Rowing: Two crews miss out on bids to make semifinals

Storm Uru (pictured) and Peter Taylor will contest the lightweight double sculls semifinal tomorrow night. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Two New Zealand crews missed semifinal places at the world rowing championships in Poznan, Poland last night.

The lightweight coxless four of Richard Beaumont, Todd Petherick, James Lassche and Graham Oberlin-Brown needed to get in the first two in their repechage to make the semifinals. They were fifth at halfway before finishing fourth in 6m 05.82s. France won in 6:00.83 ahead of the United States and Britain.

The women's quad of Harriet Austin, Louise Trappitt, Sarah Barnes and Genevieve Armstrong only had to make the top four in their race to advance but finished a disappointing fifth. They recorded 6:35.81, crossing 4.98s behind fourth-placed Russia, and beating home only Belarus.

However, things step up significantly tonight when seven New Zealand crews will race for places in finals on Saturday night (NZ time).

Add lightweight single sculler Duncan Grant, chasing his third world title in the non-Olympic event, and lightweight double Storm Uru and Peter Taylor, who have semifinals tomorrow night, and New Zealand will be bidding for starting spots in nine finals.

Coxless pair Emma Feathery and Rebecca Scown, a new combination this year, have been the revelation among the elite squad. They have been in excellent form on the European tour with wins at both the Munich and Lucerne World Cup regattas, and are first in the water tonight.

The last of the seven to race is three-time world champion Mahe Drysdale, who with two cup titles behind him this season, will be strongly favoured for .

In each semifinal, the first three across the line, irrespective of times, advance to the A finals.

None of the seven have drawn outside lanes, which can be a factor if a cross wind strikes.

However, team manager Jan Taylor said last night head winds had been the most prevalent and the rowers had struck nothing they hadn't experienced at their home base at Lake Karapiro.

"They've all settled into their work and they're pretty excited about racing," Taylor said.

She said no one was getting ahead of themselves. "We're where we want to be, but there's another big step ahead.

"It's all very well making it through the heats and into the semis but that's not the end of it, not the big picture."

The other five semifinal crews tonight are Hamish Bond and Eric Murray (coxless pair), Matthew Trott and Nathan Cohen, and Anna Reymer and Paula Twining (both double scull), the coxless four of Jade Uru, Simon Wilson, Hamish Burson and Tyson Williams and single sculler Emma Twigg.