Rowing: Teams take first step towards Games

By JULIE ASH

New Zealand take their first steps towards the 2004 Olympic Games at next month's world championships in Switzerland.

A men's coxless four, women's coxless four, women's quadruple and women's double scull will compete in the event, which starts in Lucerne on August 18.

The sport is still on a high after Rob Waddell's gold-medal performance at last year's Sydney Games.

The New Zealand team will line up in the final World Cup regatta in Munich this weekend, after which they will spend a month training in Belgium before the world championships.

The men's coxless four combines experienced campaigners Rob Hellestrom and Ian Smallman with newcomers Sam Earl - son of 1972 gold medallist and 1976 bronze medallist Athol Earl - and Jamie Fitzgerald.

Men's coach Charlie Flanagan said it was an inexperienced crew.

"Rob is the only survivor from the New Zealand four from the last two years," he said. "Ian was in the New Zealand eight three years ago, but hasn't been in for the past few years. Sam is only 22 and it is his first time in an elite squad, and Jamie is only 20."

The competition would obviously be tough, but would be a building block for the future, Flanagan said.

"Italy would be one of the strongest teams, then France and Germany, and probably Britain.

"We are totally green, totally untried. Two of our rowers have never been to a world championship.

"This is really a building phase for us and we want to set a platform for the future."

In the women's events, New Zealand are sending a women's coxless four of Rochelle Saunders, Kate Robinson, Jackie Abraham and Nicki Coles, and a quadruple of Caroline Evers-Swindell, Georgina Evers-Swindell, Paula Twining and Sonia Waddell.

The Evers-Swindell twins will also compete in the double sculls.

It is rare in New Zealand for rowers to compete in more than one event, but coach Dick Tonks was confident the pair would go well.

"It is the first time we have tried it, but they did the double sculls and won the last World Cup event in Vienna, so we will be trying to improve on that," Tonks said.

Sonia Waddell, who made the final of the single sculls at Sydney, is concentrating on the quadruple event. Tonks said Germany would be the team to beat in the quadruples.

"They have been beaten only once and that was by China in 1993.

"They know what it is all about and how to make the boat go quicker."

Tonks was confident the whole New Zealand team would perform well.

"There is no one priority crew, the aim is to get them all into the final."

New Zealand Rowing chief executive Mike Stanley said the world championships would give the crews an indication of where they were at.

"It is common in most countries that the year after the Olympics you look at your strengths and weaknesses and try to form Olympic teams," Stanley said.

Just what crews - and the make-up of those crews - will be established over the next two years.

"We have the women's quad with the possibility of the double sculls in mind. The women's coxless four is not an Olympic sport, so we can either turn that into two pairs or create an eight, although at this time we don't feel there is enough depth for an eight. But we'll assess that in the future.

"In the men's, we've had some retirements. The coxless fours is one of the feature events, but they could be groomed into an eight."

Stanley believes the rowers who will represent New Zealand at the next Olympics in Athens are already in the framework.

With the Mighty River Power-sponsored New Zealand Rowing Academy up and running at Karapiro, the future is already being developed.

Next month, a men's eight and women's eight will attend the junior world championships in Germany, and New Zealand Academy and Development teams will compete in events in Canada.

"It is a process," Stanley said. "We are aware of what stock of talent is out there, but the ones that are going to Athens are already in development programmes."