It was a busy day for the Canadian Team at the 2009 World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland (Aug. 23 to 30).
Three crews advanced and another three will row in repechages in order to advance.
The men's eight won its heat and move to the finals.
Canada's time was 6.02.58, followed by the Netherlands in 6:04.46 - Russia, Italy and Poland were off the pace in third, fourth and fifth respectively. The powerful German eight took the other heat in 5:58.16, with Great Britain also qualifying after this preliminary round.
"The Dutch put in some pushes," said Andrew Byrnes, one of only two members (the other is Malcolm Howard) of the eight from last year's gold medal Olympic boat. "They are a top-quality crew that have found a lot of speed.... Buckle your seatbelts, it's going to be a tight final."
The eight is (cox) Mark Laidlaw of Mississauga, ON, Derek O'Farrell of Unionville, ON, James Dunaway of Duncan, BC, Malcolm Howard of Victoria, BC, Andrew Byrnes of Toronto, ON, Doug Csima of Oakville, ON, Gabe Bergen of 100 Mile House, BC, and Rob Gibson of Kingston, ON, and Steve VanKnotsenburg of Beamsville, ON,
The lightweight men's double of Doug Vandor of Dewittville, Que., and Cam Sylvester of Caledon, Ont. won their heat to advance to the semi-final. This double, that has medaled at two World Cups this year, took the heat in 7:06.99 - Germany was second in 7:10.41 and also goes to the semis.
"The race went well," said the veteran rower Vandor. "We did what we had to do and we're looking forward to the semi in a couple of days."
Canada's lightweight women's double - Lindsay Jennerich of Victoria, B.C. and Sheryl Preston of North Delta, B.C. - looked very strong off the starting blocks in breezy conditions, but caught a crab early in the race that halted their progress. Still, they managed to recover and come second and advance to the semi-final.
Host country Poland won the heat in 8:08.29 and Canada took the second qualifying position in 8:11.26.
The lightweight men's four was third in 6:44.06 and must row in a rep. Denmark and Japan took first and second.
This year's light four is Mike Lewis of Victoria, Terry McKall of Edmonton, AB, John Sasi of Delta, B.C. and Tim Myers of Penticton, B.C. Only Lewis rowed to the bronze in the 2008 Olympics in this event.
Canada's women's eight was third in its heat. Typically strong Romania won in 6:48.89, followed by Great Britain in 6:54.10 and Canada in 6:57.18.
The eight is Sarah Bonikowsky of Orangeville, Ont., Ashley Brzozowicz of Tornnto, Ont., Peggy DeVos of Kamloops, B.C., Larissa Lagzdins of Burlington, ON., Romina Stefancic of Victoria, Jane Rumball of Fredericton, NB, Krista Guloien of Port Moody, B.C., Lauren Hutchins of North Vancouver, B.C. and Lesley Thompson-Willie of London, Ont.
Canada's entry in the adaptive races, the mixed coxed four (LTAMix4+), made its first appearance today. In this 1000-metre race, Paralympic Games bronze medalists Great Britain won in 3:42.57, Germany was second in 3:50.47 and Canada was third in 3:51.44, followed by the Ukraine and Ireland. Only the first-place finisher goes directly to the final, the rest go to the repechage tomorrow.
The Canadian crew is Anthony Theriault of Nanaimo, B.C., Meghan Montgomery of Winnipeg, MB, Stuart Starkey of Winnipeg, MB, Victoria Nolan of Toronto, Ont., and (cox) Laura Comeau of St. Catharines, Ont. - all but Starkey competed in last year's Paralympic Games in Beijing.
Tomorrow is fairly light for Canada - the rep for the adaptive crew and men's coxed pair, and a race for lanes for the women's four are on the schedule.
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