August 31, 2011 News British Rowing NewsBritish Rowing EventsRowing CommunityGB Rowing TeamCompetitions and ClubsIndoor RowingPartners#YourStoriesArchive GB Rowing Team’s first London Olympic boat places booked GB Rowing Team The GB Rowing Team won all three of its semis on a day when the women’s pair and men’s eight qualified for tomorrow’s finals guaranteeing these boat slots for the nation at the 2012 London Olympic Games. Heather Stanning and Helen Glover led early and then moved incrementally ahead of China to win their pairs semi. Glover said: “As I crossed the line I was only thinking about today but it’s also really exciting to have qualified for London. Hopefully, that will give the whole team a boost”.ADVERT The men’s eight, stroked by Dan Ritchie and featuring all new faces since GB’s Beijing silver, except Alex Partridge, were next to win their semi in a strong performance over the Olympic champions from Canada. “It was important to qualify for London and this is our last opportunity to have a full dress rehearsal with all of the best crews in the world before the Games next year”, said Cameron Nichol. “So it’s step two of three here and now we’re looking forward to the final”. The British women’s eight are also through to their final after taking an exciting repechage victory today. “That was a definite step on for us today. We’re in a good place going into the final”, said Louisa Reeve, “but we’re not qualified yet for the Games so the final is going to be a fight”. Only five from six boats go forward to London from tomorrow’s final. Earlier World U23 Champions Kieren Emery and Peter Chambers were winners in the lightweight men’s pair semi-final. Whilst theirs is not an Olympic class boat, the duo have already shown their ability to win on the big stage and are names for the future. Britain’s other successes today included a quarter-final win for Alan Campbell in the men’s single scull. The Coleraine sculler now moves into Friday’s semis. He will be joined there by Olympic lightweight men’s double champions Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase who eased down in the final 250m of a quarter-final in which they were second to the 2009 world champions from New Zealand. Frances Houghton, Beijing Olympic quad scull silver medallist, dug deep to win her repechage of the women’s single after another injury-affected season and progress to Friday’s semi. Only nine boats qualify for London from this event so Houghton will need to at least finish in the top three of the B Final here. Bled 2011’s first medals will be decided tomorrow with finals in the women’s pair, men’s eight and lightweight men’s pair – all featuring GB crews. It will also be a tense day for the women’s quad who race their B final in which a London 2012 place is on offer only for the winner. World champions Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins, will be in semi-final action as will the “Red Express”, their male counterparts, 2010 world silver medallists Matt Wells and Marcus Bateman. Britain’s three other semi-finals include Richard Chambers, Paul Mattick, Chris Bartley and Rob Williams in the lightweight men’s four, as well as the two lightweight single-scullers Kat Copeland and Adam Freeman-Pask. and reigning Paralympic champion single sculler, Tom Aggar. PICTURES OF THE GB ROWING TEAM SQUAD IN ACTION ANDAS HEAD AND SHOULDERS ARE AVAILABLE BY E-MAIL: [email protected] *SIEMENS is the high performance partner of the GB Rowing Team(as such they sponsor all the Olympic and Paralympic Classboats in the senior squad and add value to the GB RowingTeams’ Start and High Performance Programme in Clubs Schemes) SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE=============================== ===============================RACE REPORTS Helen Glover, in the bow seat, and Heather Stanning looked composed and smooth as they focussed on seeking a place in tomorrow’s final of the women’s pair. By 300m gone they had their noses in front. At the 500m mark they had half a second’s lead which they extended gradually over China as the race moved through halfway. From there they never looked like being challenged except by China who pushed up a little bit towards the end. Victory, though, to the women from opposite ends of the UK – Glover from Penzance and Stanning from Lossiemouth. Both seemed unaware until told that they had just qualified Britain’s first boat for the 2012 Olympic Games to join the mixed adaptive double who had done the same yesterday by reaching their final here. “That’s really exciting but I was just thinking about today out there”, said Glover. “Hopefully that will be a big boost for the rest of the team including our