Rowing: Elite crews count down to worlds

Joseph Sullivan (left) is a new partner for Nathan Cohen, who says they had some teething problems before seeing the fruits of their efforts. Photo / Christine Cornege

Five weeks in and progress is good for Nathan Cohen and his latest double sculling chum as New Zealand's elite rowers count down to the world championships in their own backyard later this year.

Cohen is on his third partner in the past four years. Now he's with multi-world under-23 champion Joseph Sullivan, having had Matthew Trott with him in 2007 and 2009, with Rob Waddell sitting behind him for the 2008 Olympic campaign in Beijing.

Cohen, the stroke in each combination, has had to make small adjustments for each partner, and vice versa, and admitted there were some early teething problems before they started to see the fruits of their efforts.

"Now we feel we're on the right path and I'm really excited about where it's heading," the 24-year-old Invercargill sculler said yesterday.

"You have that phase where it takes a few trainings to sort it out. Sometimes it's a bit frustrating, but when you look at the end goal it pays to make small changes now to get more speed later."

Cohen and Waddell finished fourth in Beijing and with Trott last year there were second and fourths at World Cup regattas and a close fourth at the worlds.

Sullivan is rated a comer and the pair, along with the other New Zealand crews, have an extra incentive to perform in Europe.

The national selectors have signalled fresh trials post-Europe may be staged ahead of finalising the squad for the world champs, starting at the end of October. That particularly applies to crews who don't perform up to expectations.

So the dangling carrot for the squad is perform strongly in Europe, and rowing before an expected 25,000 on finals day at Lake Karapiro is a large step closer.

Cohen doesn't see the prospect of proving themselves again as a major issue for the established elite athletes. Rather it's a challenge to make themselves, through their performances, too hard to shift out of world championship spots.

"I don't think it's a negative thing," he said of the fresh trials post-Europe.

"Personally I haven't changed my attitude, which is to be the very best I can and hopefully the results will take care of themselves."

And so there's extra pressure to ensure they make it to the start line in October?

"It's definitely an opportunity most people never get [a rowing worlds in New Zealand], but as a team and individuals we put more pressure on ourselves than anyone else, so that's not a big deal."

There are some changes among the leading crews this year. Former world champion Juliette Haigh has returned and is back in the coxless pair with Rebecca Scown.

Another former world champion in the coxless pair, Nathan Twaddle, is the old head in a new quad. Anna Reymer and Fi Paterson are the women's double sculling combination.

The squad is heading to Europe in two blocks. Four-time world single sculling champion Mahe Drysdale and current world coxless pair champs Eric Murray and Hamish Bond head the first group.

ROWING SQUAD

* Four New Zealand crews, under the guidance of head coach Dick Tonks, go to Europe next week for three World Cup regattas and the Henley regatta.
* The bulk of the elite squad join them around June 12 for the last two World Cups, in Munich (June 18-20) and Lucerne (July 9-11) plus Henley (June 30-July 4).
* Fresh trials may be staged depending on performances in Europe ahead of the world champs at Lake Karapiro starting on October 31.
* The New Zealand squad for the worlds will have a two-and-a-half-week training camp in Sydney to round off preparations.