Ben Taylor and Oliver Welch justified their world champion status in Seville yesterday, but for the other seven New Zealand crews on day one of the World Cup regatta in Spain, the opening day proved just how thin the margins have become at the highest level of rowing.
New Zealand sent eight boats across to compete, and five made it through to either A Finals or semifinals. Yet even that solid result masks a season that will demand near-perfect execution every time the athletes push off from the dock.
Taylor and Welch had the day’s most convincing performance. Racing mostly untested opposition in a five-boat heat, the pair won by over two lengths with a time of 6:36.39. “Good start for us, good to blow the lungs out a little bit,” Welch said afterwards. “We’ve spent quite a bit of time since January in the pair so it’s good to get out there and do a bit of racing.” They posted the fastest heat time and will race the semifinals tonight.
The Women’s Pair offered a different kind of interest. Katie Lush made her international return after seven years away, pairing with Juliette Lequeux, who won two bronze medals at last year’s world championships in the Women’s Four and Mixed Eight. Up against the experienced Abraham sisters from Chile, they finished fourth in 7:30.12 but scraped through to the semis. “As a new combo we obviously went out to do our best,” Lush reflected. “You’ve got to be really in your boat and figure out how you are going to go fast. Towards the end of the race, we felt that our sprint does get us moving so it’s cool to see parts of our race coming together.”
Ben Mason and Finn Hamill’s Men’s Double Sculls faced last year’s world champions from Poland and came unstuck. Fourth in their heat behind Portugal, they found themselves ranked 14th overall despite finishing just five or six seconds behind first place. “I think we were a little bit disappointed with today’s race,” Mason said. “Obviously we had some good success last season, so we’ve built up a high expectation on ourselves. Every second can cost you so much in this field, you have to be on your game every day.”
Eva Hofmans and Sophie Egnot-Johnson couldn’t have asked for tougher luck in the Women’s Double. Both making senior debuts, they found themselves lined up next to Romania’s Ancuta Bodnar and Simona Radis. The Romanians, widely regarded as the best female rower in the world, won convincingly in 7:04.08. Hofmans and Egnot-Johnson were fifth in 7:19.21.
Where New Zealand found stronger footing was in the oared events. The Women’s Coxless Four, featuring bronze medallists Alana Sherman and Isla Blake alongside Kate Haines and Ella Cossill, beat Great Britain to secure an A Final spot, finishing second to Australia in 6:40.53. The Men’s Four, anchored by Campbell Crouch alongside Fred Vavasour, Harry Fitzpatrick and Josh Vodanovich, took on Great Britain’s unchanged world champion crew and came away with a semifinal berth, crossing in 6:07.38.
What yesterday’s results underscore is that international rowing has reached a point where a single poor 500-metre split can be the difference between advancing and fighting for positions in lesser finals. For New Zealand’s scullers especially, consistency will determine whether this season builds into something substantial.
