An unapproachable Betis extends its hegemony in the river without giving Sevilla any options

With the street against them and two heavy casualties, those of Jorge Knabe and Patricio RojasSevilla took a gamble at the start, which was explosive, but so did Betis’s, with Tomás Jurado, the green and white helmsman, looking out of the corner of his eye at his rival’s maneuvers. Once over the Alamillo Bridge, Betis was already half a boat ahead of its opponent, who was trying to get away from the right bank and get closer to the center of the dock. Castiñeira, the veteran Sevilla helmsman, never stopped encouraging his troops, but Betis, with Javier García and Marcelino García of one and two, they imposed their rhythm, which can be overwhelming. The effort of the white and red team was colossal, as in the entire regatta, to not lose track of the Heliopolitans. Only if they arrived parallel to the Chapina curve would they have the right to dream of victory.

The Sevilla bow was level with the Betica stern exactly seven minutes into the test. Sevilla did not give up and raised the level on the Pasarela when they approached the critical point of the Puppy Bridge. Impregnable, Betis did not give in nor did they stick to the curve, which they enjoyed in their favor, as much as was expected when the noise and encouragement of all the fans located in the stadium could already be felt. Triana Bridge. There was more than a boat difference between both crews. The Betis accelerated and turned to starboard to take the center of the dock and leave the Sevilla completely behind. They were already in line and the regatta, on the verge of breaking up definitively, was on its way to the history of every year for fourteen years now.

The Sevillistas began to row over the bonfires of the Verdiblancos, which with two bridges still ahead (San Telmo and Los Remedios) they already felt like winners. Using pride, courage and paddling technique, Sevilla insisted that the gap between them not open further and further, with both boats rowing along the shores of Triana and Los Remedios. Everything was decided, although Sevilla pushed and pushed until the end, without giving up. The legend of the excellent generation of Betic rowers was writing a new episode and is already watching the total comeback. It is very difficult what Betis has done all these years, winning in every possible way, with the street in favor (like this year) but also against.

Tomás Jurado, standing on the boat after crossing the finish line, took out a t-shirt with the motto ‘Fuerza Valencia’ in support of those affected by the DANA. A gesture of honor in a figure eight that formed from stern to bow with Javier García (mark), Marcelino García, Gonzalo García, Carlos González, Jaime Lara, Álvaro Gutiérrez, Emilio Fernández and Bruno Eder (bow). Sevilla rowed with Antonio José Díaz (mark), Juan Miguel Palomino, Luis Vilches, Jaime Canalejo, Alejandro Vera, Juan Kaulani, Julio Casielles and Rafael Gómez (bow), helmed by Jaco Castiñeira.

Lots of difference

Without the Olympics in Atlanta Esperanza ‘Polola’ Márquez, that this year competed with the veterans (and won), the Betis absolute women’s boat continues to win. His streak doesn’t stop either. He now has seven consecutive victories and leaves the accumulated score at 15-20 in his favor. Unlike last year, when the start was a bit tense and we had to stop due to the clash of blades, this time it was very clean, without incidents or stops. Each boat, on its own lane, without getting in the way, raising the speed to the maximum because a bad start penalizes a lot in this derby even if there are six kilometers ahead. In parallel they remained until after the Alamillo Bridge when Sevilla’s impetuous pace allowed them to show their bow slightly before Betis went up a gear.

The Heliopolitans gradually imposed their more compact rowing, with Sevilla turning to port, almost touching the blades of their rival, but nothing disturbed the Green and Whites. At the height of Barqueta Bridgethey were almost half a boat ahead of their rivals, which was already a full boat in the next segment, when they overcame the Baños Street Footbridge. With almost half of the race consumed, 2,700 meters completed, Betis already had the test absolutely controlled and he got as close as he could to Sevilla Street to block the way for the Nervionenses, who tried without luck to anticipate that movement, already establishing an insurmountable distance between both boats.

When that happens, the gap not only does not reduce but rather increases progressively due to the structure of the regatta itself. The one who is behind loses the reference and psychologically has a bad time. Sevilla suffered, already very far from Betis due to the Puente del Cachorro. The white and red team did not lose their composure, but the comeback was impossible to execute. The boat helmed by Fernando Cano set cruising speed, setting off alone to the finish line before the Triana Bridge. Sevilla could not even play the trick of the slight curve to the right through San Telmo to try to rejoin a derby that Betis dominated with great solvency and won with a time of just over 21 minutes.

The béticas They rowed with Paola Alonso de Caso (mark), Teresa Sánchez-Lanuza, Ana Navarro, Laura Montes, Estela Díaz, Lucía Ruiz, Carmen Civera, María Jesús Gómez (bow) and Fernando Cano at the helm. He SevilleFor her part, she formed with Amanda Gil (brand), Rocío Laó, Nuria Barrios, Lidia Florido, Inmaculada Rius, Isabel Monedero, María Navarro, Inés Izquierdo (bow) and Hugo Díaz as helmsman.

Tie before the absolute

Before the two absolute regattas, which crowned the intense and fun Saturday day, other races had already been held. four derbies, all of them over a short distance of 500 meters and, therefore, very explosive, in which there is no room for error. At 10:15 a.m., opening the regatta marathon, the Betis veterans won, cutting the overall record (2-1) and in the men’s veterans, then the law of the green and white team was imposed, which has opened a deep gap in the historical results thanks to their fifth consecutive victory (7-22). That partial 0-2 of the Heliopolitans was immediately neutralized by the Nervionenses, who dominated the two candidate tests. In women, Sevilla won to break the overall tie (2-1) and in boys, a new red and white victory to adjust the historical record to the maximum (19-20), still in favor of Betis.