The U.S. women's pair, men's pair and women's double sculls crews secured spots in the finals to highlight competition in the first round of semifinals on Thursday at the 2009 World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.
Competing in the second semifinal of the women's pair, 2008 Olympic gold-medalists Erin Cafaro (Modesto, Calif.) and Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.) pulled through Australia's Kim Crow and Sarah Cook in the sprint to win the race in a 7:19.55. Cafaro and Francia, who are both doubling up in the women's eight, were in third place after the 500-meter mark, but worked their way towards the front of the pack, winning by 2.27 seconds. Crow and Cook took second in a 7:21.82, with Romania's Camelia Lupascu and Nicoleta Albu third in a 7:23.38. The U.S. will meet Australia and Romania again in Saturday's race for medals, along with New Zealand, Great Britain and Germany from the first race.
"I think the semi can sometimes be the hardest race - it's a mental game," said Cafaro. "It's all about taking your head out of it and just going for it. Anybody can have a good race in the final. Susan and I have another gear; we can make it hurt more."
Racing in the second semifinal of the women's double sculls, the duo of Ellen Tomek (Flushing, Mich.) and Megan Kalmoe (St. Croix Falls, Wis.) took second to secure its spot in Saturday's final. After crossing the 500-meter mark in third place, the U.S. crew took the lead over the middle half of the race course. Poland's silver-medal Lucerne boat of Magdelena Fularczyk and Julia Michalska charged in final stretch to cross first in a 6:57.76, with the U.S. boat 3.05 seconds back in a 7.00.81. Bulgaria's Rumyana Neykova and Miglena Markova blasted out in front early before settling into third place, crossing the finish line in a 7:03.73. Tomek and Kalmoe won gold at the world cup race in Lucerne and finished fifth in the event at the 2008 Olympic Games. Great Britain, Australia and Czech Republic qualified from the first race.
The men's pair of Charlie Cole (New Canaan, Conn.) and David Banks (Potomac, Md.) finished third to advance Saturday's final. Coming off of a bronze-medal finish in Lucerne, the U.S. duo moved up into third place by the halfway point, and maintained position to cross the line in a 6:36.88. New Zealand's Eric Murray and Hamish Bond led from wire to wire, winning the semifinal in a 6:29.86. France's Germain Chardin and Dorian Mortelette crossed 2.12 seconds in front of the U.S. in second, clocking a 6:34.76. In addition to New Zealand and France, the U.S. crew will take on Great Britain, Greece and South Africa in the final.
"Our number-one goal was to qualify for the final," said Banks. "We wanted to go out strong, and we knew everyone else was going to go after it also. It's a strong field and anything can happen in the final, so we have to be confident. Charlie and I have been rowing together since April and we've come a long way since then. Lucerne was part of the growth process; we've been working on staying long and connected. Kris [Korzeniowski] has put in a lot of time with us and has helped us stay focused and prepared."
In the men's single sculls, Warren Anderson (Paso Robles, Calif.) finished fifth in his semifinal and will now race for places 7-12. The 2008 Olympic alternate was in third through the 1,000-meter mark before slipping back in the second half of the race. Great Britain's Alan Campbell led from the start to win in a 6:48.43. Anderson clocked a 7:02.69 and will now face Greece, Lithuania, Sweden, Argentina and Cuba in Saturday's B final.
Four U.S. crews including the lightweight women's single sculls, lightweight women's double sculls, men's quadruple sculls and lightweight men's four will compete in the semifinals on Friday, with the top three crews in each race advancing to Sunday's finals.
The men's quadruple sculls crew of Glenn Ochal (Philadelphia, Pa.), Will Miller (Duxbury, Mass.), Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) and Elliot Hovey (Manchester-By-The-Sea, Mass.) will take on Italy, Czech Republic, Germany, France and Russia in tomorrow's second semifinal. The quartet finished third in yesterday's repechage after coming up just 0.32 seconds short of the qualifying spot in Monday's heat.
In the lightweight men's four, the U.S. will take on Switzerland, The Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Spain in the second semifinal. The crew of Will Daly (Vail, Colo.), Brian de Regt (Rowayton, Conn.), Nick LaCava (Weston, Conn.) and Taylor Washburn (Andover, Mass.) finished second behind France, the Lucerne silver-medalists, in Wednesday's repechage.
The lightweight women's double sculls duo of Michelle Trannel (East Dubuque, Ill.) and Kristin Hedstrom (Concord, Mass.) will compete against Canada, Greece, Australia, Cuba and Hungary in the second semifinal. The duo finished third in its heat on Monday and second behind The Netherlands in Wednesday's repechage.
Meghan Sarbanis (Hampstead, N.H.) will compete against Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden and Greece in the first semifinal of the lightweight women's single sculls. After placing third in her heat on Monday, Sarbanis won her repechage by over ten seconds on Tuesday to advance.
In addition, five U.S. crews will race in Friday's C finals including the lightweight men's single sculls, women's single sculls, lightweight men's double sculls, men's double sculls and men's four.
After missing a spot in the semifinals by just 0.04 seconds in its repechage, the men's four crew of Brett Newlin (Riverton, Wyo.), Giuseppe Lanzone (Annandale, Va.), Steve Coppola (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Cameron Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.) will take on Egypt, Ukraine and Indonesia for places 13-16.
In the women's single sculls, 2008 Olympian Margot Shumway (Westlake, Ohio) will race Iran, Ukraine, Norway, Spain and Korea for places 13-18.
The men's double sculls duo of Thomas Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Peter Graves (Cincinnati, Ohio) will compete for places 13-18 on Friday. The U.S. will take on Uzbekistan, Belarus, Norway, Egypt and Kazakhstan.
In the lightweight men's double sculls, Andy Quinn (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) and Shane Madden (Ambler, Pa.) take on Indonesia, Russia, Poland, Slovenia and Bulgaria for places 13-18.
After a third-place finish in his C/D semifinal of the men's lightweight single sculls, Cody Lowry (Bristow, Okla.) will now race for places 13-18 against Spain, Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Hong Kong.
In adaptive racing, the U.S. adaptive mixed four with coxswain will compete for places 7-11 in Friday's B final. The crew of coxswain Tim Edsell (Louisville, Ky.), Eric McDaniel (Weeki Wachee, Fla.), Andrew Johnson (Greenwich, Conn.), Emma Preuschl (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Jen Klapper (Philadelphia, Pa.) will take on France, Ireland, Russia and Poland.
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 racing August 27-30 will be streamed on the Web at www.universalsports.com.