ROWING: Updates from the 2014 Sydney International Rowing Regatta (SIRR) in Penrith.

Final day: Australia tops the table after first round of World Rowing Cup

The Australian Rowing Team started its World Rowing Cup campaign in style claiming 14 medals today at the conclusion of the first round of the event.
 
The World Rowing Cup 1, held as part of the 2014 Sydney International Rowing Regatta (SIRR 2014), saw Australia claim six gold medals during Sunday’s racings, as well as three silver medals and five bronze medals.
 
One of the most hotly anticipated races of the day, the Women’s Single Scull, saw Australia’s World Champion, Kimberley Crow, pipped at the post by New Zealand’s Emma Twigg in what ended up being a photo finish in the first of this year’s three World Rowing Cup regattas.
 
Seemingly assured of the race having led almost all the way down the 2000-metre course, Crow was unable to withstand a massive challenge from her Kiwi rival, who took the last stroke first and got home by 0.14 of a second.
 
Crow admitted that she may have come out too fast at the beginning: “This week I’ve been racing in the nationals with the Australian girls and they come out super fast and I probably went out too fast and it’s a lesson for me in pacing strategy.
 
“I was totally spent after the race, and Emma was phenomenal out there and I think we’ll be pushing each other all season as it progresses. It’s good to know the benchmark this early the season.”
 
There was compensation for Australia, however, in the blue riband event, the men’s eights, when the host crew stormed home ahead of the Netherlands and New Zealand.
 
Coxswain, David Webster, said post-race: “The biggest thing is Australia on top (in the World Rowing Cup), it’s about the big picture, Rowing Australia is heading the right direction, on this result, we’re happy.
 
“It’s a big week for these guys here as we’ve been racing the Nationals and then the World Cup so it’s seven or eight races and they all have meaning and there’s no such thing as an easy race this week.”
 
“We wanted to race our own race, though all the guys had just raced the fours, they already had one under their belt, so it was about going out to race our own race and we knew if that put us in front, and if not, then we were willing and ready to work to get to the front but ultimately the plan was to win, and we did that.”
 
For four members of the crew it meant the second gold medal of the day.
 
The young combination of Angus Moore, Alexander Hill, Spencer Turrin and Alexander Lloyd looked composed as they took an early lead against the Dutch world champions and were never headed.
 
Turrin and Lloyd were also members of the previous day’s New South Wales eight that won the King’s Cup.
 
Third in the fours final were another Australian crew containing 2012 Olympic silver medallists William Lockwood and Joshua Dunkley-Smith as well as Fergus Pragnell and Scott Laidler.
 
There was also joy for Australia’s two quad scull combinations. The men’s quad – John Linke, Nicholas Hudson, Cameron Girdlestone and Alexander ‘Sasha’ Belonogoff – had a boat length lead at half way and they never looked like losing. China and another Australian combination filled the other medal positions.
 
The women’s quad, stroked by Jennifer Cleary in front of Madeleine Edmunds, Kerry Hore and Jessica Hall, led world champions Germany by centimetres at half way but a push in the third quarter of the race and a determined finish brought a richly deserved but surprising win.
 
In the lightweight women’s double sculls, mother of two Hannah Every-Hall threw down the gauntlet to the rest of the field to give her and crewmate Maia Simmonds a boat length lead half way home.
 
They then held off a determined challenge from a New Zealand combination and compatriots Ella Flecker and Georgia Nesbitt.
 
Australia’s two other silver medals came courtesy of Richard Coakley in the lightweight men’s sculls and the men’s double scull of Girdlestone and Belogonoff, who thus won their second medal of the day.
 
Additionally, bronze medals were won by Jackson Harrison, third behind Coakley, and Perry Ward and Adam Kachyckyj in the lightweight men’s double sculls.
 
Today’s results therefore saw Australia win medals in ten of the 14 Olympic class events on the program, and augurs well for the team’s fortunes when they contest the second round of the 2014 World Rowing Cup in Aiguebellette, France, between 20 and 22 June.
 
The team then moves on to the third round of the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland, from 11 to 13 July prior to the 2014 World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, from 24-31 August.  

Day 7: New South Wales make it a state record seven wins in a row at the King’s Cup

The New South Wales crew made it a state record seven wins in a row for the King’s Cup today at the Interstate Regatta, held at Penrith as part of the 2014 Sydney International Rowing Regatta (SIRR 2014).
 
