WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Munich, Germany

26 August - 2 September 2007

Report by

Leander Press Officer Robert Treharne Jones

Heats reports - Day 1 and Day 2

Repechages and quarter finals reports - Day 3 and Day 4

Semifinals reports - Day 5 and Day 6

Finals reports - Day 7 and Day 8

Click here for crew lists and results

Click here for championship preview article

2 September: The GB women's quad - Leander's Debbie Flood, together with Katharine Grainger, Fran Houghton and Annie Vernon - scored an emphatic win today to retain the world title in Munich, where ten other Leander athletes brought home medals from the world championships, including a silver for Jane Hall in the lightweight women's quad.

By contrast with the previous day's disappointment with the four's defeat every GB crew competing in an Olympic boat class final won medals with another gold for the lightweight men's four, and bronzes for Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase in the lightweight double, as well as the men's and women's eights.

In the non-Olympic boat classes there was a silver medal for Jane Hall in the lightweight women's quad, and bronze medals for Simon Jones and Dave Currie in the men's event, coached by Rob Morgan. The total British medal haul in Munich was three gold, two silver and six bronze, with Leander athletes contributing to eight of the eleven medals.

The gold medal won by the women’s quad was a dream come true for the crew who crossed the line in second place last year, only to be awarded the world championship title five months later after the stroke of the winning Russian crew in Eton failed a pre-competition drugs test and all four of their athletes were disqualified.

 This time there was no mistake for Katherine Grainger, Fran Houghton, Debbie Flood and Annie Vernon, who were out with something to prove after their defeat at the hands of the Chinese when the two crews last met at the World Cup in Amsterdam. 

With GB and China drawing the favoured centre lanes after winning their respective heats earlier in the week, the other fly in the ointment was Germany, with four-times Olympic champion Kathrin Boron at bow. 

The British quad went for an early lead and had already taken almost three seconds off the chasing pack after 500m with China a length adrift in second place. The Germans sculled the fastest middle third to rob the Chinese of second place but with 500m to go they were still 2.5 secs off the British lead. Despite Ukraine chasing the bronze in the dying seconds nothing could rob the GB quad of their third successive world title in this boat class. 

"For each of us that was something really special" said stroke Katharine Grainger afterwards. "In the last few days we've got closer to that special rhythm that you get when everything is really flowing naturally".  

For Leander captain Mark Hunter the bronze medal he won with Zac Purchase in the lightweight double was his first senior world championships medal in an Olympic class boat in a distinguished international career. For both men it augured well for the Olympic regatta in Beijing in twelve months time.  

Italy were the early race leaders with Britain in a good second place but the Danish world champions quickly overhauled both crews to establish an advantage which they would never let go. At halfway just two seconds separated the other five crews and by 1500m Hunter and Purchase had done enough to pull themselves up to third behind Denmark and Greece. In a spectacular rush for the line, the Australians hustled down the stand side to try and snatch a medal but the British duo held them off with Denmark retaining their title and Greece in second.  

"That was the best and most complete race ever", said Mark Hunter afterwards. "That was tough", added Purchase. "The line came too quickly for us today. Those Danes are good but they are beatable".  

In the women’s eights final the British crew, with Leander’s Lou Reeve in the 4 seat, were expected to be looking for Olympic qualification rather than a medal. Only the top five crews in the race would book a ticket to Beijing, but the GB crew had moved into the bronze medal slot at halfway and never let go. The USA retained their world title ahead of the Olympic champions from Romania with the British eight holding on to third by just 0.2sec ahead of Australia.  

The final Olympic boat class was the men’s eights in which the GB crew, coached by Leander’s Mark Banks and John West had improved dramatically through the week after a below-par performance in the heats.  

Canada took the early lead with the German world champions tracking them all the way down the course. But the British had taken third place at halfway and were well–positioned as the crews blasted through the wall of sound along the grandstands. No-one could catch Canada and the Germans but the GB men's bronze medal meant that every British Olympic class boat competing on the final day’s racing won a medal. 

In the non-Olympic boat classes the British lightweight women's quad scull got a good start in their final. Stroked by Leander’s Jane Hall, who won her first world title in the lightweight fours as long ago as 1993, the crew were third at the 500m mark – less than a second down on China with Australia in second.  

The lead changed hands in that second quarter of the race and GB dropped back a little as the Australians made a break to create a length lead on the fields. Undeterred Jane Hall kept the crew to their task and they moved steadily up into second from 1250m onwards – ahead of China but behind Australia.  

Past the grandstands, the Americans began to show their hand and China made an effort to row back into silver but the British held them at bay to take second.  

