Waddell squares the ledger

MARK TAYLOR/Fairfax Media

SERIES LEVELLED: Rob Waddell after beating Mahe Drysdale this morning in the second of three races to decide who fills the hotly disputed Olympic single sculls berth at Beijing later this year.

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The contest for the men's single sculls rowing berth to the Beijing Olympics seems set to come down to a final race between Rob Waddell and Mahe Drysdale tomorrow, as long as conditions allow.

Waddell bounced back from a surprise two-length defeat by arch-rival Mahe Drysdale at Lake Karapiro yesterday to win today's second trial race by half a length.

That leaves the trial score at 1-1 with the final race tomorrow taking on a winner-takes-all mantle as the duo chase the sole single sculls berth for this year's Olympic regatta at Beijing.

Little more than a length separated the duo throughout their 2000m clash this morning. Drysdale seemed to edge ahead near halfway only for Waddell to fight back and claw ahead just short of the finish line in front of a sizeable crowd of onlookers.

However, RNZ has emphasised the selection process for their Olympic squad due to be named on Friday was still a partially subjective one.

That could mean if tomorrow's final head-to-head trial is closely contested, the selection panel of Conrad Robertson, Dick Tonks and Athol Earl may not automatically name the winner of two from three of the trial races as the singles sculls representative if they believe that rower may be of more benefit in a crew boat already qualified for Beijing.

The squaring of the ledger means pressure remains chiefly on the pair of Matthew Trott and Nathan Cohen and the double sculls team of George Bridgewater and Nathan Twaddle, who are most at risk of losing their berth in one of the already qualified crews should either Waddell or Drysdale elect to pursue a crew spot for Bejing.

The other option would be a seat in the world champion coxless four, but that appears unlikely as the crew of Hamish Bond, James Dallinger, Eric Murray and Carl Meyer have been in outstanding form all summer and continued to impress at the trials that started on Friday.

The Times understands Waddell made an immediate impact on trials week when he excelled in the indoor rowing ergometer tests with the fastest time on Friday.

Waddell's seemingly fast boat to China sprung a leak yesterday when the former Olympic men's single sculls gold medallist was beaten by two lengths by Drysdale in the first of three planned trial races.

Eight days after being comprehensively out-rowed by Waddell in the national premier men's singles sculls final at the same venue, Drysdale put himself right back in the reckoning with a commanding performance before Waddell narrowly gained his revenge today.

The Auckland-based rower admitted he was determined to fight back after Waddell gained the upper hand the previous weekend in the national championships final, saying it was the time when he had to win.

"I was pretty much written off after last week," the 29-year-old Drysdale admitted.

"I was pretty disappointed about last week I didn't row well, didn't prepare well for the race. I know in myself what I can do, what's made me a world champion three times over.

"But I'm only halfway there - I have to do the job again tomorrow."

The four rowers chasing two selection spots for a lightweight men's double sculls crew to contest a pre-Olympic qualifying regatta in Poland in June were heavily involved yesterday morning as Duncan Grant, Storm Uru, Peter Taylor and Graham Oberlin Brown swapped seats in three races.

- © Fairfax NZ News