fantastic coaches and support team”. For Stanning winning today and qualifying for the final was “another tick in the box”. “Every little bit counts”, she said of the way the still relatively-new combination drew away from China. South Africa took the third qualifying slot. New Zealand, Australia and Romania pushed out the USA to take the three qualifying slots from the other semi-final. The next boat with the same London “ticket” chance was the men’s eight. Expert prediction suggested that Canada, GB and Australia were the form boats – probably in this order – in this semi. At 500m the Canada, the Olympic champions, had the lead and they carried on out front through the halfway. As it happened, they did not have enough to hold off the GB onslaught from that point. Victory to GB in 5:31.51 with Australia third. Germany who won the quicker of the two semi-finals and will be in tomorrow’s final joined by the Netherlands and Poland from the opposite half of the draw. “We’ve had lots of different goals here and qualifying for next year’s Games was one of them”, said Greg Searle. “So, that’s job done. I’ve got so much expectation and excitement about next year but we had to get the boat qualified first. Now it’s all about a best performance in the final here”. Kieren Emery and Peter Chambers earlier led off GB’s three semi-final races today. The duo are World U23 Champions, having won their title earlier this summer in Amsterdam. Australia, though, in the shape of Thomas Gibson and Blair Turnevitsch set the early place. They were a second up by 500m and almost two by the halfway point. No wonder the GB contingent in the crowd roared as the crews appeared into better sight after 1500m. It was clear that the GB combination had put in a big effort to draw level and then slip beyond the grasp of Australia in 6:38.56. The Netherlands, coming up the inside, almost sprung a surprise but fell one tenth of a second short in third place. So Emery and Chambers continue their successful season by reaching tomorrow’s final. The canvas could not have been more perfect for Alan Campbell to paint his single scull quarter-final performance on today in Bled. The flags were flat, signalling no wind. Bled lake was shimmering in some soft sunlight for the first time in the morning session and Campbell started perfectly by settling into the tight leading pack with China and Croatia. Campbell’s season has not been the best as he has struggled with consistency of delivery. At the 800m mark he stepped on the gas today and was leading by just over a second. In the “driving seat” he sat on his lead and extended it to a length and a half. Surprisingly, behind the top three qualifying places sat Olympic champion Olaf Tufte of Norway. Would he get back into contention? By the 1500m mark he had narrowed the gap on third place to two tenths of a second. Meanwhile, Campbell continued his seemingly effortless progress at the front to win in 6:56.18, allowing himself the luxury of easing off in the final ten strokes. Tufte did make it back, taking second ahead of China with Croatia in fourth. “There was a bit of pressure after around the 1000m but after that I just settled in well”, said Campbell. World and Olympic champions Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase featured today in the same quarter-final of the lightweight men’s double scull as Storm Uru and Peter Taylor of New Zealand – the 2009 world champions. In the early phases the crews traded strokes at the front of the race, virtually level. Hunter and Purchase were marginally ahead throughout the second quarter and had just about half a length over the Kiwis at halfway. In the third quarter the Antipodeans pushed hard and the lead dropped back to just under four tenths of a second. With Bled Island as a backdrop the crews were battling level but then the British duo startled everyone by taking their foot off the throttle and cruising over the line in second. No need, it seemed to do anything other than conserve energy for the semi-final on Saturday. Earlier the GB women’s eight, stroked by Vicky Thornley and coxed by Caroline O’Connor were tucked into second place as the race moved through its first quarter today on a still and grey Lake Bled. The Netherlands had the lead. By halfway GB had reversed those positions and were in the lead followed by the Dutch and then the Romanians. In that third 500m the Romanians stepped up the pace to overhaul the Dutch and challenge the British, using a lower stroke rate than the GB boat. The Dutch made another big effort to get back into contention in the final sprint but O’Connor urged her charges on to take the verdict in 6:07.66. With China joining Romania, the