Semi-Finals Completed at the 2005 World Rowing Championships
Gifu, Japan – 29 August to 4 September 2005
Racing in the semi-finals, crews competed for their last
chance to make the finals at the 2005 World Rowing Championships
in Gifu, Japan. Over the last two days 312 athletes raced
to be in the World Rowing Championship final which will take
place 3 and 4 September, 2005.
Featuring prominently in the men’s and women’s
single, the Czech Republic advanced both of their rowers,
Mirka Knapkova and Ondrej Synek, through to the final with
the fastest qualifying times. Knapkova will go up against
four-time Olympian Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus in the final
while Synek will face Athens Olympic Champion Olaf Tufte of
Norway.
Slovenia’s two-time Olympic medallists, Iztok Cop and
Luka Spik qualified for both the men’s double and the
men’s quad final. Cop and Spik managed to make easy
work when they won the semi-final of the double, but they
had a harder time one day later when they joined teammates
Davor Mizerit and Matej Prelog in the quad. The Slovenian
quad put up a good fight but finished a close second to Poland.
The men’s quad race is shaping up to be one of the
hottest of the World Rowing Championships as close finishing
times show that all six qualifying crews have a definite chance
of winning this event.
Germany’s Ingo Euler plans to retire after Gifu from
a 13 year international rowing career which included competing
at three Olympic Games. Euler has qualified to race in the
lightweight men’s single.
Also using this year’s World Rowing Championships as
their swansong, Bo Helleberg and Thomas Ebert of Denmark are
aiming to finish at the top in the lightweight men’s
pair.
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