The British lightweight men's quad, with Leander’s Simon Jones and Dave Currie at bow and stroke were next in action. The crew were never out of second or third place at each split and by 1500m they had enough in the tank to take bronze after challenging the French for silver behind the gold medallists from Italy. 

"I thought we were going to get the French at the end said Simon Jones afterwards. "We started our sprint early to try and get them and then the wheels really started to come off with ten strokes to go".  

In the men's coxed four, which included Leander’s James Orme, Marcus Bateman and Tom Wilkinson, Britain were fifth at the 500m mark, three seconds off the USA who were leading. In the third 500m the British made a push to move up to third with Serbia leading the Americans but Germany denied the GB four of bronze in the closing stages. 

Daniel Harte and Leander’s Matt Beechey were the GB pair in the lightweight final – an event in which they already won World Cup gold and silver during the 2007 season. But the Italian Under-23 world champions led the field and after only 500m Beechey and Harte were in fifth place, with Australia stealing the advantage ahead of Italy. Another push from the British pair hauled them into fourth place with 500m to go but a significant way behind the medal contenders. Italy and Germany overhauled the Australians in a sprint for the line with France overhauling the British, who finished in fifth place.

1 September: The GB men's four, gold medallists in Gifu and Eton, suffered a shock defeat today at this year's world championships where they were squeezed right out of the medal zone by New Zealand, Italy and the Netherlands. But there were bronze medals for Leander's Colin Smith and Matt Langridge in the men's pair and for Anna Bebington and her Thames RC partner Elise Laverick in the women's double scull.

In the men's fours final the GB crew, with Leander's Steve Williams, Alex Partridge and Pete Reed on board with Molesey's Andy Hodge, never established their trademark lead and after the first 500m New Zealand and the Netherlands were already snapping at their heels. At the halfway mark the British were lost in the middle of the pack, and at one stage were lying fifth in the closely packed field while the Dutch led the charge for medals. As the race entered the final stages it was obvious that the world champions were out of the running - New Zealand crossed the line first with Italy barely a second behind and the Dutch taking bronze.

"We're better than that, I just feel empty", said Pete Reed. "Something just wasn't quite right".

"If you want to jump high you have to sometimes dig deep", said coach Jurgen Grobler, in a foretaste of the work to come in the next twelve months. The events of the last 24 hours have reminded seasoned observers of the Milan world championships in 2003 when Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell lost the men's pairs title, forcing a complete rethink of the heavyweight men's squad in the run-up to the Athens Olympics.

In the men's pairs final Colin Smith and Matt Langridge came from nowhere to take the bronze, just as they had done in their semi-final two days previously. The multi-medalled Australians Drew Ginn and Duncan Free led from start to finish, followed by Twaddle and Bridgewater, the former world champions from New Zealand. With 500m to go the Leander pair were in fifth place but a storming finish hauled them back into the medal zone to take third place.

"We've worked hard and gradually moved up this season and it's now good to be on the podium", said Colin Smith afterwards.

"At 1000m I looked around and saw everyone there and I thought 'this is our part of the race'", said Langridge. "Then it was just a case of hanging on".

China won the women's double sculls in predictable fashion but Anna Bebington and Elise Laverick fought it out with the Olympic champion Evers-Swindell sisters for silver. It took  a photo to separate the crews on the line with the Kiwis edging it by just 0.02 sec. It was a remarkable result for the British double in only their second regatta together, after injury put them out of early-season contention.

Matt Wells and Steve Rowbotham were well placed within the chasing pack in the men's double scull final in which the Slovenian Olympic silver medallists, Luka Spik and Iztok Cop, predictably hit the front by the halfway mark with France in pursuit and Estonia not far behind.

In such a tight field, it went down to the long, final sprint for the line. "Going into the last 500m we thought we had a chance of gold and went for it. But both of us worked too hard and got tired in the last 250m", said Stephen Rowbotham of their eventual fourth place behind Slovenia in first, France in second and Estonia in third.

"I'm bitterly disappointed", added Wells. "But we're definitely in the running for gold next year"

31 August: All bar one of the 23 Leander athletes at the world championships in Munich have reached the A finals and the chance of medals, after the GB men's eight, coached by Mark Banks and John West, secured second place in their semifinal behind Canada.

 The race didn't all go the way of the GB crew - after a slow start the eight were lying fifth after 500m but a steady push brought them through the field into third place at halfway behind Canada and Germany. It was in the final 500 that the crew, which includes Leander's Josh West, Tom Stallard and Rick Egington put in a final burn to move past Germany and secure second place. 

