COMPetitiON
WORlD chAMpIOn
16
hat trick
the difficulty of getting to the top is well recognized. the challenge of staying
there is a tremendous feat. At this year’s World Rowing Championships in Munich,
Germany, five crews met this challenge and finished the season with three
consecutive World Champion titles.
© 2007 Getty Images
Perhaps the most noted was New Zealander
MaheDrysdale who, by taking a hat trick
in the men’s single, planted himself into
the record books by being the first to win
three World Champion titles in a row in the
single. Drysdale got there by proving that a
setback can be overcome. At Drysdale’s first
international race of the season, the second
Rowing World Cup, the New Zealander
finished outside of the medals in fourth. By
Munich he was back with the form and faith
in his ability.
“The hardest thing going into the final was
trying not to be over-confident,” says Drysdale
who readily acknowledged the toughness of
the field, knowing that on the day any one of
the finalists could win.
The Polish men’s quad now also own
three World Champion titles. In 2005 they
became the first Polish crew ever to win in
the quad event. In 2007 they celebrated the
hat trick.
KonradWasielewski, MarekKolbowicz,
MichalJelinski and AdamKorol came
together after the 2004Olympics. Their
mission was to turn around their country’s
devastatingly close medal result at Athens
when the quad finished fourth. Veteran of
the boat Kolbowicz exclaimed after winning
their first World Champion title in 2005:
“We will do everything to be in the highest
position in Beijing.”
The Polish crew now own the World Best
Time, the 2006 World Rowing Crew of the
Year award and an unbeaten three-year
record with youngest member, bow man
Wasielewski now nick-named “the lucky
man” for his winning streak.
Great Britain’s flagship women’s crew, the
women’s quad, started their hat trick roll
by beating former owners of this event,
Germany, at the 2005 World Rowing
Championships. Expectations were high
when the crew raced in front of their
home crowd at the 2006 Eton World
Champs. The tearful British crew stood in
second place on the podium at the end
of the race with Russia in first. However,
a positive drug test in the Russian boat
reallocated the gold to Great Britain nearly
five months later.
Proving their might the British crew of
KatherineGrainger, FrancesHoughton,
DebbieFlood and AnnieVernon added
World Champion title number three to
the boat this year as they work towards
winning the first gold for Great Britain in
this event at the Olympic Games.
Ekaterina Karsten-Khodotovitch
(BLR)
