Australia’s remaining four crews that are chasing qualification for the 2012 London Olympic Games will finalise their preparations over the coming 24 hours ahead of the start of the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland.

The cut-throat regatta which commences on Sunday (May 20) offers a limited number of qualifying places for the London Games and the Australian women’s eight, lightweight men’s double scull and women’s and men’s single sculls will all vie for these places.

Rowing Australia National High Performance Director Andrew Matheson said the mood in the camp was positive head of the four day regatta.

“The team has settled in really well in Lucerne after arriving here last Sunday and everyone is looking forward to the chance to race,” Matheson said.

“Lucerne is renowned for always staging excellent regattas but conditions are definitely cooler than normal with snow having fallen down to reasonably low levels.

“Our four crews have produced some excellent training pieces across the week and the mood in the camp is high, which bodes well for the start of racing.”

The women’s eight crew, stroked by Phoebe Stanley (VIC), face a race for lanes on Sunday with the five crews contesting the two Olympic positions on offer to then be seeded for the final on Tuesday.

A young German crew presents an unknown challenge to Australia, while Ukraine, Belarus and Russia complete the field.

A top two finish for the lightweight men’s double scull crew of Tom Gibson (TAS) and Rod Chisholm (NSW) would see the pair qualify for their second Olympic Games.

Gibson rowed in the same boat four years ago in Beijing, while Chisholm was a member of the lightweight men’s four, and the pair have come together well since their selection at the start of April.

In the single scull events Kim Crow (VIC) and Jared Bidwell (QLD) will be targeting appearances in the final on Wednesday (May 23).

Crow and Bidwell both require a place on the podium if they are to qualify the single scull boats for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Australia has so far qualified 10 boats for London, with all of these boat classes scheduled to race at World Cup 2 in Lucerne, Switzerland from May 25-27.

Rowing Australia