2008 World Junior Championships– Linz Ottensheim, Austria

As is normal in Olympic years, the non-Olympic senior events were combined with the junior championships. The senior events are recorded under the 2008 world championships chapter.

The boatshed at Linz

Photo courtesy of Andrew Dee

The following commentary was published by Rowing Australia:

Maddie Edmunds and Anna Kaszycki were Australia's first competitors on finals day of the World Junior Championships as they contested the B final of the Women's Double Scull. After a slow start Edmunds and Kaszycki moved from fourth to second by the halfway mark of the race and sat behind the Czech Republic by less than a second. The girls showed their strength over the closing 1000 metres of the race to run over the top of the Czech Republic and win the race in a time of 7:25.69 by over four seconds in a great start to the day for Australia.

Thomas Cox, Jonathan Trovas, Christopher Anderson and Scott Laidler were next to compete in the B Final of the Men's Quad Scull. The boys rowed well throughout the race but were unable to match the pace of the two leading crews from the Czech Republic and Romania and settled in for a battle with the fast-finishing Hungarian crew. Australia completed the course in a time of 6:15.00 to edge out Hungary for third place by only three hundredths of a second.

The first A Final of the day for Australia came with the Junior Women's Four. Rachel See, Beatrix Sheldrick, Ashliegh Peppernel and Olivia Heath held with the top four crews over the first 1000 metres of the race but were unable to close the gap over the last 1000 metres as the pace quickened towards the finish line. The girls crossed the line in a time of 7:16.87 to finish in 5th place, which is an impressive result in a quality field. New Zealand won the final ahead of Italy and Great Britain.

Alexandra Hagan made the final of the very difficult Women's Single Scull and was unable to match the pace of the exceptionally talented rower from Germany who finished a full eight seconds clear of the field. Hagan reached fourth place after the first 500 metres but slipped back to fifth place at the halfway mark of the race and held this position for the rest of the race to finish in a time of 8:08.48.

Taylor Wilczynski won Australia's first medal of the World Junior Championships with a bronze medal in the Men's Single Scull. Wilczynski entered the final after some very impressive rows in his earlier races in the regatta. In the final the Bulgarian and German rowers cleared from the field early in the race as expected, which left Wilczynski the task of fending off the other competitors for the final medal on offer. He showed experience beyond his years to construct a great race and finish in a time of 7:21.85 to finish third and over four seconds clear of the fourth-placed sculler from Serbia.

Ryan Edwards and Matthew Dignan, inspired by the effort of Wilczynski followed up with a bronze medal of their own in the Men's Pair. The New South Wales combination sat mid-field for the majority of the race before four crews became locked in a battle for the medals over the last 500 metres. Greece managed to hold out to win by just over a boat length from Germany in second place, with Australia less than half a second further back. Their time of 6:56.99 was excellent and the boys were wrapped with their medal.

Nicholas Barnier and Sascha Belonogoff won the third bronze medal for Australia in the final of the Men's Double Scull. Entering the final as the quickest qualifiers, Barnier and Belonogoff were in fourth place through the first 500 metres before moving into third position at the halfway mark. They tried to chase down Germany and Lithuania over the closing stages of the race but could not quite manage to breach the gap and they finished in a time of 6:36.64.

David Watts, Elliot Bannan, Christian Eyres and Harley Mooney were the final Australian crew to compete and they finished in fourth place in the final of the Men's Four. The boys led through the first 500 metres of the race after a fantastic start but moved back into fourth place after the second 500 metres. In what was a very challenging final half of the race Australia fought valiantly for a medal before narrowly missing out to finish fourth behind Spain, Romania and Germany.