The winning crew, coxed by Toby Lister, smashed their opposition to secure another resounding victory in what is the pinnacle event in the Interstate Regatta. Two of today’s winning crew members, Matthew Ryan and Fergus Pragnell, have been in the NSW eight for every one of the seven victories the State has had since 2008.
 
Pragnell, who stroked the boat to victory by two and half lengths, admitted it was a special win: “In my first three King’s Cup races for New South Wales, we lost. So now, with each race I win with the Eight it has more meaning for me and to win seven back-to-back is fantastic.
 
“The Interstate is an important regatta, and when we first started winning as a crew, with the same cox and same coach, we did it very much for each other and the crew but then as we grew we realised how important this race is for New South Wales.
 
“It’s now not just about winning it for ourselves and for each other, it’s been about improving year on year and maintaining a good healthy rowing community in New South Wales.”
 
The NSW crew also included James Chapman in the bow seat, along with Jack Hargreaves, Nicholas Wheatley, Spencer Turrin, Alexander Lloyd and Nicholas Purnell.
 
Chapman echoed Pragnell’s comments on the importance of the Interstate Regatta: “It’s just such a great race to win, with your crew mates who you’ve grown up with and trained with for many years.
 
“The interstate regatta gives you a chance to get together with the guys you grew up with and you only get that chance once a year.
 
“There’s no heats, there’s no repechages, and you only get one shot, at one race on one day a year and that makes it so special to win and also so hard when you lose. It feels so good when you win seven of them and each one of them is special in their own right.”
 
The New South Welshman led from the get go, and were followed onto the podium by South Australia, who pushed a strong Victorian crew that included two London 2012 silver medallists in Joshua Dunkley Smith and William Lockwood, into third place.
 
In the Women’s Eight, it was once again a Victorian day with the ladies in navy blue securing a remarkable tenth victory in a row in the Queen’s Cup. The winning crew was made up Pauline Frasca in the bow seat, followed by Rebekah Hooper, Katrina Bateman, Sophie Sutherland, Kimberley Crow, Phoebe Stanley, Charlotte Sutherland, Lucy Stephan and Lizzie Chapman was in the coxswain’s seat.
 
The Victorians were too strong on the day take home the silverware and pushed South Australia into second, while Queensland took  home the Bronze medal.
 
Meanwhile, Tasmania claimed the Victoria Cup for the Women’s Lightweight Quadruple Scull for the first time since 2010. The crew, made up of three current Australian representatives in Ella Flecker, Annabel Gibson and Georgia Nesbitt along with Eve Mure cruised to victory followed by New South Wales and Western Australia.
 
In the Men’s Lightweight Men’s Coxless Four it was Queensland who claimed the Penrith Cup, while Western Australia and Tasmania joined them on the podium, much to the delight of the fans of the men in the maroon.
 
Sally Kehoe proved she is still the woman to beat in the Nell Slatter Trophy for the Women’s Single Scull, while Alexander ‘Sasha’ Belonogoff took home the President’s Cup for New South Wales.
 
In the Bicentennial Cup, the Interstate Women’s Youth Eight was a fight right to the end with only 2.3 seconds between first and third.  The Queenslanders came out victorious over a fast finishing Victorian crew, with New South Wales closely behind in third.
 
In the Men’s Youth Eight, for the Noel Wilkinson Trophy, it was a seesawing struggle down the course between the men in navy and the Queensland team for the number one position, but ultimately Victoria won out by 0.12 seconds, while New South Wales came in third.
 
Finally, Queensland walked away with the Rowing Australia Cup for the first time since 2003 much to the delight of all the fans in the grandstand who had made the trip down to Sydney for the event.
Meanwhile five more Australian entries have made their way via ‘second chance’ repechages into Sunday’s World Rowing Cup finals.

Sarah Pound won her repechage of the women’s lightweight single sculls and Annabel Gibson was second in hers, while a fourth place in the equivalent men’s event was enough to take Jackson Harrison through to the final.

The Day brothers, William and Timothy, secured second place in the men’s lightweight double sculls repechage, while fourth place in the men’s single sculls was all Rhys Grant needed to secure his final place.

Today’s results mean that Australia will contest twelve of the fourteen Olympic class events on the final day of this year’s Sydney International Rowing Regatta.

Day 6: Crow strikes again

Australia’s number one female sculler, Kimberley Crow, has followed up Wednesday’s win at Penrith in the final of the Australian National Championships with another commanding performance today, this time in her heat of the World Rowing Cup 1, at the Sydney International Rowing Regatta (SIRR 2014).
 
