and Australia) all had athletes
doubling up to also race in the
pair. Germany’s Elke Hipler and
Christina Gerking came off as the
best, finishing the regatta with two
medals: one gold, one silver.
and Jean-Baptiste Macquet, Cop
and Spik not only had to settle for
second but lost their World Best
Time, which had stood for seven
years. Hardy and Macquet become
the new World Best Time holders.
The big surprise came earlier
on finals day when men’s
single sculling newcomer Alan
Campbell pulled off a win over his
seasoned competitors including
local Marcel Hacker and Olympic
Champion Olaf Tufte. The British
press touted Campbell as the next
biggest thing in British rowing.
China continued to show their
lightweight women skills by
taking both gold and silver in
the lightweight women’s double.
Dongxiang Xu will no longer be
the unknown quantity in this event
especially now that her name is
linked directly to the World Best
Time. With partner Shimin Yan, the
duo set the standard at 6:49.77.
Favourable conditions and close
racing presaged new World Best
Times on finals day at the second
Rowing World Cup in Poznan,
Poland. The first one fell in the
hotly contested men’s double. The
reigning World Champions, Iztok
Cop and Luka Spik (Slovenia)
may have been the favourites on
paper, but in a close battle with
France’s new duo of Adrien Hardy
There was a definite glint in
the eyes of the Poles. In their
home country, the Polish World
Champion men’s quad went one
step further by setting a World
Best Time. Konrad Wasielewski,
Marek Kolbowicz, Michal Jelinski
and Adam Korol had beaten a 12-
year-old record held by Italy since
1994. Dongxiang Xu and Hua Yu of China pose with their gold medals after their leightweight
women’s double sculls final at the Rowing World Cup in Munich, Germany. / Dongxiang Xu
et Hua Yu de Chine posent devant les caméras avec leur médaille d’or remportée en deux de
couple poids léger à la Coupe du monde d’aviron à Munich, en Allemagne.
© 2006 Getty Images
Egypt may have tried to focus
on getting a top eight together
in recent years, but in Poznan
it was their lightweight men’s
four that showed the greatest
potential. Egypt has a bit of a
reputation for going out hard
but without an ending kick to
get them into the medals. The
four proved that they could
hang in there to the end earning
bronze behind Ireland and
Australia.
top spot. But the biggest revival
goes to Norway’s Olaf Tufte.
Since winning the Olympic gold
in 2004, Tufte has been incapable
of finding the top of the medals
podium at any international
race. This changed at Lucerne
when Tufte denied current World
Champion Mahe Drysdale from
New Zealand of gold.
It took until the third stage
of the Rowing World Cup at
the famed Rotsee course in
Lucerne, Switzerland for three
defeated World Champions to
reinstate a level of command.
New Zealand’s Nathan Twaddle
and George Bridgewater left
Poznan medal-less, but at
Lucerne they outraced the new
British combination of Colin
Smith and Tom James to get
back on top.
© 2006 Getty Images
Slovenia’s intrepid double, Cop
and Spik also had a revival after
being denied gold in Poznan and
then loosing to Great Britain at
the Henley Royal Regatta. In an
aggressively high-rating race,
the Slovenians got back into the
Stroke of the new World Best Time and World Champion men’s quad, Adam Korol of Poland.
/ Chef de nage des nouveaux détenteurs du nouveau meilleur temps mondial et des champions du monde en quatre de couple, le Polonais Adam Korol.
At the other end of the spectrum
it became nearly impossible
to deny Ekaterina Karsten of
Belarus the top spot. Karsten
dominated this season despite
the Czech Republic’s Mirka
Knapkova doing her utmost to
challenge. The British men’s
four also appeared nearly
unbeatable. Andy Hodge, Peter
Reed, Steve Williams and Alex
Partridge haven’t lost a race
since the line-up was formed
in 2005. The Evers-Swindell
sisters, however, have also been
incredibly consistent. Ever since
becoming World Champions in
2002, New Zealand’s identical
twins have only lost one race
internationally as a double. This
year they raced at two Rowing
World Cups and won both.
