World Championships 2000
Zagreb, Croatia, at Lake Jarun, Sunday 6th August 2000
Morning comments:
Another dull start to the day, though the misty cloud did burn off yesterday, so perhaps it will today. The juniors at the Sports Village were suspiciously quiet last night - the party was booked to be on an island at the Lake Jarun complex - and there are only a few of them in the stands at 9:30 as the senior C and D finals start racing. One British supporter is unwittingly signalling "distress" - her Union Flag strap-vest just happens to have been designed upside down. Probably kinder not to tell her until after racing....
Rachel Quarrell, Lake Jarun
Race reports:
Written live during racing and then sent to the Net after the regatta finished.
Men's Lightweight Single Sculls
D final:A win for CRO, who was pipped off the start by CHI who then faded badly, letting the rest of the scullers through. SLO put up a good fight, but it was not in doubt, and the rest oozed in behind. 19th CRO, 20th SLO, 21st YUG, 22nd POR, 23rd VEN, 24th CHI.
C final:German Peter Ording judged this nicely, shadowing the French sculler and then moving through at 750 to take and hold the lead. Towards the end he had to pick up pace under a challenge from RUS and GBR, who went through the Frenchman, but held his lead by a second to take first, yelling as he passed the line. 13th GER, 14th RUS, 15th GBR, 16th FRA, 17th ESP, 18th BUL.
B final: Finnish sculler Tomas Haltsonen went out first, with NZL and DEN looking good behind. This gave FIN control of the race, although the Kiwi couldn't last, and was passed by first the Belgian and then USA. As they come towards the finish, the Finn is being pushed strongly by the Belgian, but Haltsonen finds a final turn of speed and picks up the pace, going clear with three strokes to go. USA makes one last try but can't overtake SUI, and the rest of the field closes up towards the end, finishing in a rush with no more than a length gap between each placing. 7th FIN, 8th BEL, 9th SUI, 10th USA, 11th DEN, 12th NZL.
A final: Czech Michal Vabrousek and Irishman Sam Lynch stretch the field out early, with Italy and Poland behind leading Slovakia and Hungary. This gap after the two leaders extends from the stride to half-way, as the rest of the order remains the same. 800 metres to go, and it's a length lead to the Czech now, holding off Lynch well. Several lengths behind, Poland is still holding off Italy for the third position, but now they're coming past 500 to go, and the race starts to heat up. SVK, with a fast finish earlier in the week, moves up towards POL and ITA, sneaking in lane 1 while they battle in 5 and 6. Up at the front, IRL is stalking CZE, can Lynch find a sprint in the last stretch, up goes the rate, but Vabrousek is now over a length clear, and able to stay steady. IRL sprints again, now it's half a length, closing fast but there may not be time, feet in it, and it's Vabrousek's gold by less than a quarter of a length, although it goes to a photo to be sure.
Gold CZE 7:21.32, silver IRL 7:22.02, bronze SVK 7:27.94, 4th POL 7:28.62, 5th 7:34.85 ITA, 6th HUN 7:54.54.
Men's Lightweight Coxless Pair
C final: A quick Croatian pair dropped down a couple of lengths after starting rapidly, as the Mexican duo progressively grafted their way to second place, but could not challenge the leading Spaniards, who raced excellently. 13th ESP, 14th MEX, 15th CRO, 16th USA.
B final: Off went the Swedes, towing the Germans next, but neither crew could last past a sustained Yugoslavian assualt which took them into first before the last markerpoint. From there on it was decided, although Germany also had to beat off a very frisky French pair to take third place. 7th YUG, 8th SWE, 9th GER, 10th FRA, 11th GRE, 12th HUN.
