(Sept. 01, 2013) Canadian women won their third medal today 2013 World Rowing Championships in Chungju, Korea.
The women's eight took bronze this afternoon on the final day of the regatta. The consistently dominant U.S. women's eight again won gold in 6:02.14, followed by Romania in 6:07.04 for silver and then Canada in 6:09.34. Great Britain, Australia and the Netherlands followed.
"We were a little bit behind at the start, but we trusted our rhythm just as we have been doing in practice," said Canada's coxswain, Kristen Kit, who also served in this role at the 2012 Paralympic Games. "We rowed back into contention, and the women responded to the calls - there were a lot of hearts beating together in this one boat."
The Canadian crew is Lisa Roman (Vancouver, BC), Jennifer Martins (Toronto, ON), Carolyn Ganes (Saskatoon, SK), Susanne Grainger (London, ON), Sarah Black (Ottawa, ON), Christine Roper (Victoria, BC), Natalie Mastracci (Thorold, ON), Cristy Nurse (Georgetown, ON), and Kristen Kit (St. Catharines, ON).
From this crew Black, Roper, Mastracci and Nurse also won a silver medal at this Worlds in the women's four.
"It's the first time I've doubled up at the Worlds, so to be on the podium twice is pretty special," said Nurse, who was an alternate on the 2012 Olympic team. "For me, it was nice to have that extra event to keep us sharp, and once you're on the podium, you want to be back there."
Only Mastracci remains on the team from last year's Olympic silver-medal winning boat.
Canada also had a medal in the women's quad on Saturday, and finishes with a total of three medals at this Worlds. The women are coached by John Keogh, based in London, Ontario.
"Overall, the Canadian team competed here with a lot of determination and pride," said Rowing Canada Aviron High Performance Director, Peter Cookson. "The women's team performed to world-class standards and it was a pleasure to watch them race here. The lightweight men made significant strides towards our goal of inching them back up to world standards. Our heavy men, while we are all disappointed with the results, are showing character and resolve that will certainly benefit them for next year and beyond."
Cookson added: "We've got a lot of hard grinding to do over the fall, winter and spring; and I know all of the athletes on the team are itching to get back at it. Our team motto is integrity, pride and performance. This team is starting to show those characteristics in many ways."
In the men's eight race today, Great Britain won its first-ever gold medal at the Worlds in this event. Canada did not send a men's eight to the Worlds this year. Full results for the World Rowing Championships can be found at www.worldrowing.com.
Canada also had a medal in the women's quad on Saturday, and ends up with a total of three podium finishes at the 2013 Worlds.