Rowing HPL2X / Men's Lightweight Double Sculls
Swiss Brothers Headline Lightweight Finals
The 1995 World Champions, Michael and Markus GIER of Switzerland did "what they had to do", placing first in their semifinal race to advance to Sunday's finals. The crew edged second-place finishers Maarten VAN DER LINDEN and Pepijn AARDEWIJN of the Netherlands by 1.70. In one of the closest races of the rowing competition yet, the Italian boat of Marco AUDISIO and Michelangelo CRISPI was upset in the semifinal by Sweden, Australia and Spain with just 1.29 seconds between the four boats. Sweden finished with a time of 6:29.17 while the Australians (6:29.27) and Spain (6:29.37) provided the pressure for the sprint to earn the last qualifying spots for the finals.
In the final C of the men's lightweight double sculls, Adam MICHALEK and Michal VABROUSEK of the Czech Republic made a final 500 meter sprint to overtake the Norwegians for the win and place 13th overall in Olympic competition. Norway finished 2.21 behind the Czech Republic while Japan placed third.
"At the beginning of the race we were not so perfect." said Switzerland's Michael GIER. "But as the race went on we became confident we were going to win."
Major Upset Rocks the Women's Lightweight Doubles Event
Canada's Colleen MILLER and Wendy WIEBE suffered a fateful loss in the semifinals of the women's lightweight double sculls, forcing them out of the finals and their chance for Olympic medals. The 1995 World Champions had dominated the event since 1993, were ousted by the crews from Australia, the Netherlands, and Denmark who all qualified for the finals on Sunday. In the other race of the competition's only women's lightweight event, Americans Teresa BELL and Lindsay BURNS placed first with a time of 7:09.47. Romania and Italy rounded out the advancing threesome. BURNS will hope to close out her rowing career with the ultimate honor of an Olympic gold medal as the 31-year-old will retire on Sunday.
Japan's Ayako YOSHIDA and Noriko SHIBUTA won the final C of the women's lightweight double sculls with a time of 7:44.81, ousting the Mexican crew by just 1.76. Japan will finish 13th overall followed by Mexico in 14th. The two dominated the race as third-place finishers Greece came in seven seconds back.
"We did the best we could, fought hard but we were off the pace," said Canada's Colleen MILLER. "We have trained hard day in and day out for four years and we stayed confident but it just didn't happen for us today."
Denmark, USA Top Finishers in Semifinals
The 1994 World Champion Danish men's lightweight coxless four qualified for the finals on Sunday, winning their semifinal heat with a time of 6:13. 21. The crew earned the silver at the 1995 World Championships and placed first at Lucerne in June. Australia and Ireland finished second and third in the race to also advance to Sunday's finals. The United States escaped a final push by the Canadians to capture first in their heat by just .49. Germany, the second-place finisher at Lucerne, also will move to the finals with the USA and Canada.
The Russian crew of Aleksandr USTINOV, Dmitriy KARTASHOV, Andrey CHEVEL and Vladimir MITYUSHEV will return home after placing 13th overall in the men's lightweight coxless four event as the crew finished first in the final C. Spain finished second while Portugal followed close behind in third.
"In the Olympics anything can happen," said Canada's David Boyes. "I think we have a shot at winning we just have to hope we are on our game."
No Surprises in the Men's Quadruple Sculls
The crews from Italy and Germany will headline the list of qualifiers for Sunday's finals in the men's quadruple sculls as both finished first in their respective semifinal races on Friday. The Italians, Massimo PARADISO, Alessio SARTORI, Rossano GALTAROSSA and Alessandro CORONA are the two-time defending world champions but did not have a strong showing at Lucerne, placing fourth while Germany captured the gold at both Lucerne and Duisburg Regattas. Other boats to advance to the finals were Australia, Switzerland, United States and Sweden.
Romania Wins Final C in Coxless Pair
The Romanian crew of Attila RACZ and Nicolae SPIRCU clocked a time of 7:01.94 to place first in the final C of the men's coxless pair and finish 13th overall in Olympic competition. The boat finished 1.37 ahead of the Bulgarians while the German crew took third to place 15th in overall competition.
Polish Crew Edge Slovakia for Top Spot
Kajetan BRONIEWSKI and Adam KOROL of Poland commanded the lead in the first 500 meters of the final C of men's double sculls and maintained the pace throughout to place first with a time of 6:40.62. The finish gave the Polish men a 13th-place ranking overall in Olympic competition. Just 3 seconds back was the Slovakian crew of Erik TUL and Luka SPIK, who go away from the regatta with a 14th place while the Brazilians earned the 15th spot.
EVERS Overtakes Competitor for Win
In the last 500 meters of the final C in the women's single sculls, Meike EVERS of Germany rallied to move through Lithuania's Birute SAKICKIENE and win the heat and finish 13th in the Olympic rowing competition. EVERS finished with a time of 8:16.51 while SAKICKIENE crossed at 8:17.80. The Lithuanian placed 14th overall while Greece's Tonia SVAIER took third in the final C.
Australian CAMERON Outlasts Finish Boat
In the neck-to-neck final C of the men's single sculls, David CAMERON of Australia was able to pull out the win over Finland's Tomas SODERBLOM. SODERBLOM was unable to keep up with CAMERON in the final 500 meters, finishing 2.31 off the pace. The win in the final C gave CAMERON the 13th place in overall competition. CAMERON's Australian teammates have dominated the Olympic rowing competition as 10 of 13 Australian boats have advanced to the finals. Lascio SZOGI of Hungry rounded out the top three in the final C to place 15th overall.
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| The Mother Nature was kind to Olympic athletes and spectators. The average high temperature during the Games was 89 degrees with an average low of 72 degrees. Highest temperature registered (20 July) - 99 degrees. Lowest high temperature registered is 79 degrees (28 July). |