, Ont. and Max Lang of Lumby, B.C. finished fourth in today's semi and now move to the B final that determines places seven to 12.
"The guys didn't transition into a rhythm during the second 250 metres as they did in the heat. They struggled in the second 500 as the French moved out on them," said their coach Terry Paul. "They pushed back in the third 500, but couldn't sustain that pace to close the gap on the U.S. who was in third. They are disappointed with the result, but happy with the effort they put in."
Canada's time was 6:40.46. New Zealand's Eric Murray and Hamish Bond won the semi in 6:29.86, France followed in 6:34.76 and the U.S. finished in 6:36.88 - the top three moved to the final. Great Britain (Peter Reed and Andy Triggs-Hodge) in 6:30.79, Greece in 6:33.10 and South Africa in 6:33.25 advance from the other men's pair semi.
Other Canadian crews continue to train on Lake Malta in anticipation of more semis and the weekend's finals.
Friday promises to be an exciting day for Canada with the semi-finals for the Olympic-class lightweight events - the lightweight women's double, lightweight men's double and lightweight men's four.