"Team Ballarat" daily update
ROWERS Anthony Edwards and James Marburg will have their next outings in the London Olympic Games regatta in semi-finals.
The Australian lightweight four featuring Edwards, a three-time Olympic medallist, and the pair of Marburg and Brodie Buckland each earned direct paths to semi-finals with seconds in heats last night.
Edwards, Marburg and fellow rower Tom Swann were the first members of “Team Ballarat” in action on the first full day of competition in London.
The lightweight four of Edwards, Sam Beltz, Ben Cureton and Todd Skipworth finished second to Great Britain in the second of three heats.
The first three in each heat progressed to semi-finals, which will be rowed on Tuesday.
Australia and Great Britain went stroke-for-stroke through the first 500m.
The Australians led by half a length at 1000m, but going through the 1500m there was little in it.
The host nation drew away over the last 500m, while Australian managed to hold off Germany and the Czech Republic.
Australia had the third fastest time in the lightweight four heats, with heat three winner France the quickest in 5:50.79.
Marburg, a silver medallist in Beijing in 2008, and Brodie Buckland finished powerfully to get second to Canada in the second of three pairs heats.
They began strongly to be second to Canada through the first 500m.
However, while Canada drew away, the Australians dropped back to be last in the four-crew field at the halfway mark.
They were still chasing going into the last 500m before producing a big finish.
New Zealand’s reigning world champions Hamish Bond and Eric Murray are red-hot favourites for gold in the pairs.
They smashed the previous world best mark by six seconds in winning the first heat with a time of 6:08.50 – 16 seconds faster than Marburg and Buckland.
Former Ballarat Grammar oarsman Tom Swann, who is in his Olympic debut, was in the Australian men’s eight which finished second to the United States in its heat at Eton.
The Australians were doing their best work in the closing stages.
The eight goes into a repechage tomorrow, with only the heat winners going straight into Wednesday’s final.
BEACH volleyballers Tamsin Hinchley (nee Barnett) and Natalie Cook gave reigning Olympic champions Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May Treanor the fright of their lives in an opening pool game this morning.
The US pair won in straight sets 21-18, 21-19, but had to fight all the way.
Jennings and Treanor have never lost a set in Olympic competition, but this record was under threat when the Australians led 13-9 in the second.
However, the US team steadied and took the honours.
Former Ballarat Lady Miners MVP Rachel Jarry had 15 minutes on court in Australia's 16-point win over Great Britain this morning.
She shot two points, and had one rebound and one assist.
“TEAM BALLARAT” OFFICIAL RESULTS
ROWING
MEN’S LIGHTWEIGHT FOUR
Heat 2: Great Britain 5:49.29, AUSTRALIA 5:51.18, Gemany 5:52.05.
MEN’S PAIR
Heat 2: Canada 6:23.80, AUSTRALIA 6:24.83, Netherlands 6:25.90.
MEN’S EIGHT
Heat 1: United States 5:30.72, AUSTRALIA 5:32.43, Poland 5:35.64.
BEACHVOLLEYBALL
WOMEN'S
USA d Australia (Hinchley-Cook) 21-18, 21-19
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Australia 74 d Great Britain 58