Rowing Canada Aviron – Five Canadian crews lined up for heats on day two at the 2018 World Rowing Championships, enjoying tailwind conditions in sunny Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Canada tallies up another two race wins to advance to semi-finals later this week. 

The first Canadian crew to compete today was the Para PR3 mixed coxed four team- Victoria Nolan, Bayleigh Hooper, Andrew Todd, Kyle Fredrickson and coxswain Laura Court. In the PR3 classification, rowers can use legs, trunk, and arms and can push a sliding seat.

Canada raced a strong heat, surpassing the Ukraine at the 1000m mark yet couldn’t gain momentum on the United States, finishing in 2nd place. With only one qualifying spot up for grabs, the Canadians will race in the repechage on Wednesday. This newly formed Para crew consists of a mix of novice rowers and Olympic bronze medalists- Andrew Todd and Victoria Nolan.  

Jeremy Hall lined up for his first race of the week in the PR2 men’s single. In the PR2 classification, rowers use trunk and arms and are unable to use their legs to push a sliding seat. There is strapping around the legs to provide stability. 

Hall raced to a 3rd place finish behind Great Britain and Italy, which means we will see Jeremy racing the repechage on Wednesday. 

“I definitely didn’t race to my potential today. I need to stay in my lane and focus on the right things going forward. I lost speed by not concentrating on my plan and what needed to get done in the boat,” admitted Hall. “I know the upcoming rep will help me adjust some of those pieces and I’ll be much better set up for finals.”

The women’s four, consisting of Jessie Loutit, Karen Lefsrud, Kendra Wells and Larissa Werbicki are racing their first event as a new team, placing 4th in a competitive heat, moving into the repechage tomorrow. 

Andrea Proske and Gabrielle Smith made their World Championship debut today in the women’s double sculls, coming off a silver medal performance at the World Cup Lucerne in June.

Proske and Smith raced a solid heat, surpassing the Germans at the halfway mark to overtake the lead and safely cross the finish line.  “We’ve increased out training time significantly since Lucerne and that has definitely helped build our relationship and trust as a team,” said Proske. This fresh crew will advance directly to the A/B semi-finals on Friday. “It’s nice to get this first race done and focus on the plan for the rest of the week.”

The final race of the day for Canada saw Carling Zeeman line up in heat three of the women’s single event. Zeeman got off the start behind Germany, making her move just passed the halfway mark of the race to secure the overall win with the third fastest heat time overall (7:35.40).  Carling recently won a bronze medal at the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne.

Tomorrow, let’s cheer for Canada in the repechages for the lightweight women’s double (Jennifer Cassons and Kate Sauks) and the women’s four (Jessie Loutit, Karen Lefsrud, Kendra Wells, Larissa Werbicki).

Check out our Instagram and Twitter for photos and behind the scenes action @rowingcanada! 

Tuesday Race Schedule (local time EEST):
LW2x – REP 11:05am
W4- REP 11:13am

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Editor’s Notes

When and Where
September 9-16, 2018
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Racing starts 9:30am local time (2:30amET / 11:30pmPT)

How to Watch Racing 
Live streaming every day at www.worldrowing.com.
Live race tracker and LIVE audio will be available for ALL races on www.worldrowing.com.
Live streaming of heats and finals available in Canada at CBC Sports.

Rowing Canada Aviron will share daily team highlights and results via email and provide result updates on Twitter, with behind the scenes footage on Instagram. 

Join the conversation @rowingcanada: #WRChamps #truenorthstrong #rowingcanadaaviron

Schedule and Results available at worldrowing.com.

Team Canada Roster – 2018 World Championships

PR1 Women’s Single:
Tracy Van Asseldonk (Delta Deas Rowing Club)

PR2 Men’s Single
Jeremy Hall (Edmonton Rowing Club)

PR3 Men’s Pair
Andrew Todd (North Star Rowing Club)
Kyle Fredrickson (University of Victoria)

PR3 Mixed Coxed Four:
Victoria Nolan (Argonaut Rowing Club)
Bayleigh Hooper (Peterborough Rowing Club)
Andrew Todd (North Star Rowing Club)
Kyle Fredrickson (University of Victoria)
Coxswain: Laura Court (St. Catharines Rowing Club)

Women’s Single Scull
Carling Zeeman (Sudbury Rowing Club)

Women’s Coxless Pair
Hillary Janssens (University of British Columbia)
Caileigh Filmer (University of Victoria)

Women’s Lightweight Single
Jill Moffatt (Western University)

Women’s Lightweight Double 
Jennifer Casson (Kingston Rowing Club)
Kate Haber (Hanlan Boat Club)

Women’s Double
Andrea Proske (Victoria City Rowing Club)
Gabrielle Smith (Knowlton Rowing Club)

Women’s Four
Jessie Loutit (Calgary Rowing Club)
Karen Lefsrud (Calgary Rowing Club)
Kendra Wells (University of Victoria)
Larissa Werbicki (Saskatoon Rowing Club)

Women’s Eight
Rebecca Zimmerman (University of Victoria)
Jennifer Martins (Western University)
Susanne Grainger (London Rowing Club)
Madison Mailey (Burnaby Lake Rowing Club)
Stephanie Grauer (Burnaby Lake Rowing Club)
Christine Roper (Ottawa Rowing Club)
Sydney Payne (Brentwood College Rowing Club)
Lisa Roman (Middlesex-Western Rowing Club)
Coxswain – Kristen Kit (University of British Columbia/St. Catharines Rowing Club)

(Alternates)
Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski (Calgary Rowing Club)
Avalon Wasteneys (University of Victoria)

Men’s Eight
Matt Buie (St. Catharines Rowing Club)
Kai Langerfeld (University of Victoria)
Conlin McCabe (Brockville Rowing Club)
Ben de Wit (University of British Columbia)
Tim Schrijver (Brock University)
Martin Barakso (Brentwood College)
Dave DeGroot (Brock University)
Jakub Buczek (Burnaby Lake Rowing Club)
Coxswain – Jane Gumley (University of Victoria)

Men’s Lightweight Single
Aaron Lattimer (University of British Columbia)

Men’s Lightweight Double
Patrick Keane (University of Victoria)
Maxwell Lattimer (University of British Columbia)

Men’s Pair
Taylor Perry (Leander Boat Club)
Mackenzie Copp (Western University)

*Trevor Jones (Men’s single) has withdrawn from competition due to injury.

Coaching Team

John Wetzstein (Para Head Coach)
Dave Thompson (Women’s Head Coach)
Michelle Darvill
Phil Marshall
Lesley Thompson-Willie
Dick Tonks (Men’s Head Coach)
Jeremy Ivey

Support Team

Iain Brambell (HPD)
Dr. Mike Wilkinson (Physician)
Tricia McBride (Physiotherapist)
Wendy Pethick (Physiologist)
Marcus Blumensaat (Massage Therapist)
Matt Draper (Team Manager)
Kayla Cornale (Para Team support)
Colleen Coderre (Media Relations)

Canadian Umpires
William Donegan (Argonaut Rowing Club/St. Catharines Rowing Club)

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For further information and media inquiries:
Colleen Coderre
RCA Communications
comm@rowingcanada.org 

About Rowing Canada Aviron

Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA) is a non-profit organization recognized by the Government of Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee as the national governing body for rowing in Canada, representing more than 15,000 registered members.
RCA is a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and the Fédération internationale des sociétés d’aviron (FISA), the international federation for rowing. For more information about Rowing Canada Aviron, please visit rowingcanada.org or follow @rowingcanada.