Needing first place to qualify for Sunday’s final of the women’s single sculls, Crow cruised effortlessly over the 2000 metre course ahead of opponents from China and Estonia to record a time of 7 minutes 34.87, the fastest of the day.
 
“I was happy with the row, and my good rhythm,” she later reflected.
 
“It set me up for a good final.”
 
Crow added that in the national title races this week several of her opponents started very quickly, while she tends to go better in the second thousand metres.
 
“I think racing against them (my fellow Australians), it got me out quicker in the first thousand than I would normally go as the girls go hard in that first thousand. However, I’m happy to race from in front or behind, I back myself in the second thousand.”
 
The win set up a hugely anticipated medal round against arch-rivals Emma Twigg of New Zealand and Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic, who were first and second respectively in the other heat but in times four and seven seconds slower than Crow.
 
Sunday’s race will see the continuation of a rivalry between the three scullers that began with Knapkova’s win at the London Olympics in 2012. Last year Crow won the world title in South Korea, with Twigg and Knapkova filling the minor placings.
 
“Both of them are tough racers,” Crow said. “Mirka is known for going out very fast at times, while Emma is renowned for her strong finish. I’ll be aware of what they’re doing but focus on my race and I aim to put my best race out there.”
 
Crow’s win highlighted a day on which Australian entries made their way into eight of Sunday’s finals.
 
An outstanding performance came in the other feature event on the program when a young but hugely talented coxless four of Angus Moore, Alexander Hill, Spencer Turrin and Alexander Lloyd held off the reigning world champions from the Netherlands and consigned them to an extra race in the repechage.
 
A surprise third place was won by the Australian lightweight four of Nick Silcox, Sam Beltz, Alister Foot and Darryn Purcell.
 
Also victors against current world champions were the women’s quadruple scull combination of Jessica Hall, Kerry Hore, Madeleine Edmunds and Jennifer Cleary.
 
In a race that saw both crews race almost stroke for stroke over the entire course, the tenacious Australians refused to buckle against their more illustrious opponents to win by just 0.16 of a second.
 
In open double sculls events Australia recorded wins in both the men’s and women’s category.
 
Contrasting races saw Cameron Girdlestone and Alexander ‘Sasha’ Belonogoff finish almost eight seconds ahead of the remainder of the six-crew field, while Olympia Aldersey and Sally Kehoe just kept out current World Champions, Lithuania, in a tight tussle.
 
Also winners of close races were Ella Flecker and Georgia Nesbitt in the lightweight women’s double sculls and Nicholas Purnell in the open single sculls, while Richard Coakley won as he liked in the lightweight single sculls against inexperienced opponents from Hong Kong and Vietnam.
 
Australia’s remaining entries get their chance to increase the nation’s participation in World Rowing Cup finals when they race in repechages being held tomorrow (Saturday) morning.
 
A further highlight tomorrow will be the 2014 interstate events featuring the King’s Cup for men’s eights and the women’s race for the Queen’s Cup, plus B Finals of World Rowing Cup and knock-outs of the Schoolboy’s and Schoolgirl’s races.

Day 5: Crow and Stanley take home Open Women’s Double Scull title

Kimberley Crow continued her National Open Championship winning streak this week with another victory today. The 28-year-old scored her second gold this morning, this time in the Open Women’s Double Scull with Phoebe Stanley.
 
The duo were racing for MUBC, Victorian Institute of Sport and National Training Centre – Canberra, in a race that saw the Victorian girls cruise to victory two and a half lengths ahead of their closest competitor.
 
Second place was taken by Alice McNamara and Fiona Albert (MUBC-VIS/Mercantile) who were some 5.74 seconds behind the winners, while Sarah Hawe and Rhiannon Hughes (Huon/Adelaide University) rounded off the top three.
 
Immediately after the Open W2x, the Men’s equivalent took place with an invitational crew from USA Rowing claiming the number one spot. Sam Stitt and William Cowles come in first, while Grant Aderdorff and Taylor Wilczynski (University of WA/Mersey) took second and Michael Poulter and Rhys Grant (MUBC-VIS/ANA) claimed third.
 
In the Open Women’s Coxed Eight, it was the composite crews made-up of a number of Australian Rowing Team members that claimed the first and third places in the event, while a visiting crew from California claimed the number two place.
 