A final: GBR are leading as we get the first comment, from 250 gone, and 3/4 length up on the Dutch, with Denmark third, CAN fourth, ITA fifth and POL sixth. Coming up past 750 the Brits draw their lead out to a length, and CAN moves up and challenges NED for second, the two crews passing the half-way marker neck and neck and closing on the Brits. 750 to go, GBR rating 37 and holding 1/2 length off the Canadians, who have moved past the Dutch and are rating 38.5. 600 to go, GBR still rating 37.5, CAN matching it, the Dutch now passed by the Danes. 200 to go, GBR sprinting like fury, CAN goes up too, DEN matching the Brits, and it's a three-way finish, very close now. 80 metres to go, the Canadians are going in front, GBR can't find an inch more, DEN closing to level, CAN have the gold, and it's a photofinish for the minor medals. And the Independent Republic of Ben-Ed wins its first gold medal...
Gold CAN 6:49.55, silver GBR 6:50.18, bronze DEN 6:50.26, 4th NED 6:51.23, 5th ITA 6:57.14, 6th POL 7:00.34.
Women's Lightweight Single Sculls
C final: Portugese sculler Teresa Cardoso dominated this C final by a mile, afte letting the Latvian dash off in a rush from the start. Hong Kong also looked good, moving steadily up from third to second, but Cardoso didn't have to worry, and could afford to cruise to the finish, HKG well over a length behind. The Venezuelan girl wasn't likely to benefit from the generosity shown her countryman in the previous race (LM1x D final), and trailed last behind Denmark's sculler. 13th POR, 14th HKG, 15th LAT, 16th DEN, 17th VEN.
B final: The Polish sculler must have thought she had it all her way to start with, only Sweden and Zimbabwe offering any resistance, and then the Czech moving steadily up. Then from nowhere swept the Croatian sculler, egged on by the crowd, and passing both first and second places with a few hundred metres to go. 7th CRO, 8th POL, 9th CZE, 10th SWE, 11th ITA, 12th ZIM.
A final: Germany in the lead at 1 km gone, Finland and Ireland chasing hard. Finland goes through around 1400, and the gap opens up to the Irish sculler in third behind GER. USA, GBR, NED behind the leaders. GER and FIN well-matched, and a big gap now to the rest, coming towards 250 to go. FIN has it by a length or so, rating 34, and is puling strongly away, now nothing the German can do. The other four batting away hard, but it looks good for IRL in third, plenty of clear water to the last three scullers, now racing to avoid last place.
Gold FIN 8:13.50, silver GER 8:20.53, bronze IRL 8:24.30, 4th USA 8:27.30, 5th GBR 8:28.60, 6th NED 8:29.59.
Men's Lightweight Quad Sculls
C final: A hotly fought contest, both crews racing hard right to the end and decided by just a length. 13th CZE, 14th CAN.
B final: The Irish quad take early control, Sweden following, then the USA, Netherlands, Portugal and Hungary. A closely-bunched field, right through the middle of the course, the Swedes and Americans creeping steadily through the Irish quad. Coming to the last 250 HUN and POR are out of the running, but POR are strongly pushing back towards the leaders, SWE head the pack and jam the rate up to 42, USA respond to 41.5 to keep themselves ahead of the speedy Dutch, who have passed the Irish scullers, as do the Portugese. It's not quite a photofinish but not far off. 7th SWE, 8th USA, 9th NED, 10th POR, 11th IRL, 12th HUN.
A final: Japan, Italy and Spain dash off, Germany, Denmark and Austria following. 800 metres gone, ITA pushes through JPN, ESP still following closely. Steadily the two leaders pull away from Spain, who raise to come back as they pass 500. Close in the top three, JPN being challenged by ITA, sprinting hard, ITA and ESP also going for it, 100 metres to go, and a vast gap now to the rest. JPN don't just hang on but start moving faster, ITA takes a stroke at the right time to get silver, and it's over. The press boys can't remember the Japanese ever winning a gold at the Worlds before, and they brandish a sculling blade up in their boat, a la France, in ecstasy.
Gold JPN 6:06.43, silver ITA 6:08.84, bronze ESP 6:09.23, 4th GER 6:15.33, 5th DEN 6:19.40, 6th AUT 6:24.26.
