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Grainger's crew take on the men
The final dress rehearsal for rowing before the Beijing Olympic Games, the third world cup of the season, starts today in Poznan, Poland. However, Scottish Institute of Sport supported athlete Katherine Grainger, Scotland's four-time world champion, and her quadruple sculls crew will not be taking part due to insufficient entries in Grainger's classification for a race to take place in Poznan.
When entries closed, only Britain and Canada had subscribed, so their category was cancelled. This followed the second world cup in Lucerne three weeks ago, when Grainger's crew suffered an upset loss at the hands of China and the US, both of who have now left Europe to conclude their preparations.
With the need for a race-pace preparation, Grainger's crew were accepted to race in the elite men's event at Marlow Regatta being held on the Eton course which will host the 2012 London Olympic regatta.
Before the race Grainger said: “It is hugely disappointing [about the World Cup], but we are really grateful to the Marlow organisers who are giving us this great piece of racing experience.
“It's quite exciting, and we don't know what to expect.”
Reflecting on her unexpected defeat in Lucerne, Grainger said: “This all makes Beijing so much closer. The Lucerne performance wasn't our standard, and there were reasons. But we can turn being beaten to our advantage. We're not scared.”
On Sunday (22 June) Katherine Grainger and her team came 5th in the men's final.