Rowing: Drama expected in sculls final rematch

Olympic single sculls finalist Sonia Waddell suffered her second defeat in major domestic regattas this month when she was beaten at the national rowing championships on Lake Ruataniwha, Twizel, yesterday.

Hamilton Rowing Club sculler Caroline Evers-Swindell easily won their heat. Evers-Swindell, who lost out to Waddell for the Sydney Games berth, cruised home in 7m 59.66s in perfect conditions.

Waddell, looking for her fifth consecutive single-sculls title, clocked 8m 07.02s. She eased up with half the race to go when she realised Evers-Swindell had won.

Waddell will compete in the repechage today. She should breeze through in this competition to set up a rematch with Evers-Swindell in the final, in what is expected to be the race of the regatta.

Evers-Swindell's twin sister, Georgina, was a heat winner as well, stopping the clock in 8m 13.12s. Cambridge's Paula Twining was second, 13.68s behind.

Caroline Evers-Swindell beat Waddell, who finished sixth at the Olympics, by eight-hundredth of a second in their previous clash at the North Island championships on the faster Lake Karapiro course on February 10.

There is keen competition for the men's singles scull title.

Waddell's husband, Olympic and world champion Rob Waddell, is not defending the title.

Auckland's Steve Westlake, who was a reserve for the New Zealand coxless four at the Sydney Olympics and will row the Atlantic with Rob Hamill in October, won heat one of the singles scull yesterday in 7m 30.28s. Clifton Rowing Club's Leighton Montgomerie took out heat two in 7m 45.72s.

While everyone else will row in today's repechages, impressive performances in both heats yesterday suggest that the heat winners will not be the only title contenders.

The race of the day was in heat two of the men's double, in which Avon's Ian Smallman and Sam Earl mowed down Aucklanders Westlake and Matthew Goodman in the last 100m.

Smallman and Earl - son of 1972 gold medal and 1976 bronze medal Olympian Athol Earl - decided to race as a crew only yesterday morning after Olympian David Schaper opted to concentrate on other events.

- NZPA