WORLD CUP REGATTA

Lucerne, Switzerland

13 - 15 July 2007

Report and photographs by

Leander Press Officer Robert Treharne Jones

15 July: Eleven Leander athletes, sponsored by Invesco Perpetual, were among ten British crews which won medals at the third World Cup regatta of the season in Lucerne. There were gold medals for Debbie Flood in the GB women's quadruple scull and Jane Hall in the lightweight women's quad, but an unexpected silver for Steve Williams and Pete Reed in the GB men's four, beaten to the line by the Netherlands.

It was very much 'business as usual' for the GB women's quad scull, with Leander's Debbie Flood in the 2 seat, when they took the gold medal ahead of Germany. The Chinese who took the gold medal at the last World Cup regatta in Amsterdam were absent from the Rotsee but the world champions made no doubt about the decisiveness of their victory. With a clear water advantage at 500m only Germany could maintain the pace, and despite a strong challenge at the finish the British women crossed the line almost two seconds ahead.

"It feels great - really good" said Debbie Flood after their win. "We went out to dominate, pushed all the way and relaxed into it. I felt confident with 500m to go but you can't let up until you cross the line and I just wanted to make sure we rowed well".

It was a different story for the GB men's four who had been beaten for the first time in 27 races in their semifinal. Despite charging off the start and leading the field at 500m it was New Zealand, winners of the semifinal, whohad the best middle race and took the lead at halfway. The British world champions responded well in the third third quarter and took back the lead, only to have the Netherlands come right through in the final stages, taking gold by 0.57 sec.

"It was a full-on race  - it was what I was looking forward to" said Steve Williams afterwards."We seemed to have control of the race until 1500m but we couldn't quite close the door".

The first Leander medals of the day went to Matt Wells and Steve Rowbotham who took the silver in the men's double behind Tonu Endrekson and Juri Jaanson of Estonia. After a slow start the GB double gained momentum and worked its way back through ther field, finishing with the same sort of boat speed that won them the gold medal six weeks ago in Linz. Luka Spik and Iztok Cop, the Slovenian Olympic champions, were third while the French world champions, Macquet and Hardy, were back in fifth.

"We had a good third 500m, but the Estonians had an exceptional one" said Rowbotham afterwards. "We must now draw confidence from what we've done this season and give it everything we can (for Munich)" he said.

In another tight finish Leander captain Mark Hunter and his partner Zac Purchase took the bronze medal behind Denmark and Hungary in the lightweight men's doubles. The British were first to the 500m mark before the Danish world champions took the lead at halfway, followed by Australia. In a very tight field at the finish Hunter and Purchase won the race for line ahead of Australia, as the fast-finishing Hungarians, former world champions in 2005, took silver.

"We've had our share of injuries so to come here and do this was really good" said Hunter afterwards. "At the finish we knew we were level (with the Australians) - then it was just sheer guts."

Anna Bebington and her double sculls partner Elise Laverick missed a medal by the narrowest possible margin in their first World Cup appearance of the season. After an excellent start behind the Olympic champion Evers-Swindell twins of New Zealand they were overhauled by the Germans, Christiane Huth and Peggy Waleska, at the halfway mark. Then Italy began to push ahead and despite a spirited finish with the British raising the rate for the line, they missed the bronze by just 0.01 sec behind the Italians.

In the non-Olympic events there was a gold medal for the lightweight women's quad, stroked by Leander's Jane Hall - her first world-class gold medal since the 1993 world championships in the Czech Republic, where she was a member of the GB lightweight women's four. There were silver medals for Matt Beechey in the lightweight men's pair and Vicky Myers in the British women's four, while Simon Jones and Dave Currie won bronze medals as members of the GB lightweight men's quad, fresh from their success last week in Henley.

The day had started with the B finals in which the GB men's quad scull with Leander's Ian Lawson in the stroke seat were first across the line to secure 7th place overall in the competition. After Belarus led the early stages with Canada running a close second the British crew rowed the fastest third split to bring them right back into second position. A sprint for the line, with Lawson rating 41, brought them past Canada to take the race within the last few strokes.

14 July: For the first time in more than two years the British world champion coxless four with Leander's Steve Williams and Pete Reed on board was beaten to the line in their semifinal by New Zealand, who severed an unbroken run of 27 victories for the GB men. Alex Partridge is currently out of the boat with a knee injury, and with Tom James on board they won the Stewards' last week at Henley. But a close look at yesterday's qualifying times determined that the New Zealanders would always be a major threat. Although Great Britain led to the 500m split the Kiwis rowed the fastest middle third of any boat in the field and had a clear third of a length advantage on the line. Both crews qualify for the final together with the third-placed Czech Republic.

It was better news for Anna Bebington and Elise Laverick, making their first World Cup appearance of the season after several weeks of recovery post-injury. They proved well up the race pace set by the Olympic champion Evers-Swindell sisters of New Zealand. Briefly passed for second place by the Americans, Jen Kaidoo and Ala Piotrowski, the British girls sprinted for the line at 39 strokes a minute to take second place just half a length down on New Zealand.

In the men's doubles semifinal Matt Wells and Steve Rowbotham drew the favoured centre lane alongside the French world champions, Jean-Baptiste Macquet and Adrien Hardy, who were first to the 500m mark by 0.37sec, with the British in second place. That was the way it stayed, with the French never able to breat free, all the way to the final 100m where Wells and Rowbotham raised the pressure to take the line by just 0.17 sec. Greece were the third crew to qualify for the final, more than four seconds astern.

Colin Smith and Matt Langridge were left trailing in fourth place at 500m after a blistering start by Poland in the men's pairs. As the experienced Australians Drew Ginn and Duncan Free moved through the field only France and Croatia could maintain the pace. The finishing sprint that the Leander men used to such good effect when gaining their gold medal in Austria six weeks ago failed to materialise and the pair finished fourth to qualify for tomorrow's B final.

13 July: Thirteen Leander athletes, sponsored by Invesco Perpetual, were among eleven British crews qualified direct for the next round at this morning's heats at the third World Cup regatta of the season in Lucerne

Double scullers Steve Rowbotham and Matt Wells were particularly impressive as they won their heat, but Leander captain Mark Hunter and his partner Zac Purchase in the lightweight double also won their heat in style. For the first time ever all three British lightweight boat in the Olympic boat categories won their heats. The GB men's eight, with four Leander athletes on board, also put in a solid performance to qualify for tomorrow's semi-finals after their bronze in Amsterdam three weeks ago while Anna Bebington, back from a knee injury, opened her racing season in the women's double with Elise Laverick and qualified for their semfinal tomorrow in second place.

The world champion men's four, with Tom James subbing for the injured Alex Partridge, cruised to vistory in their heat, but New Zealand posted an excellent time in the second heat to set up the chance of some high-pressure racing over the next two days. Colin Smith and Matt Langridge missed out on a direct place but made sure of their progression with an excellent first place in their repechage later in the afternoon.

For Leander's Debbie Flood in the 2 seat of the women's quad scull it was business as usual, especially as the Chinese who beat them to the line in Amsterdam are not in Lucerne. They won their heat in style to take a direct path to a place in Sunday's final, as did the men's lighweight pair - Matt Beechey and Danny Harte - and Simon Jones and Dave Currie in the men's lightweight quad coached by Leander's Rob Morgan.

For some athletes the regatta offers just one race - the number of entries in the women's eights, where the GB crew is stroked by Lou Reeve, and the women's lightweight quad, with Jane Hall on board, means that they will each race just a straight final on Sunday.

GB CREWS and RESULTS in LINZ

(Non-Leander athletes in italics)

ENDS