Rowing: Reckoning day for six fancied NZ crews

Graham Oberlin-Brown and James Lassche. Photo / Getty Images

By the end of today, New Zealand might be six world rowing championship medals better off, but don't necessarily bet on it.

That said, if they haven't added to adaptive single sculler Danny McBridge's bronze medal yesterday, there will be long faces and some hard questions being asked.

New Zealand made a flying start to their championship campaign on Lake Karapiro, but now the business end is upon the rowers. There won't be any freebies out of the remainder of the regatta programme, which today includes seven A finals.

The only one in which New Zealand are absent is the men's quad, who are chasing the B final title, which equates to seventh in the world.

New Zealand crews are in a busy nine successive events today. That includes two semifinals.

In those, Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan are chasing a place in the double scull final on Sunday, and ditto lightweight single sculler Duncan Grant, who is after a fourth straight world crown in his non-Olympic event.

Cohen and Sullivan need only a top three finish to be shooting for gold, and should comfortably make it. Likewise Grant.

It seems an age since Graham Oberlin-Brown and James Lassche gave New Zealand a flying start with victory in their lightweight coxless pair heat on Sunday. They've had plenty of time to ponder their prospects today.

Ten weeks ago they were competing at the world under-23 championships. Now they're on the big stage and loving it.

A new combination, they raised eyebrows by beating the French world champions Fabien Tilliet and Jean-Christophe Bette in their heat. That suggests that for all their relative youth in the elite division, they're making smart progress.

"We want to get stronger as the regatta goes on. That was always the plan and hopefully we'll be in even better shape for the final," Oberlin-Brown said.

The women's coxless four of Genevieve Behrent, Ali Burnside, Zoe Stevenson and Lucy Spoors had a single race earlier in the week to decide lanes for their straight final. There are four in the field and a medal would be a pleasant surprise.

Lightweight double scullers Julia Edward and Lucy Strack, and Storm Uru and Peter Taylor are up next. The women are in lane six but showed in their semifinal they're not necessarily out of the medal picture.

The men are chasing gold, against Britain's Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter, and that race is shaping as one of the day's best.

It was hard to wipe the smiles off the faces of the men's coxless four after their victory in the heats, which ensured a passage straight into the final. Jade Uru, Hamish Burson, Simon Watson and stroke David Eade are determined that they're not finished yet, after qualifying fastest for the final, in 5:49.87, fractionally ahead of the fancied British quartet.

Watson, back in the boat after a hip operation in April put his year's plans in turmoil, is rapt and spoke for the entire New Zealand squad on what this week meant.

"Everyone's prepared with a little extra venom because it's home water. We're never going to see this again in our rowing careers so it's great to be part of it," he said.

They'll be side by side with the defending world champions and 2008 Olympic gold medallists Britain, and won't get a better test of their credentials looking long term.

The women's quad of Sarah Gray, Fiona Bourke, Genevieve Armstrong and Linda Matthews round off the day's activities and rate no more than an outside chance of getting on the podium.