Men's eight, Aggar and mixed adaptive coxed four all through to finals - British Rowing

August 24, 2009

Men’s eight, Aggar and mixed adaptive coxed four all through to finals

The GB Rowing Team men’s eight produced a storming performance today to qualify for Sunday’s final at the World Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.

The eight qualified in the last race of the day whilst Tom Aggar, Paralympic champion, booked his finals slot in the day’s opener by winning and becoming hot favourite to defend his 2007 world single scull title.

A flying finish saw the men’s eight overhaul Australia in the final stroke and take the second qualifying slot behind Germany in 5:59.48.

"Even the last stroke counts", said a clearly delighted coach John West of his eight which are a development boat featuring many new faces this season. "We didn’t get the best start but we obviously had the fitness and determination at the end".

Britain also won heats in both the lightweight men’s and women’s double scull to book semi-final places. World Cup winners Hester Goodsell and Sophie Hosking beat Australia, one of only two crews here that they had not previously raced and beaten this season. Paul Mattick and Rob Williams showed that they have stepped on during recent training camps to win ahead of a world-class Italian crew.

"Comparatively, given the tricky headwind conditions, that is one of our better performances this season", said Mattick.

The GB women’s quadruple scull were good enough today to beat world title favourites, Germany, in their heat but were ultimately second to a Ukrainian crew whose performance defied the form book. Like the women’s eight, who were uplifted by a connected performance in finishing second behind Romania, the quad now faces a repechage on Wednesday.[img_assist|nid=3372|title=The women’s quad beat Germany in the heat but lost out to Ukraine|desc=Picture: Peter Spurrier|link=none|align=left|width=464|height=276]

Britain’s lightweight men’s four, composed mainly of athletes who have come through the GB Rowing Team’s talent identification scheme, sponsored by Siemens and funded by the lottery, were very close to taking a semi-final place today but lost out by under half a second to Spain.

Wednesday repechages also await the illness-hit men’s quadruple scull and the lightweight men’s pair.

After a successful opening day yesterday only three British crews race in tomorrow’s repechages – the lightweight men’s and women’s single sculls and the mixed adaptive double scull.

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RACE REPORTS

Two of the GB Rowing Team’s female crews produced their season’s best performances here in Poznan today but came away empty-handed in the hunt for places in Sunday’s finals.

The women’s quadruple scull of Katie Greves, Beth Rodford, Sarah Cowburn and Ro Bradbury – moulded into a unit this year – delighted observers by tracking and then overtaking the feared German quartet three-quarters of the way into this morning’s heat. Germany have been dominant again this year in one of their favourite boat classes but the GB crew beat them by just under two seconds today. Neither combination could have predicted the blazing speed produced by the Ukraine off the start – a speed they maintained to give them a big, early lead over the field and ultimate victory by just under eight seconds. GB and Germany will now race repechages on Wednesday with only one crew qualifying directly for the final.

Romania, meanwhile, were always favourites to qualify for Sunday’s final from the heat of the women’s eight that also included Great Britain. They took an early lead and never looked threatened. Meanwhile, behind them, the Great Britain women were creating a performance of confidence and consistency to take second place.[img_assist|nid=3373|title=A confident and consistent performance from the women’s eight|desc=Picture: Peter Spurrier|link=none|align=left|width=595|height=356]

By the 500m mark GB, stroked by Lindsey Maguire and coxed by Caroline O’Connor, had moved into second place. Canada threatened them briefly in the middle section of the race but they responded to the pressure and held their form to finish in 6:54.10.

"It was a good performance but it’s not where we want to end up", said O’Connor. "Actually, I think it’s a good thing that we’ve got to race the repechage. It will give us the chance to sharpen up".

Natasha Page said: "We’ve been doing some really good pieces in training camp. This season we’ve had a few ups and downs but we knew we had some good, raw speed.

"We were also pleased with the kind of conditions we had to race in today. We were confident we could do well and we were really pleased with the middle section of the race".

The GB women’s eight were racing today with Olivia Whitlam as part of the crew as Tina Stiller is still recovering from a viral infection.

GB Rowing’s lightweight women’s double scull of Hester Goodsell and Sophie Hosking were also in action today in a heat which they led from Australia almost from start to finish. The two crews, spearheading the race, were never much more than two seconds apart and the win for GB must have been a confidence booster as the Bronwen Watson and Alice McNamara were previously an unknown quantity.

