Lightweight Scullers Advance on First Day of World Rowing Cup III

All three U.S. lightweight single scullers advanced during Friday's racing at World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne, Switzerland, with Sophia Luwis and Elizabeth Martin moving on to the final of the lightweight women's single sculls and Jamie Copus reaching the semifinals in the lightweight men's single sculls. Sophia Luwis (McLean, Va./The College of William & Mary/Whitemarsh Boat Club) won a silver medal in the lightweight women's single at the second world cup last month in Varese, Italy, and opened World Rowing Cup III with a victory in her heat to advance directly to tomorrow's final. Racing in the second of two heats, Luwis took the lead over France's Aurelie Morizot in the first quarter of the race and walked away from the field over the final 1,500 meters. Luwis held nearly a three-second advantage over Australia's Georgia Miansarow at the midway point and used a strong third 500 meters to take a seven-second advantage into the final stretch. At the line, Luwis clocked a 7:32.23, with Miansarow taking second in a 7:43.53. Luwis will be joined in the final by Elizabeth Martin (Lexington, Mass./Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Riverside Boat Club), who advanced by winning her repechage Friday afternoon. After finishing third in her morning heat behind Ireland's Siobhan McCrohan and Great Britain's Olivia Bates, Martin defeated Miansarow in the second repechage by a bowball. With two to advance to the final, Martin sat in third place behind Miansarow and Japan's Chiaki Tomita going into the final 500 meters. However, the American was able to row down Tomita and then edge out Miansarow at the line. Martin finished with a time of 7:34.30, with Miansarow clocking a 7:34.33 to claim the other qualifying spot from the second repechage. Luwis, Martin, McCrohan, and Miansarow will be joined in the final by Bates and Morizot, who advanced out of the first repechage. In the lightweight men's single sculls, Jamie Copus (Oxford, England/Oxford Brookes University/Penn AC) advanced to the semifinals thanks to a third-place finish in the second of two repechages. After finishing fifth in his morning heat, Copus battled Ireland's Hugh Moore for the last qualifying spot the entire way down the course during the second repechage. Copus moved into third during the first 500 meters, but Moore took a slight advantage as the scullers crossed the halfway point of the race. Copus was able to inch his bowball ahead as they reached 500 meters to go and then was able to pull away to earn the qualifying spot. Germany's Arno Gaus won the race in a 6:53.85, with Austria's Konrad Hultsch taking second in a 6:55.08. Copus clocked a 6:55.80 and will race in the semifinals Saturday morning. Racing continues on Saturday with semifinals, some placement finals, and finals in non-Olympic events including the two lightweight single sculls. Finals in Olympic and Paralympic boat classes take place on Sunday. Nearly 700 athletes from 52 nations are scheduled to compete in Lucerne. The live race tracker and live audio will be available on www.worldrowing.com. Live video streaming of the A finals will be available on the World Rowing website. Event coverage is available on USRowing.org and WorldRowing.com. USRowing would like to thank Filippi Lido, the Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Senior, Under 23, and Para Rowing National Teams. Under the agreement, Filippi is providing USRowing a fleet of boats for international competitions including the World Rowing Cup regattas, World Rowing Under 23 Championships, World Rowing Championships, Olympic Games, and Paralympic Games, as well as a domestic training fleet for the USRowing Training Center.