Closure of a hot Saturday semi-final at the Henley Royal 2018 Regatta – Henley Royal Regatta Regatta

Some athletes and coaches from the United States plan to travel to the Henley Royal Regatta at the end of a successful sprint season, when they know that they have a chance to win and can choose the event that best suits the abilities of the athletes. fit enough and quite eager to row a few weeks after spring.

For example: The Quad Quad Cities Junior Women's Quad Team knew that she wanted this year, but she based her final decision on the season's performance and a series of consecutive US Junior Nationals . The women of the University of Washington have planned their trip before the start of the season and hope that the trip will be a four-year tradition.

Coaches at the United States Under-23 Training Camp began planning a trip to Henley-On-Thames last summer, in the Plovdiv Beer Garden, Bulgaria after the U23 World Rowing Championships. And many other American programs know that they want to come as often as possible to "show the flag of the university," or reward and develop second- and third-tier teams.

Still others, as in the case of Tom Graves, who is rowing the single in the Diamond Challenge Sculls, make the decision on a whim because they just felt pretty strong and wanted to have fun. "I was talking about doing this in duplicate with my brother Peter, probably about a month ago," said Graves. "But three weeks ago, I decided I'd better come out and have fun."

Of the reasons mentioned above for coming, Graves probably has them all.

He is a veteran of the regatta, having reached the final both Queen Mother and Double Sculls. He rowed the Diamond Sculls as recently as in 2016, when he was eliminated in the innings. Graves knows what level of fitness and skill is needed to compete here in July and decided fundamentally, hey, I'm training hard, why not.

"I knew I was in shape, I was training for triathlons all year and I just wanted to see how it was going to be." There was also a flag to be raised, as in the flag of the Graves family.

Brother John participated in the Diamond Sculls final last year, but he is present in New Jersey during the US National Team Trials in doubles with Ben Davison this week. "We had to have someone here," said Graves.

On Friday, on a day when the US contingent dropped to nine crews for a starting team of 35, but where the nine crews are still in the final on Sunday, Graves qualified for the semi-finals. -finals Saturday after defeating Nuno Mendes of Portugal.

Graves who was a selected sculler advanced from what appeared to be an unstressed time on the course on Friday, overtaking Mendes early enough to control his odds, his course and his destiny.

He must now race against two-time defending Olympic champion Mahe Drysdale, who, by the way, is fighting his compatriot Robby Manson for the right to represent New Zealand at the World Championships. Rowing 2018.

And there is one more thing that Graves must consider in addition to Drysdale's obvious plan for coming to Henley, and the pressure he's giving himself to beat Manson this spring (the last one coup is next week at the Lucerne Regatta), is the small fact that he won Diamond Sculls five times earlier and will set a Henley record if it becomes six.

No problem, right?

"It's just going to another race," said Graves. "It was good to have my first race of the year all the time today, I did not run anyone in training or racing all year, nor did I run it. # 39; one nor the other, I was happy to do it from point A to point B.

"He is obviously one of the best in the world, a double Olympic champion, but I'll do my best. "

And this – as the feast of a weekend that brings the last two days of the five-day event, and the formal dress code that accompanies the mandatory drink consumption of the majority of spectators in the enclosures – and the various observation stations, floating and others, which line the Thames all weekend – is the essence of the Henley-Royal Regatta.

There is something for everyone, enough reasons, and knows how to come here to run

hot as the weather, which was pretty hot for having encouraged a slight easing of the Stewards Enclo a sure dress code and an announcement that blazers can be thrown away, but ties and badges must be worn.

The Racing Recap

The events of the day had a quick start with 17 American crews ns remaining in the race.

In the Thames Challenge, the club team Montclair Mounties, who was first engaged as a junior crew at the PE of Montclair, New Jersey, continued his way past the skeptical and dismissed the Cork eight in the first quarter-final. Event. Montclair is among the hopes Sunday for the United States and will row the Thames A tomorrow.

The Temple Challenge still has two American universities, and you would not know it – they are clashing in what can be considered a rematch of the IRA (sort of). The eight national champions of Yale University will face Washington in the semifinals.

It may not be the same for every school, but it's quick and fast, and this race should be at the brand level. Yale has been rowing through American rivals since they started Wednesday against Temple University, then defeated the University of Bath, to set up a duel with the Princeton Lightweight Men.

The Tigers swore Thursday not to be impressed by Yale's heavy, and they were not. They did not win, but they certainly tried, fighting the length of the course, in what they said was unregulated water, at a loss of a seat or as the verdict says, a canvas.

"It took a bit of time for us to catch up," said Marcus Jonas. "We would have it, and we would be slammed by the washing, and that would stop us from turning, so we should work to get it back." 19659002 "" It was like everything was down here, we lost it, lost it, lost it, "he said. I'm so proud of guys. We managed to hold for four minutes without seeing the other crew. It was pretty good and I'm pretty happy to be there even though the result was not there.