It was Adelaide University’s crew that claimed the top spot in the Open Men’s Coxed Four, while Sydney claimed second and Mercantile took the third place on the winner’s podium.
 
It was once again Narelle Badenoch’s day, the winner of the U23 Women’s Single Scull yesterday claiming top spot with partner Leah Saunders, from Sydney Rowing Club, in the U23 Women’s Double Scull, while in the men’s equivalent event it was Max McQueeney and Luke Letcher (Bucks-NTC-Canberra/ Black Mountain-ACTAS) who walked away with the gold medal.
 
Speaking after today’s racing and looking ahead to the World Rowing Cup 1, Australian Rowing Team Head Coach – Integration, Drew Ginn, said it wasn’t about resting on the laurels of this week’s National Open Championships, but about focussing on looking ahead to National Selection Trials which take place in April.
 
“The standard that has been on show this week is representative of one small part of our selection process and all our national team members and the rowers trying to make the national team are probably trying to go better here to make it to National Trials next month.
 
“I expect that the athletes who come to April’s trials will look to be raising the standard even higher than here. That being said, we’ve seen some good racing, some surprises and some people popping up who were not necessarily challenging earlier in the season, which is good,” said Ginn.
 
Looking ahead to the first round of World Rowing Cup racing that begins tomorrow, Ginn added that this was the start of the season, with the culmination coming with the World Rowing Championships in August in Amsterdam: “I think people have done the right amount of work through the week of racing ahead of the start of the first round of the World Rowing Cup.
 
“For someone like Kim Crow, who was pre-selected, this is a major hit-out for her, and I say major, in the sense that you’ve got the international standard here that’s good and she’s done her preparation with less racing leading up to here than others.
 
“We’ve multiple boats in various events this weekend and for them it’s a hit-out against each other and the international fields but we certainly don’t want them peaking now when we’ve the beginning international campaign ahead of us.”
 
For results of all today’s races, including all the U23, U21, U19 and U17 races, please click here.

Day 4: Crow and Belonogoff secure top honours at Nationals

Kimberley Crow and Alexander ‘Sasha’ Belonogoff started off the fourth day of the 2014 Sydney International Rowing Regatta (SIRR) with wins in the Open Women’s Single Scull and Open Men’s Single Scull finals respectively. 

Joining Crow and Belonogoff on the winner’s podium were plenty of members of the Australian Rowing Team competing in the Australian Open Championships, including Joshua Dunkley-Smith and Fergus Pragnell who secured gold in the Open Men’s Coxless Pair and Renee Chatterton and Michelle Yann in the Open Women’s Coxless Pair.
 
Meanwhile, in the Lightweight categories, Tasmania’s women had a good day with Huon-TIS’s Ella Flecker winning the Open Lightweight Women’s Single Scull and her team-mate, and fellow Huon-TIS member, Georgia Nesbitt winning the U23 Lightweight Women’s Single Scull. In the men’s event, Western Australia’s Perry Ward claimed victory in the Open Lightweight Men’s Single Scull, while in the U23 event Jackson Harrison (NUBC) secured first place.
 
In the first ‘A’ Final of the day, it was all about current World Champion, MUBC/NTC-Canberra athlete Kimberley Crow who scored her first medal of the week when she secured the Open Women’s Single Scull title with a time of 7.31.87. Sydney University’s Sally Kehoe was nearly five seconds behind Crow to claim to silver, while Tasmania’s Kerry Hore (Huon-TIS) finished in third with a time of 7.41.84.
 
Crow said of her victory: “It’s always good to have a win and to try a bit of a different race strategy and get the feel of the burn in the legs before the weekend and World Rowing Cup 1. I haven’t done much racing yet this season, so every race I’m learning something, so it was good to win out there today.
 
“Sally (Kehoe), Kerry (Hore) and I have been on the podium many times over the years in different orders so it was a good blast from the past to have those two up there alongside me and rowing so well. We all appreciate good racing, as we know we are making each other faster and practicing being under pressure at different times of the race, it’s all good things ahead of the weekend.”
 
In the Open Men’s Single Scull, it was SUBC/NTC-Canberra’s Belonogoff’s race to win, with the 23-year-old finishing with a time of 6.57.80. The Canberra-based athlete was joined on the podium by Nicholas Purnell of SUBC/NSWIS and Rhys Grant of ANA, the latter finishing some 3.72 seconds behind Belonogoff.
 
