Eton Dorney, 2012: Final Olympic Medal Standings in Rowing

Great Britain 4-2-3
New Zealand 3-0-2
Germany 2-1-0

Denmark 1-1-1
Czech Republic 1-1-0
United States 1-0-2

Ukraine 1-0-0
South Africa 1-0-0

Australia 0-3-2
Canada 0-2-0

China 0-1-0
Croatia 0-1-0
France 0-1-0
Italy 0-1-0

Greece 0-0-1
Poland 0-0-1
Netherlands 0-0-1
Slovenia 0-0-1

(To check predictions for Olympic rowing finals, please click here.)

Americká předpověď: čeští veslaři si odvezou zlato a stříbro

ENGLISH TITLE: American Prediction: Czech Rowers Due to Earn Gold and Silver

Podle očekávání deníku USA Today bude olympijská regata v Etonu poblíž Londýna historickým úspěchem pro české veslování: americký list předpovídá, že skifař Ondřej Synek se stane olympijským vítězem a skifařka Mirka Knapková si odveze stříbro, přičemž v její disciplíně zvítězí její největší konkurentka – Jekatěrina Karsten z Běloruska.

Dají-li se dohromady předpokládané medailové zisky ve všech 14 veslařských disciplínách, vychází pro české veslaře další impozantní úspěch: jestliže předpověď vyjde, stanou se pátou nejúspěšnější zemí olympijské regaty. V medailové tabulce by Čechy přeskočili pouze domácí Britové následovaní Novým Zélandem, Německem a Řeckem. Naopak by za nimi zaostaly i takové veslařské mocnosti jako Spojené státy a Austrálie.

USA Today sestavil tabulky, kde předpovídá čelná umístění ve všech soutěžích nadcházející olympiády v Londýně. Rubrika byla obměňována každý měsíc, poslední aktualizace proběhla 11. června.

Podle amerického deníku by se z českých veslařů do šestičlenného finále dostal ještě dvojskif sester Antošových, kde by skončil poslední. Zbývající dvě olympijské posádky z České republiky – mužské čtyřky standardních a lehkých vah – USA Today nezařadil do očekávané první osmičky umístěných.

U.S. Newspaper's Olympic Medal Predictions: Only Two Nations Due to Retain Their Rowing Titles from Beijing

The American daily USA Today has been putting together projections of the expected results of each sport event at the London 2012 Summer Olympics. With the latest updated version released 11 June 2012, it comes out that Eton Dorney regatta venue may witness significant changes when compared to Beijing 2008. According to USA Today's expectations, only two countries will be able to retain their Olympic rowing titles: the host country, Great Britain, in men's four, and the United States in women's eight, respectively.

Fast-motion video of a new bridge construction at Eton Dorney Lake, the venue of rowing and canoeing events in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games

A total of 20 countries are likely to be represented in the Olympic rowing A-finals, and out of these, 16 national teams should earn medals. The following medal table prediction can thus be summarised (with details on each boat event following further below):

Great Britain 3-5-2
New Zealand 3-2-1
Germany 3-1-0
Greece 1-1-1
Czech Republic 1-1-0
United States 1-0-1
Croatia 1-0-0
Belarus 1-0-0
Australia 0-1-3
Canada 0-1-2
Denmark 0-1-0
Ukraine 0-1-0
France 0-0-1
Italy 0-0-1
Poland 0-0-1
Romania 0-0-1

Synek and Knapkova Sacrifice Munich to the Olympic Preparation

Neither of the the Czech Republic’s top single scullers is due to compete at the Rowing World Cup in Munich this weekend. Women’s 2011 world champion, Mirka Knapková, and the holder of men’s 2010 world title, Ondřej Synek, are both staying home with a plan to focus on training for the Olympic regatta.

The decision of the nation’s best rowers has been reported in a Czech News Agency (ČTK) news piece quoted in Czech media outlets on 14 June.

Rowing Medal Predictions for London 2012

(First released by the U.S. daily USA Today on 7 March 2011. Below is a summary of the most recent update of 3 February 2012. UPDATE: For the latest version of Olympic result predictions, please click here.)

Men's double sculls (M2x)

New Zealand, Germany, France

Women's double sculls (W2x)

Great Britain, Australia, Poland

Men's eights (M8+)

Germany, Great Britain, Canada

Women's eights (W8+)

United States, Canada, Romania

Men's coxless fours (M4-)

Great Britain, Greece, Australia

Lightweight men's double sculls (LM2x)

New Zealand, Great Britain, Italy

Lightweight women's double sculls (LW2x)

Greece, Canada, Great Britain

Dorney Lake near Eton, the venue of the 2012 Olympic regatta. Source: Doc Searls, Flickr / Wikipedia.

Václav Chalupa je ve finální nominaci na nejvyšší světové veslařské ocenění

ENGLISH TITLE: Vaclav Chalupa Is in the Final Nomination For World's Top Rowing Prize

Mnohonásobný český medailista ze světových soutěží ve veslování Václav Chalupa má již podruhé šanci získat Medaili Thomase Kellera, kterou uděluje Mezinárodní veslařská federace (FISA) špičkovým veslařům po ukončení závodní kariéry. V nominacích, které navrhovala veslařská veřejnost, se Chalupa dostal do finálové čtveřice.

