D-Day looms for eight and quad crews
New Zealand’s men’s eight and quad crews have just 48 hours to make a call that will define their Olympic dream.
In what Rowing NZ chief executive Simon Peterson described as ‘‘very disappointing news’’, World Rowing decided yesterday to press on with its last chance Olympic qualification regatta amid the global Covid-19 pandemic.
The regatta will take place in Lucerne, Switzerland, in May, one year on and at the same venue from where it would have been held last year before the Covid-19 pandemic forced its and the Olympics postponement.
New Zealand’s athletes in the men’s eight and quad will need to make the potentially life-changing call on whether they want to travel to the last chance regatta or miss out on the Olympics by lunchtime tomorrow.
There are plenty of factors to consider. ‘‘We’re working through those factors now,’’ Peterson told Stuff after meeting with members of the crews yesterday.
The eight and the quad crews only missed Olympic qualification by one spot in 2019 – at the world championships – and with no racing in 2020, they would have likely qualified automatically for this year’s rescheduled Tokyo Olympics if the last chance regatta did not go ahead.
Both boats need to finish in the top two in Lucerne to qualify for Tokyo.
Peterson said NZ Rowing had been optimistic ‘‘common sense would prevail’’ and the next two crews in the rankings in each category would be handed Olympic qualification rather than staging an international regatta during an ongoing pandemic.
‘‘We have given our athletes until Friday lunchtime to consider all the scenarios and their personal circumstances and then we will meet again,’’ Peterson said.
World Rowing said it is profoundly aware of the obstacles national teams are facing in taking part in international events but is confident that the measures planned to be in place are appropriate and reasonable to minimise the risk of transmission at the event.
The postponed Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to start in July, but some question marks must remain given how rapidly the Covid-19 landscape can change. That will be one of many factors the Kiwi rowers will need to take into consideration before making their final decision.