Rowing Canada Aviron – The fourth day of competition at the 2018 World Rowing Championships offered a mixed bag of racing, results and weather conditions. Para boats and the big boats took to the world stage for heats and repechages in the morning followed by lightweight men’s double quarterfinals in the afternoon. 

2016 Paralympic bronze medalist Andrew Todd and newcomer Kyle Fredrickson teamed up in the PR3 Men’s Pair for their first World Championship race, laying down a solid preliminary race win and securing the best lane for the Final on Friday. 

“We were looking forward to put the last few months of training together to the test and see where we have improved since racing in Gavirate,” said Todd. 

Andrew and Kyle earned two gold medals at the 2018 Para Rowing International Regatta in Gavirate this spring. “We’ve spent more time together in the boat (since Gavirate) and have made some adjustments to our stroke to allow us to really dial in on the feel of the boat when we race.”  For the PR3 classification, rowers can use legs, trunk and arms and can push a sliding seat. 

Jeremy Hall dominated his repechage in the PR2 Men’s Single, crossing the line comfortably in first position and clinching his spot in the A-Final on Friday. 

Tracy Van Asseldonk made her World Championship debut with a 3rd place finish in the PR1 Women’s Single heat. Reigning World Champion, Birgit Skarstein from Norway set a new World Championship’s best time (10:26.38) and snagged the lone qualifying spot for A-finals. Tracy will head to the repechage on Friday. 

The Women’s Eight lined up for their first race of the week finishing fourth in the first of two heats. The Women’s Eight includes silver medalists from 2017 World Championships –  Rebecca Zimmerman, Christine Roper, Susanne Grainger, Jennifer Martins, Lisa Roman, and coxswain Kristen Kit. 2018 Under-23 Women’s Eight Gold medalists Sydney Payne, Madison Mailey and Stephanie Grauer join them in racing the repechage on Friday. 

The Men’s Eight opened their event with a fifth place finish in their heat with USA and Australia advancing directly to the A Final on Sunday. Conlin McCabe, Kai Langerfeld, David De Groot, Martin Barakso, Ben de Wit, Tim Schrijver, Matt Buie, Jakub Buczek and coxswain Jane Gumley will race the repechage on Friday.  The Men’s Eight finished 6th at the World Rowing Cup- Lucerne in June. 

In the afternoon sessions, Patrick Keane and Maxwell Lattimer raced their quarterfinals in the Lightweight Men’s Double sculls, finishing fifth overall, moving them into the C/D semi-finals on Thursday. See statement below.

Event organizers issued a postponement for all racing following these events due to unfair racing conditions caused by variable winds. This postponement ultimately turned into a cancellation of the remaining races of the day meaning that the Canadian Men’s Pair of Taylor Perry and Mackenzie Copp would not race their quarterfinal until tomorrow.

An updated schedule has been issued by World Rowing. 

Tomorrow, we will see a ton of semi-finals action with the addition of the Men’s pair. 

Thursday Race Schedule:
Men’s 2 –
PR3 Mix4+ SEMI A/B
LM1X SEMI A/B
W2- SEMI A/B
M2- SEMI A/B
LW2X SEMI A/B
LM2X SEMI A/B

See below for list of crews. 

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Statement from RCA High Performance Director, Iain Brambell re: Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls Quarterfinal

“I am very disappointed that Rowing Canada’s protest regarding Canada’s Lightweight Men’s Double was not upheld. As heat winners they positioned themselves in the best possible circumstance and were unfortunately impacted by what FISA’s Executive Committee stated were, ‘weather conditions that were not equal among lanes.’  I am disappointed for Max and Patrick and their competitors as they deserve the best possible conditions and processes that an outdoor sport can offer. We will continue to support and rally around all of our Canadian team members in Plovdiv.”

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.