World Rowing Cup II - Four Golds for New Zealand
New Zealand takes gold in the women’s single scull, double scull, lightweight double scull and pair at day three of World Rowing Cup II in Poznan, Poland.
It was an impressive day for New Zealand with nine crews racing in A Finals and three contesting B Finals, with both the women’s and men’s eight narrowly missing out on medals in fourth place.
Women’s Single Scull - A and B Final - Gold
New Zealand’s Emma Twigg (NZL1) lined up against Denmark, Great Britain, Canada, USA and Australia for the A final of the women’s single scull double scull in her first international regatta since the 2016 Rio Olympics. Proving that her time away from the sport was no barrier to future success, Twigg was in the lead from 1000m with Kara Kohler (USA) in pursuit. Unable to bridge the gap, Kohler dropped back while Austria’s Magdalena Lobnig broke forward. Twigg maintained her position, finishing first and taking gold in a time of 08:04.45, 0.12 of a second ahead of Lobnig, taking silver. Canada’s Carling Zeeman took bronze.
“This regatta was sort of a welcome back but also a shock to the system. We had clear goals for each race here and my goal for this race was just to enjoy it and find my rhythm and maybe that helped with the result. Emma Twigg
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2018 U23 world champion Voss (NZL2) contested the B final of the women’s single scull, maintaining a steady second position for the entire course. Switzerland crossed the line first, Voss took second, and Germany took third.
Women’s Double Scull (W2x) - A Final - Gold
After winning both their heat and their A/B semi-final in the women’s double scull, New Zealand’s Olivia Loe and Brooke Donoghue’s A final was one of the most incredible races of the day. Ranked sixth at 500m, Loe and Donoghue weren’t giving up on gold. By 1000m, USA’s Genevra Stone and Cicely Madden had only a three second lead on the Kiwis, who continued to apply pressure on them. By 1500m the gap had narrowed to two seconds with USA doing their best to fend them off. With only twenty stokes to the finish line, Loe and Donoghue made their final move and crossed the line a mere 0.27 of a second ahead of Stone and Madden and taking gold.
“We knew it would be a fast start so we’re really chuffed to come on the right side of the buzzer at the end. We expected a tough fight and this is exactly what we got. It is a really good indicator and a confidence booster. Olivia Loe
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Women’s Pair (W2-) - A Final - Gold
After making the fastest qualifying time in their heat on Friday and winning their A/B semi-final on Saturday, World Best Time holders in the women’s pair Grace Prendergast and Kerri Gowler had almost a boat length on Australia in second position from the 250m mark. With six crews in the final, nobody broke rank from their 500m mark positions, with Prendergast and Gowler taking gold in 07:35.55, Australia taking silver, and USA taking bronze.
Prendergast and Gowler’s World Best Time was set in Poznan, Poland, two years ago.
“We’re really happy, we were excited about going into this final. We really just focused on our own race. Our plan is always to gain as much experience as possible. It’s quite rough conditions out there but it should be a good preparation for Tokyo. Grace Prendergast
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Lightweight Women’s Double Scull (LW2x) - A Final - Gold
New Zealand’s Jackie Kiddle and Zoe McBride secured the fastest overall time in their lightweight women’s double scull heat on Friday and comfortable won their A/B semi-final on Saturday. At 500m Kiddle and McBride were sitting in fifth place but steadily gaining on their competition. By 1500m they were in third position behind Italy and China. The crowds were expecting a break from the Kiwis but with 20 strokes to go, it looked as though they were taking silver. But in an incredible photo finish, the duo crossed the line 0.09 seconds ahead of Italy, completing their winning streak and taking home gold. Italy took silver and China took bronze.
“It was a good, solid race. Coming from the back we knew we had to put in a big middle and last half, but towards the end I was pushing out every bit of power I had left, so gold or silver, I would have been happy. Zoe McBride
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Women’s Eight (W8+) - A Final
A nail biting race, Australia had the lead from 500m in the women’s eight A Final, with USA and Great Britain battling for second. Just missing out on a medal, New Zealand’s Ruby Tew, Emma Dyke, Lucy Spoors, Kelsey Bevan, Beth Ross, Kirstyn Goodger, Ella Greenslade, Jackie Gowler and coxswain Caleb Shepherd took fourth place, finishing 1.38 seconds behind Great Britain who took bronze.
Women’s Four (W4-) - B Final
New Zealand’s women’s four of Eve Macfarlane, Phoebe Spoors, Hannah Osborne and Davina Waddy were in the lead for the majority of their B final, but were piped in the last 500m by Great Britain and Germany. Great Britain and Germany took first and second respectively, with New Zealand taking third.
Men’s Pair (M2-) - A Final - Silver
Michael Brake and Tom Murray (NZL1) won their A/B semi-final after qualifying with the fastest time in the men’s pair heats, and faced Italy, Great Britain, Serbia, Australia and Canada in their final.
Australia’s Alexander Hill and Joshua Booth were out in front by 500 with Brake and Murray resting in second. In an incredibly tight race, Brake and Murray were unable to close the gap and crossed the taking silver in 06:39.49, just shy of Australia’s gold winning 06:38.23. Canada took bronze in 06:43.34.
“It was a good race for us. It has been a really useful regatta to gain some more information and to race new crews. We look forward to racing again in two weeks time. Head wind is no one’s favourite condition to race in, but the course is very fair for everyone. Tom Murray
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Men’s Quad (MX4) - A Final - Bronze
New Zealand’s men’s quad of Jordan Parry, Isaac Grainger, Cameron Crampton and Nathan Flannary progressed straight to the A Final after their heat on Friday. A rough start had the crew sitting in sixth place at 500m but they were determined to join Poland and Germany in the lead. Joined by Australia, the crew made steady gains on the leading nations and by 1000m they were sitting in third place. Poland remained out in front, Australia pressed ahead of New Zealand in the last 500m, and New Zealand fought Germany for third place and a bronze medal. Poland took gold, Australia took silver and New Zealand took bronze, with Germany narrowly missing out on a medal by 0.02 of a second.
“There are some pretty tough conditions out there! We planned to go out fast but it didn’t really happen but we managed to settle into a good rhythm in the middle. This is good considering we put the boat together only on Wednesday after an injury. Nathan Flannery
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Men’s Eight (M8+) - A Final
New Zealand’s men’s eight of James Lassche, Phillip Wilson, Brook Robertson, Hamish Bond, Shaun Kirkham, Mahe Drysdale, Matthew Macdonald, Stephen Jones and coxswain Sam Bosworth faced tough competition in their A Final, with Germany once again proving too tough to beat. With Germany in a comfortable lead from 1000m, Great Britain, Canada and New Zealand were fighting for a spot on the dais in second or third, which was hard to pick in the last 500m. Great Britain took silver and Canada took bronze, with New Zealand crossing the line 1.31 seconds behind Canada.
Lightweight Men’s Double Scull (LM2x) - A Final
New Zealand’s Harrison Somerville and Matthew Dunham contested the lightweight men’s double scull A Final alongside Canada, Australia, Italy, Germany and Denmark. It was a battle for first place between Germany and Italy, with Australia, Canada, Denmark and New Zealand sitting behind the duo. In their first season together, Somerville and Dunham made an impressive debut finishing in fifth place.
Germany took gold, Italy took silver an Australia took bronze.
Men’s Single Scull (M1x) - B Final
Robbie Manson contested the men’s single scull B Final. Lined up against Italy, France, Poland, Lithuania and Azerbaijan, Manson took the lead after 1000m, crossing the line first ahead of Lithuania in second, and Poland in third.