The top 3 crews advance to the FA final, the others to the FB final.
Prediction
GBR, the 1997, 1998 and 1999 World Champions, are faster in each 500 meter interval
than each of its opponents in this semi-final. GBR should lead wire-to-wire and win this
race. GBR should gain steadily on the competition all the way down the course. This will
set the stage for an FA final in which GBR's Steve Redgrave will try to set Olympic
history with a gold medal in 5 straight Olympic Games dating back to Los Angeles in 1984.
The race for the 2nd and 3rd place finishes will be where the real excitement is in this
race. If SLO, USA and FRA repeat their relative performances in the preliminary heats, the
3 of them will be almost even with 500 meters to go, but only two of them will make the FA
final. The last 500 meters should be wild. Look for the USA to make its initial move up on
SLO and FRA in the 3rd 500 and pass FRA for 2nd place before the 1500. The USA may then
pass SLO in the last 500 for 2nd place and a favored lane in the FA final. FRA needs to
bear down in the 3rd 500 to match USA's expected move. SLO also has to watch out for both
USA and FRA in the last 500, as each showed a faster last split than SLO. Stay tuned.
LANE CREW RELATIVE POSITIONS ELAPSED SPLIT
1500* CREW TIME TIME
---+---+---+---+---+---+
6 ROM <ROM GBR 1:27.26 1:27.26
5 SLO <SLO FRA 1:28.56 1:28.56
4 GBR <GBR SLO 1:28.62 1:28.62
3 FRA <FRA USA 1:29.58 1:29.58
2 USA <USA GER 1:30.19 1:30.19
1 GER <GER ROM 1:30.52 1:30.52
---+---+---+---+---+---+
1000*
---+---+---+---+---+---+
6 ROM <ROM GBR 2:59.25 1:31.98
5 SLO <SLO SLO 3:02.00 1:33.37
4 GBR <GBR FRA 3:02.47 1:33.90
3 FRA <FRA USA 3:03.66 1:34.08
2 USA <USA ROM 3:05.08 1:34.56
1 GER <GER GER 3:05.83 1:35.63
---+---+---+---+---+---+
500 *
---+---+---+---+---+---+
6 ROM <ROM GBR 4:30.94 1:31.69
5 SLO <SLO SLO 4:34.66 1:32.66
4 GBR <GBR USA 4:35.63 1:31.96
3 FRA <FRA FRA 4:36.33 1:33.85
2 USA <USA ROM 4:38.83 1:33.74
1 GER <GER GER 4:41.79 1:35.96
---+---+---+---+---+---+
FINISH*
---+---+---+---+---+---+
6 ROM <RO GBR 6:01.57 1:30.63
5 SLO <SLO USA 6:07.35 1:31.72
4 GBR <GBR SLO 6:07.89 1:33.23
3 FRA <FRA FRA 6:08.57 1:32.23
2 USA <USA GER 6:13.60 1:31.80
1 GER <GE ROM 6:14.00 1:35.16
---+---+---+---+---+---+
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