Women’s eight add a touch of sparkle to day’s end

Under darkening skies and into a strong headwind, the GB Rowing Team’s women’s eight added sparkle to the day’s end with a strong heat win over Canada and China to book their passage to Sunday’s final.

They were down to Canada in the opening 500m of the 2km course but came through them just before the halfway mark. From there, they pressed on to take over a length’s lead at the finish.

The GB eight was stroked by Polly Swann who had also won her women’s pair heat with Olympic champion Helen Glover earlier in the day.

“I’ve had a really good first few races at my first world cup and good to see that all the hard work I have put in since my injury last year is pushing me forward”, said Swann for whom the two wins have begun to put distance on a 2012 which was blighted by back injury which kept her out of an Olympic berth.

Earlier the open men’s double scull and the lightweight men’s four were both second in their races for lanes.

The men’s double came through Estonia and Australia in the second half to take their second place. GB”s lightweight men’s four battled with New Zealand in choppy and blustery conditions before taking second.

GB now has 12 crews through to finals with four racing in tomorrow’s repechages. Earlier Jamie Kirkwood thought he had missed out on a final of the lightweight men’s single by finishing second in his heat only to find that the decision had been made that two would qualify for the final.

“We have had a good day of racing and blown away the winter cobwebs with all to play for and a good number of crews through to finals already”, said GB Rowing Team Performance Director David Tanner. “I’d also like to say well done to the Sydney organisers. They have put on a really good festival of rowing”.

GB crews in action tomorrow are the women’s quad and a double, a women’s pair and lightweight women’s double . All these races will be in the morning programme starting at 9pm UK time (Friday).

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RESULTS
(events featuring GB Rowing Team crews only. Full results at www.worldrowing.com)

OPEN

WOMEN

Eight (First to final, rest to repechage)

1. Katie Greves/Jess Eddie/Beth Rodford/Victoria Meyer-Laker/Frances Houghton/Victoria Thornley/Helen Glover/Polly Swann/Zoe de Toledo (cox) (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:47.68
2. Canada 6:54.39
3. China 1 7:08.65
4. China 2 7:20.04

MEN

Double scull

Race for lanes

1. Michael Arms/Robert Manson (New Zealand) 6:55.68
2. John Collins/Peter Lambert (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:59.02
3. Allar Raja/Kasper Taimsoo (Estonia) 7:00.24
4. Alexander Belonogoff/Ryan Edwards (Australia) 7:02.82

LIGHTWEIGHT

MEN

Four

Race for Lanes

1. New Zealand 6:38.26
2. Peter Chambers/Jonathan Clegg/Chris Boddy/Chris Bartley (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:43.62
3. China 7:19.44
4. Australia 1 DNS
5. Australia 2 DNS

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GB Rowing Team – Crew List
2013 World Rowing Cup, Sydney

OPEN

WOMEN

Pair – (two boats)

Helen Glover / Minerva Bath / Penzance / 17/06/86
Polly Swann / Leander Club / Edinburgh / 15/06/88

Katie Greves / Leander Club / Oxford / 02/09/82
Jessica Eddie / Univ of London BC / Durham / 07/10/84

Coach: Robin Williams

Double scull – (two boats)

Beth Rodford / Gloucester RC / Gloucester / 28/12/82
Victoria Thornley / Leander Club / Wrexham / 30/11/87

Frances Houghton / Leander Club / Oxford / 19/09/80
Vicki Meyer-Laker / Leander Club / Premnay / 18/03/88

Coach: Paul Thompson

Quadruple scull

Monica Relph / Leander Club / Cambridge / 15/01/88
Zoe Lee / Sport Imperial BC / Richmond, N. Yorks / 15/12/85
Olivia Carnegie-Brown/Oxford Brookes Uni / Oxford / 28/03/91
Kristina Stiller / Tees RC/ Yarm, N.Yorks / 23/06/87

Coach: Nick Strange

Eight

Katie Greves / Leander Club / Oxford / 02/09/82
Jessica Eddie / London RC/ Durham / 07/10/84
Beth Rodford / Gloucester RC / Gloucester / 28/12/82
Vicki Meyer-Laker / Leander Club / Premnay / 18/03/88
Frances Houghton / Leander Club / Oxford / 19/09/80
Victoria Thornley / Leander Club / Wrexham / 30/11/87
Helen Glover / Minerva Bath / Penzance / 17/06/86
Polly Swann / Leander Club / Edinburgh / 15/06/88
Zoe de Toledo (cox) / Leander Club / London / 17/07/87

