First stage of the Rowing World Cup concludes in Bled, Slovenia

The first stage of the 2010 Rowing World Cup ended today on another successful note for Great Britain. Team GB concluded the regatta with 75 points, having won a total of 16 medals, 9 of them gold. Great Britain begin yet another World Rowing season as strong contenders of the overall cup which will be decided in July.

The Blue Riband events of the regatta, the women's and men's single sculls and the women's and men's eight, were raced in rainy conditions at the end of an intense racing programme. These four events have been placed at the end of the overall racing schedule in an effort to better promote the sport by creating a one hour block of events that can be easily broadcast on TV.

The women's eight was raced first, and was won by Great Britain ahead of the Netherlands and China.

Coming in next, and braving the heavy rain, were the women's single sculls, as usual dominated by Belarus' Ekaterina Karsten who took gold, New Zealand's Emma Twigg who took silver, and Bin Tang of China bronze. The men's single was won by Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic ahead of Alan Campbell of Great Britain and Marcel Hacker of Germany.

The first surprise of the day came in the women's pair, when 2009 World Champions Erin Cafaro and Susan Francia from the USA were left behind in a race dominated by Canada. Canada had been setting good times in previous rounds with their new combination of Krista Guloien and Ashley Brzozowicz. As the race headed to the finish, China proved they meant business, keeping up with USA, and eventually taking the silver in a photo finish. The USA took bronze.

Katherine Grainger of Great Britain adds another couple of gold medals to her tally, with a season opening win in the women's double sculls ahead of China and the USA. She later took another gold with partner in the double sculls Anna Watkins as they raced a second time in the women's quadruple sculls.

Everyone was waiting to see the men's double sculls. Local boy Iztok Cop, Slovenia's rowing hero, was rowing in Bled with Norway's Olaf Tufte. Their fourth place finish was strongly cheered by the local crowd, who were there to acclaim their hero. Cop had announced before the event that this would be his last in a long and illustrious career. This event gave an additional two medals to Great Britain, gold and silver, and a bronze to Estonia.

A full detailed race report is available on

www.worldrowing.com . Results can be accessed in the results database website from the homepage.

The Rowing World Cup in Bled, Slovenia, was the first stage of three regattas. The overall winner shall be decided at the final which will take place in Lucerne, Switzerland (9-11 July).



Lake Bled is the venue of the 2011 World Rowing Championships, so this regatta acts as a test event for next year.

Re-watch all the action of the final races as video on demand on World Rowing Live (accessible from the

www.worldrowing.com homepage).

About the Rowing World Cup: The Rowing World Cup series was launched in 1997, and includes all 14 Olympic boat classes. The overall Rowing World Cup winners are determined after a series of three regattas. Germany has dominated the series since its beginning ten years ago. This year, the three stages of the series are held in Bled, Slovenia (27-30 May); Munich, Germany (18-20 June); and the final in Lucerne, Switzerland (9-11 July).