The victor said stepping up from U23 to Open racing had its differences but he was happy with the confidence boost of a win: “I think biggest difference from stepping up from U23 to Open racing, is there is never an easy moment in the race. I had a nice buffer in the last 500m, with a good rhythm and had enough of a buffer to hold them off, but it was by no means an easy race.
 
“I would say it was almost a relief to win the single as I won at New South Wales Championships, I won my heat and my semi-final here and it made it a bit more nerve-wracking to be the favourite, but I was relieved to claim first place.
 
“It’s a good confidence booster to come out on top in the Men’s Single Scull in Australia, I think the sculling squad as a group has really stepped up in the last year. We’ve more depth to the field but also the top end is going significantly quicker, so to be up the front end of that and to be driving the pace is a good feeling.”

Meanwhile in the U23 version of the event, David Watts of Swan River/NTC-Canberra secured a win in his event ahead of competing this weekend in the World Rowing Cup 1.
 
In the Men’s Coxless Pair, all eyes were on Spencer Turrin and Alexander Lloyd (Sydney/NTC-Canberra) who were favourites for the Open title, however it was not to be their day with the duo of Fergus Pragnell and Joshua Dunkley-Smith (SUBC/Mercantile-VIS) snatching victory by 1.64 seconds. Third-place was taken by MUBC-VIS pairing of Joshua Booth and Samuel Hookway who were 2.62 seconds behind Turrin and Lloyd.
 
Post-race, Pragnell was enigmatic about the victory and said it wasn’t about resting on their laurels ahead of the World Rowing Cup 1 and the Interstate Regatta.
 
In the Women’s Coxless Pair, victory came in the form of Renee Chatterton and Michelle Yann (Adelaide Uni-SASI/Mercantile) who overtook Pauline Frasca (Mercantile-VIS) and Alexandra Hagan (Swan River-WAIS). London 2012 Olympic silver medallist Kate Hornsey (Mercantile-VIS) competing with new partner Peta White (Adelaide Uni-SASI) finished in third place with a time of 7.28.02, which was 2.51 seconds behind the winners. 

Finally, in the lightweight categories, it was all about the Tasmanians when it came to the women’s events, with Ella Flecker of Huon-TIS winning the Open Lightweight Women’s Single Scull while team-mate Georgia Nesbitt took the U23 Lightweight Women’s event.
 
In the men’s equivalent it was Western Australia’s Perry Ward (Swan River-WAIS) who claimed victory in his event, while in the U23 category it was NUBC's Jackson Harrison who crossed the line first.

Flecker and Nesbitt, who later in the week will compete in the World Rowing Cup 1 as one of the two Australian Women’s Lightweight Double Scull crews, were both happy with their wins ahead of the international competition later in the week.

Day 3: Exciting finals line ups

It was another good day of sculling at the Sydney International Regatta Centre (SIRC) today with the top scullers in the country all qualifying for the respective National Open Water Finals.

The third day of the 2014 Sydney International Rowing Regatta (SIRR) began with the Open Women’s Single Scull semi-finals. In the first of these two races was the World Champion from Melbourne University Boat Club, Kimberley Crow, who cruised to victory in a time of 7.36.19 and was followed into the final by South Australia’s (Adelaide/SASI) Olympia Aldersey, Tasmania’s (Huon/TIS) Kerry Hore and fellow Victorian, Fiona Albert from Mercantile.

In the second OW1x, Queensland-born Sally Kehoe, racing for Sydney University, took the lead from the start in her race and finished in a quicker time over her 2000m than World Champion, Crow. The 27-year-old finished the race in 7.34.66 with Mercantile’s Jennifer Cleary finishing second, Queensland’s (Commercial/QAS) Madeleine ‘Maddie’ Edmunds in third and Sydney/SASI’s Tess Gerrand rounded off the group of final qualifiers.

The final of the OW1x is set take place tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9.15am, and Kehoe is looking forward to what is shaping up to be a great final against a number of her Australian Rowing Team colleagues.

In the Open Men’s Single Scull semi-finals, it was Sydney University’s Cameron Girdlestone who secured victory in the first semi-final of the day. At one point it looked like Mercantile/VIS rower John Linke was on his way to victory in the race but at the 1500m mark Girdlestone and ANA’s Rhys Grant pulled in front to take first and second place, while Mosman/NTC-C Kieran Kobelke rounded off the top four and make it into the A Final tomorrow.

