Rowing: Crews put fear factor back in black singlet

Caroline Evers-Swindell (right) and sister Georgina bite their gold medals after winning the women's double sculls. Picture / Reuters

It's time to fear the black singlet again. That's the catchcry of New Zealand's gold medal-laden squad as they set their sights on the Beijing Olympics.

The staggering four world championship titles collected on the Gifu course in Japan reinforced the belief instilled at last year's Athens Olympics - when New Zealand also made five finals - that the sport is on the march again.

"We've always heard that people feared the black singlet back in the 80s," single sculling gold medallist Mahe Drysdale told the Herald last night.

"I think it's been a while since that's happened but now that we've got five crews, people are starting to respect the black."

Drysdale kicked off New Zealand's stunning 45-minute golden haul, leading the field from the 500m mark and never giving his rivals, including Olympic champion Olaf Tufte, a sniff. He won in 7m 16.42s, 1.92s ahead of the Norwegian.

That provided the spark, as the coxless pairs of Nicky Coles and Juliette Haigh, then Nathan Twaddle and George Bridgewater, and finally double sculling twins Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell went on an anything-you-can-do charge to stun the rowing world.

Tauranga oarsman Drysdale, who narrowly escaped serious injury in a collision with a waterskier on Lake Karapiro in April, relishes the notion of making his rivals twitchy with the colour of his singlet.

"It's quite nice. It gives you almost a bit of an advantage because they're watching you, they're sort of scared of you. It gives you a mental edge."

He has taken up the mantle of 2000 Olympic champion Rob Waddell in the single seat. Drysdale wanted to see "how I sat on the world stage" in the single this year.

Suitably emboldened, his sights are on Beijing in 2008.

He offered a clue to New Zealand's success in Japan.

"I feel I'm fitter than any of these athletes here, and it's paying off for the whole squad. That's where the secret lies at the moment," he said.

"It's been a pretty incredible ride this year.

"This was absolutely magic. It made my day to win, and then to watch my team-mates and training partners come down and knock off three in a row was just an incredible feeling.

"To see your mates winning and sharing in the glory is just fantastic."

Coles and Haigh trailed the fast-starting Americans, but knew they'd tighten up. They got in front at halfway and hung on, holding off Australians Sarah Outhwaite and Natalie Bale by 3.74s.

Theirs is a remarkable story of perseverance after the embarrassment of their tumble into the waters of Lake Schinias at last year's Athens Olympics.

"Richard [Tonks] said to us before we got on the water that we were fitter than anyone else and I think we really discovered that, especially in the second 1000m," Haigh told the Herald last night.

"It's quite comforting to be sitting in the blocks and know you've done the work."

They were giving away about 20kg to their rivals but, with Jon White, the coach who'd put them together two years ago watching from the stands, they had a burning desire to grab their chance.

"All of a sudden it doesn't matter how tired you are, you get a glimpse of what you can do and it becomes easy," Haigh said.

For the Evers-Swindells, it was a third successive world title, a first for New Zealand. They were hurting from being pipped by Bulgarians Miglena Markova and Rumyana Neykova at the Lucerne World Cup regatta a couple of months ago.

"We've both thought about that silver medal [World Cup] every day. I actually brought it with me and looked at it the last few days," Caroline said. "It's a different kind of pressure we've had on us this week, but it's just as satisfying to win today as it was last year in Athens."

Twaddle and Bridgewater had been in dominant form throughout the regatta. Their gold, won by a remarkable 3s, made up for being pipped for bronze in Athens.

The coxless four of Donald Leach, Carl Meyer, Eric Murray and Steven Cottle finished sixth in their final, won by Britain.

New Zealand had won just nine medals at previous worlds, dating back 43 years. The previous best haul was gold in the eight and coxed four at Duisberg, Germany, in 1983. No country has won four golds since the East Germans in 1987.