Washington reached its semifinal and Yale, beating ASR Nereus in the Netherlands, the day Brown University was eliminated by Newcastle A and Syracuse was beaten by local favorites, Oxford Brookes A

Thus, at the end of the day Saturday, there will be a college men's eighteen "

The Remenham Challenge Cup, a women's eighth event of the University, also has a good chance of having a crew in the final and another one who has shown themselves ready to participate in the donations ceremony. (You just have to like Henley talk, do not medal here, win prizes! )

The eight of Washington clashed at the US U23 national team's training camp and really had no problem rowing early and rowed compound to the line. (Read an earlier report on tha Yale University is also in one of the two semifinals after defeating the female Nereus Crew, and beat them in a crazy sprint.

"It was just a burner from start to finish," said Audrey Malzahn. "And in the end, we just tied ourselves to stay in the fight and we fought to finish it." We were down when we probably stretched out, like 300 meters, up to the last 500 meters, when we finally had our bow in front of us

"I had a lot of confidence in my daughters, they have a lot of power, so I knew that if we could stay in, they would be able to shut it down. " The sprint had spectators on their feet and cheering, but Malzahn said that she did not hear him.

"I heard nothing" she said "I've been listening to what we were doing." J & # I was just trying to go from the front to the end and screaming things like I had to go get your ball from the front, do whatever you have to do.

" I am very excited and very proud of my daughters. "

Yale now receives the team from the Australian National Training Center who eliminated the University of Iowa in the quarter-final

Among the smallest US crews still in contention are the four light heavyweights from Columbia University at the Prince Albert Challenge Cup and the University of Washington twice at the Stoner Challenge Trophy.

Klara Grube and Kenzie Waltar of Washington participated in what appeared to be an easy win against the Gloucester Rowing Club and went tomorrow will be against the University of Exeter.

The Columbia men, meanwhile, had to work from behind to pass in front of the National University of Ireland, Galway. The Irish came close to a length in the first half, but Columbia scooped up until they took a lead, then build on to win off.

They run in the semifinal against the Goldie Boat Club for a shot at Sunday's final.

Among the American crews who participated in Thursday's quarterfinals, the race of the day should probably be awarded to the women's quad quad Y Quad Cities. Y Quad was faced against Britain's top junior women's quad – Henley Boat Club A – who were running on their home run.

Henley quickly took the lead, then began to get in the middle of the course, making a move that could have frustrated a less experienced American crew. But the young champions of the 2018 US National Junior Championships remained calm while the Henley girls were brought across the river by the next umpire.

The American crew moved on the Henley quad and when they made contact began driving for the lead. By the time they rowed in front of the stewards' enclosure, they were in front of a bridge, and when they crossed the line, they had free water.

The US Collegiate Washington contingent and the Princeton U23 training center each had crews participating in the four-year women's race for the Town Challenge Cup. Both were eliminated in the heats on Friday.

Course Notes

It is worth mentioning that among the international elite crews that began today, Ireland's double Olympic lightweight Skibbereen Rowing Club. Gary and Paul O 's Donovan train to compete at the 2018 World Championships and focus on the 2020 Olympics, but do not have financial support to participate in the World Cup II. So they choose to come to Henley before going to the World Cup. III in Lucerne next week.

Rowing against the heavyweights in the Doubles Sculls Challenge Cup, O brothers' Donovan won their first round against the l'. Leander entrance. They will resume the race tomorrow in the semifinals.

This is the first Henley appearance of the Irish double. "I guess it's because we're not on the international rowing scene for a long time," said Gary O. Donovan. "We only spent three years internationally, and Rio was the priority of last year."

"We have always been busy with the world cup regattas, but this year we were not going to the second world cup, and we took the opportunity to come here and represent the Skibbereen Rowing Club.

"It's very nice, very fun," he said. "People have always said how great and fun it was and that we should come here. People have tried to describe the atmosphere, but it is very difficult to understand it until you really get here and see it for yourself and see what it's like to be an event impressive. "

" The race is good, we were lucky that we took the lead of the second lap, which gave us a little more time to train on the rowing circuit. The competition will get tougher tomorrow and I hope we can be one of the biggest events, and we are competing I'm in the heavyweight category as a lightweight, so there's an extra challenge out there to face bigger and stronger guys. of pleasure that we do not do often. "

heard in the men's locker room

" Friday morning we start to have an interesting mix of people here, some are very nervous, others have a hangover. an obvious recruit holding a bucket.

Blazers Down

At around 12:45 pm, an announcement was made that because of the heat, the requirement to wear a blazer in the speaker Stewards were suspended. "But only for today, and we demand that you continue to wear ties and continue to display your badges."

This will probably happen again tomorrow because the heat should not decrease much.

Eyes in the Sky

Henley prohibits photographers from taking photos of spectators in the Stewards' compound. I wonder if this guy in the flying over the military helicopter has been informed?

For what it's worth, he had a very nice view.