Victorian Institute of Sport rowers have brought home a gold and bronze medal at the World Rowing Cup II in Linz, Austria.
The VIS duo of Lucy Stephan and Rosie Popa, together with Molly Goodman and Sarah Hawe won gold in the Women’s Four in overcast conditions in Linz.
With 500m remaining the crew upped their stroke rate to 38 which put the boat in a commanding lead. In the final stages, the crew again increased their stroke rate to 40 which ensured the gold medal was theirs.
Lucy Stephan believes there is more in the tank for the crew to further dominate the waters.
“Our race was alright, but it wasn’t the best. We always say we want our worst to be better than everyone’s best, so we managed to do that today. Next we will be taking an eight to Henley Royal Regatta before heading off to Lucerne for the final World Rowing Cup,” said Stephan.
Addy Dunkley-Smith and coxswain, James Rook were bronze medallists in the Women’s Eight.
The crew came out of the blocks firing, taking an early lead at the 500m mark with a stroke rate of 46 per minute. The Dutch and New Zealand crews were too strong on the day to claim gold and silver respectively.
The Men’s Eight consisting of VIS rowers, Josh Booth, Tim Masters, Simon Keenan, Angus Widdicombe and Liam Donald finished fifth.
The team will return to the ETC in Gavirate, Italy to train before World Cup III at Lucern, Switzerland between 13-15th July.
Photo credit: Rowing Australia
