Dorney Lake
If 2005 was the year of the Kiwi, the 2006 World Rowing
Championships witnessed the ascent of the dragon. China
became the talk of Eton’s rowing course when they covered the
lightweight events with red and gold. By the end of the finals
China ranked seventh nation overall, completed their most
successful World Rowing Championships, won their first gold
medal in a men’s Olympic event and had gold medals hanging
around the necks of 10 athletes.
“In my opinion the Chinese are
a class above. Then the rest of
us are all at the same level,”
remarked Greece’s Chrysi Biskitzi
after racing against lightweight
women’s double winners
Dongxiang Xu and Shimin Yan.
Then China’s lightweight men’s
four were the surprise winners.
The new crew included bow,
Zhongming Huang who had never
rowed at a World Championship
event before and 17-year-old
newcomer Chongkui Wu.
“We planned to row our best ever
race. To get the first men’s gold
(for China) in an Olympic event
was fantastic. We’ve gained a lot
of honour for men’s rowing in
China.”
China took a further lightweight
event by also winning the
lightweight women’s quad and
setting a new World Best time.
But heading up the points table,
gaining the spot back from last
year’s leader Italy, Germany
finally secured gold in the men’s
eight. The eight have hovered in
different final spots but have not
been able to secure the elusive
gold since 1995. The German
men also acquired gold in the
men’s coxed four and lightweight
men’s pair.
A post-operation Marcel Hacker
took to the men’s single in
fighting fashion using the race
plan of going out hard at the start
and building up a solid lead. In
the final this looked to be the
winning formula when defending
champion Mahe Drysdale of New
Zealand inched his way up from
behind to successfully defend his
title and set a new World Best
Time on the last stroke of the
race. Hacker still earned silver
points for his country.
Finishing first over Germany
in the women’s eight was sweet
justice for the United States
who experienced a full dose of
disappointment last year when
they led for the entire race only
to be pushed into fourth in the
closing metres of the race. The
eight rowers and their coxswain
simultaneously recorded a new
World Best Time of 5:55.50 for
the win.
Also setting the standard for the
World Best Time was Australia’s
women’s four. Kate Hornsey,
Amber Bradley, Jo Lutz and
Robyn Selby Smith defended
their 2005 title and in the tail
wind conditions set the new
standard. The four then joined
their country’s eight the next day
to take bronze. This medal haul
puts Lutz at number four on the
2006 list of top 10 female rowers
with Hornsey and Selby Smith
equal at six.
Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus
divulged the secret to her success
after securing – yet another –
comfortable win in the women’s
single, “Good facilities for
training in Germany, the best
coach in the world (coach and
husband Wilfried Karsten) and
my physiology.”
An eleventh-hour crew change
presaged a history-making gold
for Serbia’s coxed pair. Nikola
Stojic, 31, started off the week
in the coxless pair but a B Final
result and an injured compatriot
meant Stojic’s fate will now be
sealed in history: Stojic, joined
newcomer Jovan Popovic, 19, and
coxswain Ivan Ninkovic, 17, to
not only win gold but also become
the first rowing World Champions
for their newly formed nation.
Ten years ago at the Atlanta
Olympics Irina Fedotova, Larisa
Merk and Oxana Dorodnova of
Russia finished seventh. They
raced again together at the
Sydney Olympics and finished
third. Last year at Gifu they came
together again along with Olga
Samulenkova. Their bronze medal
result was nothing more than a
disappointment. At Eton it all came
together despite being up against
the reigning World Champions,
Britain’s female flagship crew and
home favourites.
A boost in adaptive rowing
numbers raised competition levels
but still some of the old favourites
managed to hold their own. Scott
Brown and Angela Madsen of the
United States annihilated the trunk
and arms mixed double despite a
solid challenge from newcomers
Poland. Dominic Monypenny of
Australia defended his title in
the adaptive men’s single leaving
American Ron Harvey with
another silver medal.
M.S.B.■
China’s lightweight women’s quad, 2006
World Champions and new World Best
Time holders: Hua Yu, Haixia Chen, Xuefei
Fan, Jing Liu. / Les rameuses du quatre de
couple poids léger chinois, championnes
du monde 2006 et détentrices du nouveau
meilleur temps mondial: Hua Yu, Haixia
Chen, Xuefei Fan, Jing Liu.
