Jun 18, 2009

3 out of 3 and some bonus silverware

My final two days of racing were packed, 3 races per day.

Race 1 - K4 1000m Semi finalThe morning started off with an extremely strong head wind we needed to finish within the top 3 to make the final. We came 3rd becoming the 1st K4 to make the 1000m final. Well done to Len, Nic and Greg.

Race 2 - K2 200m Semi finalThe strong head wind continued to blow and even though shaun and i are a lighter crew we were confident of placing in the top 3 and progressing to the final. We had a near perfect race and won by a comfortable margin. 1 Final left to make.

Race 3 - K4 1000m Final AWe had a great start and were going really well until the 250m mark, we seamed to loose the timing and never regained it. We finished 9th just behind the Serbians (LONDON! LONDON! LONDON! LONDON!...a story for another day.)
Race 4 - K2 500m Semi FinalShaun and i were neck and neck with Hungary's top crew and Canada's Dober and Willows, we ended 3rd and the 3 of us moved on to the final.

Race 5 - K2 200m Final AGreat start even better finish! We got out of the blocks well and were lying about 5th we held a great stroke rate all the way through (145 spm) and crossed the line 2nd 0.06sec behind Hungary. Extremely exciting stuff and extemely blessed to get my 1st international medal on sprintings greatest stage (Szeged).

Race 6 - K2 500m Final AWhat a race, we took it out hard initially putting us in the lead at the 250m mark. With 150m to go we were still neck and neck with the Hungarians and in with a great chance for a medal, unfortunately for us there were two great kicks from Norway and Germany we were forced to settle for 4th place.

I was extremely happy with our results. With three years to go till the London games I see huge potential in Shaun and my K2 combination our first race was two months ago. With the right preperation we stand a great chance of bringing home a medal. Just to put our competition into perspective, the 1st two boats both had Olympic gold medalists and the third a current World Champion.


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