"Certainly they are one of the crews we haven’t raced this year", said Goodsell after the race. "We were pleased with today. It felt like Tideway (the stretch of the Thames on which much of their winter training took place) conditions today. Gusts and everything. It was a case of weather management out there and I think we did well.

"We weren’t perfect today and we’ve got a lot to do in the next few days". A semi-final place is now secure, though, on Friday.

Their performance was followed by a heat win from Paul Mattick and Rob Williams in the lightweight men’s double scull. The GB duo looked to have progressed over the recent training camp period and held their form and shape for the full 2000m. Italy’s world cup winners, Marcello Miani and Elia Luini were fast starters and had their noses ahead at 500m but the GB duo emerged strongly through the middle of the race to take victory in 7:06.42 as the two leading crews pulled away from the rest of the field.[img_assist|nid=3374|title=A good performance in a tricky headwind from lightweight men’s double scull|desc=Picture: Peter Spurrier|link=none|align=left|width=500|height=329]

"I think we were especially pleased with the middle part of the race today. Conditions were really bumpy but we handled them well", said Williams. A semi-final now awaits on Friday.

There was disappointment later in the session for the lightweight men’s four of Bob Hewitt, Stephen Feeney, Chris Boddy and Chris Bartley. They were edged out of a semi-final qualifying place by Spain, having probably left themselves too much to do after the opening quarter of the morning’s heats.

Spain and Australia, with the Czech Republic, went off quickly with Spain leading at 500m and the Czech Republic at 1000 and 1500m before winning in 6:40.92. The GB Rowing quartet moved metre by metre closer to the Spaniards from 800m out, overtaking the Australians in the process, but did not quite have enough to catch Spain. That puts the relatively young, untried GB combination into Wednesday’s repechages.

GB’s men’s quadruple scull, disrupted in the past three weeks by the loss of former world U23 champion Bill Lucas to a viral infection, were desolate at the performance which put them firmly fourth and out of the qualifying places for Friday’s semi-finals. They were left behind in the first 500m and never really recovered in a race won by Germany. Brendan Crean has joined the line-up which had showed so much promise as an emerging crew earlier in the year in a combination stroked by Sam Townsend and featuring Marcus Bateman and Charles Cousins. Hit by injury in the final Olympic qualifying period last year, this crew has not enjoyed the best of luck.[img_assist|nid=3375|title=The GB men’s quad with substitute Brendan Crean in the bow seat|desc=Picture: Peter Spurrier|link=none|align=right|width=503|height=315]

A boost for the open men’s squad followed swiftly, though, as GB came up through the field and produced a finish of determination and grit to take second place in the heats of the men’s eight and qualify for Sunday’s final.

Canada and Germany are the form crews in this event this season so far and it came as no surprise that Germany led today’s heat featuring GB from the outset. The battle, therefore, was to take the all-important second place with the USA and Australia as tough opponents. Indeed the Australians set off at a fierce pace from the start and looked to have qualfiying in the bag ahead of GB and the Ukraine with the USA trailing throughout.

Instead the British eight stormed through at the finish to take the verdict for second from Australia by five hundredths of a second. Probably the last stroke made all the difference.

"It was pretty close in that last 250m", said cox Phelan Hill. "The Australians went off really hard at the start and I thought they might pay at the end".

For Dan Ritchie, discovered only a few years ago by the GB Rowing Team’s talent identification programme, it looks like turning into a dream summer after an injury in the Spring looked like ruling him out. He won his seat in the boat earlier this month and has already won world u23 bronze in 2009.

"It feels like a dream come true", he said after this race. "I didn’t think I’d make it into any boat this year but now I’m in a world senior final".

Ross Hunter and Oli Mahony got a good start in the lightweight men’s pair heats early in the morning’s session. They were second behind Italy at 500m and a close third behind Denmark at halfway. At 1500m the Danes had edged ahead of GB again with Italy still in the lead. That’s the way it stayed at the line and Mahony and Hunter now race in Wednesday’s repechages.

