Have a look at the Men's 23-39 2000m race at day 2 of the 2024 World Rowing Indoor Championships presented by Concept2.
Belgium's Ward Lemmelijn wanted to break the world record of 5:35.8 today, but fell short - however he still produced a storming and dominant performance to win the men's 23-39 category in 5:43.2.
Michał Szpakowski of Poland is second, racing virtually, with Jakub Podrazil of Czechia winning bronze at home.
Belgium's Ward Lemmelijn wanted to break the world record of 5:35.8 today, but fell short - however he still produced a storming and dominant performance to win the men's 23-39 category in 5:43.2.
Michał Szpakowski of Poland is second, racing virtually, with Jakub Podrazil of Czechia winning bronze at home.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Yeah, I think so too. He must be more excited than anything to push his brother through this.
00:06 They are going to be, I believe, virtually, or they'll be in person. They'll be in person in
00:15 Czechia. So we saw all of those spectators that are sure to be cheering him on through this.
00:23 Starting out the race, we got off without a hitch. No false starts here.
00:28 And we can see very high rates as we see some of the fastest athletes. We'll see if the game's
00:34 competing here. So we'll see if we can get a look at some of our leaders off the hop. We see Yuri
00:40 Kap down at a 128, starting out very strong here. Ward Lemelin at a 123, but a high 44 stroke rate.
00:49 So we'll be looking at him to bring that down, but I think he's going to be very precise with
00:54 the pacing here. He knows exactly what he's doing. He has a race plan and we'll all be cheering for
00:59 him to carry it out. We have Gaston Mercier here as well, a 129 sitting comfortably on webcam.
01:07 So it's great to see that we have quite a few athletes who are from all over the world coming
01:13 in from basements, the Belgian base and other rowing clubs. But it's Ward Lemelin taking the
01:19 lead here as we expected as we go into the first 500 meters of this race. Yeah, Natasha, I think
01:28 a little bit nervous here for Lemelin because with 450 meters gone, we said we're looking for
01:34 one twenty three point nine. Now, I think you can afford to be on one twenty four because you have
01:38 the final sprint to try and pull that number down. But one twenty five's an upper rate. Forty one.
01:44 That is a little bit drifted. I know he's got a good sprint. I know he can really rattle through
01:49 in that final bit. But here is his brother, Loda Lemelin. We've talked a little bit about him.
01:54 We're now taking a peek into some of the other venues here around the world. We've just hopped
02:01 into Canada here with Kevin Murray. We were just in Italy a second ago. But the race is on in the
02:08 top three for gold, silver and bronze still. Ward Lemelin, I think it's undoubted that he's the
02:14 favorite, whether he's going for the record or not. Jakub Drozal currently in silver medal
02:19 position and Michal Spakowski. That was one of the athletes Pete called out, a member of the
02:25 Polish men's four from years gone by. Lots of experience there and certainly times worthy of
02:32 world championship winning medals like here at the Indoor Championships. But Lemelin, I think off
02:38 the pace here, I think it will be really difficult for him to pull this average down. We'll have to
02:42 wait and see. There he is on picture left hand side of that bigger part of the screen. He's right
02:47 next to Jakub Drozal there on the right, who's in silver medal position. So he's got a pacer. He's
02:52 got someone to keep him company up there at the top of the leaderboard. But those splits to me,
02:58 not looking characteristic here of that world record that we knew he was trying to go for.
03:03 Maybe we've cursed it, Natasha. But look, it's still going to be a very impressive time nonetheless
03:09 through halfway with a 16 meter advantage. And I think our leaders here for the podium,
03:15 getting themselves well clear, but a great race on for fourth look.
03:18 It looks like they're quite close for fourth. So from Czechia, we have Jan Poczek
03:24 and then Gaston Mercier from Belgium. So he's competing virtually and then Loeb Lemelin as
03:29 well. They're all within about five meters of one another. So we'll look for that to progress.
03:34 But Jan Poczek really doing well here, starting to pull away at a solid 129-128. So he looks nice
03:43 and strong going into this race. We have Raul Obraf here as well. I think we saw him on camera
03:50 earlier. And then here is Jakub Drozal, who is your second place competitor. Quite a few athletes
03:58 from Czechia as well competing. You can see we have an absolutely full field at the O2 Universum
04:06 in Prague. Some of these athletes very close to one another. We have Jan Sinsibuk, Thomas Sisma,
04:12 they're within a couple of meters of each other. Moritz Schneider as well, also in the mix.
04:18 Quite a few of these athletes competing in person. We have Daniel Nocek, we have Yuri Kapp,
04:23 we have Tom Atkins as well. Tom Atkins competing virtually. So quite a few of these athletes very
04:29 close to one another. And they'll be looking at plus or minus a couple meters trying to move up
04:36 in the rankings to hit even one of those top 10 spots. Yeah, they will. Top 10 is very impressive
04:43 here in the field that we've got. But here is Vord Lemelin, our current race leader, and he's got a
04:49 mountain to climb if he wants to hit anywhere near his previous records in this event. Still 1.27,
04:56 a very impressive split. He's being chased down by the Polish world champion from 2019 in the men's
05:02 four back in Linz. But Shpakovsky is still a fair distance away from standing atop the podium
05:10 because that is solidified by Lemelin as it stands at the moment. 300 meters to go, though split
05:16 still not able to come down here. And in fact, Shpakovsky currently pulling much faster 500 meter
05:22 times than the Belgian at the top of the leaderboard. But Vord Lemelin now 40 strokes a minute.
05:28 Here he comes 1.26 now. He's taken a couple of seconds off that split, but I don't think we're
05:34 going to see a world record here today. We'll certainly see a very fast time, though. Whether
05:39 it will be sub 5.40, I do not know. 1.30 now he's drifting. I think he's realized that maybe
05:45 it's not within grasp here in Prague, but still, nonetheless, it will be very, very impressive.
05:51 I think the podium fairly set for places now. We'll have to wait and see what the winning time
05:56 will be this year. Year on year, Vord Lemelin comes to these championships and year on year
06:01 he produces a very impressive time 5.43.2 for today. Not quite as quick as last year for silver
06:08 medal, but it will get him a gold here in 2024. Shpakovsky seems, I think, tired yet pleased with
06:16 that and a great support team from Poland and Jakub Podrazel. Great for him to secure a medal
06:22 in front of the Czech crowds. And Natasha, I think, you know, we've picked up the chances there of a
06:29 world record. But look, you know, Lemelin still very impressive, still very young and still plenty
06:34 of time to set that record. And look, I think when Josh Dunkey Smith set that record, he certainly
06:40 wasn't as young as Vord Lemelin is now. Absolutely. And we have to talk a bit about the redemption arc.
06:48 Vord Lemelin won this competition in 2022. He came in second last year and now he's a winner again.
06:55 So he must feel good about that coming back to the top of the podium. Mike Spazowski is in front
07:05 of us now as well, coming in second. We can see from the highlights, he looks absolutely elated.
07:10 We have to talk a bit about Gaston Mercier, his sprint. We saw some 1.23, 1.24 numbers from him.
07:18 So he had an amazing sprint to clinch that fourth place position over Jan Potacek.
07:24 And he's got a great sprint. He's got a great sprint. He's got a great sprint. He's got a great sprint.
07:24 And he's got a great sprint. He's got a great sprint. He's got a great sprint. He's got a great sprint.
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