Canadian men’s and women’s rowing eights advance to the finals of the world championships
It’s too early to announce a return to fame. Still, it’s an encouraging sign for the island-based Canadian men’s eight to have reached the final at the 2022 World Rowing Championships in Racice, Czech Republic.
It’s too early to announce a return to fame. Still, it’s an encouraging sign for the island-based Canadian men’s eight to have reached the final at the 2022 World Rowing Championships in Racice, Czech Republic.
The Canadian side advanced straight to the final on Sunday, avoiding the grueling repechage after winning their preliminary qualifying race this week.
“There is a lot of excitement and I think this moment has been coming for a while,” said Victoria crew member Peter Lancashire of Brentwood College and the University of Washington Huskies.
“Going straight to the final is obviously a blessing, but it also comes with a number of challenges,” Lancashire added in a statement.
“There’s a lot of time to kill, but there’s also a lot of progress to be made in that time.”
The Canadian men’s eights came out of Elk Lake to win Olympic gold medals at Los Angeles 1984, Barcelona 1992, Beijing 2008 and silver at London 2012. This was followed by a down period where Canada couldn’t muster enough pullers to even compete in a men’s eights at the Rio 2016 or Tokyo 2020 Olympics. But this once dynastic Canadian category is being revived.
Meanwhile, the island-based defending Canadian Olympic champions from Tokyo finished second behind the USA in their preliminary qualifying race, also advancing into finals Sunday.
“There is a lot of confidence in this crew and I’m excited to see what we can bring on Sunday,” said crew member Morgan Rosts.
The returnees from the Tokyo Olympics crew of eight include Avalon Wasteneys from Campbell River, University of Victoria Vikes graduate, Sydney Payne from Mill Bay, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski and helmsman Kristen Kit. New on board are Kirsten Edwards and Alexis Cronk, both from UVic Vikes, Rosts from NCAA Div. 1 University of Virginia Cavaliers and Jessica Sevick and Gabrille Smith, the latter two sixth in doubles at the Tokyo Olympics.
The Canadian teams practiced at Quamichan Lake, Shawnigan Lake and Elk Lake over the summer in preparation for the World Championships.
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