Netherlands and GB in the final from this repechage, alongside the previously qualified Canadians and Americans, there is still more work to do for the GB women if they are to book the boat’s London place – only five boats from six will qualify for the Games from the final here. “That was a definite step on for us today. We’re in a good place going into the final”, said Louisa Reeve, “but we’re not qualified yet for the Games so the final is going to be a fight”. “Every race is different”, said O’Connor of the crew that had booked GB’s first place in an Olympic class final here. “We didwhat we needed to do. We made changes between the heat and the rep and we are a stronger and a better crew now”. Coach Nick Strange added: “They kept their heads under pressure when the fight was on, in the middle of the race. Now we go on into the final”. Frances Houghton is a many times world champion as well as twice Olympic silver medallist. Last season she was injured but managed to battle back into the women’s quad selection, raced twice and won the world title. This season has not yet had such a fairytale ending. The Oxford woman is competing here in the single scull as she comes back to racing fitness and was today involved in a tough repechage. With 1000m gone she was in third place behind Lithuania and Estonia. In the third 500m of the race she put in a Herculean push to get within a second of the LIthuanian, overhauling the Estonian. As the boats moved past the Island she pushed again and found the verve and pace to take the verdict in 7:42.55 from Lithuania and Estonia. Now through to the semi-finals, Houghton needs a top nine finish to qualify the boat for GB for London. Asked where she found today’s massive effort from she said: “From my soul, I guess. ‘Stubbornness’. Houghton also paid tribute to the British supporters. “You can hear them from the Island onwards. Aren’t they amazing? It makes a big difference. I just love rowing and it’s amazing to be here and racing”. SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE=============================== ===============================RESULTS(Events featuring GB Rowing Team crews only. Full results:www.worldrowing.com) SEMI-FINALS OPEN WOMEN Pair 1. Helen Glover/Heather Stanning (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:11.722. Wu You/Gao Yulan (China) 7:13.213. Naydene Smith/Lee-Ann Persee (South Africa) 7:16.954. Claudia Wurzel/Sara Bertolasi (Italy) 7:21.295. Natallia Helakh/Yuliya Bichyk (Belarus) 7:21.906. Alice Mayne/Stephanie Dechand (France) 7:24.17 MEN 1. Nathaniel Reilly O’Donnell/Cameron Nichol/James Foad/ Alex Partridge/Mohamed Sbihi/Greg Searle/Tom Ransley/ Dan Ritchie/Phelan Hill (cox) (GREAT BRITAIN) 5:31.512. Canada 5:32.373. Australia 5:33.794. China 5:37.535. France 5:39.526. Czech Republic 5:44.89 LIGHTWEIGHT MEN Pair 1. Kieren Emery/Peter Chambers (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:38.562. Thomas Gibson/Blair Tunevitsch (Australia) 6:39.713. Arnoud Greidanus/Joerl Bruschinski (Netherlands) 6:39.834. Li Zhongwei/Liang Mingyang (China) 6:44.085. Tang Chiu Mang/Kwan Ki Cheong (Hong Kong) 6:52.716. Silvan Zehnder/Nicola Edelmann (Switzerland) 6:54.07 QUARTER-FINALS OPEN MEN Single scull 1. Alan Campbell (GREAT BRTAIN) 6:56.182. Olaf Tufte (Norway) 6:58.603. Zhang Liang (China) 6:59.994. Mario Vekic (Croatia) 7:00.345. Mohsen Shai Naghadeh (Iran) 7:11.106. Sawarn Singh (India) 7:12.35 LIGHTWEIGHT MEN Double scull 1. Storm Uru/Peter Taylor (New Zealand) 6:18.642. Zac Purchase/Mark Hunter (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:26.193. Milosz Jankowski/Mariusz Stanczuk (Poland) 6:28.344. Michael Schmid/Raphael Jeanneret (Switzerland) 6:33.325. Leung Chun Shek/Lok Kwan Hoi (Hong Kong) 6:41.666. Oskar Russberg/Dennis Bernhardsson (Sweden) 6:44.14 REPECHAGES OPEN WOMEN Eight 1. Alison Knowles/Jo Cook/Jess Eddie/Lindsey Maguire/Natasha Page/Louisa Reeve/Katie Solesbury/Vicky Thornley/ Caroline O’Connor (cox) (GREAT BRITAIN) 6:07.662. Romania 6:08.723. Netherlands 6:09.484. China 6:13.375. Germany 6:13.896. Ukraine 6:17.67 Single scull 1. Frances Houghton (GREAT BRITAIN) 7:42.552. Donata Vistartaite (Lithuania) 7:46.293. Kaisa Pajusalu (Estonia) 7:47.904. Jo-Hayley Arther (South Africa) 7:52.775. Camila Vargas Palomo (El Salvador) 7:59.056. Devi Lakshmi Narengham (India) 8:25.52 SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE=============================== ===============================GB ROWING TEAM CREW-LISTS2011 World Rowing Championships, sponsored by SamsungAugust 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)/Sam Townsend (Reading Univ BC/Reading/26.11.85)/Bill Lucas (London RC/Kingswear/13.09.87)/ 