New Zealand’s Elite Rowing Team will face their opponents one final time before the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in this weekend’s World Rowing Cup III in Poznan, Poland.
The New Zealand team will be competing together in its entirety having been based in various European locations for training and racing since the final qualification regatta and second World Rowing Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland.
The men’s single sculls event hosts the largest number of entries, with 30 scullers. Reigning Olympic Champion Mahe Drysdale will line up against defending World Champion Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic, and European Champion Damir Martin of Croatia as well as New Zealand reserve John Storey.
The women’s single sculls sees 24 entries including 2014 World Champion Emma Twigg, reserve Lucy Spoors and reigning World Champion, Australian Kim Brennan. This much-anticipated meet-up will be the first time Brennan and Twigg have raced each other since the 2014 World Rowing Championships. The 1996 and 2000 Olympic Champion, Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus will also be lining up along with the reigning Olympic Champion, Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic.
The unbeaten Hamish Bond and Eric Murray remain firm favourites in the men’s pair, but will face competition from 16 other crews including fellow teammates Axel Dickenson and Drikis Conradie, and winners of World Rowing Cup I Nathaniel Reilly-O’Donnell and Matthrew Tarrant of Great Britain.
Silver medallists from World Rowing Cup II Rebecca Scown and Genevieve Behrent feature in the women's pair, alongside reserves Olivia Loe and Holly Greenslade and Great Britain's Heather Stanning and Helen Glover, who return following their withdrawal due to illness from World Rowing Cup II.
Scown and Behrent will also be competing in the women’s eight, which will be a tight battle between four boats entered.
Robbie Manson and Chris Harris are one of 17 entries in the men’s double sculls, with World Champion and World best time holders Valent and Martin Sinkovic providing tough competition for the kiwi duo.
The World Champion double scull combination of Zoe Stevenson and Eve Macfarlane will be one of ten entries alongside gold medal winners from World Rowing Cup II Sally Kehoe and Genevieve Horton of Australia.
World Champion and World best time holder Zoe McBride faces 18 other athletes in the lightweight women’s single sculls including Aja Runge Holmegaard of Denmark, who beat McBride to the silver medal in World Rowing Cup II in Lucerne and European Championships silver medallist Emma Fredh of Sweden.
The lightweight men’s four will be hotly contested after the upset defeat of the Swiss by New Zealand at World Cup II two weeks ago, with Matt Dunham again taking the place of an injured Peter Taylor. Taylor’s recovery is on track and he is expected to make a return to the boat imminently.
The men’s eight event sees five entries with New Zealand up against crews from Belarus, Great Britain, Germany and Poland.
New Zealand are currently sitting third in the World Rowing Cup Series, behind The Netherlands and Great Britain, having only contested one of the two regattas so far.
Racing begins on Friday 17 June 2016 at 8:50 PM NZT with heats. It then moves through to international finals on Saturday 18 June followed by Olympic boat class finals on Sunday 19 June.
Live coverage of finals will be available on SKY TV New Zealand on SKY Sport 5, Sunday 19 June 2016 at 8pm.
Regatta information, live race tracker, results and the full entry list can be found here .
NEW ZEALAND ROWING TEAM TO COMPETE AT WORLD ROWING CUP III
POZNAN, POLAND
17 - 19 June 2016
Women’s Single Scull
Emma Twigg
Gary Hay - Coach
Women’s Double Scull
Zoe Stevenson
Eve Macfarlane
Dick Tonks – Coach
Women’sLightweightDouble Scull
Julia Edward
Sophie Mackenzie
Gary Hay – Coach
Women’s Coxless Pair
Rebecca Scown
Genevieve Behrent
Dave Thompson – Coach
Women’s Eight
Rebecca Scown
Genevieve Behrent
Kerri Gowler
Grace Prendergast
Kelsey Bevan
Ruby Tew
Emma Dyke
Kayla Pratt
Francie Turner (cox)
Dave Thompson – Coach
Men’s Single Scull
Mahe Drysdale
Dick Tonks – Coach
Men’s Double Scull
Chris Harris
Robbie Manson
Calvin Ferguson – Coach
Men’s Coxless Pair
Hamish Bond
Eric Murray
Noel Donaldson – Coach
Lightweight Men’s Coxless Four
James Hunter
Alistair Bond
Matt Dunham (Reserve)
James Lassche
Gary Hay – Coach
Men’s Eight
Stephen Jones
Brook Robertson
Alex Kennedy
Joe Wright
Isaac Grainger
Shaun Kirkham
Michael Brake
Tom Murray
Caleb Shepherd (cox)
Noel Donaldson – Coach
Women’s Single Scull (Reserve)
Lucy Spoors
Gary Hay - Coach
Women’s Coxless Pair (Reserves)
Holly Greenslade
Olivia Loe
Dave Thompson – Coach
Women’s Lightweight Single Scull (Reserve)
Zoe McBride
Gary Hay – Coach
Men’s Single Scull (Reserve)
John Story
Calvin Ferguson- Coach
Men’s Coxless Pair (Reserves)
Axel Dickenson
Drikus Conradie
Noel Donaldon - Coach