Rowing: Kiwis make solid start to world champs campaign

New Zealand rowers made the ideal start to their world championship campaign when heats began in Poznan, Poland last night.

Double world lightweight single scull champion Duncan Grant won his heat, and in the fastest overall time.

And to back that up, new coxless pair combination Emma Feathery and Rebecca Scown made their first showing at the worlds one to remember with victory in the first heat of their discipline.

Grant recorded 7min 5.72s in producing a strong display. He led from the start to head off Chile's Felipe Leal Atero, who came home in 7:14.90.

Second quickest qualifier Jaap Schouten, of the Netherlands, won his heat in 7:06.72 and there were solid performances from other heat winners Vasileious Polymeros of Greece (7:08.26) and Dane Mads Rasmussan (7:10.72).

Feathery and Scown have taken over the coxless pair seats occupied by former world champions Nicky Coles and Juliette Haigh at last year's Beijing Olympics.

But if there were any concerns about how quickly they would get up to speed they were swiftly allayed. Their form has been excellent since the New Zealand elite squad arrived in Europe.

They won the titles at both the Munich and Lucerne World Cup regattas, which formed the leadup to the worlds.

Last night they also led from the start of their heat to cross in 7:17.36, after a decent tussle with Romanians Camelia Lupascu and Nicoleta Albu. The Romanians finished 2.11s behind but well clear of the third-placed Argentine combination.

New Zealand, who rank among the powerhouses of world rowing, have entries in 12 events, including adaptive single sculler Robin Tinga.

David Leggat