The haze finally burned off yesterday, revealing stunning cliffs climbing up from the course off the starboard oars of the crews as they rowed down the course. This morning's sun is combining with last night's rain to create perfect racing conditions: cool and just a little moist, the sun shining in a mellow mood.
There are only eight semifinal races in four events this morning: the lightweight men's straight pair, the lightweight women's double, the lightweight men's double, and the men's quad. After a break, the C, D and E finals will take place.
At the start, cows saunter down right to the water's edge, mere meters from the crews aligning to race.
The morning racing is now over; there are 17 races this afternoon, all C (places 13-18), D (19-24), and E (24- ) level finals. I won't be giving race reports on these, but rather tending to our swimmingly successful messaging service; over 500 messages have been delivered, by my rough count (i'm out of paper from a 500-sheet pile.)
H4x
semifinal 1: The Italians took an early lead in this race, and never looked back. They led by open water by the 1000, while there were three crews within .6 seconds fighting for second place. The same three crews were only .7 seconds apart at 500 to go, and .8 apart at the finish, with the order of finish Italy, Ukraine, Switzerland and Netherlands.
semifinal 2: France took the lead in this race, shadowed by mere feet by Germany. The Austrian crew, rowing in fourth by as much as 2.5 seconds out of qualifying position, was the spoiler for the US crew, which was in second place for a stretch, then firmly in third, by 2.34 seconds over Austria with 500 to go. Austria staged a ferocious sprint, however, and took the third qualifying spot from the US crew by two feet.
HPL2x men's lightweight double; 2 semis, top 3 to A final, next 3 to B final
semifinal 1: followers of lightweight rowing won't be surprised to hear that Italy and Denmark took the first and second positions early, and stayed there. The race for third was intense, wih four crews within one second of each other to the 500 and beyond. The accumulating lactate was almost palpable in a couple of the crews, though, and soon it was a race between Spain and France for the third position, with Spain prevailing by a fair amount by the end of the race.
semifinal 2: After the Swedes lept out to two seats in the first 8 strokes, the real race developed. Here's the story: Poland, Germany, and Australia went down the course together, with a too-late challenge from the Austrian double in the final 500; if you see the video, the strain on the face of the Austrian bowman is that of an epic struggle. The charge failed however, and the Austrians finished fourth, ahead of the USA, the Sweden.
FPL2x Lightweight women's double; 2 semis; top 3 to A final, next 3 to B final
semifinal 1: With an aggressive (if slightly rough) Romania dominating the race, and Germany fairly comfortably in second, the race for third was hotly contested, with 3 boats within 6 inches of one another at the 500 mark. By the 1000m mark, it was the USA and SWE in real contention, with the US crew edging out to a very slight lead at the 1500m mark. The USA seemed to have another gear that the Swedes could not match, though, and even pulled to within a half length of the Germans. Final order: ROM, GER, USA, in the qualifying spots.
semifinal 2: Canada and Denmark rowed well in front of the field throughout this race, with Canada apparently conserving slightly more energy than the Danes, who seemed hellbent on getting the lead from the Canadians. They came exremely close, but it was a length back to France in third, and open water back to GBR in fourth, and so had no efect on the advancement. Canada held on to win by a bowball.
HLP2- lightweight men's straight pair; semis, top 3 to A final, next 3 to B final
semifinal 1: the Sweden third-place for the A final was a classic case of a crew rowing their own 2000 to get to the finish line in the money; they rowed in fourth place, sometimes behind third by as much as a length, until well into the final 500m. After a fast start by Denmark, Ireland came through and led the rest of the way, followed by the Danes by less than 1 second throughout, although the German crew found its way into second position several times. However, the Swedes put on a tremendous push at the finish of the race, and were reeling in the entire field at the close. The Germans fell victim to the charge, placing fourth into the B final. YUG and the GBR followed.
semifinal 2: The Swiss crew took an early lead and extended for the rest of the race, clearly dominating this semi. The real drama came from the Hungarian crew, which, after a terrible start that found them, I believe, in sixth place, rowed almost systematically through the Austrian, USA, and finally Australia into the third position, behind second place France.
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