The Australian team performed extremely well at the recent World Rowing Championships in Germany, thanks in no small part to a strong contingent from the University of Queensland Boat Club (UQBC).
University Alumnus Marguerite Houston and team mate Amber Halliday led the charge on the final day of competition, claiming gold in the lightweight double sculls.
In an extremely close race, the Australian pair managed to overhaul the Finnish team in the final few strokes to finish on top of the medal dais, going one better than their silver medal from last year’s event.
“We basically looked at the draw for the race and said to ourselves ‘Well we have to be worried about this crew, this crew, this crew and this crew …I’ve never seen a standard jump like this in just one year. I’m glad we were able to jump with it,” Ms Halliday said.
Early on in the race the pair were placed fourth, but through each of the 500m splits they gained position to ultimately finish first.
Following a bronze in the double sculls at the 2006 World Championships, UQBC rower Sally Kehoe has joined the women’s eight crew in 2007.
Although narrowly missing out on a medal after finishing fourth in the final, the team gained an all-important spot for next year’s Olympic Games.
“Unfortunately we weren’t able to find the solid rhythm of the heat. But we’ve qualified the boat for Beijing which is great and it’s a terrific base for next year,” Ms Kehoe said.
In the lightweight men’s coxless pair, UQBC’s Michael McBryde teamed with rowing partner Ross Brown to claim bronze in the final behind Italy and Germany.
Team mate Sam Conrad did not fair so well, finishing second in the men’s eight B Final, which the crew had to win in order to gain automatic Olympic qualification.
The eight will have one final opportunity to qualify for the Games at a regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland in July next year.
The Australian team managed to secure starts in Beijing for 10 of their 14 boats, finishing the regatta ranked second on the medal tally with three gold, two silver, and two bronze.
Media: Stephen Danckert (07 3346 7519, stephend@uqsport.uq.edu.au) or Rachel Hawksford (07 3345 6031, rachelh@uqsport.uq.edu.au) at UQ SPORT
