The 2007 FISA World Rowing Junior Championships held in Beijing on August 7-11 has turned out to be a great success. At a post-tournament press conference FISA officials spoke highly of the organization of the tournament, saying that the FISA was very satisfied with the Beijing event and commending China's rapid improvement in the sport of rowing.

At the beginning of the press-conference, Mike Tanner, Chairman of the FISA Event Commission, made his daily briefing as usual. "We had the finals at 3:00 p.m. which will be the exact time for finals of the 2008 Olympic Games," he said. He added that the water and temperature were very good for the finals and the rowers were all impressed with the tournament. "I think we have just finished a very successful world junior championships," he concluded.

Matt Smith, FISA Executive Director, said that it was indeed a very successful test event for next year's Olympic Games. He expressed his special thanks to Yang Shu'an, Executive Vice-President of the BOCOG, Xia Zhanyi and Zhang Yankun, presidnet and vice president of the event organizing committee, and awarded medals of honor to Zhang Yankun and Olympic rowing Competition Manager Chen Shunxin.

Talking about what to improve for the Olympic Games, Matt Smith said that the FISA and the Organizing Committee have reached agreement on the measures to be taken, such as the lack of sunshade on the stands for spectators, the early turning-off of the power, which delayed the playing of a national anthem, and the readjustment of the audio system in the press zone on the stands. "By staging this world junior championships here in Beijing we meant to test the operation of the venue and gain experience for next year's Olympic Games."

With China winning six of the 13 gold medals from this world junior championships, Matt Smith said, "I am really surprised with the excellent improvement of Chinese young rowers and impressed with their good techniques, fitness and excellent bodies. The World Rowing Championships will be held in two weeks, we'll see if Chinese rowers will make 2007 a year of rowing for China. I think they will, as they achieved very good results and attained a world level not only at the World Rowing U-23 Championships but also at the World Cup and World Junior Championships."