Eight heat wins for GB Rowing Team at Worlds

Marcus Bateman and Matt Wells were the first GB boat to qualify for the World Championships semi-finals today, winning their opening heat in 6:18.47.

The duo made sure of their progression on Slovenia’s picturesque Lake Bled with a strong second half performance.

They were the first of eight British heat winners in the morning session in Slovenia for the Siemens-backed squad: the lightweight men’s four and pair, the men’s and women’s pair, the women’s double, the men’s eight and lightweight women’s single.

“We’ve had a good start with eight heat wins”, said GB Rowing Team Performance Director David Tanner. “But there were also  some close-run heats showing how tight some of the fields are here”.

All the British heat winners are now guaranteed a top-12 finish which is a significant staging post en route to 2012 Olympic qualification, with 11 boats qualifying from here for London in most events although not all.

Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins were amongst those heat winners. Their double scull performance proved that Watkins has shaken off her early-season injury.  “It’s good to be back and fighting fit”, she said.

“It’s good to be back and doing what we love”, added Grainger.

Both British quads, though, will face a repechage on Tuesday after they failed to progress. With only one place available  in the women’s race, Britain missed out narrowly in a three-boat chase to the line with second-placed Australia and winners New Zealand who now go through to Thursday’s final. The British men were third with only two progressing to semi-finals.

This afternoon’s session features British boats in heats of the men’s and women’s single sculls, the men’s four and the lightweight men’s double scull.

The GB men’s four won the world cup in Lucerne lsat month.

 
*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’ Start and High Performance Programme in Clubs Schemes)

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RACE REPORTS

Matt Wells and Marcus Bateman tussled in the first half of their men’s double scull heat today with Raja Allar and Kaspar Taimsoo of Estonia.  These two crews pulled ahead of the remainder of the field which was headed by Latvia.

Bateman and Wells made sure of the only semi-final qualifying slot by moving through to a strong lead in the second half of the race to win in 6:18.47.  Victory meant they became the first British boat to move into the semi-finals at this year’s World Championships.

A top three finish, by contrast, would see the GB men’s eight progress.  As the boats came down the lake towards the Island, the GB combination stroked by Dan Ritchie were tracking leaders China closely. Just as they had throughout the race.

In the closing stages cox Phelan Hill urged them into a sprint which saw them across the finish line in 5:34.75 from the USA who overhauled China to take second in 5:35.48.

“It was a good first race. We executed the plan well and there’s more to come”, said Hill.

Seven seconds separated the GB men’s pair of Pete Reed and Andrew Triggs Hodge from the trailing field with 500m to go of their opening heat. The duo looked strong and relaxed throughout with no shadow of a doubt that they would take the only semi-final place on offer.

Their victory came in 6:27.10 with Germany pipping France on the line to take second. Reed and Hodge will not row again now until Friday and will have been pleased with their morning’s work.

Canada, Italy and NZ were winners of the other three heats. New Zealand are the defending world champions.

Disappointment had earlier awaited the open men’s quad six races further into the programme when they were such a close
third to Russia and the Ukraine in their heat. The British combination of Tom Solesbury, Bill Lucas, Stephen Rowbotham and Sam
Townsend were in contention throughout in a race where two progressed and which was won in 5:47.46.  11 hundredths off that second place, the GB boat now races a repechage on Tuesday from where they will seek a semi-final place on Friday.

Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins, the defending world women’s double scull champions, were clearly delighted with their opening heat here which they won in 6:53.07 to move into Friday’s semi-final.

“It’s great to be back and doing what we love best”, said Grainger whose partnership with Watkins remains unbeaten since they first raced a double her in Slovenia at last year’s world cup.

The duo could ease down in the final 500m as Germany held onto second place ahead of the USA behind them.

Heather Stanning and Helen Glover, winners of world cup gold in Lucerne, stamped their authority on the second of three women’s pair heats.  The 2010 world silver medallists were more than two seconds up at 500m and three seconds ahead of Australia at halfway.

In the final 500m the British crew allowed themselves the luxury of easing up before crossing the line in 7:08.25 to become the first woman’s boat here to qualify for the semi-finals. New Zealand, the world champions, also performed strongly to win the third heat whilst China recorded the fastest heat time to win the opening of the three heats.

“It was good to put in a strong first race here and to get our World Championships campaign underway”, said Glover.

“We’ve had a good debrief with our coach Robin Williams and now we’re looking forward to the semi-final on Wednesday”, added Stanning.

