Emotions ran high on an action packed day four at the 2015 World Rowing Championships with eight New Zealand crews taking to the water. The overcast and rainy day saw two more New Zealand crews qualify for A finals as well as four crews progress to semi finals and two crews suffer disappointment after missing out on semi final spots. Both the women's quad and men's eight have booked all important spots in the A final alongside the women's eight who qualified directly from their heat on Monday. The men's lightweight single, men's pair, women's lightweight double and men's single have all qualified for semi finals. The men's lightweight double and women's single came heartbreakingly close but failed to progress to the semi finals meaning they miss out on the chance of Olympic qualification this year.
The women's quad of Erin-Monique O'Brien, Lucy Spoors, Georgia Perry and Sarah Gray flew out of the start in their repechage with a top two spot in their sights. The kiwi crew led through the halfway mark and while they were overtaken by the Netherlands they were able to hold off a challenge from China to finish second and were rewarded with a spot in the A final. The women's quad must finish in the top five to achieve Olympic qualification. Erin-Monique O'Brien said, "We had a fast start in the choppy water and then the other crews started to pull back a bit of us, then it was just a really tight wind to the finish line. We just wanted to stay in control, stay steady and keep breathing. When it comes to the final we've got to really shoot for that first place and it's anyones game in the final."
The men's eight remained composed as they stormed down the course chasing a top two finish. They were under pressure as the three leading crews remained within a length of each other. While the Netherlands moved into the lead the kiwis were able to ward off the challenge from the United States pushing them out of A final contention and gaining second place. The men's eight have qualified for the A final and need a top five finish in order to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Men's eight coxwain Caleb Shepherd commented, "We were quite conservative in the first half of the race but we stuck to our guns and had a really good rhythm and then when it came to that final push we just opened it up and away she went."
"We're really happy at this point, it was a good job today. We had our work cut out for us with some really tough crews but we're in with a shot on Sunday so we're really looking forward to it."
Early in the day men's lightweight single sculler Adam Ling rowed a beautifully timed race to pip the reigning world champion Italian sculler, Marcello Miani right on the line and earn his place in the semi finals.
Eric Murray and Hamish Bond once again showed their class, winning their quarter final with clear water and moving one step closer to the final having now qualified for the semi finals.
It was a tough race for the men's lightweight double of Peter Taylor and Hayden Cohen who held third position throughout the race but were unable to hold off the challenge from the Irish double who made a big effort in the final stages of the race. Taylor and Cohen will be hugely disappointed to have fallen short of the top three, missing out on progressing to the semi finals and the chance for Olympic qualification.
In the women's lightweight double Julia Edward and Sophie Mackenzie finished second in their quarter final having led the race until the final strokes when they were overtaken by the fast finishing Chinese crew. They have however, booked their spot in the semi finals.
Men's single sculler Mahe Drysdale cruised through his quarter final untroubled finishing in the top spot and booking a place in the semi final.
Women's single sculler Fiona Bourke built throughout the race getting herself in third place in the final quarter but was unable to hang on as the crews from Zimbabwe and Ireland stepped on the gas in a sprint for the line. There was less than 0.8 dividing the three crews fighting for the second and third spot. Bourke will be extremely disappointed to miss out on the opportunity to gain Olympic qualification and will now head to C/D semi finals.
It will be another busy day for the kiwi rowers on Thursday with eight crews contesting A/B semi finals and two crews in the C/D semi finals. Racing kicks off with the A/B semi finals at 10:00am (8:00pm NZST) and will be available to view live on SKY Sport 3.