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World Championships

Friday September 11th 1998

World Championships, Friday September 11th 1998

The light four go on the A standard

Christopher Dodd reports from Cologne

James Brown, Jim McNiven, Dave Lemon and John Warnock brought Britain's total of finalists to eleven in the world championships by finishing second in the light fours semifinal on Friday. The London and Nottingham combo formed for Lucerne Regatta moved from fourth after halfway to second at the line, untroubled by the prevailing cross wind which for the second day caused the organisers to re-draw the lanes to give the calmest water to the fastest in previous rounds.

The four are now poised to challenge the Danish world and Olympic champions on Sunday, the Danes unbeaten except at Henley this year by Britain's heavyweight four.

The other British crews in Friday's semifinals all progress to B finals for places 7-12. They are the lightweight pair of Strange and Gray (4th), the women's lightweight double of Langlands and Hall (4th), and the men's lightweight double of Male and Beechey (5th).

Simon Goodbrand and Colin Greenaway finished third in the B final of the double sculls, having been fifth at 500m, fourth at 1000m and second at 1500m. They rank ninth.

SATURDAY FINAL PROSPECTS

Four plus Batten and Lindsay in the frame

James Cracknell, Steve Redgrave, Tim Foster and Matthew Pinsent is one of nine British crews in Saturday finals. Since Foster's injury and return to the boat, they have proved awesome. They defeated the Australian Olympic champions at Henley to earn their final against the Danish lightweights, and followed this with an outstanding win in Lucerne. They are in Cologne as 1997 world champions who won their heat and semifinal outright, and they are definitely up for retaining their title.

The next best gold medal chance is 1997 silver medalists Miriam Batten and Gillian Lindsay in the double sculls. They returned the fastest heat time and won their semifinal with plenty to spare, but the other semifinal was a faster tight race between the Netherlands, China, Romania and Switzerland, with the Swiss losing out.

Dot Blackie and Cath Bishop are also medal prospects in the pairs, but face 1997 champions Robinson and Korn from Canada and other crews who have moved faster here.

Of the scullers, it is asking a lot of Peter Haining, world lightweight champion from 1993-95, to regain the title. He is, however, in superb form and harbours the psychological advantage of being a canny fighter with an answer to every move.

Greg Searle, the 1997 bronze medalist, faces the Olympic champion Xeno Mueller (Swizerland), former world champion Iztok Cop (Slovenia), the season's find in New Zealander Rob Waddell, the Egyptian express Ali Ibrahim and the perennial hungry fighter, the Czech Chalupa. Gold seems to be between Mueller and Waddell. However, nobody gave Searle a medal prayer last year, but here he is again.

The unbeaten Russian Irina Fedotova is favourite for the women's singles, and Guin Batten also has two former world champions, Trine Hansen (Denmark) and Maria Brandin (Sweden), to contend with, plus the formidable German Katrin Rutschow. Batten is moving well and has beaten Hansen here and Brandin earlier in the year, but she will have to rise this occasion.

The men's lightweight eight should win gold if they have found their pre-championships speed in the last two days, while the pair of Stephen Williams and Fred Scarlett are not in the medal frame. The women's lightweight pair has Jo Nitsch substituting for Caroline Hobson with Juliet Machin in a straight final with only four entries.

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

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