Racing got underway on Friday at the third and final stop of the 2009 Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland. The U.S. had four boats advance directly to the finals during today's racing.
In the women's double sculls, Ellen Tomek (Flushing, Mich.) and Megan Kalmoe (St. Croix Falls, Wis.), who finished fifth in the event at the 2008 Olympic Games, won their heat by nearly three seconds to advance directly to Sunday's final. The duo took a two-second lead in the opening 500 meters and continued to push away from the field through the 1,500-meter mark, taking more than a four-second lead into the final quarter of the race. Tomek and Kalmoe then cruised to the victory, clocking a 7:41.03. Poland finished second in a 7:43.97 to also advance to the final.
With the top two boats from each heat advancing directly to Sunday's race for the medals, the men's four crew of Brett Newlin (Riverton, Wyo.), Giuseppe Lanzone (Annandale, Va.), Steve Coppola (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Cameron Winklevoss (Greenwich, Conn.) edged out the Czech Republic for second place in its heat and a spot in the final. Great Britain led the race from start to finish, while the Czech Republic held the second spot as the crews entered their final sprint. However, the U.S. surged ahead of the Czech boat in the last few strokes to take second place. Great Britain finished with a time of 6:06.31. The U.S. crossed the line in a 6:08.36, 0.15 seconds in front of the Czech Republic. Lanzone, who also raced in the men's eight, filled in for an ill Jake Cornelius (Brooktondale, N.Y.).
Likewise, the men's quadruple sculls quartet of Elliot Hovey (Manchester-By-The-Sea, Mass.), Will Miller (Duxbury, Mass.), Glenn Ochal (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Sam Stitt (McLean, Va.) finished second in its heat to advance directly to Sunday's finals. With the top two crews moving on, the U.S. sat in third position through the 1,000-meter mark before moving past France in the third quarter of the race. Slovenia won in a 6:14.48, with the U.S. crossing in a 6:16.04. France finished third with a time of 6:20.08.
Racing in the same heat of the women's pair, the USA 1 entry of Erin Cafaro (Modesto, Calif.) and Mara Allen (San Francisco, Calif.) finished second to advance to Sunday's final, while the USA 2 entry of Caroline Lind (Greensboro, N.C.) and Lindsay Shoop (Charlottesville, Va.) finished third and will now race in Saturday's repechage, or second-chance race. Cafaro and Allen got off the line in fourth position before steadily working their way up the standings. New Zealand's Rebecca Scown and Emma-Jane Feathery won the race in a 7:30.30, with Cafaro and Allen finishing in a 7:34.34. Lind and Shoop crossed in a 7:37.61. Shoop was a last-minute substitute for Susan Francia (Abington, Pa.), who was also replaced due to illness.
In the men's single sculls, Warren Anderson (Paso Robles, Calif.) won his afternoon repechage to advance to the semifinals. Anderson clocked a 7:28.66 to finish nearly three seconds ahead of Ireland's Sean Casey in the first of four repechages. In his morning heat, Anderson held his own against two-time Olympic champion Olaf Tufte of Norway. With only one sculler advancing to the semifinals, Anderson stayed right with Tufte before finishing second by less than three seconds. Tufte crossed in a 7:20.73, with Anderson finishing in a 7:23.29.
Charlie Cole (New Canaan, Conn.) and David Banks (Potomac, Md.) finished second in their heat of the men's pair and will now race in a repechage on Saturday. Cole and Banks sat in fourth place through the 1,000-meter mark before passing France and South Africa during the third quarter. Great Britain's Peter Reed and Andrew Triggs Hodge won the race in a 7:06.16, while Cole and Banks finished with a time of 7:11.02.
The men's eight of Ned DelGuercio (Media, Pa.), Ross James (DeKalb, Ill.), Grant James (DeKalb, Ill.), Alex Osborne (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), Henrik Rummel (Pittsford, N.Y.), Lanzone, Michael Holbrook (Madison, Wis.), Stephen Kasprzyk (Cinnaminson, N.J.) and Beau Hoopman (Plymouth, Wis.) finished third in its heat and will now race in the repechage on Saturday. The crew got off the line in second position behind Canada and held that spot until the final few strokes, when Italy pushed ahead. Canada won the race in a 5:44.56, with Italy crossing in a 5:48.86, 0.04 seconds ahead of the U.S. The American crew clocked a 5:48.90.
After finishing fourth in its morning heat, the men's double sculls tandem of Stephen Whelpley (Mequon, Wis.) and Michael Sivigny (Londonderry, N.H.) came back to finish second in its repechage to advance to tomorrow's semifinals. With the top three to advance, the duo got off the line in first position before settling into the second spot for the remainder of the race. Whelpley and Sivigny clocked a 7:08.50. Germany won the repechage in a 7:05.82. In the heat, the U.S. duo finished fourth in a 7:20.70. France won the race in a 6:50.99.
Michelle Trannel (East Dubuque, Ill.) and Kristin Hedstrom (Concord, Mass.) also advanced to the semifinals in the lightweight women's double sculls by finishing third in their repechage. With three to advance, Trannel and Hedstrom clocked a 7:47.42 to finish behind Austria and The Netherlands in the first of two afternoon repechages. In the morning heat, the duo finished fourth with a time of 7:41.61. Belgium won the race in a 7:23.68.
Both U.S. crews in the lightweight men's double sculls will be racing in the C final for places 13-18 after failing to advance out of the repechages. The USA 1 duo of Shane Madden (Ambler, Pa.) and Andy Quinn (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) finished third in the second of two repechages, while the USA 2 boat of Brian Tryon (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Jonathan Winter (New Haven, Conn.) finished fifth in the same race. Madden and Quinn clocked a 6:56.32, with Tryon and Winter finishing in a 7:00.90. China won the race in a 6:49.45. Germany 2 stroked a 6:49.60 to earn the other spot in the semifinals. In the morning races, Tryon and Winter finished fourth in the first heat, while Madden and Quinn finished fifth in the second heat.
In the lightweight men's four, the crew of Will Daly (Vail, Colo.), Brian DeRegt (Rowayton, Conn.), Matt Muffelman (Mathews, Va.) and Taylor Washburn (Andover, Mass.) finished fourth in the repechage, failing to advance to the semifinals. The crew sat in third place with just 500 meters to go but was unable to hold off New Zealand or catch Belgium over the last quarter of the race in order to advance. Poland won the race in a 6:23.19. The U.S. clocked a 6:26.45, finishing less than one second behind Belgium for third. In the morning heat, the crew sat in fourth position all the way down the course, clocking a 6:31.81. France won the race in a 6:17.64.
The U.S. women's eight and women's quadruple sculls boats did not participate in their races for lanes on Friday due to illness. By rule, both were relegated to last place but will be able to race in Sunday's final.
Racing continues on Saturday beginning at 10:00 a.m. local time with additional repechages, semifinals and finals in the international events. Finals in the 14 world cup events will be held Sunday beginning at 9:30 a.m.
More than 650 athletes from 39 nations have entered the regatta. Event finals will be video-streamed live on Sunday and can be accessed on www.universalsports.com. The Rowing World Cup series was launched in 1997 and includes all 14 Olympic boat classes. The overall Rowing World Cup champions will be determined after a series of three regattas. This other two regattas were held May 29-31 in Banyoles, Spain, and June 19-21 in Munich, Germany.
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