Men's Coxed Four
B final: A tightly packed start, and the commentator doesn't sound too sure as they reach 250 who's in the lead. By 500 metres it's the Croatians, but only a length separates all three crews. As they race on, the Italians and Dutch move past the Croatians, but CRO isn't finished yet, and they hound NED from half-way onwards. Up come the Danes and Russians too, and it's only the Ukraine really left out of the party. A splendid dash for the line, the Danes and Russians closing all the time, but CRO just hold them off, while ITA and NED are separated by a few seats each. 7th ITA, 8th NED, 9th CRO, 10th DEN, 11th RUS, 12th UKR.
A final: The wind's come up a bit for this race, swirly cross-wind from the looks of the water, though the gusts aren't too big. At the first marker GBR goes up first, with what looks like approximately quarter-length gaps between each position. ROM in second, GER in third, GRA fourth, USA fifth and CZE sixth. USA now move up to third pretty quickly, passing the Germans, and at the next marker they have this place securely, the Brits (rating 35) and French still leading by a length or so each. GBR squeeze it up for a while between 1100 and 1250, then settle again, as the USA move up to challenge for second place. They're on a charge, getting second by 500 metres to go, with less than a length behind the Brits. 400 to go, and the British rate goes up for the finish, now 37.5, as the Americans challenge powerfully. Less than a third of a length between them as they race into the last 100, GER and ROM are in a battle to the death for the bronze, but ROM seem to be failing and the French are also vying for it, several lanes away. GBR move to 39 and start to really shift, USA can't respond, and it's Britain's first gold of the week, by 3/4 length.
Gold GBR 6:16.82, silver USA 6:19.53, bronze GER 6:21.57, 4th FRA 6:22.08, 5th ROM 6:23.30, 6th CZE 6:26.84.
After the medals ceremony, the three medalling crews made rather a nice gesture, mixing up to row each others' boats back to the dock, with the US shell steered by one of their rowers and the German cox in at two (not making too bad a fist of it).
Women's Coxless Four
B final: The Ukrainian four completely failed to show any mercy to the other crews, whizzing out from the start a good five seconds faster to 500, and from there clearly relaxing. Towards the end, Germany overtook Russia to close the gap a little, but even if there didn't seem to be much left in the Ukrainian tank, they didn't need it anyway. 7th UKR, 8th GER, 9th RUS, 10th CHN.
A final: Belarus taking the lead at the first marker, with Poland, NED and DEN following close, but ROM and USA further behind. ROM catches back some ground, though, closing on and then passing the Danes by 800 gone. Meanwhile BLR and POL are moving away from the Dutch, and now look well on command, a significant distance up on the field. Pretty close between them, and at the back the American four (like their junior counterparts) are having bad steering trouble, nearly hitting the outside buoys. The final push takes the field back to the leaders, but BLR look solid as a rock, holding a steady 2/3 lengths ahead of the Poles, who are themselves not troubled. The battle for bronze is a fierce one, won by the Romanians just a snip ahead of the Dutch, and the other two crews 1.5 lengths back.
Gold BLR 6:44.90, silver POL 6:47.16, bronze ROM 6:49.90, 4th NED 6:50.19, 5th USA 6:55.64, 6th DEN 6:56.31.
Men's Coxed Pair
B final: UKR, CRO and RUS chase out of the blocks, then the Russians move ahead of the other two, and maintain a steadily increasing lead over a tight field. CRO starts to fade, as the British pair sneak up from sixth place to foruth by half-way. Meanwhile the Czechs have got through to third, and overtake the Ukrainians in the last quarter, but can't match the Russian speed. 7th RUS, 8th CZE, 9th UKR, 10th GBR, 11th GER, 12th CRO.
A final: The race opens with Romania whipping out, but the USA stalk closely, and by 1100 gone they've taken the lead. Only the Italians are out of it, the rest vying for third place. Then in the second half of the race the Italians begin to build a move back, and the field closes up again, the rates notching up as they sight the final 500. From 300 in the Americans are above 38, belting it along, and they've now definitely broken the Romanians, who are in danger of being overtaken by FRA and a spirited ITA finish. Even HUN gets in on the party, sprinting like blazes for the line, but ROM hang on (just), and it's a photo for third, the French sneaking through.
