World Rowing Cup III - Three Golds, one Silver and two Bronze for New Zealand
Nine New Zealand crews contested A Finals at World Rowing Cup III in Rotterdam, Netherlands with six crews taking home medals. The women’s eight, single and lightweight double all take gold, with the women’s pair taking silver and the men’s pair and eight taking bronze.
New Zealand ranks fourth on the World Rowing Cup III medal table and second on World Rowing Cup overall points.
Athletes battled light rain and head wind conditions on the Willem Alexander Baan course in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Lightweight Women’s Double Scull (LW2x) - A Final - Gold
New Zealand’s Jackie Kiddle and Zoe McBride leave World Rowing Cup III unbeaten after winning the A Final of the lightweight women’s double scull. In Saturday’s A/B semi-final, the duo placed first over eight seconds ahead of second place China, and continued their lead on Sunday’s A Final, beating World Champions Romania and taking gold.
“We knew it would be tough because the conditions have been like this all week. I think we caught our streak in the head-winds so we were actually really excited for today. We just wanted to make the most of it and have fun. It was windy, it was rainy, but that’s rowing. Jackie Kiddle and Zoe McBride
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Women’s Single Scull - A Final - Gold
New Zealand’s World Rowing Cup II winner Emma Twigg progressed to the A Final with the fastest qualifying time. Twigg, who also won the Henley Royal Regatta women’s single scull last weekend, was up against Switzerland, Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany and Czech Republic. Twigg maintained a comfortable lead on the pack with Switzerland in second, and crossed the finish line first an 00:04.57 ahead of Jeannine Gmelin.
“I’m really happy with the result! Still learning a lot, in particular, rowing in these conditions. I just tried to row my best today and the rest will take care of itself. Still, a lot to improve on but it’s nice to come away with a win. Emma Twigg
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Women’s Eight (W8+) - A Final - Gold
Coxed by Caleb Shepherd, the New Zealand women’s eight of Ella Greenslade, Emma Dyke, Lucy Spoors, Kelsey Bevan, Grace Prendergast, Kerri Gowler, Beth Ross and Jackie Gowler progressed straight to the A Final after a time trial heat on Friday. A thrilling race to end World Rowing Cup III, the Kiwi crew maintained first position from 500m with Canada, Australia and Russia struggling to catch them. New Zealand crossed the line first taking gold, with Australia taking silver and Canada taking bronze.
“We had a good time-trial so we knew we would have a good rhythm for today and so I’m really happy! We’re a tight crew and this brings a lot of trust with us and now we will continue to stick to the basics and keep working. Jackie Gowler
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Women’s Pair (W2-) - A Final - Silver
Grace Prendergast and Kerri Gowler of New Zealand faced Great Britain, Romania, Spain, Ireland and Australia in the women’s pair A Final. It was a battle between New Zealand Australia’s Jessica Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre for gold, with Great Britain and Romania battling for bronze. Prendergast and Gowler lead for the first 1500m but Australia made a push in the last 500 and crossed the line ahead of New Zealand, taking gold.
“It was a good race, we went out to attack it and learnt a lot from it. We’ll take a lot out of this race and it sets us up well for our next training block before World Rowing Championships. Grace Prendergast
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Women’s Four (W4-) - A Final
World Rowing Cup II winners of the women’s four Denmark faced the Netherlands, Australia, Romania, Canada and New Zealand’s Davina Waddy, Kelsi Walters, Eve Macfarlane and Phoebe Spoors. Australia, Denmark and Romania took gold, silver and bronze, with New Zealand placing sixth.
Men’s Eight (M8+) - A Final - Bronze
New Zealand’s James Lassche, Hamish Bond, Shaun Kirkham, Mahe Drysdale, Brook Robertson, Philip Wilson, Matt Macdonald, Stephen Jones and coxswain Sam Bosworth went into the A Final with Great Britain who they beat at Henley Royal Regatta and crowd favourites Germany. In an unexpected move Great Britain took the lead by the 1000m mark, with Germany unable to gain it back. Sitting in third position from 500m, New Zealand couldn’t quite gain on Great Britain and Germany who took gold and silver respectively, with the Kiwi crew crossing the line third and taking bronze.
“It’s great to be on the podium! The race was good but we just couldn’t hold onto Germany and Great Britain. I think they really showed their class in that middle part of the race.” Hamish Bond
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Men’s Pair (M2-) - A Final (NZL1) - Bronze and B Final (NZL2)
Michael Brake and Tom Murray faced World Rowing Cup II winner Alexander Hill, now joined by Spencer Turrin. Brake and Murray were unable to get ahead of Australia out in front, battling Czech Republic’s Lukas Helesic and Jakub Podrazil for silver. Australia took gold, Czech Republic took silver with New Zealand taking bronze.
"It was a tough race out there! The conditions were pretty difficult and we were beaten by better crews on the day. We'll go back to our training base and solidify our strengths and work on our weaknesses. Michael Brake
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NZL2 Ian Seymour and Anthony Allen placed fourth in the B Final with Australia in first, France in second and Argentina in third. Seymour and Allen are now ranked 10th overall.
Lightweight Men’s Double Scull (LM2x) - A Final
Matthew Dunham and Harrison Somerville faced World Champions Germany, Ireland, Australia, Belgium and Norway in the lightweight men’s double scull A Final. Dunham and Somerville placed fifth, with Germany, Ireland and Norway taking gold, silver and bronze.
Men’s Single Scull (M1x) - A Final
New Zealand’s Robbie Manson faced World Rowing Cup I winner Damir Martin of Croatia, 2018 World Champion Kjetil Borch of Norway and winner of World Rowing Cup II Sverri Nielsen of Denmark. Denmark and Norway were out in front by 500m, with Croatia close behind. Denmark took gold, Norway silver and Croatia bronze, with Manson placing fifth behind Czech Republic and ahead of Poland.
Men’s Quad (MX4) - B Final
Contesting the B Final of the men’s quad, Nathan Flannery, Jordan Parry, Cameron Crampton and Lewis Hollows placed second behind Norway’s crew with Olaf Tufte in stroke seat. China took third. New Zealand are now ranked 8th overall.
Men’s Double Scull (M2x) - B Final
Chris Harris and John Storey placed third in the B Final of the men’s double scull with Netherlands in first and Poland in second. Harris and Storey are now ranked 9th overall.