NZ crews face challenges from all angles
Day four at Worlds in China a test of head and hearts.
It was a test of wits and a battle of wills for the three New Zealand crews out on the waters of Lake Dianshan at the World Rowing Championships in Shanghai, on a day when only two of the Kiwi boats got to race.
The first semifinal of the Men's Double Sculls was about to get going at 11.11am local time (3.11pm NZT) when a change of course conditions prompted a lane re-allocation. It was no simple reshuffle, though, with officials working out the fairest way to seed the crews. New Zealand's Ben Mason and Finn Hamill were caught in the uncertainty, sitting in the wait zone for the second semifinal.
The re-organisation appeared to affect the timing system, which only further complicated things. Forty minutes later, officials postponed racing, some until the afternoon and in the case of the Doubles semifinals, they'll be back, same time, same place tomorrow morning.
Only minutes earlier Logan Ullrich had been contesting his quarterfinal of the Men's Single Sculls, needing all his wits and will in a dogfight for one of the three available semifinal spots.
Logan was third through the first 500m, behind neutral athlete and Olympic silver medallist Yauheni Zalaty and Romania's Mihai Chiruta, with Croatia's David Sain also piling on the pressure.
Logan had moved into second through the 1000m, just under two seconds down on Zalaty but having to cover the challenge of the Romanian and Croatian.
A cool head's needed in a tight spot, especially if the Romanian's prepared to crank it to 38spm with 800m to go.
Logan held his nerve (at 34spm), and held them off.
"My race plan was pretty much unaffected by the other boats until about the last 500," says Logan. "Then I had to kind of make decisions about how much I push."
It was a tactical win and mission accomplished. Zalaty winning in 7min 11.20sec, Logan was second in 7.14.01.
"It was good to just qualify, that was the only goal," says Logan. "It's going to be a big semifinal, so now it's about trying to get recovered and ready for that."
Our Men's Single sculler Logan Ullrich crossed the line second in his quarter-final with a time of 7.14.01. Logan will race in the semi-final on Friday.
The Men's Four was the first event out of the gate when racing resumed in the afternoon.
Six weeks ago, Matt Dunham was out riding his retired racehorse Hangabout when he got the call from Zack Rumble asking if he'd consider coming out of flat-water rowing retirement.
The crew had just had the devastating news that Josh Vodanovich had to withdraw because of a medical condition. There was the very real chance Zack, stroke Flynn Eliadis-Watson and Campbell Crouch were going to have to withdraw from the World Championships altogether.
Just a few days later, Matt was back in the saddle on Lake Karapiro, his coastal rowing commitments had kept him fit, but 2000m race fit?
Well, once a racehorse, always a racehorse.
Matt, 31, turned back the clock with his new crewmates in a semifinal that included European champions Romania, and the in-form Lithuanian, French and Italian boats.
" Everyone went out like cut cats at the start," says Matt. "But even still, we were having a good start relative to Romania from how we went in the heat."
Despite that, New Zealand was down three seconds on the leading boats and in fifth place at the 500m.
"Then we hit a really solid middle and we just stepped out there to put ourselves in the race, which we needed to do."
New Zealand crews pride themselves on their third 500m, and there was a real sense of belief as they passed through the 1500m in third.
"I really felt like we'd made it, like we were going to get there," says Matt. "We had some serious speed and then those other crews somehow found another gear and managed to shoot through us right at the very end."
Lithuania crossed first in 5.54.75, Romania was second in 5.56.53, France third in 5.56.94, New Zealand fourth in 5.57.94.
Considering events of the past six weeks, it was a huge performance from the crew, says Matt.
"The boys are so unfortunate to not make it into the final, but we can't be too upset because that was such a good race and such a good step up from the crew."
They now race the B Final on Friday, a race that includes Croatia's triple Olympic-champion Sinkovic brothers and Paris 2024 gold medallists the USA. That's how good the field is in the Men's Four.
The Men's Four of Flynn Eliadis-Watson (stroke), Campbell Crouch, Zack Rumble and Matt Dunham were fourth in their semi-final.
New Zealand Crews in Action Thursday Sept 25
3.21pm (NZT) Ben Mason, Finn Hamill in Semifinal 2 of the Men's Double Sculls.
6.44pm (NZT) Ben Taylor, Oliver Welch in the A Final of the Men's Pair.
6.58pm (NZT) Veronica Wall, Stella Clayton-Greene, Kathryn Glen, Ella Cossill in the A Final of the Women's Quadruple Sculls.
