More news from the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in St. Catharines, Ontario:

• Katie Courtin ’09 coxed the Women’s Junior B Eight for West Side Rowing Club of Buffalo, New York to a first-place gold medal finish! Congratulations Katie!
• Allison Courtin ’08 raced in the semifinals for the Women’s Junior Eight also for West Side Rowing Club, finishing third and securing a place in the finals on Saturday at 2:30 PM in lane 6.
• Chris Courtin ’06 raced in the semifinals for the Men’s Senior B Pair for West Side Rowing Club, getting second place and continuing onto the finals on Saturday at 2:20 PM in lane 2.
• Tim Moore ’08 raced in the heat for the Men’s Junior Pair for Boston Rowing Club, getting second place and qualifying for the semifinals on Saturday at 11:40 AM in lane 2. He also races in the final for the Men’s Junior Eight at 1:20 PM in lane 5.
• Luke Thoms ’08 will race in the finals for the Men’s Senior B Quadruple Sculls for Quad City Rowing Association of Moline, Illinois on Saturday at 1:00 PM in lane 1.
• Vaughan Coder ’08 and Andrew Safir ’08 raced in the semifinals for the Men’s Junior Double sculls, finishing fourth but falling short of the second place finish they needed to continue onto the finals.

To see results as soon as they are published, check the live feed.

Junior Worlds: Exonians Ian Winthrop ’08 and Jeremy Bernstein ’07 have completed their heats and repechages at the 2007 FISA World Rowing Junior Championship in Beijing. To see further results including live streaming audio from the racecourse, follow along at WorldRowing.com.

• Winthrop, sitting three seat in the Men’s Eight, finished second in his preliminary heat on Wednesday behind the defending champions from New Zealand. The Kiwi crew qualified directly for the finals, and the U.S. boat raced the next day in the repechage. In order to qualify for the A Finals, the crew needed a fourth place finish or better. Coming off the start slowly, the U.S. crew trailed the pack in fifth place at 500m, but steadily and strongly came back. At 1000m, they were fourth; at 1500m, they were third behind Italy. In the sprint, the determined crew pushed ahead of the Italians and finished second to China and 0:00.07 seconds ahead of Italy (see photo finish) in 5:59.47 total. The Eight’s finals are on Saturday at 5:22 PM local Beijing time, or 5:22 AM EST.
• Bernstein, sitting bow seat in the Men’s Coxed four, finished third in his preliminary heat behind France and Australia. The French crew qualified directly for the finals, and the U.S. boat raced the next day in the repechage. In order to qualify for the A finals, the crew needed a fourth place finish or better. Starting off in third, the four fell back behind New Zealand and Ukraine in the second 500, finishing fifth. The four will race in the petite finals on Saturday at 11:06 AM local Beijing time, or 11:06 PM Friday night EST.

Canadian Henley: Eight Exonians are part-way through their heats in their respective events at the 125th Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in St. Catharines, Ontario. Check the live results feed for the latest information.

• Allison Courtin ’08 raced in the Women’s Junior Coxed Four for West Side Rowing Club of Buffalo, New York, getting second place in her initial heat but falling short in the semifinal, getting fourth place. Courtin also raced today in the Women’s Junior Eight, getting second place. Her semifinal race for the eight is Friday at 4:20 PM in lane 2.
• Katie Courtin ’09 coxed the Women’s Junior B Eight also for West Side Rowing Club, getting first place in her heat. Her eight proceeds to the finals Thursday at 7:00 PM in lane 4.
• Chris Courtin ’06 raced in the Men’s Senior B Coxless Pair also for West Side Rowing Club, getting the necessary third place to continue onto the semifinal. He races again on Friday at 4:06 PM in lane 2.
• Vaughan Coder ’08 and Andrew Safir ’08 raced in the Men’s Junior Double Scull for Durham Boat Club of Durham, New Hampshire, getting second place in their heat. They race in the semifinals on Thursday at 2:32 PM in lane 6.
• Tim Moore ’08 raced in the Men’s Junior Eight for Boston Rowing Club, getting first place in his heat. His final in the eight is on Saturday at 1:20 PM in lane 5. Tim also rows his heat for the Men’s Junior Coxless pair on Friday at 11:00 AM in lane 1.
• Luke Thoms ’08 raced in the Men’s Senior B Quadruple Sculls for Quad City Rowing Association of Moline, Illinois, getting the necessary third place to continue onto the finals which take place Saturday at 1:00 PM in lane 1.
• Madison Gilmore ’08 raced in the Women’s Junior Coxed Four for Community Rowing Inc of Watertown, Massachusetts, falling short of the necessary second place finish by a mere 0:00.13 seconds. Gilmore also raced in the Women’s Junior Eight and the Women’s Senior B Eight, getting fourth and seventh places respectively and not qualifying for the semifinals.

Good luck on your semifinals and finals!

Photo from Dr. Ted Walkley

Co-captain Ian Winthrop ’08 and recent graduate Jeremy Bernstein ’07 will be competing at the 2007 FISA World Rowing Junior Championship starting tomorrow. After successfully being selected for the team earlier this summer, Winthrop and Bernstein made the 7000 mile trip a week ago to the regatta in Beijing, China. The venue, the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park, will host the Rowing, Canoing and Kayaking events at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

At the opening ceremony, FISA President Denis Oswald, IOC President Jacques Rogge, and Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee President Liu Qi cooperatively beat a large drum to signal the start of the regatta. This is the first in a series of preliminary sporting events in Beijing designed to test the city’s athletic facilities before the opening of the 2008 Olympics next summer.

Winthrop sits three-seat in the Men’s Eight. His first heat will take place on Wednesday 1:24 PM Beijing local time, or 1:24 AM EST. In this heat, the U.S. boat faces tough competition from Italy, New Zealand and Russia. The winner of this heat will automatically qualify for the finals on Saturday. The remaining three boats in each of the two heats will race in the repechages on Thursday for a second chance to qualify for the A Finals.

Bernstein sits bow-seat in the Men’s Coxed Four. His first heat will take place on Wednesday at 9:48 AM Beijing local time, or 9:48 PM EST Tuesday night. In this heat, the U.S. boat will race against fast crews from South Africa, Australia and France. The winner of this heat will automatically qualify for the finals on Saturday. The remaining three boats in each of the two heats will race in the repechages on Thursday for a second chance to qualify for the A Finals.

Results from the heats will be posted either at the regatta website or at the FISA website.

Good luck Ian and Jeremy in your heats!

Photos courtesy of Dr. Ted Walkley