Coaches: Paul Thompson/Robin Williams

Spares

Erica Bodman / Leander Club / Guernsey / 24/01/1988

OPEN

MEN

Four

Scott Durant / Oxford Brookes Uni BC / Lancaster / 12/02/88
Nathaniel Reilly O’Donnell/ Uni of London BC / Durha m / 13/04/88
Alan Sinclair / Leander Club / Inverness / 16/10/85
Matthew Tarrant / Oxford Brookes Uni BC / Shepperton / 11/07/90

Coach: Christian Felkel

Eight

Matt Gotrel / Leander Club / Chipping Camden / 01/03/89
Alex Gregory / Leander Club / Wormington / 11/03/84
Tom Ransley / Leander Club / Cambridge / 06/09/85
Pete Reed / Leander Club / Nailsworth, Glos / 27/07/81
Dan Ritchie / Leander Club / Herne Bay / 16/01/87
Mohamed Sbihi / Molesey BC / Surbiton / 27/03/88
Lance Tredell / Leander Club / Hale / 25/10/88
Andrew Triggs Hodge / Molesey BC / Hebden, N. Yorks / 03/03/79
Phelan Hill (cox) / Leander / Bedford / 21/07/79

Coach: Jurgen Grobler

Single scull

Jonathan Walton / Leander Club / Leicester / 06/10/90

Coach: Mark Banks

Double scull

John Collins / Leander Club / Twickenham / 24/01/89
Pete Lambert / Leander Club / Johannesburg / 03/12/86

Coach: Mark Banks

Quadruple scull

Charles Cousins / Leander Club / Willingham, Cambs / 13/12/88
Bill Lucas / London RC / Kingswear / 13/09/87
Graeme Thomas / Agecroft RC / Preston / 08/11/88
Sam Townsend / Reading Univ BC / Reading / 26/11/85

Coach: Mark Earnshaw

Spare

Oliver Cook / Uni of London / Windsor / 05/06/1990

LIGHTWEIGHT

WOMEN

Double scull

Kathryn Twyman / Wallingford RC / Oxford / 29/03/87
Imogen Walsh / London RC / Inverness / 17/01/84

Coach: Paul Reedy

Single scull
Ruth Walczak / Molesey BC / Rochdale / 15/09/88

Coach: Paul Reedy

LIGHTWEIGHT

MEN

Double scull

Richard Chambers / Leander Club / Coleraine / 10/06/85
Adam Freeman-Pask / Reading Uni BC/ Windsor / 19/06/85

Coach: Darren Whiter

Four

Chris Bartley / Leander Club / Chester / 02/02/84
Chris Boddy / Leander Club / Thornaby-on-Tees / 16/11/87
Peter Chambers / Oxford Brookes Uni BC / Oxford / 14/03/90
Jonno Clegg / Leander Club / Maidenhead/14/07/89

Coach: Rob Morgan

Single scull

Jamie Kirkwood / Leander Club / Cresswell / 30/08/89

Coach: Rob Morgan

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OUTLINE RACING TIMETABLE
(All times given are local times. Sydney is 11 hours ahead of the UK. Times may be subject to change once all entries and the draw are known)

Friday 22 March

08.00 – 10.00 – heats

First GB race or morning session – women’s quad at 8.00am;
Last GB Race of morning session – lightweight men’s single scull at 9.54am.

17.55 – 18.31 – Heats and Repechages

First GB race of evening session – men’s double at 18.15;
Last GB race of evening session – women’s eight at 18.25

Saturday 23 March
08.00 – 09.30 – Reps and Semi-finals
17.00 – 17.42 – B Finals

Sunday 24 March
09.30 – 12.45 – FINALS

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CONTACT DETAILS

For media enquiries about this event please contact:

Caroline Searle on (01225) 443998 or (NB Sydney is 11 hours ahead of the UK) 07831 755351 (or e-mail [email protected]

GB Rowing Team website, including full rower biogs: www.gbrowingteam.org.uk

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The GB Rowing Team is supported by the National Lottery with Science in Sport as its nutrition supplier.