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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NZ crews face challenges from all angles
Day four at Worlds in China a test of head and hearts.
It was a test of wits and a battle of wills for the three New Zealand crews out on the waters of Lake Dianshan at the World Rowing Championships in Shanghai, on a day when only two of the Kiwi boats got to race.
The first semifinal of the Men's Double Sculls was about to get going at 11.11am local time (3.11pm NZT) when a change of course conditions prompted a lane re-allocation. It was no simple reshuffle, though, with officials working out the fairest way to seed the crews. New Zealand's Ben Mason and Finn Hamill were caught in the uncertainty, sitting in the wait zone for the second semifinal.
The re-organisation appeared to affect the timing system, which only further complicated things. Forty minutes later, officials postponed racing, some until the afternoon and in the case of the Doubles semifinals, they'll be back, same time, same place tomorrow morning.
Only minutes earlier Logan Ullrich had been contesting his quarterfinal of the Men's Single Sculls, needing all his wits and will in a dogfight for one of the three available semifinal spots.
Logan was third through the first 500m, behind neutral athlete and Olympic silver medallist Yauheni Zalaty and Romania's Mihai Chiruta, with Croatia's David Sain also piling on the pressure.
Logan had moved into second through the 1000m, just under two seconds down on Zalaty but having to cover the challenge of the Romanian and Croatian.
A cool head's needed in a tight spot, especially if the Romanian's prepared to crank it to 38spm with 800m to go.
Logan held his nerve (at 34spm), and held them off.
"My race plan was pretty much unaffected by the other boats until about the last 500," says Logan. "Then I had to kind of make decisions about how much I push."
It was a tactical win and mission accomplished. Zalaty winning in 7min 11.20sec, Logan was second in 7.14.01.
"It was good to just qualify, that was the only goal," says Logan. "It's going to be a big semifinal, so now it's about trying to get recovered and ready for that."
Our Men's Single sculler Logan Ullrich crossed the line second in his quarter-final with a time of 7.14.01. Logan will race in the semi-final on Friday.
The Men's Four was the first event out of the gate when racing resumed in the afternoon.
Six weeks ago, Matt Dunham was out riding his retired racehorse Hangabout when he got the call from Zack Rumble asking if he'd consider coming out of flat-water rowing retirement.
The crew had just had the devastating news that Josh Vodanovich had to withdraw because of a medical condition. There was the very real chance Zack, stroke Flynn Eliadis-Watson and Campbell Crouch were going to have to withdraw from the World Championships altogether.
Just a few days later, Matt was back in the saddle on Lake Karapiro, his coastal rowing commitments had kept him fit, but 2000m race fit?
Well, once a racehorse, always a racehorse.
Matt, 31, turned back the clock with his new crewmates in a semifinal that included European champions Romania, and the in-form Lithuanian, French and Italian boats.
" Everyone went out like cut cats at the start," says Matt. "But even still, we were having a good start relative to Romania from how we went in the heat."
Despite that, New Zealand was down three seconds on the leading boats and in fifth place at the 500m.
"Then we hit a really solid middle and we just stepped out there to put ourselves in the race, which we needed to do."
New Zealand crews pride themselves on their third 500m, and there was a real sense of belief as they passed through the 1500m in third.
"I really felt like we'd made it, like we were going to get there," says Matt. "We had some serious speed and then those other crews somehow found another gear and managed to shoot through us right at the very end."
Lithuania crossed first in 5.54.75, Romania was second in 5.56.53, France third in 5.56.94, New Zealand fourth in 5.57.94.
Considering events of the past six weeks, it was a huge performance from the crew, says Matt.
"The boys are so unfortunate to not make it into the final, but we can't be too upset because that was such a good race and such a good step up from the crew."
They now race the B Final on Friday, a race that includes Croatia's triple Olympic-champion Sinkovic brothers and Paris 2024 gold medallists the USA. That's how good the field is in the Men's Four.
The Men's Four of Flynn Eliadis-Watson (stroke), Campbell Crouch, Zack Rumble and Matt Dunham were fourth in their semi-final.
New Zealand Crews in Action Thursday Sept 25
3.21pm (NZT) Ben Mason, Finn Hamill in Semifinal 2 of the Men's Double Sculls.
6.44pm (NZT) Ben Taylor, Oliver Welch in the A Final of the Men's Pair.
6.58pm (NZT) Veronica Wall, Stella Clayton-Greene, Kathryn Glen, Ella Cossill in the A Final of the Women's Quadruple Sculls.
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.
