New Zealand continued to light up the Olympic rowing course today.
By the end of a busy morning session:
Shannon Cox and Jackie Kiddle had won their lightweight women’s double sculls heat in the fastest time of the day to advance to the semi-finals.
The women’s four of Jackie Gowler, Phoebe Spoors, Davina Waddy and Kerri Williams had finished second in their heat to qualify for the final.
The men’s four of Ollie MacLean, Logan Ullrich, Tom Murray and Matt Macdonald had won their heat in the fastest time of the day to advance to the final.
Daniel Williamson and Phil Wilson were second in their men’s pair heat in 6 min 32.44s to qualify for the semi-finals.
The women’s pair of Katie Haines and Alana Sherman were fifth in their heat and now go into the repechage for the event.
Williamson and Wilson were involved in a four-way photo finish that resulted in the world champions Switzerland being placed fourth and having to go into the repechage.
Though the New Zealanders are a relatively new combination, they’ve settled quickly.
“We made a great start and just trusted our rhythm in the middle stages,” said Williamson. “When it’s so close over the last 50 metres you just keep your eyes still and pull hard.”
Wilson said it was good to be in the mix with some of the top-ranking crews. “We’ve been working to get ready for the big show here, and it was great to have that first hit-out.”
Davina Waddy said that after such a long build-up, the women’s four were stoked to finally get their Olympics under way. “We loved the atmosphere, the boat is going good and today we executed what we wanted. The good thing is what we think we’ve got a bit more to give.”