Rowing: Women's crews ready for a crack at world's best

By JULIE ASH

Three New Zealand crews will go head-to-head with the world's best in the finals of the world championships in Switzerland tomorrow.

The women's coxless four of Nikki Coles, Rochelle Saunders, Kate Robinson and Jackie Abraham take on Australia, United States, the Netherlands, Belarus and China tomorrow morning (NZT) in their quest for a medal.

The NZ four were comfortable winners of their heat this week and look set for a showdown against Australia and reigning world champions Belarus.

Also tomorrow, Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell line up against Olympic champions Germany, Belarus, Lithuania, Russia and Switzerland in the women's double sculls.

The pair qualified for the final with a heat win over Russia and Belarus and recorded a time fractionally slower than Germany in the other heat.

On Monday the women's quadruple sculls of the Evers-Swindell twins, Paula Twining and Sonia Waddell take on Olympic champs Germany, Australia, US, Great Britain and the Ukraine in a bid to become NZ's first medallists in the quadruple event.

The experienced Waddell, who is yet to win a world championship medal, is looking forward to the final but does not expect an easy ride.

"Obviously the Germans are very strong. They have been winning this event every year bar one since it started in 1985," she said. "But the US showed in their repechage that they are going to be very strong as well."

Waddell said three New Zealand crews winning their heats and going straight through to the finals was a remarkable achievement, which she attributed to the work of national women's coach Richard Tonks.

"You can't fluke getting three crews through like that," she said.

"It doesn't happen very often and Richard has been very instrumental in that he has had us on a really good training programme through the winter.

"We've really put in the hard work and he has kept the pressure on day after day after day and now it is paying off for us.

"We've had a good uninterrupted buildup in Belgium and that is probably what is showing now with our fitness, technique and our strength."

The men's four of Ian Smallman, Rob Hellstrom, Sam Earl and Jamie Fitzgerald will contest the B final late tonight (NZT).