The U.S. lightweight women's double sculls and lightweight men's double sculls crews advanced on Monday to highlight the second day of competition at the 2008 FISA Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Poznan, Poland. The qualification regatta serves as the last chance for the United States to qualify boats for the 2008 Olympic Games in the men's single sculls, lightweight women's double and lightweight men's double.
The lightweight women's double sculls tandem of Jennifer Goldsack (Banstead, United Kingdom) and Renee Hykel (Haverford, Pa.) dominated its heat, winning the race by more than eight seconds to advance to Wednesday's final. With only one crew moving directly to the final, the U.S boat got off the line well, taking the lead in the first 500 meters and establishing more than a three-second advantage at the midway point of the race. The duo continued to pull away from the rest of the field over the final 1,000 meters. Goldsack and Hykel crossed the finish line in a 7:13.15, with Poland following in a 7:21.44. The Netherlands' Marit Van Eupen and Kirsten Van Der Kolk won the second heat with a time of 7:16.63. The 2004 Olympic bronze medalists defeated Italy by nearly eight seconds to also advance directly to the final.
The lightweight men's double sculls tandem of Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Cody Lowry (Bristow, Okla.) finished second in its repechage, or second-chance race, to advance to tomorrow's semifinals. With the top three finishers moving on to the semis, the duo sat in fourth position at the midway point of the race, just behind Poland and Bulgaria. However, the Americans made a strong push in the third 500 meters to move into second position. Slovenia's Jure Cvet and Bine Pislar won the race in a 6:35.04, with Urevick-Ackelsberg and Lowry finishing in a 6:40.31. Bulgaria finished third to also advance, while the two-time defending Olympic champions from Poland, Robert Sycz and Tomasz Kucharski, finished fifth and were eliminated from competition. The U.S. duo will now race in the second of two semifinals against boats from the Czech Republic, Russia, Canada, Slovakia and Turkey. The top three finishers will advance to the final.
Coming off his second-place finish in yesterday's heat, men's single sculler Ken Jurkowski (New Fairfield, Conn.) will race in the second of two semifinals tomorrow. Jurkowski will take on rowers from Austria, Lithuania, Latvia, Greece and Poland, with the top three finishers advancing to Wednesday's final.
Racing continues on Tuesday with the remaining repechages and semifinals. Finals take place on Wednesday. At the qualification regatta, three spots for Olympic competition remain open in the men's single, while two each remain open in the lightweight men's double and lightweight women's double. The United States has already qualified boats in 11 of the 14 Olympic rowing events to be contested in Beijing.
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