In the second semi-final, hot favourite Sydney University/NTC-C Alexander ‘Sasha’ Belonogoff, who is set to race alongside Girdlestone in the men’s double scull in the upcoming World Rowing Cup 1, secured a win to progress to the A Final tomorrow alongside New South Wales compatriots, Sydney University/NSWIS’s Nicholas Purnell, Sydney/NSWIS member Christopher Morgan and Sydney University/ACTAS’s Nicholas Hudson.

The Sydney University/National Training Centre - Canberra athlete led from the start of the race and secured his place in the final with a time of 6.57.02 while Purnell surged his way through to second having sat in fourth place until the 1000m mark.

In the first of the Open Lightweight Women’s Single Scull semi-final, Melbourne University Boat Club/VIS rower, Alice McNamara edged Dutton Park/ACTAS’ Hannah Every-Hall to claim first place and her spot in the A Final tomorrow. Joining McNamara and Every-Hall from this race is Toowong’s Carly Cottam and MUBC/VIS’s Hannah Clark.

In the second semi-final, Tasmania’s (Huon/TIS) Ella Flecker won her race with a time of 7.53.08. The medical student who is coached by Brett Crow led her race and finished with a three second lead over West Australian (ANA/WAIS) Maia Simmonds, while Sarah Pound and Laura Dunn (both UTS) rounded off the group heading to the A Final tomorrow.

In the Men’s Lightweight Single Scull, Sydney University and NTC-C rower, Edward de Carvalho led his semi-final to secure a spot in the final tomorrow alongside Commercial RC/NTC-C rower Adam Kachyckyj, Toowong/QAS’s Timothy McDonnell and Canberra’s Tom Perry.

Joining the above four in the final of the OLM1x tomorrow will be Swan River/WAIS’ Perry Ward, Mercantile’s James Wilson, Sydney University’s Jack Hanley and Mosman’s Richard Coakley. The final is shaping up to be a good one with de Carvalho, Kachyckyj and Ward the ones to watch out for at SIRC.

Day 1: Australian crews dominate

The first day of racing got underway at the 2014 Sydney International Rowing Regatta today at the Sydney International Regatta Centre in Penrith, Sydney.

Unsurprisingly, the Australian Rowing Team crews competing for their various rowing clubs in the first round heats of the National Open Water Championship dominated each of their races to secure places in their various semi-finals and finals.

The current Women’s Single Scull World Champion, Kim Crow (MUBC), led the pack in the Open Women’s Single Scull with a top finishing time of 7.27.59, while fellow national team-mates Olympia Aldersey (Adelaide-SASI) and Sally Kehoe (SUBC-SASI) won their respective heats with times of 7.43.52 and 7.38.27 respectively. The results of the heats can be found here.

Ella Flecker of Tasmania stormed her way into the semi-finals with a win in her Open Lightweight Women’s Single Scull heat, with a time of 7:53:35. The 26-year-old finished her race with a two-second lead over the other heat winners of Hannah Every-Hall and Alice McNamara, who also head to the semi-finals.

During a cloudy and stormy afternoon out in Penrith, which saw racing delayed for over an hour due to thunderstorms, the two Women’s Coxless Pair heats saw four crews progress to the finals, which will be held on Wednesday. Heat One was won by Mercantile/Swan River duo Pauline Frasca and Alexandra Hagan, while Heat Two Mercantile/MUBC’s Charlotte Sutherland and Lucy Stephan.

London 2012 Olympic silver medallist, Kate Hornsey finished second in her heat, with her new rowing partner Peta White with a time of 7.33.41, to also progress to the final while the three crews will be joined in Wednesday’s final by Michelle Yann and Renee Chatterton (Adelaide Uni-SASI/Mercantile).

In the Open Men’s Single Scull heats, the top two from each race progressed through to the semi-finals with Mercantile’s John Linke, recently returned from injury, topping the six semi-final qualifiers with a time of 7:01:45.

The other hotly contested heats of the day were the Open Men’s Coxless Pair, where the top two of each of the heats qualified through to the final. Mercantile and Sydney University duo Fergus Pragnell and Josh Dunkley-Smith won their race with a 2.29 second lead over Josh Booth and Sam Hookway of MUBC.

Meanwhile Sydney/AIS’s Spencer Turrin and Alex Lloyd cruised to victory in their heat with a 6.14 second lead over the second place finishers.

For more information and tomorrow’s schedule go to www.rowingdownunder.org

Rowing Australia