A guaranteed 2012 Olympic place awaited the winner of the two heats of the women’s quad this morning.  Australia showed strongly in the first 500m to lead of the opener featuring the British quartet of Annabel Vernon, Debbie Flood,  Beth Rodford and Mel Wilson who were second at that stage but who dropped to third by halfway with New Zealand in second. The margins between these three crews were tight and the Kiwis seemed determined to reverse the result between them and GB at the world cup finals in Lucerne just over a month ago.

In the second half Australia held onto their lead but were being pressed strongly by their Antipodean neighbours Britain remained just over a second down.  In the final 250m the three top crews battled bow-ball to bow-ball with  with New Zealand taking victory and Australia edging out Britain on the line by just under two tenths of a second.  So the British will now race a repechage on Tuesday. Lucerne world cup winners, Germany, won the second heat.

A roar went up from the stands when the British supporters realised that the British world champion lightweight men’s four were leading their heat at the halfway mark.

Pressed for some of the way by a strong South African outfit Richard Chambers, Chris Bartley, Paul Mattick and Rob Williams went onto win and book the only semis qualifying slot.

World U23 champions Kieren Emery and Peter Chambers looked impressive in qualifying for the semi-final of  the lightweight men’s pair with a comfortable win over Canada. The British duo were a couple of lengths clear of the field at halfway and went onto to in 6:38.08. The Canadians were almost caught on the line by Bulgaria but held on by two tenths to take the second qualifying slot.

Katherine Copeland, also a winner of World U23 gold last month in Amsterdam, moved into the lead in her heat
of the lightweight women’s single scull here this morning and held onto it to win in 7:47.88 from Ursula Grobler of the USA.

America’s Andrew Campbell Jr and Italy’s Pietro Ruta fought for the lead throughout the early phases of the opening heat of the day, the lightweight men’s single scull, with France chasing them down and Adam Freeman Pask, of Great Britain in fourth. With Freeman Pask unable to make ground, in the final 500m, the American took victory with Italy second and fast-finishing Frenchman Stany Delayre rowed out of the semi-final slots by half a second.

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RESULTS

OPEN

WOMEN

Pair

1.  Helen Glover/Heather Stanning (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:08.25
2.  Sarah Tait/Kate Hornsey (Australia) 7:12.22
3.  Claudia Wurzel/Sara Bertolasi (Italy) 7:21.62
4.  Alice Mayne/Stephanie Dechand (France) 7:23.90
5.  Kerstin Hartmann/Katrin Reinert (Germany) 7:26.05

Double

1.  Anna Watkins/Katherine Grainger (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:53.07
2.  Carina Baer/Nina Wengert (Germany) 6:54.81
3.  Sarah Trowbridge/Kathleen Bertko (USA) 6:57.01
4.  Emily Cameron/Kerry Maher (Canada) 7:08.90
5.  Magdalena Lobnig/Lisa Farthofer (Austria) 7:09.37

Quadruple scull

1.  New Zealand 6:22.47
2.  Australia 6:22.89
3.  Mel Wilson/Beth Rodford/Annabel Vernon/Debbie Flood
     (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:23.06
4.  China 6:28.96
5.  Romania 6:34.99
6.  Vietnam 7:14.56

MEN

Pair

1.  Pete Reed/Andrew Triggs Hodge (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:27.10
2.  Maximilian Munski/Felix Drahotta (Germany) 6:37.31
3.  Michael Molina/Benjamin Lang (France) 6:37.82
4.  Sameh And El Baky/Mahmoud Zahran (Egypt) 6:47.26
5.  Inout Minea/Aurelian Stoica (Romania) 6:55.40
6.  Afshar Heidari/Yaser Johari (Ireland) 7:13.27

Eight

1.  Nathaniel Reilly O’Donnell/Cameron Nichol/James Foad/Alex
     Partridge/Mohamed Sbihi/Greg Searle/Tom Ransley/Dan
     Ritchie/Phelan HIll (cox) (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:34.75
2.  USA 5:35.48
3.  China 5:35.69
4.  Lithuania 5:56.90

Double scull

1.  Matt Wells/Marcus Bateman (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:18.47
2.  Raja Allar/Kaspar/Taimsoo (Estonia) 6:21.76
3.  Lauris Sire/Dairis Adamatis (Latvia) 6:21.76
4.  Kang Wei/Yan Zengxin (China) 6:29.32
5.  Ivan Futryk/Ivan Dovgodko (Ukraine) 6:30.46