"It was another step up from their two previous races - they followed their race instructions and showed real composure under pressure" said Mark Banks later. 

Earlier in the day Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase qualified for the final of the men's lightweight doubles, while Matt Beechey and Daniel Harte won their own semi in the lightweight men's pairs. Hunter and Purchase eased into the lead at 750m mark and stayed there to cover any moves from the opposition, but Japan and Italy had other ideas. The British double were squeezed on either side as the opposition launched their final assault. Japan took the line just 0.03sec ahead of Italy with Hunter and Purchase 0.61sec behind in third place on the line

"We took it on really well in the middle of the race and tried to get out of trouble", said Mark Hunter afterwards. "The trouble was that everyone clung on and it was man-on-man at the end."

Matt Beechey and Daniel Harte put a great end to their long wait to race this week after appearing in the opening day's heats. They won their repechage in an exciting finish by just 0.11sec from France.  The British crew were third at 500m, second at 1000m and moved through to win at the end.

30 August: The GB men's four won their semifinal today by just 0.12 sec when France led the charge to knock the world champions off their perch for the second time in as many months.

The British men, who took the silver medal in Lucerne after an unaccustomed defeat by the Dutch, had a clear water lead after 500m where the USA were in second place. But the Americans narrowed the gap all the way to 1500m where the Italians were poised for the attack and France were languishing in fifth place. As the finish approached so the trailing crews began to close, with the French storming through the pack to snatch second place ahead of Italy.

"We wanted to win but not use up too much fuel" said Olympic champion Steve Williams after the biggest scare of the day for British supporters.

Meanwhile Leander's Colin Smith and Matt Langridge, the pair who are part of coach Jurgen Grobler's 'coxless six' of leading GB men, appeared to be out of contention before launching a terrifying assault with 600m to go. Their final split was more than 3 secs faster than any other crew and was sufficient to pull them though from fourth to second palce, where they qualified for the A final behind the former world champions from New Zealand.

"We felt comfortable we could do it", said Colin Smith afterwards.

By contrast Matt Wells and Stephen Rowbotham were well in contention for an A final place throughout their 2000 m semifinal but it was the Slovenian Olympic champions Iztok Cop and Luka Spik who led the race from start to finish witht eLeander me crossing the line in second place ahead of Belarus.

"We knew that we were coming back at them" said Matt Wells afterwards, "but we probably let them get a bit too far out front".

Anna Bebington, partnered by Elise Laverick in the double scull, became the eighth Leander athlete to win an A final place today after moving out ahead of the early leaders from Romania to win the race and qualify with the young  Czech Under-23 world champions in third place.

After a season blighted by injury the double have now put themselves in Saturday's medal zone with China and New Zealand the main threats.

29 August: Leander captain Mark Hunter and his lightweight doubles partner Zac Purchase led the GB squad progression in Munich today when they won their quarter final to earn themselves a place in the next round.

China were the early leaders, but a fast burst by Greece took them into the lead at halfway with the British men a close third. Then it was Purchase and Hunter's turn to make their move with a well timed burn that drew them into the lead with 500m to go. They crossed the line 1.06sec clear of Greece with China qualifying in third place.

The GB men's eight, with Tom Stallard, Josh West and Rick Egington on board, are coached by Mark Banks and won their repechage today, while the GB women's eight, with Leander's Lou Reeve in the 4 seat, came second in their repechage to progress to the A final.

The men's eight, racing once again with Tom James at bow as a sub for the Tom Parker, got a good start and were closely challenging Poland, the early race leaders, with Belarus in third. Gradually the GB crew clawed back territory until they emerged with their bow ahead of the Poles at 1500m and pushed on to win in 5:44.57.

"They did what we asked them to do", said Mark Banks afterwards. "They slightly overcooked the second 500m in the heats and we didn't want that to happen again".

But there was disappointment for the men's quad scull, stroked by Ian Lawson, which was so close to success but was edged out of a semifinal place by Australia and Cuba. As the boats neared the grandstand it looked as if the British might just pip Cuba in the sprint to the line only to be sorely disappointed by a margin of 1.72 sec.

Earlier in the morning the British lightweight men's quadruple scull, coached by Leander's Rob Morgan and featuring Dave Currie and Simon Jones at stroke and bow, were winners of their repechage, too, putting them through to the final on Sunday. This was a race which Britain led from the outset with Germany, the USA and Denmark all jockeying for position behind them.

