KEY POINTS:
For years it's been Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell setting benchmarks for others to match.
Now they've been thrown a challenge by China, the nation that head rowing coach Dick Tonks calls the No 1 threat to all the other countries at next year's Beijing Olympics.
And they're not
alone. China were the dominant country at the first two World Cup regattas, at Linz and Amsterdam, but aren't contesting the Lucerne event this weekend.
But they've departed leaving plenty for the top nations to ponder.
At Amsterdam last month, the Evers-Swindells came second to Qin Li and Liang Tan, 5.74s behind the Chinese, but were pretty satisfied after a buildup hampered by illness and injury. The Chinese women also won the coxless pair gold, ahead of New Zealand's Juliette Haigh and Nicky Coles and picked up several other top placings.
And China's rapid rise to prominence has inevitably started the mutterings as to how they've done it in a sport traditionally dominated by Europe with a helping hand from New Zealand and Australia.
At the Athens Olympics three years ago, China did not win a single rowing medal among their haul of 63.
"They've got some exceptional people," Tonks said yesterday. "They seem to be enjoying it more this year. Quite often they're glum, the coaches are yelling and screaming and they're doing it because they're told to do it. This year they seem to have a bit more light about them.
"They're the No 1 country, no doubt about that, they're going full steam for the Olympics."
In Amsterdam, New Zealand picked up wins to coxless pair Nathan Twaddle and George Bridgewater, lightweight sculler Duncan Grant and the coxless four along with three second placings. Tonks was happy with results but expects every crew to step up to the tougher Lucerne event, in which heats began last night.
The Evers-Swindells, Olympic champions and three-time world champs, finished third at the worlds last year at Eton, beaten by Australian and German crews. So it's time to rectify that, according to Caroline, who has returned to the stroke seat this year. "We were stoked to come second in Amsterdam, but no one likes losing," she said. "The world champs are four weeks away. This is one of the top regattas and there's a lot of fast crews here so it's going to be tough."
There are 14 crews in the double scull event in Lucerne, a superb course which generally offers fair water conditions across the line.
One Australian and one German from the two crews who beat them in Eton are lining up again this weekend. Caroline Evers-Swindell didn't know that and isn't that fussed. "A lot of people look up on the internet and see who is in what crews. But we don't do that, we just wait until we get out on the water. To us they're Aussies and they beat us [in Eton].
"We raced the Germans in Amsterdam and beat them, but they've got about 12 top scullers who alternate between the quad, double and single. Whatever their combination they're going to be fast."
Tonks will be keen to see signs of improvement from defending world champion Mahe Drysdale in the single scull.
The two eights, who were well off the pace in Amsterdam, will be expected to have sharpened up this weekend, too.
The finals are divided between today and tomorrow night.
