KEY POINTS:
Invercargill's Storm Uru matched his name by blitzing the field in his lightweight single sculls heat at the world under-23 rowing championships in Strathclyde, Scotland, today.
Five of the seven New Zealand crew in action at the championships today qualified for the semifinals on Sunday (NZ time) while the other two still have a chance through tomorrow's repechage.
Reigning champion Uru, who was second to fellow New Zealander Duncan Grant in two senior World Cup races in Amsterdam and Lucerne over the last few weeks, took command of his race today in the first 500m.
He bolted to a five-second lead over the rest of the field and at the 1000m mark was in full control before dropping his rate to 28 to cruise home.
Women's sculler Emma Twigg, with a ticket to Munich to the senior world championships hanging on her result, beat allcomers by a massive five seconds in her heat today.
Facing one of her toughest rivals in Italian Laura Schiavone from the elite double scull crew that finished second to Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell in Lucerne, Twigg put her marker down with a dominant display.
She showed that she meant serious business with a blistering first 500m (1min 53sec) to lead by a massive four lengths. At the 1000m mark Twigg dropped her rating to 28 and was all class in the cruise home. Despite dropping her rating further, at a pedestrian 22 strokes per minute, she still posted the fastest heat time.
The third New Zealand victory today came when Joseph Sullivan left his nearest rival, from Germany, by the 1000m mark and settled into his smooth rhythm which had the race commentator comparing him to Mahe Drysdale.
"New Zealand seems to have a production line of scullers. Where do they come from?"
Sullivan pushed hard at the 1500m to cement his place in the semifinals with a comfortable five-boat lengths win in the fastest heat of the day. He too had a five-second margin over the rest of the opposition.
Emma McGeorge and Anna Reymer, novices in the international rowing boat scene, stuck with the strong Polish crew at the 500m mark in their women's double sculls heat. They made their move at the 1000m mark and jumped out to a three-length lead which they maintained through to the finish for victory.
Jared Pehi, David Eade, Ben Hammond and Chris Harris won their coxless four heat to secure a semifinal spot.
Pehi and Eade were part of the NZ junior men's eight gold medal winning crew at last year's world junior championships in Amsterdam.
In the women's lightweight double scull, Sarah Alexander and Gabby Rogers faced the most competitive race of the regatta to finish fifth and will try to qualify through the repechage.
Quadruple scullers Genevieve Armstrong, Anna Stantial, Harriet Austin and Rosslyn Knox will also compete in the repechage after a fifth today.
Overcast conditions, showers and a moderate cross wind welcomed the 620 rowers from 54 nations on the first day of racing today.
- NZPA