Quadruple scull

1.  Russia 5:47.46
2.  Ukraine 5:47.58
3.  Tom Solesbury/Stephen Rowbotham/Bill Lucas/Sam
     Townsend (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:47.67
4.  Cuba 5:52.15
5.  Estonia 5:54.57

LIGHTWEIGHT

WOMEN

Single scull

1. Katherine Copleand (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:47.88
2.  Ursula Grober (USA) 7:50.23
3.  Lena Mueller (Germany) 7:51.97
4.  Hungary 8:10.55
5.  Ireland 8:13.81

MEN

Pair

1. Peter Chambers/Kieren Emery (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:38.08
2.  Timothy Myers/Morgan Jarvis (Canada) 6:40.75
3.  Zlatko Karaivanov/Vassil Vitanov (Bulgaria) 6:40.91
4.  Silvan Zehnder/Nicola Edelmann (Switzerland) 6:48.56
5.  Kyle Lafferty/Philip Oertle (USA) 6:53.45

Four

1.  Richard Chambers/Chris Bartley/Paul Mattick/Rob
     Williams (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:59.58
2.  South Africa 6:01.71
3.  Czech Republic 6:02.44
4.  USA 6:08.96
5.  Spain 6:10.10
6.  Austria 6:19.00

Single scull

1.  Andrew Campbell Jr (USA)  7:04.01
2.  Pietro Ruta (Italy) 7:11.47
3.  Stany Delayre (France) 7:05.02
4.  Adam Freeman Pask (GREAT BRTIAIN) 7:13.51
5.  So Sau Wah (Hong Kong) 7:22.62
6.  Gevorg Adamyan (Armenia) 9:39.63

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GB ROWING TEAM CREW-LISTS
2011 World Rowing Championships, sponsored by Samsung
August 28 – September 4, 2011
(listed bow to stroke plus cox)

OPEN

WOMEN

Pair

Helen Glover (Minerva Bath/Penzance/17.06.86)/
Heather Stanning (Army RC/Lossiemouth/26.01.85)

Coach: Robin Williams

Eight

Alison Knowles (Thames RC/Bournemouth/27.03.82)/
Jo Cook (Leander Club/Sunbury-on-Thames/22.03.84)/
Jessica Eddie (Univ of London BC/Durham/07.10.84)/
Lindsey Maguire (Wallingford RC/Edinburgh/15.01.82)/
Natasha Page (Gloucester RC/Hartpury/30.04.85)/
Louisa Reeve (Leander Club/London/16.05.84)/
Katie Solesbury (Leander Club/Oxford/02.09.82)/
Victoria Thornley (Leander Club/Wrexham/30.11.87)/
Caroline O’Connor (cox) (Oxford Brookes Univ BC/Ealing, London/25.04.83)

Coach: Nick Strange

Single scull

Frances Houghton (Leander/Oxford/19.09.80)

Coach: TBC

Double scull

Anna Watkins (Leander Club/Leek, Staffs/13.02.83)/
Katherine Grainger (St. Andrew BC/Aberdeen/12.11.75)

Coach: Paul Thompson

Quadruple scull

Debbie Flood (Leander Club/Guiseley/27.02.80)/
Beth Rodford (Gloucester RC/Gloucester/28.02.82)/
Annabel Vernon (Leander Club/Wadebridge/01.09.82)/
Melanie Wilson (Imperial College BC/London/25.06.84)/

Coach: Ade Roberts

RESERVES

Ro Bradbury (Leander/Banstead, Surrey/17.12.88)
Emily Taylor (Leander/Lincoln/28.06.87)

OPEN

MEN

Pair

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

Coach: Jürgen Grobler

Four

Matthew Langridge (Leander Club /Northwich/20.05.83)/
Richard Egington (Leander Club/Knutsford/26.02.79)/
Tom James (Molesey BC/Wrexham/11.03.84)/
Alex Gregory (Leander Club /Wormington, Glos/11.03.84)

Coach: John West

Eight

Nathaniel Reilly O’Donnell (Univ of London BC/Durham/13.04.88)/
Cameron Nichol (Molesey BC/Glastonbury/26.06.87)/
James Foad (Molesey BC/Southampton/20.03.87)/
Alex Partridge (Leander Club /Alton, Hants/25.01.81)/
Mohamed Sbihi (Molesey BC/Surbiton/27.03.88)/
Greg Searle (Molesey BC/Marlow/20.03.72)/
Tom Ransley (York City RC/Cambridge/06.09.85)/
Daniel Ritchie (Leander Club/Herne Bay/06.01.87)/
Phelan Hill (cox) (Leander Club/Bedford/21.07.79)

