Rowing: Britain's eight storm to final

The British men’s eight opened their world cup account by storming straight into tomorrow’s final after being edged into second place by the Australians at halfway. It was an assured performance, matched by China in the other heat who fended off powerful challenges from Romania and Germany and were slightly faster over the first half.

The women’s eight lacked the lustre of the men, and must raise their game for the repechage today.

The women’s quadruple scullers, current world championships, won their heat comfortably to qualify for the final. Eleven British crews will take part in Olympic event semis today, including the second-string sculler Charles Cousins and the two lightweight women’s double sculling partnerships. Cousins’s win in his repechage is one he should relish, because the array of talent in the semis, including Alan Campbell who ranked fourth in the world last year, is truly formidable.

Yesterday’s casualties were Markus Bateman, sent home with gastric trouble leaving his pairs partner Toby Garbett high and dry, and two boats yet to qualify for the Olympics, the single sculler Tina Stiller and the pair of Baz Moffat and Georgina Menheneott, who are in C finals for places 13 to 18.

Rowing World Cup, Munich

Lightweight men’s pairs (one to final)

Heat 1: 1 GB (M Beechey, R Williams) 7:35.13.

Heat 2: 1 Denmark 7:18.14.

Women’s single sculls (three to semifinal)

Quarter-final 1: E Karsten-Khodotovitch (Belarus) 8:30.86; 2 G Bascelli (Italy) 8:40.51; 3 S Beukers (Netherlands) 8;47.09.

Quarter-final 2: 1 M Knapkova (Czech Rep) 8:23.88; 2 S Balmary (France) 8:33.53; 3 J Michalska (Poland) 8;34.43.

Quarter-final 3: 1 I Obradovic (Serbia) 8:34.39; 2 M Guerette (US) 8:37.22; 3 X Zhang (China) 8:38.17; 4 K Stiller (GB) 8:40.26.

Quarter-final 4: 1 E Twigg (NZ) 8;36.58; 2 F Svensson (Sweden) 8:37.19; 3 R Neykova (Bulgaria) 8:43.90.

Men’s single sculls (one to final)

Repechage 9: C Cousins (GB) 8:10.71.

Other repechage winners to semi-finals: A Nocetti (Brazil), M Griskonis (Lithuania), D Martin (Croatia), A Krek (Slovenia), R Kreibich (Austria), L Zhang (China), M Sloma (Poland), A Aleksandrov (Bulgaria).

Women’s pairs (three to semi-finals)

Repechage: 1 US 8:17.78; 2 Denmark 8:21.65; 3 Italy 8:24.26; 4 GB (B Moffat, G Menheneott) 8:26.83.

Men’s pairs (two to semi-finals)

Repechage 1: 1 Germany1 7:28.23; 2 China2 7;34.64.

Repechage 2: 1 GB (T Parker, T Burton) 7:28.27; 2 US 7:29.39.

Repechage 3: 1 Czech Rep 7;24.68; 2 China1 7:29.17.

Repechage 4: 1 Italy 7:27.49; 2 Serbia 7;30.92.

Women’s double sculls (two to semi-finals)

Repechage 1: 1 France 7;54.38; 2 Italy 7:54.84.

Repechage 2: 1 Switzerland 7:50.24; 2 GB (E Laverick, S Winckless) 7:52.53.

Lightweight women’s double sculls (two to semi-finals)

Repechage 1: 1 GB (L Greenhalgh, S Hosking) 7:59.13; 2 GB (H Casey, H Goodsell) 8:01.85.

Repechage 2: 1 Italy 8:04.57; 2 France 8:06.60.

Repechage 3: 1 Poland 8:04.07; 2 Denmark 8:10.58.

Repechage 4: 1 Greece 8:01.85; 2 Switzerland 8:02.04.

Lightweight men’s double sculls (three to semi-finals)

Quarterfinal 1: 1 Italy 7:15.10; 2 Czech Rep 7:15.64; 3 Portugal 7:17.04.

Quarterfinal 2: 1 GB (Z Purchase, M Hunter) 7;15.83; 2 Germany 7;19.28; 3 Croatia 7:19.83.

Quarterfinal 3: 1 France 2 7;17.97; 2 China 7:19.14; 3 Brazil 7:25.68.

Quarterfinal 4: 1 France 1 7;13.19; 2 Hungary 7:15.33; 3 Greece 7;16.07.

Women’s quadruple sculls (one to final)

Heat 1: 1 GB 7:08.77.

Heat 2: 1 Germany 7:03.60.

Men’s quadruple sculls (three to semi-finals)

Repechage 1: 1 Ukraine 6:24.34; 2 GB 6:25.78; 3 Estonia 6:26.58.

Repechage 2: 1 Australia 6:24.55; 2 Czech Rep 6;26.37; 3 Romania 6:27.79.

Women’s eights (one to final)

Heat 1: 1 Australia 6;38.36; 3 GB 6:51.47.

Heat 2: 1 China 6:44.69.

Men’s eights (one to final)

Heat 1: 1 GB 6:06.04.

Heat 2: 1 China 6:03.76.