Finally, the British men's coxed four, racing with reserve Tom Wilkinson on board in lieu of Tom James who had moved up into the men's eight, were fourth in the race for lanes to determine the seeding order for their straight final on Sunday.

28 August: Leander's Matt Wells and Steve Rowbotham won their double sculls quarter final today to become the first British crew in Munich to earn themselves a place in Thursday's semi-finals.

Italy blasted off the start to an early advantage while the British double took their time to work their way through the field, taking the lead as the second half unfolded. With the entire field now within their sights they took control of the race, crossing the line more than half a second clear of Australia and Belgium while the Italians faded into fifth.

Only those crews who progressed to the semifinals stood anychance of making the top eleven crew who will earn automatic qualification for next year's Beijing Olympics.

"It was a big race today for many of the crews because if you didn't get through to the semi-finals you're not going to the Olympic Games. That's why several of the crews went out so quickly to try and qualify. We're racing well within ourselves here and the big race is now on Thursday with the semi-finals" said Matt Wells afterwards.

27 August: The GB world champion women's quad, with Leander's Debbie Flood in the 2 seat, kept their Olympic dream right on track with a dramatic heat win in Munich today.

After a fast start the crew settled down to a one length advantage ahead of Germany, a crew packed with world and Olympic medallists. With only one crew qualifying direct for Sunday's A final the British held off a series of German challenges to take the line just one second clear, and qualify automatically for a place in Beijing next year.

"We're proud of our achievement and that takes the pressure off" said Debbie afterwards. Together with Katherine Grainger, Fran Houghton and Annie Vernon she can now focus on the weekend's action where China, who beat them in Amsterdam in June, will once again provide the main threat.

Leander captain Mark Hunter won his heat of the lightweight doubles with Zac Purchase and so qualified for Wednesday's quarter-finals. The double took an early lead and were only really challenged in the final 200m by the USA who were second with New Zealand in third. All three crews now move into the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

"We aimed to get out front at the start and not get caught in the fight behind - after that it was just a case of staying there" said Mark afterwards.

The lightweight women's quadruple scull, with Jane Hall in the stroke seat, were always going to be tough to beat after their gold medal in Lucerne. They grabbed their chance to take a place in Sunday's finals by winning their heat ahead of the USA, the Netherlands and Myanmar.

Later in the morning the British men's eight, with Tom James subbing for an unwell Tom Parker, were also involved in the kind of scuffle which can make sport so cruel. Tucked in behind race leaders, Canada, for the majority of the race, they led Australia by half a length with 500m to go only to see their lead whittled away stroke by stroke with Australia getting their nose ahead for the first time with five strokes to go to the line.

The women's eight, with Leander's Lou Reeve in the 4 seat, were fourth in their heat, in which only heat winners Australia could progress direct to the final, and the eight now race in Wednesday's repechages. They will be joined there by the British men's quadruple scull, stroked by Ian Lawson, who pulled their way back up into third place in the latter half of their heat today from their fifth place at the 500m mark.

26 August: Leander's Anna Bebington, whose early season form was dented by injury, grabbed the headlines on the opening day in Munich when she and her partner Elise Laverick won their heat of the women's doubles and crossed the line ahead of Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell, the Olympic champions from New Zealand.

The British double, who finished fourth at their first regatta of the season in Lucerne six weeks ago, were clearly delighted to have won their heat, but were pragmatic about the strength of the opposition as the week progresses.

"That makes us pretty confident going in to the semi-final but we have to step up because we don't know if they are the crew we have to beat" said Anna after their race. The New Zealand twins, once thought invincible, could only manage bronze last year in Eton and were beaten by the Chinese double two months ago at the World Cup in Amsterdam.

For the GB men's four, with three Leander men on board, including Athens gold medallist Steve Williams, it was once again 'business as usual' after their shock defeat at the hands of the Dutch in Lucerne. France led the race to 1300m before the world champions gradually clawed back the deficit and drew level before taking the lead, with only the Irish determined to match their pace as the French faded rapidly into third. The British four crossed the line half a length ahead of Ireland and qualified direct for the semifinals.

According to Leander's Pete Reed the early lead by the French was not as surprising as it might have seemed.

"We expected the unexpected - Steve was clear and calm in his calls throughout the race today and that was a huge help, and with all the training we've put in, we're very positive" he said.

Earlier in the day Colin Smith and Matt Langridge came back in storming fashion after a disappointing Lucerne to win their heat of the men's pairs and book a place in Thursday's semifinals.

"Lucerne wasn't typical", said Langridge. "We didn't make any significant moves today but just kept up a fast race pace", added Smith.