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 scullZac 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 TannerChief Coach Men: Jürgen GroblerChief Coach Women & Lightweights: Paul ThompsonAssistant Team Manager (Adaptive): Louise Kingsley Medical & Sports Science: Doctor: Ann RedgraveLead Physio: Mark EdgarPhysios: Liz Arnold, Sally BrownPsychologist: Chris ShambrookPhysiologists: Craig WilliamsNutritionist: Wendy Martinson Media/Admin/Logistics: Assistant Team Manager (admin): Maggie NettoResources Manager: Maurice HayesBoatman: John TetleySponsorship Liaison: Fran BullockPress Officer: Caroline Searle SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE=============================== ===============================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 eightLightweight men’s pair Friday 2 September Women’s eight and quad; Men’s doubleLightweight men’s fourLightweight men’s and women’s single scullsMen’s adaptive single scull Saturday 3 September Women’s doubleMen’s pair, single and squadLightweight women’s quadMixed adaptive double scull Sunday 4 SeptemberWomen’s singleMen’s fourLightweight men’s and women’s double scullsMixed adaptive coxed four ===============================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 scullAdaptive 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 doubleMen’s pair and quadLightweight women’s singleAdaptive men’s and women’s single, mixed double and coxed four Quarterfinals of the: Men’s doubleLIghtweight men’s four and single Wednesday 31 August – Morning Repechages of the: Women’s eight and singleMen’s coxed pairLightweight women’s double and quad and men’s quad Quarter-finals of the: Men’s four and singleLightweight men’s double scull Semi-finals of the: Women’s pair and quadruple scullMen’s eightLIghtweight men’s pairAdaptive women’s single scull Thursday 1 September – Morning Semi-finals of: Men’s double scullLightweight men’s four and single scullLIghtweight women’s single scullAdaptive men’s single scull B Finals of the: Women’s pair and quadruple scullMen’s eightLightweight men’s pair FINALS OF THE: Women’s pair and quadruple scullMen’s eightLightweight men’s pairAdaptive women’s single scull and mixed ID coxed four Friday 2 September – morning Semi-finals of the: Women’s doubleMen’s pair, single and quadruple scullAdaptive mixed double scull B-Finals of the: Women’s eightMen’s double and coxed pairLightweight men’s four and women’s and men’s single scullAdaptive men’s single scull FINALS of the: Women’s eightMen’s double and coxed pairLightweight men’s four, men’s and women’s single scullAdaptive men’s single scull Saturday 3 September – Morning Semi-finals of the: Women’s singleMen’s fourLightweight men’s and women’s double scullAdaptive mixed coxed four B Finals of the: Women’s double scullMen’s pair and single and quadruple scullMixed adaptive double scull FINALS of the: Women’s four and double scullMen’s pair and single and quadruple scullLightweight women’s quadruple scullMixed adaptive double scull Sunday 4 September B Finals of the: Women’s single scullMen’s fourLightweight men’s and women’s double scullAdaptive mixed coxed four FINALS of the: Women’s single scullMen’s fourLightweight men’s and women’s double scull, men’s quadruplescull and eightAdaptive mixed coxed four SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE=============================== ===============================BBC TV and Radio Coverage from Bled TV Thursday 1 and Friday 2 SeptemberRed button coverage -more details to follow Saturday 3 September1400-1630, BBC One/online Sunday 4 September1545-1700, 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 SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE=============================== ===============================FINAL DIARY DATE SEPTEMBER 16-18European Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria. SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE=============================== ===============================CONTACT DETAILSFor media enquiries about The GB Rowing Teams please contact: Caroline Searle, Andy Sloan or Miranda Edwards on: T: (01225) 443998M: Caroline Searle (07831) 755351M: Andy Sloan (07714) 168391 e: [email protected] GB Rowing Team website www.gbrowingteam.org.uk – full biogs availablehere. Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/gbrowingteamFollow us on twitter @gbrowingteam: www.twitter.com/gbrowingteamSee our season’s preview on YouTube =============================== =============================== The GB Rowing Squad is supported by the National LotterySports Fund as part of UK Sport’s Podium Programme. GB Rowing Team News bulletins are issued by the GB Rowing Team office ADVERT