Coach: Christian Felkel

Single scull

Alan Campbell (Tideway Scullers/Coleraine/09.05.83)

Coach: Bill Barry

Double scull

Matthew Wells (Leander Club/Hexham, Northumberland/19.04.79)/
Marcus Bateman (Leander Club/Torquay/16.09.82)

Coach: Mark Earnshaw

Quadruple scull

Tom Solesbury (Leander Club/Petts Wood, Kent/23.09.80)/
Stephen Rowbotham (Leander Club/Winscombe, Somerset/11.11.81)/
Bill Lucas (London RC/Kingswear/13.09.87)/
Sam Townsend (Reading Univ BC/Reading/26.11.85)

Coach: Mark Banks

RESERVES

Tom Broadway (Leander Club/Newport Pagnell/21.08.82)
Constantine Louloudis (Isis BC/London/15.09.91)/
George Nash (Cambridge Uni BC/Guildford/02.10.89)

LIGHTWEIGHT

WOMEN

Single scull

Katherine Copeland (Tees RC/Ingelby Barwick, Stockton-on-Tees/01.12.90)

Coach: James Harris

Double scull

Hester Goodsell (Imperial College BC/London/27.06.84)/
Sophie Hosking (London RC/Wimbledon/25.01.86)

Coach: Paul Reedy

Quadruple scull

Steph Cullen (London RC/Bury, Lancs/27.11.80)/
Imogen Walsh (London RC/Inverness/17.01.84)/
Kathryn Twyman (OUWBC/Edmonton, Canada/29.03.87)/
Andrea Dennis (Imperial College BC/Oxford/03.01.82)/

Coach: Ben Reed

LIGHTWEIGHT

MEN

Pair

Peter Chambers (Oxford Brookes Uni BC/Coleraine/14.03.90)/
Kieren Emery (Leander Club/Newcastle-upon-Tyne/01.06.1990)

Coach: Peter Sheppard       

Four

Richard Chambers (Leander Club /Coleraine/10.06.85)/
Chris Bartley (Leander/Wrexham/02.02.84)/
Paul Mattick (Leander Club /Frome, Somerset/25.04.78)/
Rob Williams (London RC/Maidenhead/21.01.85)/

Coach: Rob Morgan

Single scull

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

Coach: Darren Whiter

Double scull
Zac Purchase (Marlow RC/Tewkesbury/02.05.86)/
Mark Hunter  (Leander Club /Romford, Essex/01.07.78)

Coach: Darren Whiter

ADAPTIVES

MEN

Arms & shoulders single scull (ASM1x)

Tom Aggar (Royal Docks RC/London/24.05.84)

Coach: Tom Dyson

Trunk & arms mixed double scull (TAMix2x)

Nick Beighton (Guildford RC/Yateley/29.09.81)/
Sam Scowen (Dorney BC/Wokingham/29.10.87)

Coach: Tom Dyson

Legs, trunk & arms mixed coxed four (LTAMix4+)

Pamela Relph (Birmingham Uni BC/Aylesbury/14.11.89)/
Naomi Riches (Marlow RC/Harrow/15.06.83)/
James Roe (Stratford upon Avon BC/ Stratford upon Avon/28.03.88)/
David Smith (Reading Uni BC/Dunfermline/21.04.78)/
Lily van den Broecke (cox) (Headington School BC/Oxford/08.01.92)

Coach: Mary McLachlan

SUPPORT STAFF

Performance:

Team Manager: David Tanner
Chief Coach Men: Jürgen Grobler
Chief Coach Women & Lightweights: Paul Thompson
Assistant Team Manager (Adaptive):  Louise Kingsley

Medical & Sports Science:

Doctor: Ann Redgrave
Lead Physio:  Mark Edgar
Physios:  Liz Arnold, Sally Brown
Psychologist:  Chris Shambrook
Physiologists:  Craig Williams
Nutritionist:  Wendy Martinson

Media/Admin/Logistics:

Assistant Team Manager (admin): Maggie Netto
Resources Manager:  Maurice Hayes
Boatman:  John Tetley
Sponsorship Liaison: Fran Bullock
Press Officer: Caroline Searle

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SCHEDULE OF MEDALS/EVENTS IN BLED

WHEN ARE THE MEDALS DECIDED?
(events featuring GB crews only)

Thursday 1 September

Women’s pair and quad; 
Men’s eight
Lightweight men’s pair

Friday 2 September

Women’s eight and quad;
Men’s double
Lightweight men’s four
Lightweight men’s and women’s single sculls
Men’s adaptive single scull

Saturday 3 September

Women’s double
Men’s pair, single and squad
Lightweight women’s quad
Mixed adaptive double scull

Sunday 4 September
Women’s single
Men’s four
Lightweight men’s and women’s double sculls
Mixed adaptive coxed four

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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Sunday 28 August- Morning

Heats of the:

Women’s pair, double and quadruple scull;
Men’s pair, eight, double and quadruple scull;
Lightweight men’s single, pair and four.

