Paris Olympics Day Four, Theatrical Tuesday

Paris, France

4 minute read
Words Tom Ransley
Photography Benedict Tufnell
Published 30.07.24

Borrowing from French theatre traditions, this morning’s racing got underway with les trois coups. Bang. Bang. Bang. A sweltering display of rowing brilliance followed and whetted the appetite for the medal races which start tomorrow. Today’s epic action could easily have passed for epic Olympic finals in their own right. Our watery stage was without a ripple, flawless and glassy. It overflowed with drama as temperatures soared.

The two defending Olympic singles champions survived their quarterfinals, and then the doubles exploded into action. Simona Radis and Ancuta Bodnar (ROU) played a risky game of cat and mouse, proving themselves to be superb hunters. Not so much for Hugo Boucheron and Matthieu Androdias in the French men’s double, whose mission to defend their Olympic title ended early. The Turlan twins in the French men’s four almost saved the day but the crowd were silenced again by a ruthless Romanian sprint finish.

NO QUARTERS GIVEN IN THE MEN’S SINGLE SCULLS

Ollie Zeidler’s (GER) winning performance in the quickest of the four men’s single sculls quarterfinal raises more questions than answers. He looked like a haunted man. A jittery lurch to the line earned him a place in the semi but as his one length lead evaporated by half, the result looked anything but safe. Earlier in the race he sculled smooth and relaxed but in the closing stages, as Belgium, Romania and USA battled for qualification, Zeidler shortened and tightened. Are the ghosts of Tokyo rising? It wasn’t an easy watch.

Jacob Plihal missed out; Romania got the better of the American sculler as he had at Lucerne FOQR. Sverri Nielsen (DEN) played a risky game in the preceding race, which was won by Tom Mackintosh (NZL) but made by the Uruguayan. Bruno Cetraro Berriolo (URU) set the race alight having burnt off the Brazilian in the final few hundred. Berriolo was exuberant with third place, by contrast Nielsen, in second, looked hot, tired and frustrated.

The top three broke clear of the back end of the field in the third quarterfinal, but a tit-for-tat battle between Damir Martin (CRO) and Olympic champion Stefanos Ntouskos (GRE) went the way of the Croatian old-timer. The Greek sculler will need to pull a sizeable rabbit out of a well-concealed hat if he’s to make it two in a row come Saturday. Out front, the Dutch winner Simon van Dorp looked strong, confident, and of medal-winning material.

“I know the semis will be very tough but I’ll do the best I can. We’ll see but I hope to be in the finals. Day by day I find a little bit more,” said Ntouskos. “I hope my body will react well in the semis. The hotter temperatures are better for me.”

Yauheni Zalaty (AIN) chopped down Giedrius Bieliauskas (LTU) in the final stages of the last men’s singles race. (The one which arguably provided least demanding route to the semis.) Zalaty (AIN) got off to a flier as did the low-rating Lithuanian. Japan secured the third spot ahead of Bulgaria.

SCULLED TO A STANDSTILL IN THE WOMEN’S SINGLE SCULLS

The much-touted trio of Karolien Florijn (NED), Emma Twigg (NZL), and Tara Rigney (AUS) sailed through their quarters and into the semis. The most cruise-control race was the Australian’s: serial medallist Rigney sculled clean and clear ahead of Kara Kohler (USA), comfortably out of harm’s way in the first race of the day. Germany and Switzerland poked the big guns in the next two races.

Alexandra Foester (GER) rowed through Tatsiana Klimovich (AIN) to pull up along Florijn’s stern canvas. “I’m feeling good. It was a good race. I’m happy to be that close to Karolien, I didn’t expect that. I’m happy. My goal was to get second place. I didn’t try to attack Karolien,” said Foester, who has struggled with a back injury in recent seasons. “I want to be in the final. My last two years have been up and down. But I have a chance and I will go all in for the semi.”

In the third quarterfinal, Twigg looked composed despite a sustained attack from the young Swiss sculler, Aurelia-Maxima Janzen. But then again what else do you expect from a five-time Olympic racer? The Kiwi champion eventually broke free deep into the fourth quarter. Janzen’s ‘go hard or go home’ approach worked and behind her Serbia’s European champion, Jovana Arsic, came to a standstill after a dogged race from Virginia Diaz Rivas (ESP). Arsic slumped motionless, before paddling forlornly to the finish.

“It was a really difficult race,” said Diaz Rivas, “I have to do better in the first part of the race. I’ll improve this for the semifinals. I feel strong physically.” Arsic, who agreed it was a brutal encounter, said: “She’s (Diaz Rivas) a really difficult competitor. I was trying to do my best every stroke and stay long until the end.”

Paige Badenhorst, the South African sculler, was caught in no-woman’s land in the fourth W1x quarterfinal, well clear of the back two but unable to crack Austria’s Tokyo medallist Magdalena Lobnig, who gathers pace post-rehabilitation from injury. Lithuania’s Viktorija Senkute won, having responded well to Anna Prakaten’s (UZB) mid-race effort.

