Top rowers
Top rowers
Top rowers
Top rowers
Top rowers
abcd=16 yo Emma Salter [back] & 17yo Caitlin Riley.ef=[L2R] 17yo Matt Madden, 15yo Joe McMahon, 15yo Tom McMahon & 15 yo Eric Ford. g=15yo Chanel Breeze.hij=16yo Tallara Tuckerman.
THE South Korean team is already here; they lobbed in last Friday and that's no surprise.
After all, they're escaping sub-zero temperatures in their part of the northern hemisphere.
But the warmer climate is not the prime reason they're in Penrith.
They're here for the Rowing World Cup and will be joined by teams from all parts of the globe in coming days and weeks.
They'll all be training on the mighty waters of the Nepean River and it will be the first time the event has been held outside Europe.
Once again the Nepean will take its place as one of the world's great waterways, alongside the Amazon, the Nile, the Danube and the Mississippi.
The Nepean's grandeur was recognised when the legendary Sir Stephen Redgrave won the last of his five single-scull gold medals, at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Once more its sweet, rolling tide will welcome the world's best.
And Nepean Rowing Club has some of the world's best training facilities.
Another bonus — its members will share in the benefits.
The club's teenage competitors training for the state and national championships will row alongside leading international athletes here for the cup, March 18-24.
They'll absorb training regimes and techniques in this most difficult of sports.
While every race only comes down to an average of 7-8 minutes, each is akin to an endurance run.
Yet another bonus: there should be a few dollars spent in Penrith.
The visitors are unlikely to go to water in the spending caper.