Fittingly, a regatta where all the athletes were fighting for every inch, the last race of the day came down to inches, with the US Men's eight needing every stroke of the last 500 meters to nail down their Olympic berth; the final margin was 0.46 seconds over the other qualifier in the M8+, Poland, and 0.82 seconds over Italy.
The win in the men's eight salvaged an otherwise tough day for the US crews, as neither the Men's Double nor the Men's Quad qualified today, marking a US Olympic team that will not field a single openweight sculling boat on the Men's side. The US will send crews in 11 of the 14 events to the Olympics.
MEN'S EIGHT
The race, as was expected, was no holds barred from the get go, with the eights from Poland and Australia setting the early pace; there was an audible gasp from the crowd of USA athletes, families and supporters when the commentators called the USA out of a qualification spot early on.
In the middle 1000 meters, the USA 8+ overhauled Australia to get into a qualification position, though they were never comfortable, with Italy just half a second behind them with 500 meters to go. In that last 500, the USA crew uncorked the fastest 500 meters of any crew on the lake today to seal the win.
"We knew someone would shoot out right from the start," said stroke Austin Hack. "we trusted our middle 1000. We have a great base. At the halfway mark I had no clue where we were. Once we crossed the finish line, I still wasn't sure if we qualified. It is still really surreal."
"It was a hell of a race," said coxswain Sam Osjerkis. "Everyone knows it's top two, or it's nothing. You saw a lot of early sprints, a lot of early charges." So what did Osjerkis call in the sprint? "There wasn't one decisive move, it's the rhythm of the crew. I told them they had ten strokes left, and they were pulling their balls off!"
A relieved USA Men's coach Luke McGee met the crew on the dock, admitting that he wasn't sure, really at any point, that his crew had qualified. "Maybe when the announcer said they got it," said McGee. "Until then, it was such a hard fought race with Italy, Poland and Australia, the whole year you knew that those crews were going to be right there. I told the guys to get out there and be persistent."
McGee tipped his hat to his crew, who left everything on the water. "It's a testament to the character of the guys," said McGee. "They've been racing each other twice a week, the whole year. If it's in Princeton in pairs, if it's Sarasota in fours, Chula Vista in eights, they've been knocking heads the entire year. It's a real testament that they're able to do that, and still remain so close."
With only a short time since selection, the crew can now work on gelling and gaining speed.The crew will be racing the World Cup regatta here in Lucerne starting on Friday, with the view to getting to know their Olympic competition a little more closely.
MEN'S QUAD
The USA crew of Ben Davison, Ben Dann and brothers John and Peter Graves put together a great regatta here in Lucerne, but didn't have the luck (and maybe the horsepower) they needed today, finishing fourth and out of a qualifying spot.
The Rio spots went to Russia, who had won their heat and controlled the final handily today, and Canada, whom the US had beaten in the repechage.
MEN'S DOUBLE
The speed in the field was simply too hot for the young US crew of Stephen Whelpley and Willie Cowles today, who lost contact early in the race, and had to do big work to try and stay in touch from lane 6.
Veteran and two-time Olympic champion in the single, Norway's Olaf Tufte and his partner Kjetil Borch took the win, and will be headed to Rio along with the crew from Serbia. This will be Tufte's sixth Olympics.
OTHER EVENTS
The Olympic rowing fields were completed here today, pending a few tough intra-national decisions that will need to be made; with Belgium qualifying both the Men's Single and Men's Lightweight Double (both crews won here today), the Belgian Olympic Committee will need to scratch one of the two crews. It's a rough situation all around; how do you tell a FOQR winner that they won't go to the Games? The Belgian LM2x acknowledged as much, see below for quotes. Denmark just missed qualification in both the M1x and LM2x, so they will slot in to whichever spot Belgium scratches.
There were victory ceremonies after each race; all qualifiers received commemorative medals, and the number of athletes on the podium was limited to the qualifying finishers, which is why the medal ceremonies had as many as 4 crews up there, or as few as two.
Another brutal stat from the weekend; this is the first time in 64 years that Germany will not have any single scullers competing in the Olympics.
A total highlight of the day was Eric Murray (of the NZ M2- and associated @kiwipair fame) live commenting the finals via Facebook, which included great commentary and some truly wacky (and frank) athlete interviews. As one wag commented, "this has been my favorite rowing broadcast of all time." Well played, @kiwipair!
A small but lively spectator presence made the event for the competitors; still, like most trials events, the event was a stark reminder that so much of the best, fastest and indeed most meaningful work in the sport is done with few people watching.
To wrap up the qualifier, it's time to leave the last word to the athletes themselves.
Women's Single
Rio Olympic Qualifiers: NZL, IRL, BLR, DEN
Emma Twigg - New Zealand - first
"I really felt the pressure to perform today after my year off. This has definitely put me on a track for gold in Rio. This means I can go back to training a lot more miles, more distance stuff."
Sanita Puspure - Ireland - second
"The tail wind suited me really well, even though it was a really tough race. My schedule was through today, so I have no plans before Rio yet."
Ekaterina Karsten - Belarus - third
"It was a good race. I thought I want to qualify, but in sports anything can happen. Today was good for me."
Fie Udby Erichsen - Denmark - fourth
"I expected a headwind and it came as a tailwind, which is not the best for me. I tried to keep my race plan, then I hit two buoys and was literally stopped. It doesn't change anything to race for first place or to race to be within the first four."
