Small moments count for heaps on Golden Beach
New Zealand crews put to the test on final day of Beach Sprint Worlds.
The unpredictability of coastal rowing hit home for the New Zealand crews on the final day of the World Beach Sprint championships in Qingdao, China.
New Zealand had seven crews competing at the regatta, all but two making the knockout stages.
It was clear Erin James has been doing the work on the sand in her and Seb Fulton's round of 16 knockout in the Mixed Double.
Erin turned 40 in May but stole metres out of her Polish opponent in the sprint to the boat. No one was more in awe than Seb, watching from the bow seat waiting to get going.
"We've been doing quite a lot of training for the sprint," says Seb. "Erin and I were pretty confident on the sand but her sprint's been phenomenal. Graceful almost!"
That set the New Zealanders up for an early lead which they maintained well into the sprint for home. But just metres from the shore it unravelled in a few short seconds.
"We were on a bit of a wave coming in and the boat started to turn," says Seb. “So I said to Erin, 'Let's start pulling on our right oars to correct it'. We were correcting it and then the water surged on us and just caught the boat and took it away. Erin's blade got caught in the water and it was all downhill from there."
The Poles were first to the beach and there was just two seconds in it at the end, Poland finishing in 2:31.34, Erin and Seb in 2:33.37.
"It's my first time racing at worlds and although I would've hoped to have done better, I'm stoked to be here and row for my country," says Seb. "Hopefully I can stick around for a bit longer and get some more experience and continue to go faster and go better."
Erin James and Seb Fulton racing in their agonisingly close knockout in their mixed Coastal double.
Sophie Harrison and Henry Johnston also had a round of 16 knockout in the U19 Mixed Double and suffered a similar fate on the run-in to the beach as they chased hard to make up the gap against Italy.
"We were drifting off a bit to the left and pulling hard on the left oars to get the boat pointing towards our handler Joe on the beach," says Henry. "We started getting up on a wave and got spun over to the right, so we had to try and get back, and got spun again."
It cost valuable time and momentum, Italy winning in 2:37.52. Henry stopped the clock at 2:50.23.
Sophie Harrison and Henry Johnston racing in their U19 Mixed Coastal Double Knockout.
Arthur Crimmins powered his way straight to the knockouts yesterday setting him up for a quarter-final against France.
He didn't try to force the boat through the waves off the start and got himself into a good position heading for the turn. He was slightly off course after coming round the buoy but threw in a massive shift on the run-in to win in 2:59.94.
That put him into a semifinal against Greece's Iason Mouselimis, the flatwater champion in the single at the U19 Worlds this year. Arthur trailed by just over a length at the turn then got snagged in a trough coming in, to finish in 3:10.47, five seconds back.
China took the bronze-medal race in 2:56.55, Arthur finishing in 3:08.36.
"Obviously I'm a little bit disappointed, I was trying to come back with some jewellery, but that didn't happen," says Arthur. "But I'm going to take it in my stride, use the experience and hopefully apply it to future rowing endeavours…like I can apply it even to nationals, just being in a different place and competing there."
Yesterday he was just one of 24 hopefuls. He now leaves Qingdao ranked number four in the world.
Arthur Crimmins, fourth in the world in the U19 Men's Coastal Solo.
New Zealand's day started with Guy Smith and Leo Bacchus in a quarter-final of the U19 Men's Double against top seeds China.
They got a great start, "nailed" the first and second buoys "perfectly" but a small error going into the turn cost them big-time.
"We were maybe a boat length behind going into it," says Leo. "Then we missed a wave because we weren't turned quick enough. The Chinese were already blitzing it…they made three boat lengths on us which was crazy because it wasn't that bad of a turn."
China finished in 2:23.55, New Zealand in 2:28.63. A top-eight finish and being knocked out by the eventual champions makes their result seem even more positive.
Guy Smith and Leo Bacchus in their quarter-final of the U19 Coastal Men's Double.
Tallulah Kubaisi-Gallagher and Elizabeth Keddell also drew China in their quarter-final of the U19 Women's Double, and their opponents were just as tough.
"They were just powerhouses, those girls," says Elizabeth.
The different shaped marker buoys at the turn have taken a bit of getting used to.
"We weren't quite ready for the pencil buoy quick turn," says Elizabeth. "We were kind of in the mentality of a box course still."
China finished in 2:54.44, New Zealand in 3:06.41.
China went on to claim the silver medal behind Great Britain.
Tallulah and Elizabeth hope this won't be the end of their combo.
"We have next year to try again, we're both young enough," says Tallulah. "I'll just keep doing all the coastal rowing I can."
Tallulah Kubaisi-Gallagher and Elizabeth Keddell in their quarter-final of the U19 Coastal Women's Double.
Andy Hay
Andy Hay is a New Zealand Olympian (#446), former world-champion coxswain, Maadi Cup-winning coach, and freelance writer/producer who regularly covers stories for Rowing New Zealand.