NB – For adaptive race reports, please see earlier
GB Rowing Team News today or visit: www.gbrowing.org.uk

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RESULTS
(Races featuring GB crews only. For full results
log onto www.worldrowing.com)

OPEN

WOMEN

Eight

1. Romania 6:48.89
2. Jo Cook/Melanie Wilson/Michelle Vezie/Lindsey Maguire/
Olivia Whitlam/Alison Knowles/Jessica Eddie/Natasha Page/
Caroline O’Connor (cox) (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:54.10
3. Canada 6:57.18
4. Belarus 7:06.01

Quadruple scull

1. Ukraine 6:55.71
2. Ro Bradbury/Beth Rodford/Sarah Cowburn/Katie Greves
(GREAT BRITAIN) 7:03.61
3. Germany 7:05.47
4. Belarus 7:19.47

MEN

Eight

1. Germany 5;58.16
2. Tom Broadway/Tom Burton/James Orme/Tom Solesbury/Tom
Wilkinson/Dan Ritchie/Tom Ransley/James Clarke/Phelan Hill (cox)
(GREAT BRITAIN) 5:59.48
3. Australia 5:59.53
4. Ukraine 6:01.75
5. USA 6:04.13

Quadruple scull

1. Germany 6:25.76
2. Ukraine 6:27.74
3. Russia 6:28.33
4. Brendan Crean/Marcus Bateman/Charles Cousins/Sam Townsend
(GREAT BRITAIN) 6:34.80

LIGHTWEIGHT

WOMEN

Double scull

1. Hester Goodsell/Sophie Hosking (GREAT BRITAIN) 8:02.46
2. Bronwen Watson/Alice McNamara (Australia) 8;03.94
3. Kristin Hedstrom/Michelle Trannel (USA) 8:11.86
4. Yaima Velazquez Falcon/Yoslaine Domingues Cedeno (Cuba) 8:17.41
5. Carla Mendes/Janine Coelho (Portugal) 8:19.68

MEN

Pair

1. Andrea Caianiello/Armando Dell-Aquila (Italy) 7:15.62
2. Jacob Barsoe/Lasse Dittmann (Denmark) 7:20.35
3. Ross Hunter/Oliver Mahony (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:23.19
4. Michael Reckzeh/Max Roeger (Germany) 7:27.62
5. Kenta Tadachi/Hidenori Daido (Japan) 7:31.88
6. Vojtech Bejblik/Vlastimil Cabla (Czech Republic) 7:42.37

Four

1. Czech Republic 6:40.92
2. Spain 6:41.69
3. Chris Bartley/Chris Boddy/Stephen Feeney/Bob Hewitt
(GREAT BRITAIN) 6:42.05
4. Australia 6:46.86
5. Chile 7:02.58

Double scull

1. Rob Williams/Paul Mattick (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:06.42
2. Marcello Miani/Elia Luini (Italy) 7:11.08
3. Nemanja Nesic/Milos Stanojevic (Serbia) 7:17.62
4. Pedro Fraga/Nuno Mendes (Portugal) 7:25.81
5. Mohsen Shadi Naghadeh/Taher Kaboutari (Iran) 7:39.90

ADAPTIVES

NB – see correct name for GB mixed adaptive
crew’s cox: Rhiannon Jones (not Rhiannon Henry).

MEN

Single scull

1. Tom Aggar (GREAT BRITAIN) 5;37.37
2. Andrii Kryvchun (Ukraine) 5:49.27
3. Benjamin Houlison (Australia) 5:50.02
4. Ronald Harvey (USA) 5:56.82
5. Robert Studzizba (Poland) 6:28.42
6. Choi Jaeho (Republic of Korea) 6:48.59

MIXED

Double scull

1. Dmytro Ivanov/Iryna Kyrychenko (Ukraine) 4:41.43
2. Jolanta Pawlak/Piotr Majka (Poland) 4:48.41
3. Stefania Toscano/Daniele Stefanoni (Italy) 4:52.14
4. James Roberts/Sam Scowen (GREAT BRITAIN) 4;56.01
5. Nadezda Andreeva/Vladimir Glukhov (Russia) 5:25.30
6. Eom Soonam/Park Jun Ha (Republic of Korea) 5:37.29

Coxed four

1. Vicky Hansford/James Roe/Dave Smith/Naomi Riches/
Rhiannon Jones (GREAT BRITAIN) 3:42.57
2. Germany 3:50.47
3. Canada 3:51.44
4. Ukraine 3;52.08
5. Ireland 4;03.12

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RACING TIMETABLE

Events featuring GB crews
Times given are Polish time (one hour ahead of the UK).

L=Lightweight
M= Men
W=Women
-=Coxless
+= With cox
x=Sculling boat

(nb – subject to change. For up-to-date information
please see www.worldrowing.com).

