Olympic Rowing Regatta: Media Highlights on 6 August

While the Guardian focused on the Serbian men's coxless pair boat flipping in the unstable wind conditions, the CNN re-aired an older report featuring the Angolan lightweight men's double scull that had secured the African nation the first Olympic rowing appearance ever.

České veslování má juniorského mistra světa na skifu

ENGLISH TITLE: Czech Rowing Has a Junior World Champion in Single Sculls

Veslař Michal Plocek z Uherského Hradiště dnes na juniorském mistrovství světa suverénně vyhrál finále skifu. Na umělé dráze v bulharském Plovdivu ujel dvoukilometrovou závodní trať ve velmi rychlém čase 7:03,47. Druhý Slovinec Jernej Markovc v cíli zaostal o 5,54 sekundy. Bronz získal Číňan Kang-kang Li (Ganggang Li).

The Late Serbian Rower Had a Negative Doping Test Few Days Before Death

The nightmare is here: used to hearing news of sudden death cases among young athletes in other sports, no rowing friend anywhere in the world can ignore the death of Serbia’s 24-year-old elite rower Nemanja Nešić (Немања Нешић). He has passed away during a morning training session on the Danube river in his hometown, Smederevo (Смедерево).

YouTube screen grab from a local television report on the funeral of Nemanja Nešić on 8 June 2012.

Nemanja Nešić rowed on Wednesday, 6 June in a lightweight double scull with partner Miloš Stanojević (Милош Станојевић), accompanied in a motorboat by coach Dejan Guslov (Дејан Гуслов). The Secretary-General of the Serbian Rowing Federation, Nebojša Jevremović (Небојша Јевремовић) described the tragedy as follows: “Nemanja got sick during the training. The fellow-rower from the boat hurried to help him and so did the coach. (…) They immediately took him off the boat and went to the shore where an ambulance was waiting. But, unfortunately, he had already been dead.” The ambulance team tried to resuscitate Nešić but in vain, Serbia’s rowing head told the media on 6 June.

Speaking about the regular medical testing, Jevremović said: “Nothing showed that a tragedy might happen. Nemanja had been a member of the national team for eight years, and, just as other team members, he would undergo a medical check twice a year. Last time he went for the check five months ago and the results simply did not indicate any problem.”

The chairman of the Serbian Olympic Committee, Vlade Divac (Владе Дивац) told the Serbian media on 7 June that Nešić was even scheduled for a regular medical check on that date, one day before which he had passed away. In Divac’s words, “Nemanja Nešić passed the last medical check in November and also in the meantime underwent common medical testing for athletes. Today, on Thursday, he was about to go for another check.”

An online version of Serbia’s Sportski Žurnal (Спортски Журнал) newspaper wrote on 7 June that international anti-doping commissioners visited Nešić in Smederevo some ten days before his sudden death and the doping test was negative.

Čtyři evropské medaile pro české veslaře

ENGLISH TITLE: Four European Medals Go to Czech Rowers

Skifařka Mirka Knapková dnes na veslařském mistrovství Evropy v bulharském Plovdivu s přehledem vyhrála finále. Po letošním titulu mistryně světa tak získává i evropské prvenství.

Osma mužů (Jiří Srna – Kornel Altman – David Szabó – Jan Pilc – Jakub Podrazil – Jakub Koloc – Petr Melichar – Matyáš Klang – kormidelník Martin Šuma) vybojovala stříbrnou medaili. Rychlejší byla jen polská sestava, která patří mezi světovou špičku.

Také čtyřka mužů lehkých vah ve složení Jan Vetešník – Ondřej Vetešník – Jiří Kopáč – Miroslav Vraštil získala stříbrnou medaili. Po prvních 500 metrech z dvoukilometrové trati česká loď vedla, ale pak ji předstihla posádka Itálie.

V dopoledním programu si ženský dvojskif ve složení Lenka Antošová – Jitka Antošová dovesloval pro bronzovou medaili. Ve finále zaostal pouze za posádkami Ukrajiny a Srbska.

Největším úspěchem hostitelské země bylo 6. místo ženské dvojky Kristina Bončeva – Luiza-Marija Rusinova. Skifař Georgi Božilov, který je vicemistrem světa do 23 let, se na domácí vodě překvapivě nedostal do finále a skončil celkově 7.

Výsledky dalších českých posádek:

párová čtyřka mužů (Petr Buzrla – Martin Basl – Jan Andrle – David Jirka): 6. místo

dvojskif žen lehkých vah (Klára Janáková – Markéta Pazderková): 7. místo

dvojskif mužů lehkých vah (Petr Čabla – Milan Viktora): 12. místo

Čop and Knapková Grab the Golden Cups of Philadelphia

Slovenian rower Iztok Čop has won the men’s singles race at the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, overtaking Kenneth Jurkowski of the United States in second. Last year’s world champion, Ondřej Synek of the Czech Republic finished in third, followed by Čop’s compatriot Luka Špik in fourth.

It looks like the retirement of Slovenia’s most successful Olympian from top rowing events last year started his victorious spree throughout regional rowing races.

The trophy for women’s singles has been taken by Czech sculler Mirka Knapková. Her rivals were Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus, finishing second, with last year’s world champion, Sweden’s Frida Svensson, in third. The fourth place went to Iva Obradović of Serbia.

Screenshot from the official website of the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta.

The regatta was held on 13 and 14 May 2011. It featured a rich variety of events, with singles, coxless pairs, coxed fours, and eights divided into student categories (varsity, collegiate, and frosh/novice crews). The competition of corporate eights featured crews rowing for well-known brands such as Coca-Cola, Ernst & Young, and Vanguard. World elite men’s and women’s single scullers pursued the Golden Cup trophies.

Full list of results is available on the official website of the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta.