Kiwi girls qualify for A final at worlds

Wanganui's Kerri Gowler and her women's pairs partner Grace Prendergast are through to the A final at the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France.

The Kiwi girls came second in their semifinal overnight yesterday, finishing behind the Olympic and World champion crew of Great Britain's Helen Glover and Heather Standing.

The benchmark in women's pairs, Glover and Standing led from start to finish over the 2000m for a 7m 6.36s time, with Gowler and Prendergast likewise untouched for second place in 7m 9.11s.

By contrast, the Denmark crew were well back, finishing in 7m 17.88s.

With their placing, Gowler and Prendergast were the first New Zealand crew of three on the day to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

In the other A semifinal, the US crew of Eleanor Logan and Felice Mueller finished second top qualifier after they blitzed their opposition, finishing seven seconds clear of the rest in 7m 7.64s.

It means the Kiwis will line up in Lane 2 for the six-crew final against the US, Great Britain, Denmark, South Africa and Canada.

The race will start late tonight, NZ time.

The women's eight final, which involves Gowler and Prendergast along with Wanganui's Rebecca Scown on stroke, will be held overnight Sunday.