Watts and Letcher Fall Short of Semi-Final

Published On: 28 September 2017

After finishing in fifth place in their repechage yesterday, the Australian Men’s Double Scull crew of Luke Letcher and Western Australian David Watts have missed out on the semi-final at the 2017 World Rowing Championships.

The Australians were pitted against Belarus, USA, Germany, the Netherlands and Canada – needing a top two spot, to progress through to the semis.

After switching around their seating positions for the race, the pairing had a strong start displaying their strength and skill on the water. 

Whilst the USA surged out to an early lead, the second quarter of the race saw the Australians push into fourth place ahead of Germany and Belarus.

As the crews turned it up a notch over the final 500m it was the Americans who crossed the line first, closely followed by the Netherlands.

An increase in speed from the Belarussians late in the piece saw the Australians finish in fifth place, which will see them race in the C/D semi-finals.

The C/D semi-finals are scheduled to take place today on Thursday in Sarasota, Florida. 

  •  Annika Lee-Jones