Member Association News: AUS Names Crew for 2008 WUC Rowing
September 4th, 2008
Temperatures are expected to soar in Belgrade over the weekend for the 10th FISU World University Rowing Championships. The Australian Team is set to row along the popular Ada Ciganlija beach front, which come Saturday, will likely resemble Bondi Beach at Christmas with the mercury set to reach 38’C. Australian Team Captain and Stroke of the Men’s Four, Dominic Grimm (Sydney University), will carry the flag in the Opening Ceremony where all 27 participating countries will be represented. Australia will start its campaign on Friday at 9.35am (5.35pm AEST) with the women’s Double Sculls crew of Emma Costello and Chloe O’Regan, both of Sydney University. Australia will be represented in five (5) events at the championships: Men’s and Women’s Coxless Four, Men’s and Women’s Double Sculls and Men’s Lightweight Single Scull. Almost 400 athletes and officials will contest the 13 Gold medals at the Championships. Friday will see the rowing of the heats, followed by the Repechages, Semi-finals and B Finals on Saturday. The A finals on Sunday commence at 11.15am (7.15pm AEST) with Australia’s campaign culminating at 1.45pm (9.45pm AEST) with the Men’s Double Sculls crew of Michael Smith (University of Queensland) and Simon Booth (University of Melbourne). The Australian Team is not concerned by the experience of the opposition, as they have spent the bulk of the Australian winter preparing for the regatta. Sculler Tom Gethin-Jones is excited by the prospect of strong competition. “It’s an excellent opportunity to compete against some of the World’s top rowers”, said Gethin-Jones. The coaches of the crews have extensive international experience and will have ensured their crews are race-ready come the heats. The University Championships is the first international regatta since the Beijing Olympics and is shaping up to be an extremely competitive regatta, with the majority of the European countries’ teams featuring Olympic athletes.
Check out the OC's website for more info at http//belgraderowing2008.org/.