Men's Single
Rio Olympic Qualifiers: BEL, AUS, HUN
Hannes Obreno, Belgium - first
"During the race I though only about the Olympics. There was a lot of pressure because our light men's double is also racing. The first thousand was bumpy, but second was better and I could push away."
Rhys Grant, Australia - second
"I can't believe I qualified. The guys were coming really hard for me. But my parents are here to cheer me on and words cannot express how I feel right now."
Bendeguz Petervari-Molnar, Hungary - third
"I expected it would be a really hard race and at the 1000m I wasn't sure I was going to make it because it was so tough. But I heard the crowd cheering me on and that gave me a boost."
Lightweight Men's Double Sculls (LM2x)
Rio Olympic Qualifiers: BEL, TUR
Brys Tim (b), Niels Van Zandweghe (s), Belgium - first
"We could really count on our last 500m and we won the race. But then we crossed the finish line with a really mixed feeling because the men's single sculls qualified also and we can only send one. This is one of the few scenarios we hadn't planned for."
Kandemir Huseyin (b), Enes Kusku (s), Turkey - second
"We thought only about Rio. At the first world cup in Varese, we had the photo finish with the Danes and we had the exact same time. Today we beat them and it is way more important. It is the first Turkish boat going to the Olympics after the qualification system has been put into place."
Lightweight Women's Double Sculls (LW2x)
Rio Olympic Qualifiers: NED,ROM
"Check! We were the first out of the start. It took us a little longer to dominate the race than in the heat. But once we had it, we went full force." Paulis Ilse (b), Netherlands - first
"I thought I just should row at my maximum, but also about Rio, my family, my boyfriend and my teammate. I looked once out of the boat at the thousand and we were with the others. I can't believe it." Andreea Asoltanei (s) Romania - second
Men's Pair (M2-)
Rio Olympic Qualifiers: CZE,HUN
Podrazil Jakub (b) Czech Republic, Men's Pair
"Our first 1000m was really easy and really good. Then we started to be pushed a little bit. The Hungarians were coming for us. The last 250m was really, really hard."
Bela Simon Jr (s), Hungary, Men's Pair
"Since we are the Eueropean Champions we felt the need to qualify for the Olympic Games. However, throughout the first 1000m we didn't feel in control and rowed nervously. In the last 400m we just went all in and finally made it."
Women's Pair (W2-)
Rio Olympic Qualifiers: ESP,CHN,ITA,POL
Aina Cid I (s), Spain, Women's Pair
"The race was different than expected. We just had to give our best. We train in Banyoles with the men's pair. We have taught us a couple of things to go fast."
Tian Miao (s), China, Women's Pair
"I am really happy and not tired."
Sara Bertolasi (s), Italy, Women's Pair
"After the first part, we were in fifth position and we stayed calm as we are not really fast at the start. 10 metres before the line we knew we were qualified."
Wierzbowska Anna Poland , Women's Pair
"We didn't know what to expect of this race because every race has been different for us. We didn't have the experience last year where we started to fast. Our strategy was to keep with the field for the first half, we saw we were with the pack. So from them on we decided to control the outside lanes and guarantee our position.
Women's Eight
Rio Qualifiers: ROM,NED
Magdalina Beres, Romania - first
"The race plan was to win the race and to go to Rio. Our cox motivated us and did many calls about the Olympics."
Claudia Belderbos, the Netherlands - second
"We were completely destroyed at the finish line. We agreed with each other to stay focused and to keep our heads in the boat. It took a while to sink in that we actually qualified. We have a great crew with a great atmosphere. In Rio everyone will start with a clean slate, everyone will have a chance at a medal."
Women's Quadruple Sculls (W4x)
Rio Qualifiers
Xinyue Zhang (s), China - first
"We are so happy, it was not easy, but we're very luck to qualify. The sunshine gave us power today."
Olena Buryak (2) Ukraine - second
"We are very happy, we are glad that the sun came out and that it is warm because we go much faster in these conditions."
Lightweight Men's Four (LM4-)
Rio Qualifiers: RUS,GER
Aleksey Vikulin (s), Russia - first
"The last 300 metres we just closed our eyes. All the rest we did what the coach said. The emotions are so high right now, the last time Russia was represented in lightweight rowing was in 2004."
Lucas Schaefer (2) Germany - second
"This was one of the hardest races of my life. But we did exactly what we were supposed to do according to our race plan. The challenge from the Greeks at the 1500m mark was what we needed to push us over the finish line in 2nd place."
Men's Four (M4-)
Rio Qualifiers: RSA,FRA
Hunt David (b) South Africa - first
"It was so hard, but we worked so much that we didn't feel the pain. Next time we will qualify at the World Championships because it is really too stressful to race here in Lucerne."
Benjamin Lang (2), France - second
"It's only been one month since we started rowing together in this combination. With one former lightweight and Mickael who switched from sculling to sweep, it has been a challenge. But now that we are going to Rio, it is really nice to go, but we really want to perform as well."
Men's Double Sculls (M2x)
Rio Qualifiers: NOR,SRB
Olaf Tufte, Norway - first
"To warm up I need 25 minutes on the erg and then 45 minutes on the water, I'm old you know."
Marko Marjanovic Serbia - second
"We planned to have a very quick start since we got a rest day yesterday and almost all the others had to go through the repechage. That worked out really well for us. We are very pleased to qualify. After today we will go back to Serbia to have a national team training camp and go back to our basics."
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