We may not have seen any Gangnam Style at the opening ceremony last night, but Chungju style was pretty impressive. From UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and other South Korean dignitaries, to K-Pop boy bands and an incredible firework display, our hosts presented a fantastic show on racing eve.
The first day of racing began with a pre-show of dancers reminiscent of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and according to the venue site we should be expecting more "rowing cheerleading and dancing" all week! It was a cooler morning with a thick cloud cover, but as the first races began the sun broke through. The grandstands are filled with Koreans fanning themselves with hand fans in the shape of the regatta mascots: blue and pink Mandarin ducks named Tanie and Geumi (after Lake Tangeum).
Successful First Day for the US
It may only be day one, but the US crews have not wasted any time in showing their strength, advancing directly to quarterfinals or semifinals in 7 races and going to the repechage in 3 events. Team USA is the largest at Worlds; the only country that is fielding crews in all 27 events. With a W8+ lineup that holds the World's Best Time, a LM1x U23 champion and many former Olympians on this team, it is not just one of size but of depth in talent.
LM1x Andrew Campbell looked at ease as he cruised into first place in his heat. "With a long regatta like this, I try to take things one race at a time. I am feeling eager to compete. This is shaping up to be one of the strongest LM1x fields in recent memory and I am thrilled to be a part of it."
The USA Men’s Four of Mike Gennaro, Henrik Rummel, Seth Weil and Grant James also didn’t dither in getting their regatta underway, winning their heat and posting the fastest time in their event today.
Michelle Sechser, the LW1x had an exciting race as she passed the early leader, Patricia Obee from Canada, to take first place for half the race before being taken over by Greece in the last 500 meters and finishing in second; she will head directly into the semifinals.
In an interesting and unfortunate turn of events today, USRowing announced that the stroke of the W8+, Heidi Robbins will not race this week due to injury, and will be replaced by Meghan Musnicki who is doubling up with the W2-. The announcement came moments before Musnicki stormed down the course with pair partner and first time senior team member Taylor Goetzinger. Their win advanced them directly to the semi saving Musnicki from an additional race the repechage would have required.
The M2- of Mike DiSanto and Alex Karwoski raced a lane over from many-time champions Kiwi Pair of Hamish Bond and Eric Murray who got an early lead and won by a significant margin as expected. The more interesting race was for second place; DiSanto and Karwoski got edged out by the Germans by just over a second for a third place finish.
Austin Meyer and Nick Trojan, in the LM2x were edged out by the Aussies for a fourth place finish, but will be going to the repechage for another chance at advancing.
The LW2x of Kristin Hedstrom and Kate Bertko both veteran racers had a solid race finishing by a three second margin ahead of the Netherlands and South Africa. They will be going to the A/B Semifinal to compete for a spot in the final.
The W4x of Meghan Kalmoe, Esther Lofgren, Kara Kohler and Susan Francia as well as the M4x of Derek Johnson, Hans Struzyna, Andrew Gallagher and Ryan Shelton both came 4th in their heats and will both be heading to the repechage later this week.
In the last race of the day, single sculler Stephen Whelpley finished 4th by four seconds behind the Swiss sculler Roman Roeoesli, and will be going to the repechage.
The cheers from the crowds grew as the day progressed as if the spectators were shy at first, but could not hold back. Especially when a race was close the crowds went wild. Vuvuzela-like plastic horns and inflatable thunder sticks raise the volume in the grandstand as crews race passed. A group of South Korean women wearing blue shirts that read "Shalom" and waving Israeli and South Korean flags went absolutely nuts during heat three of the men's single sculls; both South Korea and Israel were racing. As the boats entered the last hundred meters the women shrieked like tweens at a Justin Beiber concert and ran along the course—there was a moment where it looked like they were going to fling themselves into the lake to greet the two scullers.
The report from the starting line was that athletes were very warm despite the cool down in weather and brought lots of water with them—the Canadian LW1x Patricia Obee even brought a bag of ice out on the water to cool down before the start of her race. The sun may not have been blazing yet, but it still was a touch warmer than her hometown Victoria, BC with an average August temperature of 71 degrees.
Another note from the start was that the only time there was any sort of hubbub was when Great Britain's sculler Alan Campbell entered the course and all the stern-holders began to clap. There was no Korean in that race; the clapping seemed to be aimed toward Campbell. He turned to Nicholas Purnell, the Aussie in the lane next to him and remarked, "We're not in Kansas anymore!" Not sure which is the odder moment of all that—the clapping or the Brit quoting the Dorothy.
Between the live entertainment and cultural activities it looks like the crowds are coming in to spend the day at the course—not just for the rowing, but for the celebration of it all.
Day one of racing is in the books, and we are looking forward to many more successful USA boats, and some really great racing all around. We're ending our day, but you're probably starting yours, so "joh-eun nal" Have a good day!
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