Brittain and Keeling qualify for the men’s pair rowing final
South African rowers are still on course for one or more medals at the Olympics in Rio.
Lawrence Brittain and Shaun Keeling became the first South African rowing crew to qualify for a final at the Olympic Games in Rio yesterday afternoon when they finished third in their men’s pair semi-final heat.
Asked before his race how he rated their chances of going through to the final, Lawrence Brittain responded: “It will be a tough but we are up to the challenge.”
By becoming an Olympic finalist Brittain (Tuks/HPC) is continuing a tradition which was started by his brother, Matthew, at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The elder Brittain was part of the “awesome foursome” that won the gold medal.
New Zealand’s Eric Murray and Hamish Bond displayed why they are at the moment one of the top rowing crews in the world when they won their heat in 6:23.36 which was the fastest time of the two heats. It was their 70th consecutive victory. The pair is the hot favourites to win the gold medal, repeating their success at the 2012 London Olympics.
Brittain and Keeling were second during most of the race but they were passed by Britain’s Alan Sinclair and Stewart Innes in the last 300 metres. Italy’s Giovanni Abagnale and Marco di Costanzo won the first heat in a time of 6:24.96.
There is a good chance that the outcome of all the finals could be influenced by a strong crosswind, but it does not seem to faze the South Africans too much.
“The key to having a good race will probably be to be very loose, not trying to fight the conditions. You have to let the boat move freely in the rough,” said Brittain.
But Keeling (Tuks/HPC) admitted that they will have to be mindful of the weather conditions in the final.
“Actually it does not really matter what the conditions are. We all have to race in the same conditions, which means it will be a fair race.”
Wednesday afternoon James Thompson and John Smith (men’s lightweight double sculls), Kirsten McCann and Ursula Grobler (women’s lightweight double sculls); Lee-Ann Persse and Kate Christowitz (women’s pairs) will all be trying to qualify for their respective finals on Friday.
Smith and Thompson, who were part of the crew who won gold in 2012, set the fastest time in Tuesday’s heats.
“We were happy with our performance but it is still early days. A lot has still to be done before we can think about the final.”
Smith and Thompson planned ahead to be prepared for the conditions in Rio.
“When we trained in Rio last year we realised that the crosswind could be a factor so we decided to put a rudder in our boat. It certainly helped us during our heat,” explained Smith (Tuks/HPC).
The South African fours, David Hunt, Vince Breet, Jonty Smith and Jake Green, ensured that they will compete in the semi-finals by winning the repechage in fine style. They took the lead right from the beginning and never relented.
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