Tuesday September 8th 1998

Brits sweep and scull clean in reps

Six first places and one second is a pretty unusual score for the British team, but that was the good news delivered on the first day of the repechages. The men's lightweight eight and the women's pair of Dot Blackie and Cath Bishop progress to finals on Saturday, and the rest to semifinals on Thursday. The total of semifinalists is seven so far, with the Redgrave/Pinsent/ Cracknell/ Foster four and the double scullers Miriam Batten and Gillian Lindsay qualifying last Sunday.

Blackie and Bishop, this year's World Cup holders, finished second to the Russians Albina Ligatcheva and Vera Potchitaeva, last year's bronze medalists, whom they have beaten three times this season. The British pair unexpectedly came perilously close to Emma Robinson and Alison Korn, the 1997 world champions from Canada, in their heat last Sunday.

The lightweight eight reversed the lead grabbed by the Italians, but on this form they no longer look like gold medalists. The good news, though, is that more cylinders are firing than at the beginning of the week.

Searle, Batten and Haining all prospered. Greg Searle won with ease. "I'm not used to winning a race after a minute," he said. He has landed a semifinal which contains two former world champions, Cop and Willms, the current champion Jamie Koven, and the eternal second placer Vaclav Chalupa. Small compensation that Olympic champion Xeno Mueller and this year's wunderkind Rob Waddell are in the other. "I really have to be up for this one," he says. "It's at 11.20 in two day's time. It's time to focus." The victim of the day was Canada's Derek Porter, another former world champion, who was fastest to 1500 metres of all the reps but went out to Norway's Bekken and Germany's Willms.

Guin Batten looked comfortable, sculling well, and lightweight Peter Haining was back to his old gold standard self, toying with opponents before taking a quick 500 metres to assert his authority.

Steve Williams and Fred Scarlett, steamed to victory in the pairs with a stonking time, beating half of the Oarsome Foursome in the process. On this form they will get into the final. The double scullers Simon Goodbrand and Colin Greenaway also romped home, a thoroughly satisfying conclusion to a good day.

Link to summarised results.
Link to tomorrow's racing draws.
Worlds 1998 website.
FISA website.

© Copyright Christopher Dodd, 1998.