Win in lightweight double sculls highlights the day

June 22, 2008

Olympic-bound Canadian women won gold in the lightweight double and silver in the eights Sunday at a World Cup rowing event at Poznan, Poland.

Tracy Cameron of Shubenacadie, N.S., and Melanie Kok of St. Catharines, Ont., posted a decisive victory in the lightweight double with a time of seven minutes 27.23 seconds.

Germans Berit Carow and Marie-Louise Draeger were second in 7:29.51 while reigning world champions Amber Halliday and Marguerite Houston of Australia took bronze in 7:29.80.

"We were building momentum with every start, and the win today was certainly a nice way to wrap up the World Cup circuit," said Cameron, who teamed with Kok for a bronze at the Lucerne World Cup earlier this month.

"However, we will be returning to Canada with even more focus and together we have a lot of ideas on how we can still improve.

"We know that at the Olympics other crews will be stepping up their game."

The women's eight, meanwhile, finished second to Romania in a photo-finish. Romania clocked 6:22.74, followed by Canada in 6:22.75, and Britain in 6:23.77.

"This was a first for me [a photo-finish]," said stroke Jane Rumball of Fredericton. "It was a very internal race.… I knew it was very close, but Lesley [Thompson-Willie, the coxswain from London, Ont.] kept us focused."

Also on the eight squad: Darcy Marquardt of Richmond, B.C., Buffy Williams of St. Catharines, Romina Stefancic of Victoria, Ashley Brzozowicz of Toronto, Sarah Bonikowsky of Orangeville, Ont., Andreanne Morin of Montreal, and Heather Mandoli of Kelowna, B.C.

"This worked out to be a good scenario for our crew — to qualify earlier this week and then keep the momentum up for racing at the World Cup definitely worked well for us," said Williams, a veteran of two Olympics.

"Between Lucerne, the qualifier and World Cup, we've seen all the crews that will be at the Olympics at least once."

Sabrina Kolker of West Vancouver and Kaylan Vander Schilden of Victoria were fourth in the women's pair at 7:39.47. Germany won decisively in 7:25.94, with New Zealand in second in 7:31.09 and Romania in third in 7:33.59.

In the women's double, Janine Hanson of Winnipeg and Krista Guloien of Port Moody, B.C., were fifth in 7:25.37.