New Zealand's opening day at the World Cup regatta in Seville produced a mixed but promising return, with eight crews on the water and five earning spots in A Finals or semifinals.
World champion Men's Pair Ben Taylor and Oliver Welch were the standout performers, winning their heat convincingly in a five-boat field. They crossed in 6 minutes 36.39 seconds, more than two lengths clear of Slovenia and Norway, and posted the fastest time across all three heats to qualify directly for the semifinals. "Good start for us, good to blow the lungs out a little bit," Welch said. "We've spent quite a bit of time since January in the pair so it's good to get out there and do a bit of racing."
The Women's Quad of Beckie Leigh, Olivia Hay, Stella Clayton-Greene and Veronica Wall also had plenty to smile about. A month ago Leigh had been contemplating a winter at home after missing out on re-selection in the Women's Four, only getting a reprieve when injury ruled Kathryn Glen out. The combination finished second in their heat and clocked the fourth fastest time overall, securing a spot in the A Final and putting themselves in medal contention. "We wanted to be relaxed and we wanted to keep it simple, and we did that," Leigh said. "Everyone's clicking well and moving together, there's a bit of something there."
The Women's Four of Alana Sherman, Isla Blake, Kate Haines and Ella Cossill made the A Final too, edging out Great Britain in the final strokes to finish second in 6:40.53 behind a motivated Australian crew. Sherman and Blake were part of the women's crew that won bronze at last year's world championships.
The Men's Four of Campbell Crouch, Fred Vavasour, Harry Fitzpatrick and Josh Vodanovich also advanced, finishing seven seconds behind world champions Great Britain but comfortably clear of Germany to take the second automatic qualifying spot into the semifinals.
It was a tougher day for the sculling boats. Ben Mason and Finn Hamill had a breakout 2025 season, picking up World Cup medals and finishing eighth at the worlds, but they head to a C Final after crossing fourth in their heat behind surprise winners Portugal and the defending world champion Polish crew. "We're a little bit disappointed with today's race," Mason said. "Obviously we had some good success last season, so we've built up a high expectation on ourselves." With no repechage system in place, the margins were brutal. "Every second can cost you so much in this field, you have to be on your game every day."
The Women's Double of Eva Hofmans and Sophie Egnot-Johnson, another new combination, were fifth in their heat in 7:19.21 after racing alongside Romania's Ancuta Bodnar and Simona Radis, who won in 7:04.08. They also face a C Final.
Katie Lush and Juliette Lequeux fared better in the Women's Pair, finishing fourth in 7:30.12 to progress to the semifinals despite losing to the experienced Chilean Abraham sisters. It was only Lush's second international appearance, her first having been at the Under 23 World Championships in 2019. "Towards the end of the race, we felt that our sprint does get us moving so it's cool to see parts of our race coming together," she said.
The Men's Quad of Arie Magasiva, Callum Tutbury, Oscar Ruston and Ben Olifiers, the least experienced crew in the squad at this level, finished fifth in their heat and will also race the C Final.
