Day Two Daily Digest – Increasingly Challenging Conditions & First B Finals Completed

Day two of the 2021 World Rowing Coastal Championships got underway with the Round 2 Heats for the Group B boats – mixed doubles, men’s solos, women’s doubles and men’s quads. Based on conditions, it was decided to keep the same start format as yesterday with boats starting already in the water and finishing on the beach.

 

Calm Conditions to Begin

Conditions were significantly better this morning than they were yesterday, with a clean start in the first race and a smooth passage around the first buoy for all crews. There was much less swell coming in from the Atlantic, and also the tide and the wind were having much less of an impact than they did yesterday.

 

1–2 for Ukraine in Mixed Doubles

 The Ukraine1 combination of Serhii Budko and Anastasiia Kozhenkova won the first heat of the mixed double by just under a minute ahead of Ireland5, finishing in 19:30.49. Later in the morning session, fellow Ukrainians, and defending champions, Diana Dymchenko and Yuriy Ivanov posted a time of 20:46.10 to win the second heat. Can Ukraine take two places on the podium in tomorrow’s medal race?

 

Jostling for Positions in CM1x Heat One

 It was a tense conclusion in the first heat of the men’s solo. Reigning World Champion Adrian Miramon Quiroga from Spain was first back to the beach, but had to spend a minute in the penalty box for a false start. Whilst being held, he saw Koen Metsemakers from the Netherlands come ashore and cross the line first. Miramon Quiroga was then joined in the penalty box by Tunisian Olympian Mohamed Taieb. The Spaniard was released and crossed the line in fourth place, with Taieb also manging to secure a place in the all-important top six, despite his penalty.

Following a review by the Jury after the race, it was announced that Miramon Quiroga had been mistakenly awarded the penalty due to a crew identification issue. The 60 second penalty was subsequently removed and his ranking changed accordingly to put him back in 1^st position.

 

First Heat Win for Russia

Russia has consistently put together strong women’s doubles for the World Rowing Coastal Championships. Hanna Prakatsen, who won the CW2x in 2019 went on to win a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo earlier this year. Their new line-up, who represented the Russian Olympic Committee in the Women’s Double Sculls this summer in Tokyo, was impressive in the first heat of the boat class today, although they had a close finish with Ukraine2 who came across the line just five seconds behind.

 

Penalties Galore in Men’s Solo Heat 2

Four of the twenty solos were awarded 60 second penalties for false starts in the second heat of the men’s solo. For Zygimantas Galisanskis of Lithuania, this meant that he missed out on being in the top six that qualified for the A final and will go into the B final tomorrow.

 

Carnage at Turning Point 1 for Heat One of Men’s Quads

There was chaos at the first turning buoy as several boats attempted to take the turn at the same time and got tangled up. Great Britain8 seemed to come out worst off after the collision but eventually made up the lost ground. The tangling also ended up causing quite a few boats to go wide as they headed towards TP2. It was all made even more interesting when it was announced that Egypt, France2 and Italy4 had been awarded penalties for false starts, so it was all to play for! Egypt was first to the beach closely followed by Italy4 but they had to spend a minute in the penalty box and watch five other runners cross the line. Despite their penalty, they still both managed to cross the line in the top ten places to qualify for the A Final.

 

Choppy Conditions for Afternoon Session

 Conditions got much more challenging for the heats in the afternoon session of racing. However, the athletes in heat 3 of the men’s solo were still posting very similar times to those that were in heat 1 first thing in the morning. Unlike the previous two heats, none of the competitors picked up penalties this time.

 

Red Flag for CM4x+ Heat Two

 The second heat of the men’s quads had to be stopped with the Umpire waving the red flag. It was deemed to be a “mass false start” so no penalties were awarded. The boats were bought back to the start line and aligned again with the race getting going cleanly at the second attempt.

 

Chance of Redemption for Monaco’s Olympian Antognelli

 Having missed out on the A final in the men’s double, Quentin Antognelli, who represented Monaco at the Olympic Games in Tokyo earlier this year teamed up with Gaia Umbra Chiavini to race the mixed double. The duo dominated heat three throughout and their time of 20:35.31 suggests they’ll be on the hunt for a medal in the A final tomorrow.

 

More Red Flags in B Finals

 It was another red flag in the first of the B Finals, with a false start in the women’s quad. The race went off cleanly at the second attempt, and Portugal2 and Portugal4 were awarded 60 second time penalties. Meanwhile Ireland3 had got away with a great start. There was more trouble for Portugal2 and Portugal4 as they went the wrong way around the first buoy. Portugal4 decided not to go back to go around the buoy again, and were subsequently deemed not to have finished the course. Meanwhile, Castletownbere Rowing Club, racing as Ireland3, maintained their lead cross the line and win the first B Final, ranking 21^st overall.

 

Chaos Again at First Turning Buoy

 It all kicked off again at “TP1” in the B Final of the men’s doubles as Germany got caught on the buoy causing collisions with some crews and forcing other boats to go wide to get around. Monaco1 of Quentin Antognelli and Mathieu Monfort managed to get around the buoy ahead of the chaos and row away to a clear lead which they maintained to cross the finish line 44 seconds ahead of the second placed crew.

 

Immense Final Race

After what seemed to be a great start for the B Final of the women’s solo, the lead pack appeared to have to alter their course as they headed towards the first buoy. Christine Rubino of the USA was leading the pack but rather than navigating the buoy, got tangled with it, causing her boat to flip and she slipped towards the back of the pack. Great Britain’s Kath Coleman-Jones took advantage and moved into the lead. Ten minutes into the race, Germany2, Annika Sophie Salwiczek took the lead, but all of the scullers were continuing to battle very challenging conditions.

You can find all results of the day here.

Tomorrow is the final day of racing, starting at 08:30AM local time (9:30AM CET), with medal finals starting at 11:30AM local time. You can follow all of the action at www.worldrowing.com.