Gold medals will be hard to come by at rowing venue

Press, 30 July 1986, Page 47

Gold medals will be hard to come by at rowing venue

By

TOM BRIDGMAN

NZPA staff correspondent Edinburgh Rowers should boost New Zealand’s medal tally at the final day of competition at the Strathclyde course today, but gold will be hard to come by. Stephanie Foster in the women’s heavyweight single sculls straight final could well become a double gold medallist but the men’s fours crews will be working hard to beat strong opposition.

New Zealand is in six of the eight finals and has prospects in all.

The coxed four race at the end of the programme should be the highlight of the whole regatta, pitching New Zealand’s Waikato club crew against the internationally experienced and medal winning England. England, with three Olympic gold medallists as oarsmen, kept an edge over New Zealand in the heat yesterday, although the Kiwi crew of Bruce Holden, Greg Johnston, Cris White, Nigel Atherfold, and cox Andrew Bird, fought all the way. The problem for the New Zealand crew was that it lagged in the second 500 m, going the

split about 2 seconds slower than England, and although it came back the experience of the England crew kept at bay.

“They lost out in the second five,” said the coach, Harry Mahon. “Racing against a crew of that level and experience it would have been good to have had the benefit of having had a race before here.

“Here you are starting off racing against the top guys. The best crew you could be up against is here,” said Mr Mahon. However, he expected the coxed four would pick up a fraction in the final, which it reached through the repechage, easing through second behind Australia.

The England crew contains Steven Regrave, who is aiming for three gold medals, and Martin Holmes, both of whom appear earlier in the men’s coxless pairs, which could count in New Zealand’s favour if they are given a hard race in that.

New Zealand is represented in the coxless pair by lan Wright and Barrie Mabbott, who were beaten by the England crew in the heat and then in a faster repechage came in

second to Canada. The men’s coxless four — Don Symon, Neil Gibson, Shane O’Brien and Herb Stevenson — went straight into the final with a 6:42.41 win in their heat but will be up against the strong Canadians, all four of whom are from that country’s Olympic gold medal winning eight

The men’s double scullers, Eric Verdonk and Dale Maher, showed that despite being a scratch crew, they could be in contention for a minor medal after posting the second fastest time of the heats and repechage.

In the heat Maher and Verdonk finished strongly, easily beaten by the strong Canadian pair of Pat Walter and Bruce Ford, but then showed they were not going to give up by coming on strongly in the third quarter of the repechage to close on Australia and finish second in that. The other New Zealander competing today is the yet unraced Philippa Baker, from Christchurch, in the lightweight women’s single sculls, who faces an enormous challenge against the world chamAustralian Adair

Ferguson, and England’s world-ranked Beryl Crockford. ® New Zealand has avoided the hexed outside lane six on the Strathclyde course which caused so much difficulty for the eight. In the draw for today’s finals the New Zealand coxless four is in lane 4 beside the expected gold medal winner, Canada, while the coxed four, in lane 2, is also beside its strongest competitor, England. Baker in the women’s lightweight sculls has lane 3, Mabbott and Wright have lane 2 between England’s top Steven Redgrave and Andrew Holmes and Australia in the men’s coxless pair, while the double scullers, Maher and Verdonk, have lane 2 in their final. The women’s single sculler, Stephanie Foster, is also in lane 2. Last Sunday New Zealand crews found the windy conditions marginally worse and harder to handle in lane 6, the eight filling with water. Yesterday was one of the calmest yet at the Strathclyde lake, giving ideal rowing conditions for some races and oarsmen will be hoping for the same today. «A