Rowing: Kiwis start out on Olympics road

By JULIE ASH

New Zealand's elite rowers take their first strokes toward the 2004 Olympic Games at the world championships in Switzerland starting on Sunday night (NZ time).

Four New Zealand crews have spent the last month in Europe preparing for the week-long championships, in which they will come up against the world's best, including 61 medallists from last year's Olympics.

The New Zealand team are made up of a women's coxless four, a women's quadruple, a women's double scull and a men's coxless four.

Rochelle Saunders, Kate Robinson, Jackie Abraham and Nicki Coles comprise the coxless four, Caroline Evers-Swindell, Georgina Evers-Swindell, Paula Twining and Sonia Waddell the quadruple.

The Evers-Swindell twins will also compete in the double sculls. The men's coxless four consist of Rob Hellstrom, Sam Earl, Ian Smallman and Jaime Fitzgerald.

The New Zealanders left for Germany on July 7 where they competed in the final World Cup event in Munich. There, the women's coxless four finished second, the Evers-Swindells were third in the double sculls, the women's quadruple were second and the men's coxless four finished second in the B-final.

Rowing New Zealand chief executive Mike Stanley said the World Cup results were very promising.

"We were very encouraged by their results and their form since then has improved," he said.

"It is difficult in that not all nations were present at the World Cup and it has been six weeks since the event, in which time some crews will have gone forward and others back."

After the World Cup the team moved on to Belgium, where they have been based at Hazewinkel. "They have been using the same stretch of water which canoeists Paul MacDonald and Ian Ferguson used in their heyday," said Stanley.

It has a full 2000m course and accommodation right beside the water.

"They have put in some solid training and have really just been sharpening up. They all seem to be in good heart and have been pleased with some time trials they've done."

He said the team were injury free, apart from Hellstrom, who has been bothered by a back problem.

"This is the first year after the Olympics. It is a forming year and it will give us an indication of where we are heading in terms of Olympic qualification in 2003," said Stanley.

"The first step is to get into the finals and from there just do as well as we can."

The preliminary rounds will run until Thursday morning, followed by the semifinals, with the finals over the weekend.