MUM-STRENGTH SEMIFINALS WOMEN’S DOUBLES

The first French crew to race down the track came in the first semi of the women’s double. Elodie Ravera Scaramozzino and Emma Lunatti (FRA) had to hit the afterburners to book a spot into the medal race, much to the delight of the crowd. It was a gutsy race from the Kiwis ahead of them, who were well gripped up and powering through the footplates. New Zealand’s winning race plan seemed to be ‘get out and hang on’. The Dutchwomen turned the screws in the second half and were satisfied with second.

“The heats weren’t that good. We were pretty disappointed with ourselves but we picked it up in the rep and rebuilt. Today it felt more comfortable. We did what we wanted to do which is always a good feeling,” said Lisa Scheenaard. “Build-build-build like a crescendo to the finish. I just said a lot of ‘Yeses!’”

Great Britain excelled in the second semi which was as hectic as it was tight. Romania, who barrelled out of the blocks at 53 strokes per minute, almost let their defence of the Tokyo title slip beyond reach. The Brits fearlessly front-loaded their race but stayed strong to the finish line even as the Romanians rallied and marched back through for the win. The Norwegians did well to bounce back after a bad heat: they’ve worked themselves out of the rep and now into the A-final, dispatching the Australians by a tiny 0.22 seconds.

“We knew if we got a good start, went out with the Romanians, we could hold on. Our third 500 felt really strong, so yeah, job done, into the final,” said Rebecca Wilde (GBR).

Like her New Zealand oppo, Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne (GBR) is a mother and a fulltime athlete. “It’s definitely possible. You need a great support network behind you, but we’re definitely showing you can do it,” said Hodgkins Byrne, who returned to rowing after starting a family earlier in the Olympiad.

BATTLE ROYALE IN THE MEN’S DOUBLE SCULLS SEMIS

Less than one second separates five of the six crews who qualified for the M2x A-Final. In the first semi the Dutch hit their stride to come through for the win, watched on by the King of the Netherlands who attended the Olympic Regatta today. It was gut-buster of a race in which the Serbian strokeman, Nikolaj Pimenov, sculled himself to a standstill two strokes before the finish line allowing Romania through for third. A race likely to be replayed and relived for those involved, but with very different feelings attached.

“We were better today [than in the heat] and we can be better again in the final. We are very happy and very confident with our race,” said Aleix Garcia I Pujolar (ESP), who finished in second place close behind the Dutch. “I love it [the tight racing]. We will remember these races for many years to come. I think we can push to win the gold medal.”

Cool heads prevailed in the second semi. Ireland’s would-be history makers kept their dream of an Olympic medal alive with a well-timed performance. They unburdened the USA and German of the lead with 500 meters remaining. Norway’s hastily put-together double were unable to muster a complete performance. The Americans and Kiwis powered to the line alongside the Irish, with Sorin Koszyk and Ben Davison (USA) taking second by a bowball.

“Everything is going to plan. We are going to keep pressing forward to the final. We talked about (race scenarios) last night. We have our potential speed and I don’t care what anyone else is doing, we are going to make sure we hit 100% of our potential,” said Davison. “We are not going to get flustered by what anyone else is doing.

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my rowing career, getting sucked into the race and being distracted by what other people are doing. My goal today was to keep my head down and listen to what Sorin was telling me and when to do it. That put us in the best position.”

MORE FRENCH HEARTBREAK IN THE FOURS REPS

Ireland and Australia, two nations who medalled in the women’s fours at Tokyo, finished at the back end of the rep. Ireland’s Olympic bronze medallists, Emily Hegarty and Eimear Lambe, were unable to get a toe-hold on this race. The Americans rowed down the Chinese, who held off the Danish sweephearts to bag the last spot into the A-Final.

“I learned a lot from the first race to this one about just how on top of it I need to be in terms of where other boats are,” said bowwoman Emily Kallfelz (USA). “We are going to try and be a bit more aggressive. We haven’t had a ton of races together and a lot of these international race people take off and don’t look back. So we will tailor our race a little bit more so that we are in it.”

The men’s four closed the racing. Less than a second separated the top three finishers who fought for the two remaining A-final spots. Furthest from the grandstands, Italy soared to victory from an outside lane (the only winners from that lane today) with three-seat Giuseppe Vicino eyeballing his opposition (almost) every stroke along the way. The French were revived by their crowd only to fall victim to one last Romanian flourish, 0.07 seconds separating the locals from a shot at the medals.

“Despite everything, that was a huge race and we’re happy with our race,” said Teo Rayet (FRA). “It’s the first time in the last two years that we’re not in the final, but I still think it’s our best race of the Olympiad. We have no regrets. Even if we were disappointed crossing the finish line, there’s no regrets in the way we raced the race.

“There was really nothing in it at the finish. It didn’t go our way, but we are proud of our race.”

And that concluded all the drama for today, well, except for the possible lighting show in the forecasted evening thunderstorms. One more sleep remains before the first Paris Olympic rowing medals (M4x and W4x) are awarded.