Men's Results

Men's Junior Scull

E1: 1st BUL, 2nd EST, 3rd POL, 4th SRB, 5th AZE
E2: 1st BRA, 2nd ESP, 3rd BLR, 4th SWE, 5th HUN
E3: 1st CRO, 2nd SLO, 3rd GRE, 4th TKM, 5th GEO
E4: 1st TUN, 2nd UKR, 3rd AUT, 4th LTU
E5: 1st RUS, 2nd USA, 3rd IRI, 4th ALB
E6: 1st GER, 2nd AUS, 3rd JPN, 4th TUR
Q1: 1st EST, 2nd RUS, 3rd BLR, 4th JPN, 5th LTU, 6th SLO
Q2: 1st GER, 2nd POL, 3rd UKR, 4th ESP, 5th IRI, 6th TKM
Q3: 1st BUL, 2nd SWE, 3rd TUN, 4th GRE, 5th USA, 6th HUN
Q4: 1st AUS, 2nd SRB, 3rd AUT, 4th CRO, 5th BRA, 6th AZE
SF A/B: 1st GER, 2nd SRB, 3rd BLR, 4th EST, 5th TUN, 6th SWE
SF A/B: 1st BUL, 2nd AUS, 3rd POL, 4th RUS, 5th AUT, 6th UKR
SF C/D: 1st BRA, 2nd ESP, 3rd USA, 4th SLO, 5th JPN, 6th HUN
SF C/D: 1st CRO, 2nd GRE, 3rd LTU, 4th IRI, 5th TKM, 6th AZE
FE: 1st TUR, 2nd ALB, 3rd GEO
FD: 1st JPN, 2nd SLO, 3rd IRI, 4th HUN, 5th AZE, 6th TKM
FC: 1st BRA, 2nd CRO, 3rd USA, 4th ESP, 5th GRE, 6th LTU
FB: 1st SWE, 2nd EST, 3rd UKR, 4th TUN, 5th AUT, 6th RUS
FA: 1st BUL (Aleksandar Aleksandrov) 7:06.32,
2nd GER (Hagen Rothe) 7:07.35,
3rd AUS (Taylor Wilczynski) 7:21.85,
4th SRB (Igor Lucic) 7:26.00,
5th POL (Mateusz Zarnowski) 7:28.01,
6th BLR (Andrei Brouka) 7:39.31

Men's Junior Double Scull

E1: 1st SRB, 2nd DEN, 3rd USA, 4th AUT, 5th ZIM, 6th RSA
E2: 1st AUS, 2nd EST, 3rd UKR, 4th SVK, 5th ARG, 6th AZE
E3: 1st NOR, 2nd BLR, 3rd GRE, 4th TUR, 5th BUL
E4: 1st CRO, 2nd BEL, 3rd CZE, 4th SUI, 5th ISR
E5: 1st SLO, 2nd GER, 3rd LTU, 4th NZL, 5th LAT
E6: 1st ROU, 2nd ITA, 3rd GEO, 4th FIN, 5th IRI
Q1: 1st SLO, 2nd DEN, 3rd UKR, 4th BLR, 5th SUI, 6th GEO
Q2: 1st LTU, 2nd ROU, 3rd USA, 4th BEL, 5th TUR, 6th EST
Q3: 1st GER, 2nd CRO, 3rd SRB, 4th GRE, 5th SVK, 6th FIN
Q4: 1st AUS, 2nd NOR, 3rd ITA, 4th NZL, 5th AUT, 6th CZE
SF A/B: 1st GER, 2nd SLO, 3rd ROU, 4th NOR, 5th UKR, 6th ITA
SF A/B: 1st AUS, 2nd LTU, 3rd CRO, 4th SRB, 5th DEN, 6th USA
SF C/D: 1st GRE, 2nd AUT, 3rd CZE, 4th BLR, 5th TUR, 6th GEO
SF C/D: 1st NZL, 2nd BEL, 3rd SUI, 4th EST, 5th SVK, 6th FIN
SF E/F: 1st ARG, 2nd IRI, 3rd ISR, 4th RSA
SF E/F: 1st LAT, 2nd BUL, 3rd ZIM, 4th AZE
FF: 1st AZE, 2nd RSA
FE: 1st LAT, 2nd ARG, 3rd BUL, 4th ZIM, 5th ISR, 6th IRI
FD: 1st EST, 2nd BLR, 3rd GEO, 4th SVK, 5th TUR, 6th FIN
FC: 1st GRE, 2nd BEL. 3rd SUI, 4th AUT, 5th NZL, 6th CZE
FB: 1st NOR, 2nd DEN, 3rd SRB, 4th ITA, 5th UKR, 6th USA
FA: 1st GER (Martin Menger & Lauritz Schoof) 6:33.47, 2nd LTU (Nerijus Vasiliauskas & Algirdas Bendaravicius) 6:34.32,
3rd AUS (Nicholas Barnier & Sasha Belonogoff) 6:36.64,
4th SLO (Ales Zupan & Ziga Legat) 6:41.31,
5th ROU (Marius Feru & Laurentin Grecu) 6:46.40,
6th CRO (Marino Dragicevic & Mijo Rudelj) 6:48.49