TUESDAY 25 AUGUST

Repechages: 09.30 – 13.45

LM1, W2-, M2-, W2X, M2X, M4-, W1X, M1X
ASM1X, TA2X, LTA4+

WEDNESDAY 26 AUGUST

Repechages: 09.30 – 11.50

LW4X, LW2X, LM2X, LM4-, W4X, M4X, W8+, M8+

THURSDAY 27 AUGUST

Semi-finals: 10.55 – 15.20

W2-, M2-, W2X, M2X, M4-, W1X, M1X
ASM1X, TA2X, LTA4+

FRIDAY 28 AUGUST

Semi-finals: 13.30 – 15.20
LM2-, LM1X, LW2X, LM2X, LM4-, M4X

B finals: 11.25 – 12.15
ASM1X, TA2X, LTA4+

SATURDAY 29 AUGUST

Finals: 10.00 – 13.10

W2-, M2-, W2X, M2X, M4-, W1X, M1X
ASM1X, TA2X, LTA4+

B Finals: 14.30 – 16.30

LM2-, LM1X, W2-, M2-, W2X, M2X, M4-, W1X, M1X, LW4X, LW2X, LM2X, LM4-, W4X, M4X, W8+, M8+

SUNDAY 30 AUGUST

Finals: 09.30 – 13.10

LM2-, LW4X, LM1X, LW2X, LM2X, LM4-, W4X, M4X, W8+, M8+

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CREW LISTS
2009 World Rowing Championships, Poznan, Poland.
AUGUST , 2009
(Listed as bow to stroke plus cox unless otherwise indicated)

FULL BIOGS AVAILABLE AT: www.gbrowing.org.uk

OPEN

WOMEN

Pair

Olivia Whitlam (Agecroft/Warrington/16.09.85)/Louisa Reeve (Leander
Club/London/16.05.84)

Coach: Miles Forbes-Thomas

Eight

Jo Cook (Leander Club/Nottingham/22.03.84)/
Melanie Wilson (Molesey BC/London/25.6.84)/
Michelle Vezie (Molesey BC/London/30.11.87)/
Lindsey Maguire (Wallingford RC/Edinburgh/15.01.82)/
Jess Eddie (Uni of London BC/Durham/07.10.84)/
Olivia Whitlam (Agecroft/Warrington/16.09.85)/
Alison Knowles (Thames RC/Bournemouth/27.03.82)/
Natasha Page (Reading Uni BC/Hartpury/30.04.85)/

Caroline O’Connor (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Ealing/25.04.83) (cox)

Coach: Miles Forbes-Thomas

Single scull

Katherine Grainger (St Andrew BC/Aberdeen/12.11.75)

Coach: Paul Thompson

Double scull

Anna Bebington (Leander Club/Leek, Staffs/13.02.83)/Annabel Vernon
(Marlow RC/Wadebridge/01.09.82)

Coach: Paul Thompson

Quadruple scull

Rosamund Bradbury (Westminster School BC/Banstead/17.12.88)/
Beth Rodford (Gloucester RC/Burton-on-Trent/ 28.12.82)/
Sarah Cowburn (Durham Uni BC/Redditch/01.02.89)/
Katie Greves (Leander Club/Oxford/02.09.82)/

Coach: Ade Roberts

MEN

Pair

Pete Reed (Leander Club/Nailsworth, Glos/27.07.81)/Andy Triggs Hodge
(Molesey BC/Hebden, N.Yorks/03.03.79)

Coach: Jurgen Grobler

Four

Alex Partridge (Leander Club/Alton, Hants/25.01.81)/Richard
Egington (Leander Club/Knutsford/26.02.79)/Alex Gregory (Reading
Uni BC/Wormington/11.03.84)/Matt Langridge(Leander Club/Northwich/20.05.83)

Coach: Mark Banks

Eight

Tom Broadway (Leander Club/Newport Pagnell/21.08.82)/
Tom Burton (Leander Club/Barton-le-Clay, Beds/24.05.80)/
James Orme (Leander Club/Colchester/01.04.84)/
Tom Solesbury (Isis BC/Petts Wood, Kent/23.09.80)/
Tom Wilkinson (Leander Club/Reading/04.07.85)/
Dan Ritchie (Reading Uni BC/Herne Bay/06.01.87)/
Tom Ransley (Cambridge University BC/ Ashford, Kent/06.09.85)/
James Clarke (London RC/London/31.12.84)/
Phelan Hill (cox) (Leander Club/Bedford/21.07.79)