Sunday 28 August – Afternoon

Heats of the:

Women’s single;
Men’s four and single scull;
Lightweight men’s double scull

Monday 29 August – morning

Heats of the:

Women’s eight,
Men’s coxed pair;
Lightweight women’s double and quadruple scull
Adaptive women’s and men’s single sculls; mixed double and coxed four

Repechages of the:

Women’s pair and single and quadruple scull;
Men’s four, eight and single and double scull;
Lightweight men’s pair, four and single and double scull

Tuesday 30 August – morning

Repechages of the:

Women’s double
Men’s pair and quad
Lightweight women’s single
Adaptive men’s and women’s single, mixed double and coxed four

Quarterfinals of the:

Men’s double
LIghtweight men’s four and single

Wednesday 31 August  – Morning

Repechages of the:

Women’s eight and single
Men’s coxed pair
Lightweight women’s double and quad and men’s quad

Quarter-finals of the:

Men’s four and single
Lightweight men’s double scull

Semi-finals of the:

Women’s pair and quadruple scull
Men’s eight
LIghtweight men’s pair
Adaptive women’s single scull

Thursday 1 September – Morning

Semi-finals of:

Men’s double scull
Lightweight men’s four and single scull
LIghtweight women’s single scull
Adaptive men’s single scull

B Finals of the:

Women’s pair and quadruple scull
Men’s eight
Lightweight men’s pair

FINALS OF THE:

Women’s pair and quadruple scull
Men’s eight
Lightweight men’s pair
Adaptive women’s single scull and mixed ID coxed four

Friday 2 September – morning

Semi-finals of the:

Women’s double
Men’s pair, single and quadruple scull
Adaptive mixed double scull

B-Finals of the:

Women’s eight
Men’s double and coxed pair
Lightweight men’s four and women’s and men’s single scull
Adaptive men’s single scull

FINALS of the:

Women’s eight
Men’s double and coxed pair
Lightweight men’s four, men’s and women’s single scull
Adaptive men’s single scull

Saturday 3 September – Morning

Semi-finals of the:

Women’s single
Men’s four
Lightweight men’s and women’s double scull
Adaptive mixed coxed four

B Finals of the:

Women’s double scull
Men’s pair and single and quadruple scull
Mixed adaptive double scull

FINALS of the:

Women’s four and double scull
Men’s pair and single and quadruple scull
Lightweight women’s quadruple scull
Mixed adaptive double scull

Sunday 4 September

B Finals of the:

Women’s single scull
Men’s four
Lightweight men’s and women’s double scull
Adaptive mixed coxed four

FINALS of the:

Women’s single scull
Men’s four
Lightweight men’s and women’s double scull, men’s quadruple
scull and eight
Adaptive mixed coxed four

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BBC TV and Radio Coverage from Bled

TV

Thursday 1 and Friday 2 September
Red button coverage -more details to follow

Saturday 3 September
1400-1630, BBC One/online

Sunday 4 September
1545-1700, BBC Two/online

RADIO 5 Live Sports Extra on DAB Radio

Thursday 1 September

From 11.15

Friday 2 September

From 10.55

Saturday 3 September

From midday live on 5 Live (not 5 Live Sports Extra)

Sunday 4 September

From 10.55

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FINAL DIARY DATE

SEPTEMBER

16-18
European Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

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CONTACT DETAILS
For media enquiries about The GB Rowing Teams please contact:

Caroline Searle, Andy Sloan or Miranda Edwards on:

T:  (01225) 443998
M:  Caroline Searle (07831) 755351

e:  [email protected]

GB Rowing Team website www.gbrowingteam.org.uk – full biogs available
here.

Follow us on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/gbrowingteam
Follow us on twitter @gbrowingteam: www.twitter.com/gbrowingteam
See our season’s preview on YouTube

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Sports Fund as part of UK Sport’s Podium Programme.

GB Rowing Team News bulletins are issued by the GB Rowing Team office