Men's Junior Quad Scull

E1: 1st ITA, 2nd SUI, 3rd AUS, 4th GRE, 5th POL, 6th USA
E2: 1st CZE, 2nd NED, 3rd SLO, 4th AUT, 5th BUL
E3: 1st ROU, 2nd HUN, 3rd RUS, 4th UKR, 5th JPN
E4: 1st GER, 2nd LAT, 3rd FRA, 4th CRO, 5th LTU
R1: 1st SUI, 2nd SLO, 3rd LTU, 4th UKR, 5th USA
R2: 1st NED, 2nd CRO, 3rd POL, 4th RUS
R3: 1st FRA, 2nd HUN, 3rd GRE, 4th BUL
R4: 1st LAT, 2nd AUS, 3rd JPN, 4th AUT
SF A/B: 1st ITA, 2nd FRA, 3rd LAT, 4th CZE, 5th CRO, 6th SLO
SF A/B: 1st GER, 2nd NED, 3rd SUI, 4th AUS, 5th ROU, 6th HUN
SF C/D: 1st RUS, 2nd LTU, 3rd JPN, 4th BUL, 5th USA
SF C/D: 1st GRE, 2nd POL, 3rd UKR, 4th AUT
FD: 1st AUT, 2nd BUL, 3rd USA
FC: 1st RUS, 2nd GRE, 3rd LTU, 4th JPN, 5th POL, 6th UKR
FB: 1st CZE, 2nd ROU, 3rd AUS, 4th HUN, 5th CRO, 6th SLO
Final: 1st GER (Bow: Lukas Linden, 2: Fabian Weiler, 3: Hubert Trzybinski, Str: Sebastian Mager) 6:01.68,
2nd ITA (Bow: Bernardo Miccoli, 2: Mario Paonessa, 3: Gabriele Cagna, Str: Giuseppe Vicari) 6:02.96,
3rd NED (Bow: Allard van den Hoven, 2: Daan Bruehl, 3: Lucas Uittenbogaard, Str: Freek Robbers) 6:05.76,
4th SUI (Bow: Raffael Rowmer, 2: David Aregger, 3: Elias Farhan, Str: Nicola Edelmann) 6:11.78,
5th FRA (Bow: Antoine Briand, 2: Benoit Baratin, 3: Matthieu Androdias, Str: Matthieu Sautereau) 6:13.14,
6th LAT (Bow: Peteris Buss, 2: Voldemars Laudams, 3: Martins Puckurs, Str: Edgars Boitmanis) 6:15.64

