Summary of Olympic A/B semifinals and races involving U.S. crews on Thursday, August 14, 2008. All times are Beijing local time.
Lightweight Women's Double Sculls Semi A/B 1 - 15:30
1-3 -> FA, 4.. -> FB
Lane 1 - Cuba (VELAZQUEZ/MARRERO) Lane 2 - Great Britain (GOODSELL/CASEY) Lane 3 - Netherlands (van der KOLK/van EUPEN) Lane 4 - Germany (CAROW/DRAEGER) Lane 5 - Denmark (OLSEN/RASMUSSEN) Lane 6 - Finland (STEN/NIEMINEN)
-The Netherlands and Germany are the favorites to advance in the first Thursday semifinal. The race for the third qualifying spot should be a race between Great Britain, Denmark, and Finland.
Lightweight Women's Double Sculls Semi A/B 2 - 15:40
1-3 -> FA, 4.. -> FB
Lane 1 - Japan (KUMAKURA/IWAMOTO) Lane 2 - United States (HYKEL/GOLDSACK) Lane 3 - Australia (HALLIDAY/HOUSTON) Lane 4 - China (XU/YU) Lane 5 - Canada (KOK/CAMERON) Lane 6 - Greece (BISKITZI/TSIAVOU)
-Hykel and Goldsack have a solid shot at qualifying. China and Australia should go first and second but the race for third race should be between the Americans and the Canadians. Greece has also shown speed and may contend for the last spot in the final.
Lightweight Men's Double Sculls Semi A/B 1 - 15:50
1-3 -> FA, 4.. -> FB
Lane 1 - Cuba (BATISTA/PEREZ) Lane 2 - France (GOISSET/DUFOUR) Lane 3 - Great Britain (PURCHASE/HUNTER) Lane 4 - Italy (MIANI/LUINI) Lane 5 - Canada (VANDOR/SYLVESTER) Lane 6 - Germany (KOCH/BREHMER)
-Based on the heats and reps, this should be a fantastic race. Great Britain and Italy have shown the most speed and should advance, but all the crews have a shot at the A final.
Lightweight Men's Double Sculls Semi A/B 2 - 16:00
1-3 -> FA, 4.. -> FB
Lane 1 - Portugal (FRAGA/MENDES) Lane 2 - Greece (MOUGIOS/POLYMEROS) Lane 3 - New Zealand (URU/TAYLOR) Lane 4 - Denmark (RASMUSSEN/HANSEN) Lane 5 - China (ZHANG/SUN) Lane 6 - Australia (BELTZ/GIBSON)
-Denmark, the two time world champs, are favorite to win the second semifinal. New Zealand, Greece, and China are the likely contenders for the last two spots in the A final with Australia in the mix as well.
Lightweight Men's Four Semifinal A/B 1 - 16:10
1-3 -> FA, 4.. -> FB
Lane 1 - Netherlands Lane 2 - Poland Lane 3 - China Lane 4 - Germany Lane 5 - Canada Lane 6 - Australia
-China has looked good throughout the year so far and should advance with Germany. Poland, canada, and Australia the contenders for the third spot.
Lightweight Men's Four Semifinal A/B 2 - 16:20
1-3 -> FA, 4.. -> FB
Lane 1 - Ireland Lane 2 - Great Britain Lane 3 - Denmark Lane 4 - France Lane 5 - Italy Lane 6 - United States
-The Americans will have a very tough go about it in the second final. They've showed pretty good base speed, but need to get off the line more quickly if they want to compete with the favorites Denmark and France.
Men's Quadruple Sculls Semifinal A/B 1 - 16:30
1-3 -> FA, 4.. -> FB
Lane 1 - Czech Republic Lane 2 - Russian Federation Lane 3 - Australia Lane 4 - Poland Lane 5 - Germany Lane 6 - Belarus
-Australia, Poland, and Germany are favorites in the first quad semifinal. There should be some seperation between them and Russia, Czech, and Belarus.
Men's Quadruple Sculls Semifinal A/B 2 - 16:40
1-3 -> FA, 4.. -> FB
Lane 1 - Estonia Lane 2 - France Lane 3 - Ukraine Lane 4 - Italy Lane 5 - United States Lane 6 - Cuba
-2pm Friday update- Jamie Schroeder is back in the quad for Friday's semifinal race. Breaking news Thursday am Beijing time: US three-seat Jamie Schroeder cannot race today due to illness, and Warren Anderson will take his place in the crew today. Pending recovery and doctor's review, Jamie may be able to return to the crew after today. The USA has a good chance to advance to the final if they race like they did in Lucerne. They will have to keep pace with Italy and France if they want to knock off Ukraine and Estonia for a chance at the medals.
Men's Single Sculls Final B - 17:00
For places 7 -> 12
Lane 1 - Lithuania (GRISKONIS) Lane 2 - United States (JURKOWSKI) Lane 3 - Germany (HACKER) Lane 4 - Greece (CHRISTOU) Lane 5 - Switzerland (VONARBURG) Lane 6 - Australia (HARDCASTLE)
-Based off the the semifinals, Christou and Hacker have the most speed in the B Final. A top three finish today for Jurkowski would be a a fantastic finish for Ken's first Olympics.
Women's Pair Final B - 17:10
For places 7 -> 12
Lane 1 - France (PASCAL-PRETRE/DECHAND) Lane 2 - Australia (CROW/COOK) Lane 3 - United States (McGEE/CUMMINS) Lane 4 - Canada (HOSKINS/KOLKER)
-The Americans and the Australians are the favorites to win the B final.
Men's Four Final B - 17:00
For places 7 -> 12
Lane 1 - Italy Lane 2 - Belarus Lane 3 - Netherlands Lane 4 - New Zealand Lane 5 - United States Lane 6 - Ireland
-The B final for the men's four should be a barn burner. New Zealand, the United States, and Ireland all had times in the semifinal that would have placed them third in the second semifinal.