GIFU, Japan - Three U.S. crews won their repechages, or second-chance races, and eight total crews advanced to either the semifinals or finals to highlight the third day of competition at the 2005 FISA World Rowing Championships on the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course in Gifu, Japan.
Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.) and Lindsay Shoop (Charlottesville, Va.), who are racing in two events at the championships, won their repechage of the women's pair to advance to Saturday's final. Germany jumped off the starting line in first place, but the U.S. overtook the Germans just 250 meters into the race. By the 500-meter mark, Lind and Shoop had built a half-boat length lead on Germany, and the duo increased that advantage to open-water just 750 meters into the race. As Belarus passed Germany, the U.S. extended its advantage over the field before maintaining a comfortable lead during the final quarter of the race. The U.S. clocked a 6:56.34 to finish 1.93 seconds ahead of Belarus. Germany finished third, followed by Denmark and France. The U.S. and Belarus moved on to the final, as did Romania and Russia from the other repechage. The four crews joined heat winners Australia and New Zealand in the final.
Less than four hours later, Lind and Shoop got their second victory of the day as part of the women's eight. The boat of Mary Whipple (Sacramento, Calif.), Lind, Shoop, Megan Dirkmaat (San Jose, Calif.), Sam Magee (Simsbury, Conn.), Anna Goodale (Camden, Maine), Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.), Liane Malcos (Carlisle, Mass.) and Sharon Kriz (Somerset, N.J.) had no problem winning its repechage to qualify for the finals. The crew established a three-seat lead just 250 meters into the race and continued to build on that advantage through the 1,500-meter mark. With 500 meters to go, the U.S. held boat-length advantage on the field. Great Britain cut the gap during the final 500 meters, but the American crew won the race by half a boat length. The U.S. clocked a 6:01.18, finishing 2.05 seconds ahead of Great Britain. Australia and Germany finished third and fourth, respectively, to also advance to Sunday's final. The four crews will join heat winners Romania and the Netherlands in the final.
In the men's quadruple sculls, the U.S. passed Australia in the final 250 meters to win the repechage and advance to Friday's semifinals. The top four crews were basically even through the first 750 meters before Australia took the lead and the U.S. crew established itself in second place at the midway point of the race. The American crew of Ken Jurkowski (New Fairfield, Conn.), Dan Walsh (Norwalk, Conn.), Shane O'Mara (Tampa, Fla.) and Jonathan Burns (Vancouver, Wash.) stayed close to the Australia's during the third quarter of the race before passing them with less than 250 meters to go. The U.S. clocked a 5:46.41 to win the race, while Australia finished in a 5:48.49. The Ukraine took third place, claiming the last spot in the semifinals.
With Caryn Davies (Ithaca, N.Y.) back in the boat after missing Tuesday's heat due to illness, the women's quadruple sculls crew of Anna Mickelson (Bellevue, Wash.), Davies, Margot Shumway (Westlake, Ohio) and Kelly Salchow (Cincinnati, Ohio) advanced to Sunday's final with a second-place finish in the repechage. The crew sat in third position through the midway point of the race. That's when the boat made its move, passing then-second place Romania with 750 meters to go. By the 1,500-meter mark, the U.S. was a half-deck behind the Ukraine and four seats up on Romania, and with 250 meters remaining, the U.S. held an open-water lead on Romania. The Ukraine clocked a 6:18.56 to win the race, with the U.S. finishing 1.21 seconds back in a 6:19.77. The two crews join heat winners Germany and Great Britain, as well as Russia and France from the other repechage, in the final.
Lightweight women's single sculler Marika Page (San Rafael, Calif.) finished second in her repechage to advance to Thursday's semifinals. Racing in the first of two reps, Page sat in fifth place at the 500-meter mark. But, the national team rookie used a strong move as she rowed through the 500-meter mark to take over second place just 750 meters into the race. At the midway point, Page sat comfortably in second place, open water down on Germany's Laura Tasch but open water ahead of third-place Sigrid Svarta from Denmark. Tasch went onto win the race in a time of 7:29.00, while Page clocked a 7:33.88. Svarta finished third in a 7:40.68.