Men's Junior Pair

E1: 1st FRA, 2nd GEO, 3rd MDA, 4th EST, 5th AUT
E2: 1st SLO, 2nd TUR, 3rd LAT, 4th GBR
E3: 1st GER, 2nd AUS, 3rd RSA, 4th BRA
E4: 1st LTU, 2nd CRO, 3rd ROU, 4th POR
E5: 1st GRE, 2nd USA, 3rd SRB, 4th AZE
E6: 1st POL, 2nd DEN, 3rd HUN, 4th RUS
Q1: 1st SLO, 2nd USA, 3rd CRO, 4th RSA, 5th POR, 6th MDA
Q2: 1st GER, 2nd ROU, 3rd GEO, 4th LAT, 5th GBR, 6th HUN
Q3: 1st AUS, 2nd DEN, 3rd FRA, 4th SRB, 5th AUT, 6th AZE
Q4: 1st GRE, 2nd TUR, 3rd LTU, 4th EST, 5th RUS, 6th BRA
SF A/B: 1st GER, 2nd SLO, 3rd FRA, 4th DEN, 5th CRO, 6th TUR
SF A/B: 1st GRE, 2nd AUS, 3rd USA, 4th LTU, 5th GEO, 6th ROU
SF C/D: 1st RSA, 2nd LAT, 3rd RUS, 4th MDA, 5th AUT, 6th AZE
SF C/D: 1st SRB, 2nd GBR, 3rd EST, 4th POR, 5th HUN, 6th BRA
FD: 1st MDA, 2nd HUN, 3rd POR, 4th AUT, 5th BRA, 6th AZE
FC: 1st RSA, 2nd SRB, 3rd LAT, 4th GBR, 5th EST, 6th RUS
FB: 1st DEN, 2nd CRO, 3rd LTU, 4th TUR, 5th GEO, 6th ROU
Final: 1st GRE (Bow: Vasileios Ntalamagkas, Str: Apostolos Lampridis) 6:54.27,
2nd GER (Bow: Frederik Prigge, Str: Lukas Oberhausen) 6:56.57,
3rd AUS (Bow: Ryan Edwards, Str: Matthew Dignan) 6:56.99,
4th USA (Bow: Austin Brooks, Str: John Paul Hogan) 6:57.53,
5th FRA (Bow: Clement Duret, Str: Edouard Jonville) 7:03.59,
6th SLO (Bow: Zan Cvet, Str: Andraz Borstnar Vasle) 7:04.66

Men's Junior Coxless Four

E1: 1st AUS, 2nd ESP, 3rd ITA, 4th CZE, 5th POL
E2: 1st ROU, 2nd GER, 3rd BUL, 4th BLR, 5th AUT
E3: 1st GBR, 2nd GRE, 3rd CRO, 4th FRA
R: 1st POL, 2nd CZE, 3rd FRA, 4th BLR, 5th AUT
SF A/B: 1st AUS, 2nd GER, 3rd GBR, 4th CRO, 5th ITA, 6th CZE
SF A/B: 1st ROU, 2nd GRE, 3rd ESP, 4th BUL, 5th FRA, 6th POL
FC: 1st BLR, 2nd AUT
FB: 1st BUL, 2nd CRO, 3rd ITA, 4th CZE, 5th POL, 6th FRA
Final: 1st ESP (Bow: Antonio Guzman, 2: Rafael Moron Romero, 3: Juan Garcia, Str: Beltran Hidalgo) 6:15.96,
2nd ROU (Bow: Alexandru Deaconescu, 2: Liviu Torac, 3: Florin Razvanta, Str: Alexandru Palamariu) 6:18.10,
3rd GER (Bow: Richard Lorenz, 2: Anton Braun, 3: Michael Waschto, Str: Bastian Bechler) 6:19.35,
4th AUS (Bow: Christian Eyres, 2: David Watts, 3: Elliot Bannan, Str: Harley Mooney) 6:20.80,
5th GBR (Bow: Jack Morrissey, 2: William Perham, 3: Patrick Lapage, Str: Kieren Emery) 6:24.35,
6th GRE (Bow: Evangelos Koukouvanis, 2: Dimitrios Nasiopoulos, 3: Christos Koutsiaftis, Str: Evripidis Sklivanitis) 6:29.26

