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Affirmative action from Kiwi crews at U19 Worlds
All four New Zealand boats remain in A-Final contention after opening day in Bulgaria.
The New Zealand U19 squad's kicked off the World Championships in style at the Plovdiv course in Bulgaria.
All four crews advanced to the semifinals comfortably, and there was a noticeable strategy in the way they raced.
”Almost every one of our boats was the fastest in their races between 500 and 1500,” says coach Mark Clemo. “That was probably the biggest positive, middle one K speed.”
Charlie Manser and Aidan Bennett were up in the opening race for the Men's Double Sculls and set the tone for the rest to follow.
They started well and built boat speed impressively through the opening 400m to trail Poland by less than a length.
The Kiwis built on that promising boat speed as crews moved to rhythm in the second five hundred and were just 0.53 seconds down on the Polish boat at 1000m.
Again, they were able to maintain boat speed through the third 500m, taking the lead at 1200m and never looking back. Poland drifted off the pace as Great Britain built for a sprint over the last 200m.
It was a near flawless performance from Charlie and Aidan, who recorded the fastest time across the six heats (by nearly five seconds) in 6min 23.90sec. They were 2.03s up on Great Britain in second, both crews qualifying automatically for the quarter-finals which would bookend the day.
Charlie Manser and Aidan Bennett were up in the opening race for the Men's Double Sculls and set the tone for the rest to follow.
The rest of the squad’s races were spread across the day, with Eleri Clare and Zara Blackie up next in heat four of the Women's Double Sculls.
They had a powerful start and trailed Greece, which won bronze at the European U19s in May, by just over a second. But again New Zealand showed a real intention to work the second five hundred and they led through halfway with Greece just 0.08s back.
Eleri and Zara extended just slightly to lead through the 1500m but were beaten to the line by a fast-charging Italy (7:14.22) then Greece (7:15.44), who went straight through to the semifinals and produced the fastest heat time.
Eleri and Zara were just 0.55s back on Greece and their time (7:15.99) put them comfortably through to the semifinals.
Eleri Clare and Zara Blackie comfortably made it through to the semis in the Women's Double Sculls.
Charlotte Mawston, Georgia Kendrick, Charlotte Gorman and Jess Walkinshaw were also convincing in heat two of the Women's Four, finishing second to qualify automatically for the semifinals.
New Zealand had Great Britain alongside them in heat one and they provided a perfect benchmark throughout, with one of their athletes back from the crew that won a silver medal at last year's U19 Worlds.
It was the Brits who led out with Germany but New Zealand had edged into second by the 750m mark, still up at 38spm. GB were striding along at 34 and had a 2.45s lead over the Kiwi boat at the 1000m.
There was no let up from the New Zealand boat through the third 500m, still rating 38 and staying in touch with GB, who went through the 1500m 4.50s ahead.
That pattern continued through to the finish, with GB crossing in 7:04.88 and New Zealand in 7:10.28.
Romania recorded the quickest time in heat three to win in 6:55.96. The USA won heat two in 7:00.73. On that form, the semifinals are going to be intensely competitive and winning a spot in the A final will be a big achievement in itself.
Charlotte Mawston, Georgia Kendrick, Charlotte Gorman and Jess Walkinshaw were convincing in heat two of the Women's Four, finishing second to qualify automatically for the semifinals.
Charlie Field, Sam Bird, Alex Walters and George Langley had a similar race against France in heat two of the Men's Four, but this time with the roles reversed and New Zealand leading for most of the race.
France would also provide a benchmark, with three of the crew back from the boat that won bronze at the Euros.
"They came third at the European Championships and they've looked good in training," says George. "We knew they were going to be fast so we just went out there to try and execute the best race we could and we almost did that. Got a few points to build on but pretty happy with the race."
New Zealand led through the first half of the race, going through the 1000m in 3:06.29, nearly a length up on the French. The gap was similar at the 1500m mark before the French launched a huge challenge in the final 200m to win in 6:19.36. New Zealand was second and straight through to the semifinals in 6:20.06.
Charlie Field, Sam Bird, Alex Walters and George Langley were second in heat two of the Men's Four and straight through to the semifinals in 6:20.06.
The four crews now had to wait for the Men's Double to head back up to the start for their quarterfinal.
The mood was good.
"The squad's really happy with their performances," says Sam. "All of us know some improvement points we want to iron out for the next races, but we're really happy with what we've put down for the first race."
The mood was even better once Charlie and Aiden got going in the first quarter-final. They got off the start in a strong position and started getting their bow in front from about the 250m mark. The New Zealand boat went through the 500m 1.17s up on Ireland and were onto a comfortable rhythm at 35spm. New Zealand charged through the 1000m with clearwater and still underrating the rest of the field.
New Zealand was well clear at 1500m as a three-way battle for the final two semifinal spots developed between Ireland, Norway and Chile. Up ahead New Zealand was staying out of trouble and able to control the race, crossing in 6:35.72. Ireland was second (6:38.65) and Norway third (6:40.64).
“The phrase that I'm using with the guys is, ‘Go to work in the middle one K’,” says Mark.
Go to work they did.
Job done on day one.
New Zealand crews racing tonight NZT:
Women's Double, semifinal 2, 8.20pm.
Men's Double, semifinal 1, 8.25pm.
Women's Four, semifinal 2, 8.42pm.
Men's Four, semifinal 1, 8.47pm.
Andy Hay
Andy Hay is a freelance producer, writer and Maadi Cup-winning coach. He was cox of the world champion New Zealand eight of 1982 and '83. He is NZ Olympian #446.
