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Rowing silver has duo thinking about Rio Olympics

Victoria rowers Lindsay Jennerich and Patricia Obee did more than win the women’s lightweight doubles silver medal Saturday by tearing into the famed Bosbaan course at the 2014 FISA world rowing championships in Amsterdam. They made a statement.
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Lindsay Jennerich, left, and Patricia Obee won the silver medal in the womenÕs lightweight double Saturday in Amsterdam.

Victoria rowers Lindsay Jennerich and Patricia Obee did more than win the women’s lightweight doubles silver medal Saturday by tearing into the famed Bosbaan course at the 2014 FISA world rowing championships in Amsterdam.

They made a statement.

“This is validation,” said Jennerich, who, at 32, realizes her days at this level may be numbered.

“The ultimate goal is Rio [2016 Summer Olympics].”

Gold-medallist New Zealand was across in 6:48.56, the Canadian boat of Claremont-grad Jennerich and Stelly’s-grad Obee in 6:50.41 and bronze-medallist China in 6:53.40.

It will count for real next year with the 2015 world championships at Lac d’Aiguebelette, France, the official qualifying regatta for the Rio Games.

“If you’re not in the top-eight next year, you’re not going to the Olympics,” noted Jennerich, who emphasized what a fine line it is after nearly being eliminated this year in the repechage stage.

“That can be stressful if you’re not prepared. We were almost in the C final yet we ended up on the podium,” Jennerich said, by phone from Amsterdam.

“It shows how close and wide open it is in this event and how you have to be on your game at all times.”

Jennerich rowed collegiately for the University of Victoria Vikes and the 24-year-old Obee with the University of Washington Huskies. They have had a history of emotional swings, winning silver at the 2011 world championships in Bled before fading to a disappointing seventh place at the 2012 London Summer Olympics. Despite their age differences, they are good friends off the water, which helps with their chemistry and cohesion on it.

“We are a much more mature double than we were in 2011 and 2012,” said Obee.

Meanwhile, the Elk Lake-based Canadian men’s four was fifth in the final Saturday in 5:53.39. It’s important to note, however, that placing next year at the worlds in France would guarantee a berth for the Rio Olympics.

Great Britain won in 5:40.24 with the U.S. taking silver in 5:42.90 and Australia the bronze in 5:43.47.

The Canadian crew is intriguing because it consists of three silver medallists from the Canadian eight at the 2012 London Olympics — Rob Gibson, Will Crothers, Conlin McCabe — and promising newcomer Kai Langerfeld of Parksville. It’s been a slow, often frustrating process on Elk Lake. Yet there has been a dramatic ascendancy as the crew jumped nine positions from its 14th place at the 2013 world championships in South Korea.

“Rio is the one to get right,” said McCabe, of the ultimate goal.

Part of the reason the learning curve has been steeper than some expected is that McCabe, Gibson and Crothers have gone from having a coxswain, Brian Price, in the eight to racing in the coxless four.

“We’ve had to learn to manage ourselves down the course and have taken a lot of responsibility for that. We’ve had our ups and downs but we’ve stuck to the process,” said McCabe.

Crothers concurred.

“We’re competitive athletes and obviously disappointed not to make the podium. But we took a big step from being in the C final last year,” Crothers said from Amsterdam.

“This definitely sets us up. We have prospects. We’re in the hunt.”

The Canadian women’s eight, with Rosie DeBoef and Christine Roper of Victoria, goes for gold today in Amsterdam.

cdheensaw@timescolonist.com