Men's Junior Coxed Four

E1: 1st GER, 2nd ITA, 3rd GBR, 4th USA, 5th RSAE2: E2: 1st SRB, 2nd UKR, 3rd FRA, 4th NZL
R1: 1st ITA, 2nd FRA, 3rd NZL, 4th RSA
R2: 1st UKR, 2nd GBR, 3rd USA
FB: 1st NZL, 2nd USA, 3rd RSA
Final: 1st GER (Bow: Philipp Thiem, 2: Moritz Schlichting, 3: Niclas Orlowski, Str: Alexander Egler, Cox: Nils Hoffmann) 6:25.33,
2nd GBR
(Bow: Toby Mumford, 2: Jason Phillips, 3: Matthew Tarrant, Str: Sean Dixon, Cox: Max Gander) 6:27.59,
3rd UKR (Bow: Anatolii Radchenko, 2: Serhii Reznikov, 3: Denys Chornyi, Str: Anatoliy Vasylyev, Cox: Denys Melnychenko) 6:27.92,
4th SRB (Bow: Miljan Vukovic, 2: Luka Djordjevic II, 3: Milos Vasic, Str: Djeric Radoje, Cox: Marko Mimic) 6:28.65,
5th ITA (Bow: Luca Parlato, 2: Marco Andreucci, 3: Emanuele Liuzzi, Str: Catello Amarante II, Cox: Enrico D'Aniello) 6:31.38,
6th FRA (Bow: Romain Traille, 2: Jonathan Bertrand, 3: Julien Montet, Str: Benjamin Fauchie, Cox: Cyril Gouy) 6:40.57

Men's Junior Eight

E1: 1st GER, 2nd NZL, 3rd RUS, 4th DEN, 5th TUR, 6th AUT
E2: 1st USA, 2nd ITA, 3rd GBR, 4th ESP, 5th CZE, 6th CRO
R1: 1st NZL, 2nd GBR, CZE, 4th DEN, 5th AUT
R2: 1st ITA, 2nd ESP, 3rd RUS, 4th CRO, 5th TUR
FB: 1st CZE, 2nd RUS, 3rd TUR, 4th DEN, 5th CRO, 6th AUT
Final: 1st GER (Bow: Kay Rueckbrodt, 2: Felix Evers, 3: Robert Kueper, 4: Felix Wimberger, 5: Max Planer, 6: Paul Zander, 7: Peter Kluge, Str: Morgan Baumgaertel, Cox: Ben-Jack Drese) 5:50.03,
2nd NZL (Bow: Michael Berry, 2: William Meates, 3: Ben Bullock, 4: Jason Kitchin, 5: Andrew Healey, 6: James O'Connor, 7: Duncan Hall, Str: Isaac Holden, Cox: Matthew Cameron) 5:50.46,
3rd USA (Bow: Cameron Klotz, 2: Ivan Lys-Dobradin, 3: Justin Hopkins, 4: Brian Wettach, 5: Thomas Dethlefs, 6: Nicholas Jordan, 7: Tyler Nase, Str: Ian Silveira, Cox: Keenan Clark) 5:54.50,
4th ITA (Bow: Enrico Bertolino, 2: Gianthomas Volpe, 3: Francesco Schisano, 4: Giuseppe Alberti, 5: Stefano Ferrarini, 6: Marius Wurzel, 7: Carlo De Santo, Str: Matteo Pinca, Cox: Davide Magni) 5:56.26,
5th GBR (Bow: Stuart McCluskey, 2: Ben Bathurst, 3: Sam Hayes, 4: Daniel Rix-Standing, 5: Alex Torbica, 6: William Tew, 7: Fearghus Raftery, Str: Michael Evans, Cox: Edward Snaith) 5:58.72,
6th ESP (er Amador, 3: Ruben Castelo Trinanes, 4: Jaime Canalejo Pazos, 5: Jon Carazo Tobar, 6: Carlos Rey Varela, 7: Josep Pallares Reverte, Str: Marcos Suarez Figueiro, Cox: Tomas Jurado Diaz) 6:06.60