Semi-final speed at Lucerne’s World Rowing Cup III
The third and final World Rowing Cup for 2018 moved on to day two with the semi-finals being raced. The Rotsee venue in Lucerne, Switzerland turned on perfect rowing conditions at the start of the day. The water was flat, the temperatures moderate and no wind in sight.
Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls (LM1x) – Semi-finals
The fastest from yesterday’s heats racing in Semi-final One was Switzerland’s Michael Schmid. But at the start it was Sean Murphy of Australia Two who came racing out. Coming into the half way point Schmid picked up the pace and took over in the lead with the Murphy, Lasr Wichert of Germany Two and New Zealand’s James Lassche all within striking distance. The third 500 was when this race was decided. Lassche challenged to get into a qualifying spot, but did not have the legs. This left Schmid, Wichert and Murphy to qualify. Schmid had clocked the fastest qualifying time overall.
Men’s Pair (M2-) – Semi-finals & Finals
France’s Valentin and Theophile Onfroy had a very good heat yesterday and today they looked to be the favourites in Semi-final Two. The Onfroy’s did lead at the start with the Czech Republic and New Zealand right on their tails. The closeness remained coming into the middle of the race and only 0.13 of a second separated the top three boats. It was nip and tuck racing with Tom Murray and Michael Brake of New Zealand One and Lukas Helesic and Jakub Podrazil of the Czech Republic right with the French.
Murray and Brake then went to 39 as the Onfroy brothers upped their rating to shake the followers. Helesic and Podrazil couldn’t keep up but still managed to qualify.
New Zealand’s second crew of Martyn O’Leary & Charlie Rogerson placed fourth in the event’s C Final.
Women’s Double Sculls (W2x) – Semi-finals
At the beginning of Semi-final One Ireland had the lead. This is a new Irish combination and it wasn’t long before they got soaked up by Canada’s tall Gabrielle Smith and Andrea Proske with the World Champions New Zealand and the Netherlands moving with them. Then Olivia Loe and Brooke Donoghue of New Zealand pushed into the lead and once there they were able to shake off the challengers with Canada and Roos de Jong and Lisa Scheenaard of the Netherlands battling with each other. The qualifiers had been decided and Loe and Donoghue had recorded the fastest qualifying time.
Men’s Double Sculls (M2x) – Semi-finals
The fast-starting German crew of Timo Piontek and Lars Hartig led the way in Semi-final One. Switzerland were the next fastest as the crews moved into the second quarter of the race. Then Nico Stahlberg and Roman Roeoesli of Switzerland did a push and got their nose ahead of Piontek and Hartig. The German duo came second at World Rowing Cup II where the World Champion Kiwis missed out on the medals. Today the Kiwi crew of John Storey and Chris Harris started at the back of the fleet but were slowly working their way to the font. With 500m left to row only a second separated the top three boats and Storey and Harris were motoring. Rating 38 the New Zealand boat led the way home. Second and third was very tight. Switzerland took second and Germany third.
Men’s Single Sculls (M1x) – Semi-finals
This is an important regatta for Manson and Drysdale as it doubles as a qualifying race between the two to be the New Zealand single sculler at this year’s World Rowing Championships.
In Semi-final One, Drysdale and Oliver Zeidler of Germany had a very tight finish with Germany taking first place. Both crews move to the final on Sunday evening.
Semi-final Two saw Manson maintaining the lead throughout the 2000m course, comfortably crossing the line ahead of Czech Republic’s Ondrej Synek, who placed ahead of Drysdale in the event’s quarter-final. Both crews move to the final on Sunday evening.
Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x) – Semi-final
In a very close finish, New Zealand’s Matthew Dunham and Ben van Dalen fought for second place and a lane in the final, finishing in a time of 6:21, just ahead of Poland. Belgium placed third and also progresses to the event’s final on Sunday evening.
Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls (LM1x) – B Final
These rowers have had quite a time during this regatta. They’ve been through heats and semi-finals and now today’s finals. Sam Mottram of Great Britain had the next best time following the semi-finals this morning. It was Peter Galambos of Hungary who held the lead at the start and he managed to keep it up but was outsprinted by Portugal’s Pedro Fraga, with New Zealand’s James Lassche placed fifth in a time of 7:04.
Men’s Eight (M8+) – Repechage
The New Zealand Men's Eight placed first in their repechage and progress to the event's A-final.
Men’s Quadruple Sculls (M4x) – Repechage
After a competitive heat race, New Zealand progresses to the B final after Great Britain and Australia took first and second place the event’s repechage.
Women’s Single Sculls (W1x) – Repechages & Finals
After taking first place in her repechage, Hannah Osborne progressed to the event’s semi-final, finishing fifth. Osborne now moves to the B-final.
Failing to qualify in her repechage, New Zealand’s Kirstyn Goodger placed second in the D-final.
Women’s Four (W4-) – Repechage
New Zealand’s crew progressed to the event’s repechage yesterday after placing third in their heat. Placing fourth in their repechage, they now move on to the B-final.
Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (LW2x)
After placing first in their heat, New Zealand’s Zoe McBride and Jackie Kiddle progressed to the A-final.
Women’s Pair (W2-)
World Champions and World Best Time holders, New Zealand’s Grace Prendergast and Kerri Gowler also progressed directly to the A-final after taking first place in their heat.
Women’s Eight (W8+)
After an easy win in their heat, New Zealand moved directly to the A-final where they will again face The Netherlands and China.
Hamish Bond and Eric Murray awarded the Thomas Keller Medal
Created in 1990, the Thomas Keller Medal celebrates athletes who have had an outstanding career in rowing. It honours those who have shown exemplary sportsmanship and technical mastery of the sport as well as having shown a legendary aspect both in and outside of their rowing career.
Known as the most prestigious medal awarded in rowing, the 2018 Thomas Keller Medal were awarded to Eric Murray and Hamish Bond by the World Rowing Federation, FISA at the 2018 World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne, Switzerland on 14 July 2018. During the award ceremony, an 18-carat gold medal was be bestowed to Eric and Hamish by Dominik Keller, the son of FISA’s former president Thomas Keller.
These two very different athletes became tied together when they united in the men’s pair in 2009. They then began an unprecedented 69-race winning streak. This streak included two Olympic Gold medals (2012 and 2016) and eight World Championships titles. They also claimed World Best Times in two boat classes, the men’s pair and men’s coxed pair. These times still stand today. The duo raced together at the 2008 Olympics in the men’s four and a seventh-place finish left them disappointed but brought them back on the road to pairs success.
"To be awarded the Thomas Keller Medal has shown that ‘The Kiwi Pair’ has extraordinarily contributed to the rowing world. We set out to win a few races and compete against the world, and the byproduct of trying to be the best we could be consistently, has left a legacy which will be there forever. We’ve always been privileged to represent our country and the sport of rowing to the wider global community. We had utmost respect for our competitors and have enjoyed the rivalries. It’s the greatest honor from the sport which has already given so much to us, and we thank the rowing world for this acknowledgment”, said Murray.
Hamish Bond, currently cycling in Wales, comments, "Just being nominated for the highest honour the sport of rowing offers is pretty special. When you look at the list of previous winners, the potential to have your name up along such luminaries is more than I ever expected to achieve in the sport. Typically the award is given to individuals but given that my career has been intertwined with Eric's, it's an honour to win this award together."