Katherine Grainger leads British domination of World Cup regatta

Britain dominated the opening rounds of the World Cup regatta here, with 13 crews qualifying for 14 Olympic-class finals. Picking up where they left off last year, when they won nine medals at the world championships, they showed a superiority in almost every event. Four crews recorded the fastest times in their semi-finals and seven more were within a second. Katherine Grainger, the three-times Olympic silver medallist and reigning world champion in the women's double sculls, is racing with Melanie Wilson in place of her injured partner Anna Watkins, but still looks sure of gold. Andy Hodge and Peter Reed are head and shoulders above the field here in the absence of the New Zealand pair. Single-sculler Alan Campbell and the eight face reigning world champions, while the men's world champions in lightweight double and four were fifth and fourth-fastest qualifiers respectively. They will need to find an extra gear.