Impressive start for Kiwi crews at the 2018 World Rowing Championships
| New Zealand crews competed in the first day of heats winning four of their eight races. Women’s Pair (W2-) – Heat Crews needed to place in the top three to secure a spot in the semi-final. World Champions and world best time holders Grace Prendergast and Kerri Gowler were the first Kiwi crew to take to the water, and took a comfortable win with a 15 second lead ahead of Ireland and USA, in a time of 6:56.06. The pair remain unbeaten since 2017 and won gold in both World Rowing Cup II and III earlier this year. Prendergast and Gowler move to the semi-final. Men’s Pair (M2-) – Heat Their first international race after taking gold at World Rowing Cup III, Tom Murray & Michael Brake were fast out of the start, but it was the Australian crew of Jack O’Brien and Andrew Judge who lead for the majority of the course. Murray and Brake took third and progress to the quarter-final with Germany and Australia finishing first and second respectively. Men’s Double Sculls (M2X) – Heat New Zealand’s reigning world champion combination Chris Harris and John Storey join forces again in the Men’s Double Sculls and didn’t disappoint – the pair finished in a time of 6:02.23, ten seconds ahead of second place Ireland. Harris and Storey progress to the semi-final. Men’s Single Scull (M1X) – Heat While FISA allows countries to send multiple crews to individual events at World Rowing Cup regattas, countries are limited to one entry per event for World Rowing Championships. New Zealand champion and world best time holder Robbie Manson secured the New Zealand Men’s Single Scull seat through an impressive performance at World Cup III, finishing ahead of Mahe Drysdale. Six heats were needed for the regatta’s highest entry event, with the top three in each heat progressing to the quarter-finals. Manson maintained an impressive lead from the start and crossed the line in 6:53.68. Manson moves to the quarter final. Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (LW2X) – Heat New Zealand’s Zoe McBride and Jackie Kiddle gained silver at World Rowing Cup III in the Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls, and needed to place in the top two of their heat to progress straight to the semi-finals. Australia’s crew of Amy James and Sarah Pound maintained a consistent lead until McBride and Kiddle made an impressive push in their third 500. Taking the lead in the last 500 in a time of 6:50, McBride and Kiddle finished less than three seconds outside of a World Best Time and with the fastest overall qualifying time. Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2X) – Heat In the Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls, crews needed to finish in the top four to progress to the quarter-finals. The New Zealand duo of Ben van Dalen and Matthew Dunham secured their lane finishing fourth in a time of 6:18.01. Men’s Four (M4-) – Heat The New Zealand Men’s Four is a newly formed crew of Thomas Russel, Tom Mackintosh, Matt MacDonald and Angus McFarlane. McFarlane placed second in the Men’s Coxed Four at the recent World Rowing U23 Championships, while Russel, Mackintosh and MacDonald placed third in the Men’s Four. Taking fourth place in a competitive heat, the crew move to a repechage. Men’s Quad (M4X) – Heat Competitive heats in the Men’s Quad saw crews battling it out for one progression to the A final, with all others moving to repechages. After missing out on representing New Zealand in the men’s single scull, eight-time former national single sculls champion and two time Olympic champion Mahe Drysdale joined Lewis Hollows, Cameron Crampton, and Nathan Flannery. Placing fifth, New Zealand moves to a repechage. All regatta information including results, race information, photographs, live blog and a race tracker can be found at www.worldrowing.com |