Gold USA 7:07.15, silver ROM 7:10.11, bronze FRA 7:10.66, 4th ITA 7:11.38, 5th HUN 7:12.19, 6th GRE 7:26.98.
Women's Lightweight Quad Sculls
B final: USA give their supporters something to cheer about, moving past DEN and Ned to establish a solid lead in the third quarter. But as they come down the last stretch, they almost let NED get back at them, and have to rate it to keep their 3/4 length lead, while DEN and ITA scrap for third, the Danes winning it by just under a second. The final two crews trail in with quite a gap, doing their best, but outpaced. 7th USA, 8th NED, 9th DEN, 10th ITA, 11th IRL, 12th RUS.
A final: Germany out quickly, and at the 500 marker, they cross with China and Australia, a gap to the Brits, and Austria have just overtaken Japan to move into fifth. A few hundred metres later Australia are pushing through China, the Germans still solidly in the lead. GBR still marking time in fourth, and Japan have just got back through the Austrians. Coming down to 600 to go, and Japan are moving through the pack, displacing GBR, while Germany and Australia have the two top spots securely. JPN have a way to go to CHN, and the Germans look slightly jaded, but are holding off AUS. CHN surge back with 150 to go, but they have a length deficit and will have to settle for bronze. At the back, AUT come inching back at GBR, but cross last, just.
Gold GER 6:54.16, silver AUS 6:56.78, bronze CHN 6:58.21, 4th JPN 7:02.01, 5th GBR 7:03.00, 6th AUT 7:03.29.
Men's Lightweight Eight
B final: Only three crews left for the B final, but they were never split more than a length down the course, with a thrilling climax which saw Spain get to within feet of Italy's bowball for second place, half a length down from the Japanese. 7th JPN, 8th ITA, 9th ESP (by 0.18 seconds).
A final: Denmark in the lead at 250 gone, ahead of USA, and holding it through 500 metres, ahead of AUS, GBR, GER and NED in order. 900 metres gone, and the USA break through, with GBR following, DEN falling behind and letting AUS into third. 750 to go, a sneaky rate-38 push from the Brits, but the USA are having a great race and AUS challenge hard now. A few seats in it for each of the top crews, still USA from GBR from AUS with now 300 to go. USA look too far up to catch, 200 to go and these top three crews are at 40, USA now striding away from GBR, AUS only just overlapping the Brits, and it's the same one-two as last year, putting the Brits and Americans equal top of the medal table.
Gold USA 5:55.04, silver GBR 5:58.06, bronze AUS 5:59.70, 4th GER 6:04.49, 5th DEN 6:05.80, NED 6:08.93.
Women's Lightweight Coxless Pair
A final: Top three starters are the USA, GER and GBR, safely ahead of ZIM, ESP and GRE. The USA leads the line-up, with half a length to the Brits, and less than another length to the Germans. The Americans pull away around 850, edging out a bit more of a lead, as the three top crews move further away from their chasers. 750 to go, and the USA sticks in a push, but it looks as if they're having trouble steering, and tehy're in the British lane, the Brits riasing the rate to 37 as the two crews separate again. 500 to go, USA sculling several pips lower than the Brits again, and now all the other crews are way back. A two-horse race for the gold is on here, now 250 to go and the GBR pair raises it again, neck and neck, nothing in it. 150 to go, GBR takes the lead, rating 40, USA can't respond, nearly a length clear, USA veering towards them again, but the British crew is clear of trouble now, a fantastic row-through. Behind, despite a good final sprint from Zimbabwe, the Germans hold onto a half-length margin for the bronze.
Gold GBR 7:32.93, silver USA 7:35.80, bronze 7:49.94, 4th ZIM 7:51.41, 5th GRE 7:58.37, 6th ESP 8:03.86.