Jak FISA oznámila na svých internetových stránkách 21. března, dalšími kandidáty na ocenění jsou novozélandské sestry Evers-Swindellovy, které donedávna vládly ženskému dvojskifu, a dále někdejší skifaři: Estonec Jüri Jaanson (který býval i soupeřem Václava Chalupy) a Fin Pertti Karppinen, který má olympijské zlato z let 1976, 1980 a 1984.

Světový veslař roku: Synek je v užší nominaci

ENGLISH TITLE: World Rower of the Year: Synek on Shortlist

Mistr světa na skifu Ondřej Synek se přiblížil k vítězství v mezinárodní anketě o mužskou posádku roku. Předběžné nominace na Cenu světového veslování (World Rowing Awards) zveřejnila Mezinárodní veslařská federace (FISA) na Štědrý den. Speciální komise spolu s Radou FISA budou vítěze v kategorii mužské posádky vybírat mezi českým veslařem, novozélandskou dvojkou „bez“ a německou osmou.

Jak jim přijít na jméno? Průvodce soupeři Ondřeje Synka pro české komentátory a fanoušky

ENGLISH TITLE: How to Puzzle Them Out. A Pronunciation Guide Through Ondrej Synek’s Rivals for Czech Commentators and Fans

Nový Zéland: Mahe Drysdale = [mejhí drajsdejl] (případně [máhej])

Norsko: Olaf Tufte = [ólaf tifte] (respektive [tüfte])

Velká Británie: Alan Campbell = [elen kembl]

Kanada: Malcolm Howard = [melkm haurd]

Czech Expectations from World Rowing Championships: Knapkova Wants Any Medal, Synek Only Gold; Slovakia’s Babac Hopes for a Medal Too

Nothing but gold is the goal of Czech Republic’s single sculler, Ondřej Synek, for the upcoming World Rowing Championships in Karapiro, New Zealand. When asked by Czech reporters in a press conference in Prague on 14 October whether he aims for gold, Synek replied: “Nothing else would please me. But, anything can happen.” Synek’s replies were summarised in a number of Czech dailies such as Mladá fronta Dnes (with its website platform Idnes.cz) and Právo (with its affiliate website Sport.cz).

Czech single sculler Ondřej Synek earned Olympic silver in Beijing 2008. Source: screen grab from a YouTube video.

The Czech rower’s life moments may come condensed in three days of November: the A finals of men’s single sculls where Synek is expected to appear as the unbeaten favourite of this season are scheduled for Saturday, 6 November; two days later, his fiancée Pavla Bezová is expected to give birth to their first child. “I hope they will wait for me with the delivery. If it comes sooner, I will feel a little sorry,” the athlete was quoted on the Idnes.cz website as saying.

Czechs, Poles Head for Karapiro

The teams of the Czech Republic and Poland set for Karapiro, New Zealand, the scene of this year's World Rowing Championships. Four Czech and three Polish boats are going to fight for medals.

Czech rowing will be represented in men's and women's categories by singles and doubles. The Poles are sending women's doubles (standard and lightweight) and men's eight. The nominations have been announced on the websites of the national rowing bodies of both countries.

The Polish team left Warsaw on 14 October as confirmed on the personal website of Magdalena Kemnitz who rows in the bow seat of lightweight women's double.

According to the Czech Rowing Association website, the Czech rowers will fly from Prague on 16 October evening. They will join their team fellow Mirka Knapková, the women's single sculler who has already been in New Zealand since late September. Knapková was the first athlete to arrive at the World Championships venue, the websites of the FISA and the Czech Rowing Association have reported.

Karsten to Be the Only Belarusian at World Champs

Belarus is due to be represented in the upcoming World Rowing Championships by a single athlete – the indefatigable woman sculler Ekaterina Karsten (Екатерина Карстен). The selection was announced by the country’s head rowing coach Uladzimyr Sinelshchykau (Уладзімір Сінельшчыкаў; Russian spelling Vladimir Sinelshchikov, Владимир Синельщиков) in the Belarusian Sport Panorama newspaper published in Russian. The interview with Sinelshchykau was posted on the newspaper’s website on 14 September and quoted by the Belarusian website Goals.by.

Sinelshchykau’s soundbites largely identical with those in the Sport Panorama interview appeared on the Poland Rowing Association website on 3 October.

The reasons for not sending more crews from Belarus to the World Championships are mainly financial, the coach suggested.

First Full-Fledged European Championships... Finally

The upcoming European Rowing Championships in Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal are due to be much different from the previous years: for the first time since the championships were restored in 2007, Europeans get the opportunity to compete in all rowing events (not just the fourteen Olympic ones) and, unlike the past years again, most of the European rowing elite will really be present.

Rowing is a part of Europe's history. Source: Wikipedia.

The new history of the European Rowing Championships is problematic: the regatta was always held after the World Championships or Olympic Games and thus remained overshadowed by the real peak of the season. Many of the best European rowers did not bother to come – either because they already wanted to relax, or because they knew their main rivals would also stay home, or because they had anyway accomplished success on the world level for that season (European countries won 57% of rowing events at the 2008 Olympics and 70% of all events at the 2009 World Championships). Take Great Britain, one of the superpowers of rowing: two years ago, they sent seven boats to the European championships; last year, there was only one British boat.

In their current shape, the European Rowing Championships have largely become a regatta for: 1) reserve crews, 2) hopeful juniors, 3) experimental lineups, and 4) consolation prize seekers, i.e. those who might not be satisfied with their performance in the preceding World Championships or Olympic Games (see below for examples).