Coach: Christian Felkel/John West

Single scull

Alan Campbell (Tideway Scullers/Coleraine/09.05.83)

Coach: Bill Barry

Double scull

Matt Wells (Leander Club/Hexham, Northumberland/19.04.79)/
Stephen Rowbotham (Leander Club/Winscombe, Somerset/11.11.81)

Coach: Mark Earnshaw

Quadruple Scull

Brendan Crean (Agecroft/Manchester/07.02.85)
Marcus Bateman (Leander Club/Torquay/16.09.82)/
Charles Cousins (Reading Uni BC/Cambridge/13.12.88)/
Sam Townsend (Reading Uni BC/Reading/26.11.85)

Coach: Mark Earnshaw

LIGHTWEIGHT

WOMEN

Double scull

Hester Goodsell (Reading Uni BC/Cambridge/27.06.84)/
Sophie Hosking (London RC/Wimbledon/25.01.86

Coach: Paul Reedy

Quadruple Scull

Stephanie Cullen (London RC/Putney, London/27.11.80)Laura Greenhalgh (London RC/Oxford/02.09.85)//Andrea Dennis (London RC/Oxford/03.01.82)/Jane Hall (Leander Club/Caversham/20.10.73)

Coach: Don McLachlan

Racing Spare

Single Scull
Elaine Johnstone (Tideway Scullers)

MEN

Pair

Ross Hunter (Leander Club/Romford, Essex/13.07.81)/
Oliver Mahony (London RC/London/21.10.83)

Coach: Steve Trapmore

Four

Chris Bartley (Leander Club/Chester/02.02.84)/
Chris Boddy (Tees RC/Stockton-on-Tees/16.11.87)/
Stephen Feeney (London RC/Coleraine/12.05.85)/
Bob Hewitt (Tees RC/Scarborough/27.04.87)/

Coach: Robin Williams

Single scull

Adam Freeman-Pask (Imperial College BC/Windsor/19.06.85)

Coach: Steve Trapmore

Double scull

Rob Williams (London RC/Maidenhead/21.01.85)/Paul Mattick
(Leander Club/Frome, Somerset/25.04.78)

Coach: Darren Whiter

ADAPTIVE (Paralympic classes)

Men’s Arms-only Single Scull

Tom Aggar (Royal Docks RC/Barnet, London/24.05.84)

Coach: Tom Dyson

Trunk and Arms Double Scull

James Roberts (City of Swansea RC/Prestatyn/11.05.86)/
Samantha Scowen (Dorney BC/Wokingham/29.10.87)

Coach: Tom Dyson

Mixed Adaptive Coxed Four

Vicki Hansford (Uni of Surrey BC/Farnborough/31.10.79)/
James Roe (Stratford-upon-Avon BC//Stratford-upon-Avon/
28.03.88)/Dave Smith (Reading Uni BC/Aviemore/21.04.78) /Naomi
Riches (Leander/Harrow, London 15.06.83)/Rhiannon Jones
(Reading Uni BC/Hereford/16.09.87) (cox)

Coach: Stuart Whitelaw

RESERVES

Men’s sweep

Nathaniel Reilly-O’Donnell (Uni of London/Durham/13.04.88)
Peter Marsland (Cambridge Uni BC/Hampton, Mx/06.03.85)

Women’s sweep

Reserve: Jacqui Round (Nottingham RC/St Neots/01.07.87)

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Management and Support Staff:

Performance Support Team:

David Tanner, Performance Director and Team Manager
Jurgen Grobler, Chief Coach (Men)
Paul Thompson, Chief Coach (Women & Lightweights)

Medical and Science Support:

Dr Ann Redgrave, Doctor
Mark Edgar, Physiotherapist
Karen Burn, Physiotherapist
Lilly Devine, Physiotherapist
Dr Chris Shambrook, Psychologist
Mark Homer, Physiologist
Wendy Martinson, Nutritionist

Adaptive Team Staff:

Louise Kingsley, Selector
Tom Dyson, Lead coach
Dr Lucy Free, Doctor
Chris Price, Physiotherapist

Logistics and Office Support:

Rachel Simon, Assistant Team Manager
Maurice Hayes, Resources Manager
Judi Read, Logistics Coordinator
Fran Bullock, Sponsorship Liaison
John Tetley, Boatman
John Brockway, Driver
Caroline Searle, Press Officer