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Small moments count for heaps on Golden Beach
New Zealand crews put to the test on final day of Beach Sprint Worlds.
The unpredictability of coastal rowing hit home for the New Zealand crews on the final day of the World Beach Sprint championships in Qingdao, China.
New Zealand had seven crews competing at the regatta, all but two making the knockout stages.
It was clear Erin James has been doing the work on the sand in her and Seb Fulton's round of 16 knockout in the Mixed Double.
Erin turned 40 in May but stole metres out of her Polish opponent in the sprint to the boat. No one was more in awe than Seb, watching from the bow seat waiting to get going.
"We've been doing quite a lot of training for the sprint," says Seb. "Erin and I were pretty confident on the sand but her sprint's been phenomenal. Graceful almost!"
That set the New Zealanders up for an early lead which they maintained well into the sprint for home. But just metres from the shore it unravelled in a few short seconds.
"We were on a bit of a wave coming in and the boat started to turn," says Seb. “So I said to Erin, 'Let's start pulling on our right oars to correct it'. We were correcting it and then the water surged on us and just caught the boat and took it away. Erin's blade got caught in the water and it was all downhill from there."
The Poles were first to the beach and there was just two seconds in it at the end, Poland finishing in 2:31.34, Erin and Seb in 2:33.37.
"It's my first time racing at worlds and although I would've hoped to have done better, I'm stoked to be here and row for my country," says Seb. "Hopefully I can stick around for a bit longer and get some more experience and continue to go faster and go better."
Erin James and Seb Fulton racing in their agonisingly close knockout in their mixed Coastal double.
Sophie Harrison and Henry Johnston also had a round of 16 knockout in the U19 Mixed Double and suffered a similar fate on the run-in to the beach as they chased hard to make up the gap against Italy.
"We were drifting off a bit to the left and pulling hard on the left oars to get the boat pointing towards our handler Joe on the beach," says Henry. "We started getting up on a wave and got spun over to the right, so we had to try and get back, and got spun again."
It cost valuable time and momentum, Italy winning in 2:37.52. Henry stopped the clock at 2:50.23.
Sophie Harrison and Henry Johnston racing in their U19 Mixed Coastal Double Knockout.
Arthur Crimmins powered his way straight to the knockouts yesterday setting him up for a quarter-final against France.
He didn't try to force the boat through the waves off the start and got himself into a good position heading for the turn. He was slightly off course after coming round the buoy but threw in a massive shift on the run-in to win in 2:59.94.
That put him into a semifinal against Greece's Iason Mouselimis, the flatwater champion in the single at the U19 Worlds this year. Arthur trailed by just over a length at the turn then got snagged in a trough coming in, to finish in 3:10.47, five seconds back.
China took the bronze-medal race in 2:56.55, Arthur finishing in 3:08.36.
"Obviously I'm a little bit disappointed, I was trying to come back with some jewellery, but that didn't happen," says Arthur. "But I'm going to take it in my stride, use the experience and hopefully apply it to future rowing endeavours…like I can apply it even to nationals, just being in a different place and competing there."
Yesterday he was just one of 24 hopefuls. He now leaves Qingdao ranked number four in the world.
Arthur Crimmins, fourth in the world in the U19 Men's Coastal Solo.
New Zealand's day started with Guy Smith and Leo Bacchus in a quarter-final of the U19 Men's Double against top seeds China.
They got a great start, "nailed" the first and second buoys "perfectly" but a small error going into the turn cost them big-time.
"We were maybe a boat length behind going into it," says Leo. "Then we missed a wave because we weren't turned quick enough. The Chinese were already blitzing it…they made three boat lengths on us which was crazy because it wasn't that bad of a turn."
China finished in 2:23.55, New Zealand in 2:28.63. A top-eight finish and being knocked out by the eventual champions makes their result seem even more positive.
Guy Smith and Leo Bacchus in their quarter-final of the U19 Coastal Men's Double.
Tallulah Kubaisi-Gallagher and Elizabeth Keddell also drew China in their quarter-final of the U19 Women's Double, and their opponents were just as tough.
"They were just powerhouses, those girls," says Elizabeth.
The different shaped marker buoys at the turn have taken a bit of getting used to.
"We weren't quite ready for the pencil buoy quick turn," says Elizabeth. "We were kind of in the mentality of a box course still."
China finished in 2:54.44, New Zealand in 3:06.41.
China went on to claim the silver medal behind Great Britain.
Tallulah and Elizabeth hope this won't be the end of their combo.
"We have next year to try again, we're both young enough," says Tallulah. "I'll just keep doing all the coastal rowing I can."
Tallulah Kubaisi-Gallagher and Elizabeth Keddell in their quarter-final of the U19 Coastal Women's Double.
Andy Hay
Andy Hay is a New Zealand Olympian (#446), former world-champion coxswain, Maadi Cup-winning coach, and freelance writer/producer who regularly covers stories for Rowing New Zealand.
