WAIS Rowers Ready for World Champs

Published On: 6 August 2009

The 2009 Rowing World Champs are being staged in Poznan, Poland

The Australian rowing team is in the final stages of preparation before heading for Poland and the Rowing World Championships.

WAIS athlete Ross Brown and AIS-WAIS rowers Libby Alderman and Emily Rose depart from Sydney on Sunday ahead of the world champs which are being held from 23-30 August in Poznan, Poland.

Ross Brown will be competing in the men’s lightweight four boat alongside the Queensland pair of Darryn Purcell and Chris Bigg, and Victorian athlete Angus Tyers.

The Swan River Rowing Club member won a U23 world championship in the same event in 2003, and will be hoping to add a senior world championship medal to his collection.

Libby Alderman and Emily Rose will compete together in the women’s coxless four alongside Laura Otsi (SA) and Sophia Robson (VIC) in Poland.

For Alderman and Rose, competing in the same boat will spark familiar scenes after the WA duo won U23 world championship silver medals in the women’s pair in 2008 and in the coxless four in 2007.

With Alderman and Rose now based in Canberra, competing at world championship senior level for the first time should prove a significant learning curve for the pair.

The 10 crew squads from Australia will feature 11 of the athletes that competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, including gold medallist David Crawshay (VIC) and the silver medal winning men’s four of Francis Hegerty (NSW), Cameron McKenzie-McHarg (VIC), James Marburg (VIC) and Matt Ryan (NSW).