Delight and Dutch Domination on Malta Lake · Row360
The Netherlands have decided the second wave of the World Cup, winning six gold and a total of twelve medals giving them an almost unassailable advantage in the 2022 Rowing World Cup standings despite not being going to Lucerne. They lead seven Cup events, five of them with more than five points and have many interesting new strong crews starting to develop an awesome reputation. In Poznan they won medals – and the traditional stuffed goat toys – with all but two of their crews, and despite the fact that they are still picking up the combinations, they seem to have already hit several quick options.
One of these is Melvin Twellaar, who has yet to face a full field of top single scullers but has nevertheless already shown that he has a lot of tricks in his toolbox. This time he was barely challenged by Frenchman Matthieu Androdias, but his clear M1x victory in the clear water was overshadowed by that of Karolien Florijn who was head, shoulders and eight full seconds faster than Swiss skuller Jeanine Gmelin in women’s singles. The revelation was Aussie Tara Rigney, who once again made her mark and this time defeated reigning U23 German champion Alexandra Foester for bronze. It looks dangerous. “The plan was just to get stuck in the beginning because the conditions there were a little better than the rest of the course,” Gmelin said. “It simply came to our notice then. The race itself didn’t feel like a great race but I carried out the plan. Originally I didn’t even plan to come here so it was kind of a spontaneous decision. I took a longer break and it really took me a while to get back in training, so I knew coming here my form will be quite good in terms of fitness but in the end I’m glad I was here because it was a boost in -confidence. ”
Out of several excellent finals one stood out was the men’s doubles, in which the Sinkovic brothers put their feet on Poland Miroslaw Zietarski and Fabian Baranski in the third 500m to win again (so what’s new?) But then saw as a barnstorming scrap for bronze. behind them resulted in a rare dead heat. The judges of the World Rowing finish could not separate the Australian and the Netherlands even by a fraction of a centimeter in the timelapse photofinish press after the Aussies rowed to the Dutch, and so the – both were awarded bronze medals – the organizers always keep the spares ready in case. The Sinkovics, of course, are now very much practiced in the technique of the post-Covid ceremony of presenting each other with medals: a quick blow to remove the cap, a ribbon of the medal slung over the head then fast hand fastener as congratulations before it is. next to the other brother. Much faster than the way the big names of World Rowing do. After the race Australian Jack Cleary was a philosopher. “Racing is training, training is racing. I am very proud of Caleb and myself and how we built ourselves. The great thing about Australian rowing is that it’s a very competitive sport. “
One feature of the first year at any Olympics is the concentration of talent in small boats for women’s events. This is not because women’s rowing is weak or sub-par: away from it. But there are still far too many top rowers in many countries to generate the numbers needed for big boats until quite late in the Olympiads. So it was from the women’s fours, pairs, quads and doubles that were the most exciting races, the women’s eight were too much of a walkover for the Dutch to tell us anything other than that Denmark is still pursuing a clear policy of the eight in the new. Olympics.
The Dutch largely had an influence on women’s small boats, although they were better at fours and quads. In the quads China had the strongest side, their Belgrade combination was further strengthened by a change of seats and the return of the third Olympic rowing champion. But the current Dutch squad never gave up and NED’s foursome recharged in the final stages, perhaps both to keep them out of Switzerland and to try to close the small gap on the Chinese. Disaster struck as they caught a small crab just in front of the line, pushing them into third place behind the silver-clad Swiss. “We were trying to fight for gold all the way, but it became really chaotic in the last hundred meters and we are relieved to be on the podium today,” said Johanna Vos of NED. All four went to Australia, their Tokyo-inspired combination had the advantage, though heavily pressed by the Dutch for the entire race. As the line approached Ireland, it shouted again to push the two main crews, giving the Dutch the fear of their lives and forcing them to sprint like cheetahs to stay second.
The top pair of Dutch women of Ymkje Clevering and Veronique Meester caught their own crablet in the beginning, Clevering hooking air on her fourth stroke that left US Madeleine Wanamaker and Claire Collins moving away to establish a decent lead. However, the Dutch were back in terms halfway down the road, stalked the Yanks for several minutes and then turned on the booster with the 200m finish, running after the United States for gold-like knives through the butter.
