Tally of finalists rises at World Championships

Britain’s tally of world championships finalists in the Olympic classes rose to 11 on Poznan’s Lake Malta today when Hester Goodsell and Sophie Hosking alongside Paul Mattick and Rob Williams qualified the GB Rowing Team’s two lightweight double sculls for the finals by taking second and third places respectively in today’s semi-finals.[img_assist|nid=3400|title=Tight racing off the start of the iightweight women’s double semi|desc=Picture: Peter Spurrier|link=none|align=right|width=358|height=340]

Both crews were involved in some exciting and close racing in today’s semi-finals. The women featured in a tussle to the line with Germany.

"I think that the Germans really wanted to cross the line first today", said Hosking afterwards. "But the real race is on Sunday".

Williams, meanwhile, was clear that he and Mattick had done enough to qualify but would need to improve come Sunday if they are to be in the medal zone. "It was enough to get through but not our best", he said.

Earlier Adam Freeman-Pask continued to struggle with his form here and finished sixth in the lightweight men’s single scull, an international class event for which the B Final is tomorrow.

Lake Malta will witness the first finals tomorrow with GB featuring in six Olympic class and three Paralympic class boats.

Based on semi-final performances several British crews should have medal chances. In terms of sporting tension the three open weight men’s races could provide some drama.

Alan Campbell has beaten all bar world champion Mahe Drysdale this season in the men’s single scull which promises to be nothing short of gladiatorial. The GB men’s four, in a strong field, could provide the main opposition to the 2008 Australian Olympic silver medal crew. Andrew Triggs Hodge and Peter Reed will run up once more against the New Zealand favourites in the men’s pair.

Anna Bebington and Annabel Vernon looked very strong in the semi-finals of the women’s double scull yesterday. A medal is not beyond the reach of the women’s pair of Olivia Whitlam and Louisa Reeve but they will have to fight hard in the face of strong German, New Zealand and American opposition.

Katherine Grainger, meanwhile, on her debut season in the single scull, knows the magnitude of the task ahead in a final stacked with experienced Olympic and world medallists.

The GB Rowing Team also has strong medal chances in the Paralympic class races. Tom Aggar is the defending world champion in the arms-only single scull whilst GB’s mixed adaptive coxed four has been in good form this season to date.

Racing is between 9am – 12noon and is live on BBC Interactive with a highlights programme to follow on BBC 2 from 14.00 – 15.30.

*SIEMENS is the high performance partner of the GB Rowing Team
(as such they sponsor all the Olympic and Paralympic Class
boats in the senior squad and add value to the GB Rowing
Teams’ World Class Start and High Performance Programme in Clubs Schemes)

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RACE REPORTS

Hester Goodsell and Sophie Hosking were challenged in the first half of their lightweight women’s double scull semi-final by Denmark and Germany. Just before halfway the Germans made a move and had a three feet lead by the 1000m timing point.

The Danish dropped back marginally and, in turn, were challenged by Poland. Bow to bow in adjacent lanes the British and Germans went head-to-head in the third 500m and Germany had a two-tenth of a second lead by 1500m.

Nothing, not a wafer, separated the two leading crews as they entered the final sprint past the grandstands. In the final few strokes the Germans increased their stroke rate and just nudged ahead to take victory in 7:27.93 with GB in second.

Paul Mattick and Rob Williams were next on the course in the lightweight men’s double scull semi-final. They worked well to place themselves in the race pack behind the consistent race leaders and ultimate race winners New Zealand in the first 1000m. As the race entered the second half Germany and GB made a move and broke away from the rest of the field on opposite sides of the course. In the final sprint to the line, Germany put on a burst of speed to take second with GB third.

"We did a good enough job today and it’s good to be in the A Final", said Mattick. "We’ve earned our place in the line-up. We need to step up again".

Earlier Adam Freeman-Pask raced in the lightweight men’s single scull, an international class event, and struggled to stay with the rest of the field throughout his semi-final in which he finished sixth. The race was won by Vasileios Polymeros – an old sparring partner of GB’s Zac Purchase, olympic gold medallist in Beijing in the lightweight men’s double scull with Mark Hunter.

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

SEMI-FINALS

LIGHTWEIGHT

WOMEN

MEN

Single scull

1. Vasileios Polymeros (Greece) 7:23.12
2. Daisaku Takeda (Japan) 7:25.07
3. Duncan Grant (New Zealand) 7:27.05
4. Lawrence Ndlovu (South Africa) 7:34.61
5. Fabrizio Gabriele (Italy) 7:35.60
6. Adam Freeman-Pask (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:40.02

Double scull

1. Uru Storm/Peter Taylor (New Zealand) 6:43.74
2. Christian Hochbruck/Lars Hartig (Germany) 6:45.24
3. Rob Williams/Paul Mattick (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:46.97
4. Nemanja Nesic/Milos Stanojevic (Serbia) 6:50.55
5. Manuel Barrios Suarez/Yunior Perez Aguilera (Cuba) 6:51.64
6. Pedro Fraga/Nuno Mendes (Portugal) 7:03.81

C FINALS

LIGHTWEIGHT

WOMEN

Single scull

1. Akiko Iwamoto (Japan) 8;56.14
2. Lila Perez Rul (Mexico) 8:58.52
3. Elaine Johnstone (GREAT BRITAIN) 8:59.81
4. Ka Man Lee (Hong Kong) 9:03.62
5. Yoo Jin Ji (Republic of Korea) 9:08.89

MEN

Four

1. Chris Bartley/Chris Boddy/Stephen Feeney/Bob Hewitt
(GREAT BRITAIN) 6:42.09
2. Australia 6:43.91
3. Belgium 6:44.59
4. New Zealand 6:45.65
5. China 6:58.00
6. Russia 6:58.19

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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
asm – arms and shoulders single – men
ta2x – trunk and arms double scull
lta4+ – leg, trunks and arms coxed four

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

SATURDAY 29 AUGUST

Finals: 10.00 – 13.10

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

B Finals: 14.30 – 16.30

LM1X, M2X

SUNDAY 30 AUGUST

Finals: 09.30 – 13.10

LM2-, LW4X, LW2X, LM2X, 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)/
Tina Stiller (Nottingham RC/Yarm/23.06.87)/
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 – WITHDRAWN ON WEDS 26 AUGUST DUE TO INJURY

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