Friday 28 May 1999

Redgrave strolls the time trial

Hazewinkel obliged FISA with a tricky breeze for the first day of the opening round of the 1999 World Cup, in which time trials took the place of heats. The experiment happened because next year's Olympic regatta takes place in the worst week of the year for cross winds on the purpose-built course at Penrith, near Sydney, so the international rowing federation FISA wanted to give crews and officials experience of time trials as a contingency plan in the event of unfair conditions in Sydney.

British crews who spend the winter competing in head-of-river races had no problem with this procedure, but it was new to many other competitors.

The world champion coxless four of James Cracknell, Steve Redgrave, Ed Coode and Matthew Pinsent were among twelve British crews who qualified for the next round by avoiding the repechage round. The second-ranking British four returned the same time as Redgrave's crew in a faster trial won by Egypt with Romania, surely the sleeping giants, slowest.

Coode is subbing for Tim Foster in the Redgrave boat, Foster having spent the winter getting his back straightened out. He competed in the single sculls yesterday, reporting no back trouble and then failed to qualify for the semifinals by one second in a repechage in which his time was faster than the winners of two other repechages.

Britain's other world champions, Miriam Batten and Gillian Lindsay, won their trial in the double sculls. Dot Blackie and Cath Bishop, world silver medalists in coxless pairs, also won their time trial, as did the new combination of young Tim Male and old hand Tom Kay in the lightweight double sculls.

Greg Searle, Britain's best sculler scratched after suffering a minor but stupid injury a week ago at the stag night of Gary Herbert, the man who steered him to Olympic gold in 1992. Searle's misfortune this time was to pull a muscle while driving a quad bike.

British crews in heats

     LM1x (Haining) 4
     M1x (Foster) - 2
     W2-  (Blackie/Bishop) 1
     M2- (Beckley/Parish) 3
     M2- (Williams/Dennis) 2
     W1x (Mowbray) 3
     M4- (GB1) 1
     M4- (GB2) 3
     M2x (Greenaway/Wells) 2
     LW2x (Langlands/Hall) 4
     LW2x (Nitsch/Birch) 4
     W2x (Batten/Lindsay) 1
     W2x (Houghton/Flood) 4
     LM2x (Male/Kay) 1
     LM4- (GB1) 2
     LM4- (GB2) 4
     W4x 4
     M4x 5
     W8 6
     M8 2
     WL1x (McClellan) 2
     

British crews in repechages

     M1x (Foster) 3
     M2- (Beckley/Parish) 2
     M2- (Williams/Dennis) 2
     M2X (Greenaway/Wells) 2
     LW2x (Langlands/Hall) 1
     LW2x (Nitsch/Birch) 2
     LM4- (GB2) 2
     M4x 3
     

© Copyright Christopher Dodd, 1999.