However, another Dutch duo that made the first news, W2x Roos de Jong and Laila Youssifou, led for their entire race keeping several crews running at the beach on their side. As the line drew to a close there was a tough challenge from Ireland in the form of former W1x champion Sanita Puspure and Zoe Hyde. The Puspure bow made a great show of driving in the back seat to inspire a big boost that kept charging Americans Kara Kohler and Sophia Vitas, though it never threatened to switch to the Dutch. Hyde is 16 years younger than her crew mates but with a stroke she can do worse than trust Puspure’s competitive instincts.
The Dutch rowers are still saying that they want to stay in this rather magical combination, but the choice seems incomplete and so anything can happen. “It’s where I want to be, but we still don’t know. But tournaments like this are partly a test, so it looks like we’re moving forward, ”they said later, before heading out for their second shift – and bringing their second gold of the day – to the W8 +. “There may be seatracing, we don’t know.” Kohler was happy with where she and Vitas had come from: And also Irish, [we knew] we will probably be fighting them. ” The duo were full of praise for the yard’s new sprinklers, installed to help athletes cope with the heat of a June day in Poznan.
The appearance of several Olympic champions in the racing scene brought warmth to Poznan, and the four men were no exception. The end result was a victory for Australia’s refreshed Tokyo combination, which slowly came out of China’s fast-paced China, and then kept the determined Dutchman at bay for the last 300m. The Australian quartet looked both strong and smooth, and were able to keep the rate high at 39 or higher all the time without compromising on technical quality, thus suggesting that the Dutch are the the genuine item. They have certainly put Australia under pressure for most of the race. Meanwhile the Americans came out with a final 500m almost as fast as the Dutch to arrange China for a good bronze medal.
There were few surprises in the para-rowing final, Birgit Skarstein added to the collection of her gold medals and Jolanta Majka and Michal Gadowski of the domestic nation won over Stephane Tardieu and Perle Bouge (FRA) while Corne de Koning (now listed in the World Rowing database). with his name Marinus) asked for a bronze with his new partner Chantal Haenen, Annika van der Meer after retiring from sports to start her career as a doctor. But it was strange but spectacular to see Erik Horrie again convincingly beaten by Italy’s Giacomo Perini, who simply pressed on the gas in the second quarter, and pulled away from the Australian. Perini has a lot of rock in his body, meaning he doesn’t need a seat back to stabilize it even though he has very little trunk function, so he can take on those with the longest arch. Although still very new to the sport, the prospect of Italian racing and possibly beating the equally long Roman Polianskyi in Racice in September is a juicy one.
In other news the men’s eight – without any Dutch entry for this regatta – went to the extremely new German crew who used their first major outing together to send a clear message to those countries they love. the men’s eight: Britain, the champions of Tokyo New Zealand and the United States for example. Rowing very similar to their illustrious predecessors, the new Deutschland-Achter overtook Australia in a five-crew competition. Canada withdrew on the morning of the final because several of its eight members came with Covid, which will disrupt their pre-Lucerne training even if Switzerland has removed its isolation requirements for those who are positive. .
However, it seems unlikely that the Kiwis will sail eight for some time: their post-Games sweep squad is currently tiny and only a couple are visiting Europe for the World Cup, although it is likely that four can be created in time for world championships. if considered fast enough. Fortunately that pair, Olympic champions Matt MacDonald and Tom Mackintosh, have the mood and ability to dominate, which they did well in the M2 final, and won the gold untouched before the Dutch. . Behind them were USA1, Justin Best and Michael Grady, who said they were excited to be coached by Tom Terhaar who recently left the American team to coach in Columbia but will be taking the eighth California RC / Penn Athletic for Henley Royal Regatta.
The new era is at its peak and the 2022 class looks fast. In three weeks most of them will meet again – and now join the absent people of Poznan – in Lucerne.