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Results in Polish regatta mean Canada will have eight boats competing in Beijing
Three more Canadian boats are bound for Beijing — as the women's eight, men's pair and lightweight men's double each qualified during the final day of a regatta in Poland on Wednesday. The women won their race in 6:15:37, with the Netherlands close behind (6:15:71) to also qualify. The Chinese suffered a third place defeat, coming in at 6:17:53, missing out on an Olympic berth. Belarus, New Zealand and Russia also failed to qualify. In a press release from Rowing Canada, crew member and 2004 Olympian Darcy Marquardt said, "I can remember at one point, Lesley, our coxswain, saying, ‘You're in third...but be confident, it's a long race.’ I could feel everyone in the crew relax and add just a little bit more per stroke — we were already surging at the halfway point for the finish line." Eight acting as one "We knew we had a strong finishing sprint from other races but you never want to rely on past performances. We stuck to our plan, stayed in our lane, and kept focused on each other. I think the idea of eight acting as one and keeping our heads was a huge part of our result today.” The women’s eight are Jane Rumball of Fredericton, N.B.; Marquardt of Richmond, B.C.; Buffy Williams of St. Catharines, Ont.; Romina Stefancic of Victoria; Ashley Brzozowicz of Toronto; Sarah Bonikowsky of Orangeville, Ont.; Andréanne Morin of Montreal; Heather Mandoli of Kelowna, B.C.; and Lesley Thompson-Willie of London, Ont. "Today we went out to execute our race plan. We were internally focused on our task at hand and tried to not think about the outcome until after crossing the finish line," Morin told Rowing Canada. "It was about capturing the moment, focusing on one stroke at a time. We accomplished just that, it paid off right to the last few strokes. We will enjoy this moment and celebrate a bit today, but tomorrow we are back to business, training and preparing for the world cup regatta [also in Poznan, Poland] this weekend." The men's pair dominated at this event, winning each race including Wednesday’s final. Scott Frandsen of Kelowna, B.C. and Dave Calder of Victoria won in 6:44:28, with Italy capturing the second Olympic spot in 6:46:62. "We are relieved to have won," Frandsen said. Competing in the Olympics will be familiar to both Fransden and Calder. In Athens 2004, Frandsen was part of the eight that finished a disappointing fifth place. Calder was part of the pair that was disqualified. With their victory on Wednesday, and first place results at a recent world cup in Switzerland, Beijing looks promising. The lightweight men’s double are also going to Beijing after Wednesday’s performance, but not without a bit of luck. Douglas Vandor of Dewittville, Que., and Cameron Sylvester of Caledon, Ont., came third in their event at 6:30:37. This qualifies them to go to China, as it was announced earlier in the week that the top three of their race would make it to the Olympics. New Zealand won the race (6:26:88) and Portugal came second (6:29:46). The Czech Republic nearly caught the Canadians but came in 6:30:73, putting them in fourth place and out of the Olympics. Pays dividends "Overall it was a good race and we qualified,” said Sylvester. “The theme has been not to take any other crews lightly and it paid dividends today. We kept on pushing through and it was close at the end." It was close, but disappointing, for two of Canada's other crews. The men's four was third, losing to a second-place Chinese boat by just over a second. The men's quad came fourth. Only the top two boats in these races earned spots for Beijing. Canada now has boats in eight Olympic events: men's eight, women's eight, women's quad, lightweight men's four, men's pair, women's pair, lightweight men's double, and lightweight women's double. "We are very proud of the performances of the Canadian crews today in Poland," said Rowing Canada's Phil Monckton "Not only did the three crews qualify for the Olympics, but they are showing speed that really bodes well for our chances at the Games.” Rowing Canada's nominations to the Canadian Olympic Committee will be made on June 24. |
| Canadian rowers dazzle in regatta |
June 18, 2008