The men's double sculls tandem of Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) and J. Sloan DuRoss (South Portland, Maine) finished second in its repechage to advance to Thursday's semifinals. The U.S. sat in fourth position at the 500-meter mark and slowly worked its way through the field to reach a qualifying position. Bulgaria clocked a 6:08.49 to win the race, with Stitt and DuRoss stroking a 6:09.85. Norway finished third, less than one second behind. Switzerland, which led the race through the first 500 meters, dropped to fourth.
The lightweight men's double sculls tandem of Bjorn Larsen (Lake Stevens, Wash.) and Mike Altman (Marin County, Calif.) finished second in its repechage to qualify for the semifinals. South Africa caught an early crab, which left them out of the race and only four boats fighting for two qualifying spots. France led the race from start to finish, while Larsen and Altman held the second position all the way down the course. France clocked a 6:14.30 to finish 1.05 seconds ahead of the American's 6:15.35. Hong Kong finished third, with Thailand in fourth place. South Africa did not finish the race.
The lightweight men's quadruple sculls crew of Rob Zechmann (Lincoln, Neb.), Greg Ruckman (Cincinnati, Ohio), Matt Muffelman (Mathews, Va.) and Sean Wolf (New Haven, Conn.) finished third in its repechage and advanced to Sunday's final. The crew sat in fourth place through the 1,000-meter mark before moving into third position. Belgium won the race with a time of 5:41.60, setting a world best time in the process. Austria finished second. The U.S. clocked a 5:48.75, finishing less than one second ahead of France and 1.38 seconds ahead of Japan. The top four finishers advanced to the final where they will take on the heat winners from Italy and Canada.
Men's single sculler Wyatt Allen (Portland, Maine) just missed qualifying for the semifinals after finishing third in his repechage. Sweden's Lassi Karonen won the race, with Serbia and Montenegro's Nikola Stojic finishing second. Stojic led the race through the 1,000-meter mark with Allen sitting in second place. However, Karonen used a strong second half of the race to row through Stojic and Allen. The American, however, could not quite catch the sculler from Serbia and Montenegro, finishing a half length behind. Karonen clocked a 6:37.49, with Stojic finishing in a 6:42.25 and Allen coming home in a 6:43.88. Allen will now race in a C/D semifinal on Thursday, which will determine if he will race in the C final for places 13-18 or the D final for places 19-24.
Likewise, the men's pair of Patrick O'Dunne (Nazareth, Pa.) and Matt Schnobrich (St. Paul, Minn.) just missed a spot in the semifinals after finishing third in the repechage. Australia won the race, holding off the hard-charging French and U.S. crews at the line. The U.S. sat in third position at the 500-meter mark before overtaking second place in the second quarter of the race. Heading into the final 500 meters, the U.S. held a half-length advantage on France for second place. However, the French sprint was stronger, as they edged the Americans at the line by 0.38 seconds. Australia clocked a 6:24.98, followed by France in a 6:26.24 and the U.S. in a 6:26.62. The duo will now race in a C/D semifinal on Thursday, which will determine if it will race in the C final for places 13-18 or the D final for places 19-24.
After challenging for a top two position through the first 500 meters, the women's double sculls tandem of Megan Cooke (Los Gatos, Calif.) and Lia Pernell (Seattle, Wash.) was unable to stay with Great Britain and Australia and ended up dropping into fourth place. The finish sends the U.S. to Saturday's B final for places 7-11, while the top two crews moved on to the championship final. Great Britain led the race from start to finish, clocking a 6:43.37. Australia finished second in a 6:44.39. The U.S. came home in a 6:49.50.
The lightweight women's quadruple sculls quartet of Wendy Campanella (Needham, Mass.), Sarah Hirst Smith (Oak Ridge, Tenn.), Melissa Rice (Fairfax, Va.) and Heather Moon (Windsor, Vt.) finished fifth in the repechage and failed to advance to the final. In what was a very close finish, the U.S. clocked a 6:26.40, 0.14 seconds behind fourth-place Japan. The American boat held the fourth and final qualifying spot through the 1,500-meter mark, but Japan passed the U.S. with 250 meters to go. The Americans battled back to take a slight lead just 10 strokes from the finish line but was unable to hold on as Japan caught them at the line. Great Britain won the race with a time of 6:19.86, setting a world best time in the process. With only seven entries and no B final, the U.S. finished seventh overall.
In total, the U.S. has 21 crews competing at the world championships. Semifinals will be held Thursday and Friday, with finals taking place on Saturday and Sunday.