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Affirmative action from Kiwi crews at U19 Worlds
All four New Zealand boats remain in A-Final contention after opening day in Bulgaria.
The New Zealand U19 squad's kicked off the World Championships in style at the Plovdiv course in Bulgaria.
All four crews advanced to the semifinals comfortably, and there was a noticeable strategy in the way they raced.
”Almost every one of our boats was the fastest in their races between 500 and 1500,” says coach Mark Clemo. “That was probably the biggest positive, middle one K speed.”
Charlie Manser and Aidan Bennett were up in the opening race for the Men's Double Sculls and set the tone for the rest to follow.
They started well and built boat speed impressively through the opening 400m to trail Poland by less than a length.
The Kiwis built on that promising boat speed as crews moved to rhythm in the second five hundred and were just 0.53 seconds down on the Polish boat at 1000m.
Again, they were able to maintain boat speed through the third 500m, taking the lead at 1200m and never looking back. Poland drifted off the pace as Great Britain built for a sprint over the last 200m.
It was a near flawless performance from Charlie and Aidan, who recorded the fastest time across the six heats (by nearly five seconds) in 6min 23.90sec. They were 2.03s up on Great Britain in second, both crews qualifying automatically for the quarter-finals which would bookend the day.
Charlie Manser and Aidan Bennett were up in the opening race for the Men's Double Sculls and set the tone for the rest to follow.
The rest of the squad’s races were spread across the day, with Eleri Clare and Zara Blackie up next in heat four of the Women's Double Sculls.
They had a powerful start and trailed Greece, which won bronze at the European U19s in May, by just over a second. But again New Zealand showed a real intention to work the second five hundred and they led through halfway with Greece just 0.08s back.
Eleri and Zara extended just slightly to lead through the 1500m but were beaten to the line by a fast-charging Italy (7:14.22) then Greece (7:15.44), who went straight through to the semifinals and produced the fastest heat time.
Eleri and Zara were just 0.55s back on Greece and their time (7:15.99) put them comfortably through to the semifinals.
Eleri Clare and Zara Blackie comfortably made it through to the semis in the Women's Double Sculls.
Charlotte Mawston, Georgia Kendrick, Charlotte Gorman and Jess Walkinshaw were also convincing in heat two of the Women's Four, finishing second to qualify automatically for the semifinals.
New Zealand had Great Britain alongside them in heat one and they provided a perfect benchmark throughout, with one of their athletes back from the crew that won a silver medal at last year's U19 Worlds.
It was the Brits who led out with Germany but New Zealand had edged into second by the 750m mark, still up at 38spm. GB were striding along at 34 and had a 2.45s lead over the Kiwi boat at the 1000m.
There was no let up from the New Zealand boat through the third 500m, still rating 38 and staying in touch with GB, who went through the 1500m 4.50s ahead.
That pattern continued through to the finish, with GB crossing in 7:04.88 and New Zealand in 7:10.28.
Romania recorded the quickest time in heat three to win in 6:55.96. The USA won heat two in 7:00.73. On that form, the semifinals are going to be intensely competitive and winning a spot in the A final will be a big achievement in itself.
Charlotte Mawston, Georgia Kendrick, Charlotte Gorman and Jess Walkinshaw were convincing in heat two of the Women's Four, finishing second to qualify automatically for the semifinals.
Charlie Field, Sam Bird, Alex Walters and George Langley had a similar race against France in heat two of the Men's Four, but this time with the roles reversed and New Zealand leading for most of the race.
France would also provide a benchmark, with three of the crew back from the boat that won bronze at the Euros.
"They came third at the European Championships and they've looked good in training," says George. "We knew they were going to be fast so we just went out there to try and execute the best race we could and we almost did that. Got a few points to build on but pretty happy with the race."
New Zealand led through the first half of the race, going through the 1000m in 3:06.29, nearly a length up on the French. The gap was similar at the 1500m mark before the French launched a huge challenge in the final 200m to win in 6:19.36. New Zealand was second and straight through to the semifinals in 6:20.06.
Charlie Field, Sam Bird, Alex Walters and George Langley were second in heat two of the Men's Four and straight through to the semifinals in 6:20.06.
The four crews now had to wait for the Men's Double to head back up to the start for their quarterfinal.
The mood was good.
"The squad's really happy with their performances," says Sam. "All of us know some improvement points we want to iron out for the next races, but we're really happy with what we've put down for the first race."
The mood was even better once Charlie and Aiden got going in the first quarter-final. They got off the start in a strong position and started getting their bow in front from about the 250m mark. The New Zealand boat went through the 500m 1.17s up on Ireland and were onto a comfortable rhythm at 35spm. New Zealand charged through the 1000m with clearwater and still underrating the rest of the field.
New Zealand was well clear at 1500m as a three-way battle for the final two semifinal spots developed between Ireland, Norway and Chile. Up ahead New Zealand was staying out of trouble and able to control the race, crossing in 6:35.72. Ireland was second (6:38.65) and Norway third (6:40.64).
“The phrase that I'm using with the guys is, ‘Go to work in the middle one K’,” says Mark.
Go to work they did.
Job done on day one.
New Zealand crews racing tonight NZT:
Women's Double, semifinal 2, 8.20pm.
Men's Double, semifinal 1, 8.25pm.
Women's Four, semifinal 2, 8.42pm.
Men's Four, semifinal 1, 8.47pm.
Andy Hay
Andy Hay is a freelance producer, writer and Maadi Cup-winning coach. He was cox of the world champion New Zealand eight of 1982 and '83. He is NZ Olympian #446.