The fourth British win of the day went to Matt Wells and Stephen Rowbotham in the men's double. A consistent presence on the world cup podium this year the Leander men were well ahead of the field at halfway and stayed there all the way to the line today.

"It's good to put down a marker", said Rowbotham after the race. "It was a good opener. This is a quality field and it's going to be tight racing from now on".

GB CREWS and RESULTS in MUNICH

(Non-Leander athletes in italics)

Grid numbers represent position in each round, >>>> indicates progression to next round

20 August : A total of 23 Leander athletes, sponsored by Invesco Perpetual, will compete at this year’s World Championships which open on Sunday for eight day’s top class competition in Munich.

Once again the club boasts the largest contingent among the GB squad in Germany, where the focus will be very firmly on those crews aiming to qualify for next year’s Olympics in Beijing.

The world champion men’s four, which includes three Leander men - Olympic gold medallist Steve Williams, Pete Reed and Alex Partridge – together with Molesey’s Andy Triggs Hodge, - will be looking to avenge their rare defeat at the hands of the Dutch in Lucerne but remain the best hope for a world title among the men’s heavyweight squad.

“It was a full-on race – it was what I was looking forward to” said Steve as he looked back on his crew’s first two defeats in 27 races.

New Zealand won their semifinal, and with their focus on the Kiwis the following day the Brits couldn’t shut the door on the Dutch challenge. Britain took the silver medal behind the Netherlands with New Zealand third.

“They were great races – they weren’t our races, but we would have missed something in our preparation if we hadn’t had them” said Steve.

The women’s quad scull, with Leander’s Debbie Flood on board, were awarded their gold medal five months late after crossing the line in second place behind the Russians last year in Eton. One member of the Russian quad had tested positive for a banned substance, leading to disqualification of the entire crew, so the crew received their gold medal midway through their winter training!

They started the season in promising fashion with a win at the first World Cup regatta of the season in Austria, but got their wake-up call when the promising Chinese crew beat them into second place three weeks later in Amsterdam. The British women won the third World Cup event in Switzerland, in the absence of the Chinese. The two crews will almost certainly be seeded to meet in the final at Munich in one of the most eagerly awaited races at the regatta.

“We had a much more positive race in Lucerne” said Debbie after her crew’s third medal of the season.

“We had a few problems in our preparation for Amsterdam – China is a very fast crew, and we’re looking to move on again in Munich” she said.

Leander captain Mark Hunter and his lightweight doubles partner Zac Purchase already have three podium places to their credit this season but face their main challenge in Munich from the unbeaten Danish world champions Mads Rasmussen and Rasmus Quist.

“Robin Williams (lightweight head coach) has lifted the whole of the group and we’re getting stronger with each race. The double is very competitive – Munich is going to be really exciting” said Mark before leaving for training camp in France.

“We opened up something in Lucerne by leading and we will take a lot of confidence from that. I’m sure Zac and I can come on  a lot more – we’ll be looking to get them [the Danes] and if we don’t do it this year we will definitely get them next year” he said.

Anna Bebington and her double sculls partner, Olympic bronze medallist Elise Laverick, have only had one race this year after an injury-prone start to the season. Fourth place in Lucerne matched their finishing position last year in Eton, but the main competition in Germany is sure to come from the Evers-Swindell twins, the Olympic champions from New Zealand.

All four athletes in the men’s pair and double scull are Leander-based. Matt Wells and Steve Rowbotham in the double, and  Colin Smith and Matt Langridge in the pair, opened their 2007 account in storming fashion with gold medals in Austria, but while the double has maintained its form the pair were disappointed in Lucerne where they failed to make the A final.

Leander’s Ian Lawson will stroke the GB men’s quad which will hope to finish in the top 11 and so qualify the boat for Beijing. With a top ceiling of just 550 athletes at next year’s Olympic regatta places are strictly limited in all 14 Olympic boat classes, and next week’s event offers the best chance of booking a place.

Three Leander athletes – Josh West, Tom Stallard and Rick Egington - take their place in the GB men’s eight in Munich, while in the women’s eight Lou Reeve moves back up the boat from stroke to the 4 seat as part of the selectors’ reshuffle to boost their performance.

Among the non-Olympic boat classes Under-23 bronze medallist Charlie Burkitt lost a last minute selection battle. leaving James Orme and Marcus Bateman to fly the Leander flag in the coxed four. Matt Beechey looks another likely medal prospect in the lightweight pair with Danny Harte, as does Jane Hall, who stroked the women’s lightweight quad to a gold medal last month in Lucerne.

ENDS