| TOP STORIES AROUND THE COUNTY |
Justin Moore’s US 8+ Advances to World Rowing Junior Finals01:29PM / Wednesday, August 05, 2009
BRIVE-LA-GAILLARDE, FRANCE – Conditions on Lac du Causse Correzien were  perfect for the opening day of heats at the 2009 World Rowing Junior Championships as boats competed on calm waters in warm weather.
Warm, however, does not begin to describe the performance delivered this afternoon by the US 8+ coached by Eph head coach Justin Moore as the red, white and blue secured one of two automatic berths in Saturday’s Finals.
(This is a file photo and NOT from the World Rowing Jr. Championships)
Heat One featured an easy open water win by Romania. The Romanians won by nearly eight seconds over host France, earning an automatic berth in the Finals.
Romania left no doubt who was the fastest boat in Heat One as by 500m they had already posted a two second lead. Winning in 6:42.90 may not be an accurate gauge of the strength of the Romanian boat, as they were not pushed throughout the racecourse.
France was second in 6:50.29, Hungary third (6:56.50) and Russia was fourth (6:57.66). France, Hungary and Russia will join Heat Two boats from New Zealand and Germany in tomorrow’s Repechage to see which of those boats will advance to Saturday’s Finals.
New Zealand led the US boat in Heat Two at the 500m and 1000m checkpoints. The Kiwis took control in the first 500m notching a .90 (second) lead, which the US was able to lower to .28 at the 1000m mark. It was then that Moore’s US boat put down the hammer and exerted their strength and power, turning the .28 deficit into a 3.18 lead at 1500m, settling in for a solid 2.93 margin of victory.
The US boat logged the day’s fastest time clocking a 6:35.75 to New Zealand’s 6:38.68. Germany finished in 6:46.22.
Moore’s US boat will now have the luxury of concentrating on training for the Finals along with the Romanian boat. While it would be tempting to note that the US out stroked New Zealand, which rowed faster than the Romanians did to win Heat One, that cold be a big mistake.
Oftentimes it is not possible to gauge a boat’s strength and capabilities until you face them on the water. The US was pushed to the finish line by a talented New Zealand entry, while Romania only needed to maintain its large lead over France to gain the berth in the Finals.
The Finals will be a great test for a strong US boat that relies on power, but other than securing an automatic berth in the Finals the win today does factor into whether the boat will medal or not.
Moore, a master motivator, has created a ledger of success at Williams by having his boats ready for the biggest of tests and no doubt he will have this US boat ready to row on the largest of stages on Saturday. |
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary. Comments are closed for this article. If you would like to contribute information on this article, e-mail us at info@iBerkshires.com |
|
Advertise on iBerkshires.com
|
