Friday was a return to normal at the Shunyi course; the clear skies of yesterday were again overcast and hazy. The cloud and smog cover made the 85 degree day feel a little cooler.
It was a short day of racing for the US team, with only 4 boats racing. The US JW2x was 3rd in their semi, going to the C Final. The US JM4x struggled early in their race and will go to the D Final tomorrow.
In the JM1x CD Semi 1, US sculler James Hills provided an exciting performance. Going into the buoys in the first 100 meters, Hills was in 5th at the 250 mark (see the race sequence starting here), but moved up to 3rd by 500 down in this back-and-forth race. Through the middle of the race Russia would gain a foot or two of open water on Estonia and Turkey, Serbia and Hills a half length back. Estonia would press back into Russia in the third 500, while Hills would trade 3rd with Turkey. Coming into the sprint Russia would hold off Turkey by a half length, Hills cracking through Serbia and Turkey in the last 250 to take the final spot in the C Final.
The US JW1x, Suzanne Maddamma, didn't make the cut in the first A-B Semi. Maddamma was 5th wire to wire in a race that was blown out by China's Weiwei Zhu. Zhu quickly had open water on the field and never shut down, finishing the race still around a 35... 14 seconds ahead! (Come to think of it I don't think that I have seen any Chinese crew shut down. They?re rowing their own races out there. I'm not going out on a limb by predicting a handful of medals tomorrow by Chinese crews.)
This race was also the third meeting in as many days for Ukraine's Nataliya Dovgodko and Canada's Lauren Wilkinson. In Wednesday's heat Wilkinson caught a few diggers off the line, trailing the field by 7 seconds at the 500, where Dovgodko was leading by a second. Dovgodko couldn't hold her pace, falling to 4th (behind Maddamma); Wilkinson would crawl back up to 5th; sending them both to the same rep clear of first day jitters. Thursday, Wilkinson started much cleaner, leading the rep the entire way. She broke clear of Dovgodko's press at the 1250 to finish open water up, Dovgodko in 3rd; both to the same semi. Today the two were next to each other, Wilkinson gaining a few feet off the line. Dovgodko would then press back, leading through the middle of the race by a half length. We saw the same response by Wilkinson at the 1250, inching up and past Dovgodko to the 1500. (See a sequence of photos from the race starting here.) Wilkinson finally broke through, finished off 6000 meters of dueling, and claimed the third spot in the A Final tomorrow.
A primary issue of this test regatta is the readiness of the course and organizers for the Olympic regatta. After a few days of racing, it seems that all teams are overwhelmingly happy with the facilities, water, and humble staff. Biking along the course, I have yet to hear a coach complain about anything except their own crew. According to FISA Executive Director, Matt Smith, the most pressing concern is "when does the athletes' party begin?"
Even the smog doesn't seem to be that big of a problem. US JW8+ coach, Steve Hargis, told me that the athletes have adjusted well to the air quality and "it's not as bad as we thought it would be." Inhalers seem to do the trick for asthmatic athletes, most of them feeling better than the rest of the team.
The locals have their own solution to the smog: cloud seeding. This is a process where rockets of silver iodide and dry ice are shot into clouds to induce rain. The rain then clears the air of smog and haze. Those bangs that we were hearing on Wednesday night were not thunderclaps, but rockets, rockets to manipulate the weather. As a people, we can now create rain. Is there anything more unnatural than manipulating the weather?
The venue is absolutely top-notch. Any problems that are being uncovered this week (the launch corral shape, ticket issuing dates) are incredibly minor. The only things left to do before the Olympics are make sure that weeds don?t grow through the bricks and someone flushes the finish tower toilet every now and then.
Three US boats are racing for medals tomorrow, don't forget to try the duck.
~JT
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