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SLAM! Sports '99 Rowing Worlds INTERACTIVE ALSO ON SLAM!  |
Tuesday, August 10, 1999Canadians pull in medal haulFanshawe regattas raise some alerts as world championships near
Canada collected 20 medals at the Commonwealth and Forest City rowing championships, which began last Thursday and wrapped up yesterday. Canadians rowed to eight gold, eight silver and four bronze medals over the four days. But strong rowing nations such as Germany, the United States and France -- which Canadians will face at the world championships in St. Catharines Aug. 22-29 -- were not present here and will pose a serious challenge at the worlds. And Canada was unable to take either of the team titles on its home facility. Australia handily won the Commonwealth team title as its rowers collected 14 gold and two silver medals. Poland won the Forest City regatta team title with 10 medals-- six gold, three silver and a bronze. Racing yesterday was delayed by strong winds and then the athletes only rowed the last 750 metres of the course as it was more sheltered. The course is normally 2,000 metres. The two regattas were important for the Canadians as they fine-tune for the world championships. "It's a good yardstick for us," said Mike Thompson, coach of the Canadian women's heavyweight fours, who won gold yesterday and bronze in the Commonwealth regatta. Team members Heather Davis of Vancouver, Jacqui Cook of Burlington, Pauline VanRoessel of Calgary and Kristin Wall of Victoria found out yesterday they will be competing at the world championships based on their times this weekend. "We knew if we went hard as a crew, we could do it," Davis said. This year's world championships take added significance as the regatta is a qualifier for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. "We have realized the competition is tough here and at the Pan Ams," said Bruce Robertson, Rowing Canada's vice-president of high performance, who was in London Saturday. At the Pan Am Games in Winnipeg, Canadian and American rowers fared well. The United States won 11 medals, including three gold, while Canada won 10 overall, including four gold. Of the Canadian rowers heading to St. Catharines, women's head coach Al Morrow said one of Canada's best hopes for a world title will come in the heavyweight pairs. Emma Robinson of Winnipeg and Alison Korn of Ottawa were the 1997 and '98 world champions in that event. But Korn injured her back in June and was replaced by Theresa Luke of Forest Grove, B.C. Luke and Robinson collected five gold medals this summer -- at three European regattas, the Pan Ams and the Commonwealth races -- and Morrow announced yesterday that Luke will be teamed with Robinson to race in the pairs at the worlds. "I talked to all three women. It was a fair decision," Morrow said. Korn will race in the heavyweight eight boat. Robinson has had to overcome a setback of her own this season. She underwent surgery and chemotherapy in April for thyroid cancer. Other rowers expected to do well in St. Catharines include Marnie McBean, who has 12 Olympic medals in three different boats. This year she is rowing the single sculls, in which she has had inconsistent results. While McBean won gold at the Pan Ams in Winnipeg, she also had a seventh-place finish at a World Cup regatta in Lucerne. At the Commonwealth regatta Thursday, McBean was second to Australian sculler Georgina Douglas. "I think Marnie, being the experienced athlete that she is, will take it as a positive," Robertson said. "She's tough and she'll turn it to her advantage." But Morrow added "She'll have to have a great race for a medal. Her field is six or seven deep." The women's eight boat, a perennial strength in Canadian rowing, also finished second to the Aussies Thursday. "They'll do exactly the same as Marnie," Robertson said of them finishing second. "It gives them more information (to work with)." Morrow said the eights have a shot at a medal. But there are many boats that the Canadians haven't seen yet, so it's hard to know what they're facing. Morrow also believes his lightweight doubles crew of Fiona Milne of Niagara-on-the-Lake and Gen Meredith of Toronto will qualify that boat for the Olympics. Milne picked up a bronze medal in the lightweight single sculls yesterday, adding to her two gold and silver already won in the two regattas. Tracy Duncan of Saskatoon won the race. |