Blustery weather postpones finals
The scheduled first finals day of the 2016 Bankstream New Zealand Championships succumbed to the weather as a large chunk of the programme on day four was cancelled due to the blustery conditions at Lake Karapiro.
Only a handful of races were possible today before conditions from mid-morning were halted by high winds and rough water.
In the limited action which did take place today, Olympic champion Mahe Drysdale (Auckland RPC) cruised into Sunday’s men’s premier single sculls final with a typically dominant display. The eight-time national single sculls champion stopped the clock in 7:37.60 to finish more than nine seconds clear of his nearest rival Hayden Cohen in the second semi-finals.
However, Drysdale will face a fierce challenge in the final as John Storey (Southern RPC) posted the fastest qualification mark in 7:27.40 to finish 6.40 seconds clear of Robbie Manson in a high quality first semi-final. World lightweight single sculls champion Adam Ling also advanced to the final as third quickest qualifier, posting a time of 7:35.98.
Elsewhere, Lenny Jenkins (Whakatane) impressed in his semi-final to advance fastest into the men’s senior single sculls final. Meanwhile, in two highly competitive semi-finals of the women’s club quadruples sculls less than two seconds separated the top five crews with Hamilton Rowing Club posting the quickest time of the stanza in 7:30.38.
Avon Rowing Club led the qualifiers from the semi-finals of the men’s club coxed four with Wade Puklowski (Nelson) and Thomas Hallwright (West End) clinching victory in their respective semi-finals of the men’s club single sculls.
Following the cancellation of today’s scheduled finals tomorrow rowing fans will be treated to no less than eight premier and three lightweight finals on a jam-packed programme from begins at 7.30am with the final of the men’s under-20 lightweight single sculls final. The schedule will conclude almost 12 hours later with the men’s club double sculls semi-finals, which begin at 7.10pm.
One of the highlights of the day will be the final of the premier men’s pair which features Olympic champion and eight-time world gold medallist Hamish Bond, gunning for a ninth-successive national title in his speciality event.
Bond teams up with leading lightweight James Lassche – a combination seeking a hat-trick of national titles. Among their opposition will be Tom Murray and James Hunter (Central RPC).
In the women’s premier pairs final, World silver medallists Kerri Gowler and Grace Prendergast will clash in opposition boats with the former alongside Ruby Tew and the latter rowing alongside Emma Dyke. London Olympic bronze medallist Rebecca Scown will also team up with 2012 London Olympian Fiona Paterson ensuring an exciting final.
World double sculls champion Zoe Stevenson teamed up with Georgia Perry to lead the qualifiers for tomorrow’s women’s premier double sculls final. However, watch out for the World Under-23 silver medallists Brooke Donoghue and Claudia Hyde, who will form strong opposition.
Robbie Manson and Chris Harris (Central RPC) will be heavily favoured to retain their men’s premier double sculls title in tomorrow’s final with Manson seeking a fifth straight national title in the event.
Other finals on the programme tomorrow include the men’s and women’s premier four plus the rescheduled men’s and women’s premier quadruple sculls.
The lightweight single sculls finals should also serve up top quality fare as reigning world champions Adam Ling (Waikato RPC) and Zoe McBride (Central RPC) bid for national glory in their respective finals. The final of the men’s lightweight pair is also scheduled to take place tomorrow.
The 2016 Bankstream New Zealand Rowing Championships has more than 870 rowers representing 49 organisations in 72 boat classes.
To see the revised schedule for Friday January 19 (Day 4) of the 2016 Bankstream New Zealand Rowing Championships visit: http://www.rowit.co.nz/nzcc2016/schedule?ds=4
For results from the 2016 Bankstream New Zealand Rowing Championships http://www.rowit.co.nz/nzcc2016/results