World Rowing Cup II - Day Two
Racing conditions improved for day two of World Rowing Cup II in Poznan, Poland with 14 New Zealand crews racing across a mixture of repechages, semi-finals and finals.
By early afternoon local time, all crews had progressed to finals, with 8 crews progressing to the A Final and medal round.
Women’s Double Scull (W2x) - A/B Semi-Final
Ranking fifth at the 500m mark, New Zealand’s Olivia Loe and Brooke Donoghue had an incredible race in the A/B semi-final in the women’s double. Making steady progress on Australia who were in first place until 1500m, Loe and Donoghue showed incredible strength and eventually took the lead, finishing first in a time of 07:20.56.
China and Australia join Loe and Donoghue in the A final on Sunday.
Women’s Pair (W2-) - A/B Semi-Final
After the fastest qualifying time in their heat on Friday, World Best Time holders Grace Prendergast and Kerri Gowler progressed to the women’s pair A/B semi-final. Out with a strong start, Prendergast and Gowler maintained a solid lead for the duration of the course taking first place in 07:32.18.
Italy and China took second and third place respectively, with all three crews progressing to A final on Sunday.
Prendergast and Gowler’s World Best Time was set in Poznan, Poland, two years ago.
Lightweight Women’s Double Scull (LW2x) - A/B Semi-Final
Securing the fastest overall time in their heat on Friday, Jackie Kiddle and Zoe McBride were back in full force for their A/B semi-final in the lightweight women’s double scull. China, Italy and Switzerland were unable to maintain New Zealand’s pace, who were in a comfortable lead from 1000m. Kiddle and McBride finished in 07:28.05, well ahead of China’s second place 07:32.89.
New Zealand, China and Italy all move to the A Final on Sunday.
Women’s Four (W4-) - A/B Semi-Final
Needing a top three placing to secure a lane in the women’s four A Final, New Zealand’s Eve Macfarlane, Phoebe Spoors, Hannah Osborne and Davina Waddy sat within striking distance but couldn’t make a break on China who was resting in third place from 500m.
Australia, USA and China move forward to the A Final, with New Zealand contesting the B Final on Sunday.
Women’s Single Scull - A/B Semi-Final
Competing in her first international regatta since the 2016 Rio Olympics, New Zealand’s Emma Twigg (NZL1) lined up against fellow Kiwi Samantha Voss in the A/B semi-final for the women’s single scull.
Needing a top three finish to make the A Final, USA’s Kara Kohler lead the pack with Austria’s Magdalena Lobnig in a close second. Twigg remained steady in third until the last 500m where a battle ensured for second place with Austria. USA crossed the line first with Austria reclaiming second place off Twigg, who took third.
In an impressive performance, 2018 U23 world champion Voss (NZL2) maintained fourth place for the majority of the course, crossing the line behind Twigg. Voss moves to the B Final on Saturday.
Kohler, Lobnig and Twigg all move to the A Final.
Women’s Eight - Repechage
With only first place crews progressing to the A final, New Zealand moved to a repechage after their second place heat finish on Friday.
Ruby Tew, Emma Dyke, Lucy Spoors, Kelsey Bevan, Beth Ross, Kirstyn Goodger, Ella Greenslade, Jackie Gowler and coxswain Caleb Shepherd took the lead of their repechage from 1000m. Great Britain shifted to second place and were unable to match the Kiwi’s speed, with Canada maintaining a steady third place. Not to be beaten, New Zealand crossing the line in 06:39.00, with Great Britain taking second in 06:40.63.
New Zealand, Great Britain and Canada all progress to Sunday’s A Final.
Lightweight Men’s Single Scull (LM1x) - A/B Semi-Final and B Final
After taking second place in his heat, Ben van Dalen progressed to Saturday’s A/B semi-final. Sitting in third position for the first 1000m, van Dalen was unable to hold this spot and finished fourth, sending him to the B Final later in the afternoon.
Contesting the B Final and in a close race, van Dalen found himself in fifth place. Through the 1500m he had pushed his boat into third, only to be overtaking in the last 500m. van Dalen finish fifth, giving him an overall ranking of 11th.
Men’s Pair (M2-) - A/B Semi-Final and D Final
After progressing to the A/B semi-final with the fastest qualifying time in Friday’s men’s pair heats, Michael Brake and Tom Murray (NZL1) made for one of New Zealand’s most impressive races of the day. In the lead from the 500m mark, Brake and Murray fought off Serbia and China attempting to make advances on the New Zealand crew in first place, crossing the line in 06:50.29.
Serbia and Italy took second and third respectively and join New Zealand in the A final on Sunday.
Ian Seymour and Anthony Allen (NZL2) took second place behind Cuba in the men’s pair D Final in a time of 07:01.68.
Men’s Double Scull (M2x) - C Final
Chris Harris and John Storey took first place in the men’s double scull C Final in a time of 06:39.87, after narrowly missing out on a lane in the A/B semi-final in their quarter final on Friday.
Men’s Single Scull (M1x) - A/B Semi-Final
World Best Time holder Robbie Manson needed a top three placing in Saturday’s A/B semi-final to claim his spot in the A Final. Denmark, Belarus and Norway were ahead of the field from the start, with Manson resting behind in fourth. Unable to break their pack, Manson finished fourth and moves to the B Final.
Lightweight Men’s Double Scull (LM2x) - A/B Semi-Final
New Zealand’s Harrison Somerville and Matthew Dunham needed a top three finish in their A/B semi-final to progress to the A Final in the lightweight men’s double scull. Germany were in the lead from the start, with Somerville and Dunham advancing on Denmark in second, falling in behind Germany by 1000m. Denmark were unable to make up the gap, with Germany taking first and New Zealand finishing second.
Germany, New Zealand and Denmark will face each other again in the A Final on Sunday.
Men’s Eight (M8+) - Repechage
In their second race of the international season, 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 Italy, Canada, Australia and Poland in their repechage.
The Kiwi crew needed a top four finish to pave their way into the A Final. Canada were out in front from the start and successfully held their lead against Australia, while New Zealand and Italy battled for third place. Canada took first place, Australia second, with New Zealand in third. Italy also moves forward to the A Final on Sunday.