Canadian crews in good shape at world rowing championships
The 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France have passed the midway mark, so it’s time to check in on the Canadian crews who are not only pushing for the podium, but also looking to lock up Olympic berths.
Women’s Eight
Women’s eight at the 2015 World Championships (Photo: Rowing Canada).
Crew: Cristy Nurse, Lisa Roman, Susanne Grainger, Jennifer Martins, Christine Roper, Ashley Brzozowicz, Natalie Mastracci, Lauren Wilkinson, Lesley Thompson-Willie (coxswain)
The crew easily advanced directly to Sunday’s A final by winning their heat on Monday, edging out New Zealand who also advanced. Canada’s winning time of 6:02.590 was slightly slower than that of the United States, who won their heat in 5:59.580. Canada is looking to hand the Americans their first loss in the event since 2006, however a top five finish in the six-boat final will secure Olympic qualification.
Men’s Four
The crew of Will Crothers, Tim Schrijver, Kai Langerfeld, and Conlin McCabe are in the A/B semifinals on Thursday, needing a top three finish to advance to the A final on Saturday. They took the easy route to the semis, winning their heat on Sunday by 3.44 seconds and skipping the repechage round. A top 11 finish is all that’s required to earn an Olympic berth.
UPDATE: Heading to the A final.
The Canadians were able to overcome a mishap near the end of their semifinal to advance to the A final and qualify the boat for Rio 2016. Canada and Italy led the field for most of the 2000m race but just as Canada got set to overtake the Italians in the final quarter, Shrijver caught a bad stroke. He was able to recover his oar quickly and bowman Crothers stayed calm, making calls to get the crew back together. They finished comfortably in third place, 3.1 seconds behind the Italians, with Great Britain in between.
Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls
Lindsay Jennerich and Patricia Obee finished third in their quarterfinal on Wednesday, which was exactly what they needed to advance to Thursday’s A/B semifinals. They’ll need to be top three again to advance to the A final on Saturday. If not, they’ll be in the B final, where they could still earn an Olympic berth. The top 11 countries all receive tickets to Rio.
UPDATE: Heading to the A final.
Jennerich and Obee posted the fastest time of the semifinals to position themselves as gold medal contenders for this weekend. Sitting in sixth place at the midway mark, they were the quickest through each of the last two quarters of the race to pass all the other crews and qualify the boat for Rio 2016.
Men’s Quad Sculls
Matthew Buie, Julien Bahain, Rob Gibson and Will Dean (left to right) after winning gold in men’s quadruple sculls at the Pan Am Games July 14, 2015.
The crew of Matthew Buie, Julien Bahain, Will Dean, and Rob Gibson will compete in the A/B semifinals on Thursday, needing a top three finish to advance to the A final on Saturday. Third in their opening heat, they had to race in the repechage on Tuesday, finishing third in a tight race with Great Britain and Ukraine, which was just enough to get them to the semis. The top eight boats will secure Olympic qualification.
UPDATE: The crew will race in the B final after finishing fifth in their semifinal. They’ll need a top two finish to be among the eight boats qualifying for Rio 2016.
Women’s Pair
Jennifer Martins and Cristy Nurse are in the A/B semifinals on Thursday, needing a top three finish to advance to the A final on Saturday. They won their repechage on Tuesday by two seconds after missing direct advancement to the semis with their second place finish in their heat. There are 11 Olympic berths up for grabs in the event.
UPDATE: Heading to the A final.
After Canada did not send a women’s pair to London 2012, Martins and Nurse were able to qualify the boat for Rio 2016. They held onto third place for the entirety of their semifinal, which was all they needed to advance to the A final.
Men’s Pair
Martin Barakso and Mike Evans are in Thursday’s A/B semifinals after finishing third in their quarterfinal on Wednesday, beating out Belarus by just over a quarter of a second. They’ll need a top three finish to advance to Saturday’s A final. There are also 11 Olympic berths available in this event.
UPDATE: The duo will race in the B final after finishing sixth in their semifinal. Five of the six boats in that B final will secure Olympic berths.
Women’s Single Sculls
Carling Zeeman after winning the women’s single sculls at the Pan Am Games on July 14, 2015.
Carling Zeeman will race in Friday’s A/B semifinals after finishing second in her quarterfinal on Wednesday to 2012 Olympic champion Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic. A top three finish will put her into the A final on Sunday. The top nine rowers will all secure Olympic berths for their country.
UPDATE: Heading to the A final.
Competing in the single sculls for the first time at a world championships, Zeeman advanced to the A final with her third place finish in her semifinal. The result also secures Canada’s first Olympic berth in this event since Sydney 2000. Sitting in fifth place at the 1500m mark, Zeeman said she “hit the panic button” and gave it everything she had to move past the Belarusian and Lithuanian boats.
Men’s Lightweight Four
The crew of Maxwell Lattimer, Brendan Hodge, Nicolas Pratt, and Eric Woelfl will race in the A/B semifinals on Friday after finishing second in their repechage on Wednesday. They beat out Germany for the coveted spot by less than half a second. They’ll need a top three finish to advance to Sunday’s A final. A top 11 finish is all that’s required to earn an Olympic berth.
UPDATE: Racing in a semifinal that included the reigning world champions from Denmark, the Canadians finished fifth and will move on to the B final where they can still earn an Olympic berth by finishing top five.
Men’s Single Sculls
Pascal Lussier won’t get a chance to race for the podium or an Olympic berth. He finished fourth in his quarterfinal on Wednesday, missing out on advancing to the A/B semifinals by two seconds.
Women’s Double Sculls
Antje von Seydlitz and Kate Goodfellow finished third in their repechage on Wednesday, one spot shy of advancing to the A/B semifinals by less than three quarters of a second.
