Subscribe
Home Blog Page 126

Titles retained and new World Champions crowned on last day of the 2023 World Rowing Championships

By
Rowing News
-

PHOTO AND STORY COURTESY WORLD ROWING

The final day of the 2023 World Rowing Championships delivered one of the most exciting days of racing yet, with fiercely contested races from the D-finals right through to the men’s eight which concluded the week. 

It was a hot, largely windless day and times were fast, helping the close racing; in the end, all but one of the finals were won by the defending champions, but arguably pushed harder than ever before. The Netherlands topped the medal table with six golds and three silvers; Great Britain won the same number of golds, plus one silver and two bronze medals. 

The PR1 men’s single sculls title went again to Ukraine’s Roman Polianskyi, after he took control by 500m and established an unassailable lead. Italy’s Giacomo Perini and Britain’s Benjamin Pritchard were second and third, as in 2022. In the B-final earlier, the young Uzbek rower Egamberdiev Kholmurod rowed a great race to secure the last remaining qualification place for the Paralympic Games. 

PR1 women’s single sculls champion Birgit Skarstein claimed her sixth world title in a row, and afterwards was crying happy tears as she spoke of her love for her Norwegian teammates and the sport. She was joined again on the podium by France’s Nathalie Benoît and Ukraine’s Anna Sheremet, who moved through Israeli Moran Samuel for the medals. Brazilian Claudia Cicero Sabino took out the B-final and the Paralympic qualification spot. 

Dutch men’s double sculls crew Melvin Twellaar and Stef Broenink made good on their early-season promise and took the world title in style, with Croatia’s Sinkovic brothers returning to the podium after four years, and Ireland adding another bronze to a great regatta. Moldova was the crew to miss out on Paris qualification in the B-final, won by Romania.

Like the Dutch men, Romania’s Ancuta Bodnar and Simona Radis were the clear pre-regatta favourites in the women’s double sculls, and they also won, but not without pressure from their opponents. Lithuania took a superb silver, 0.11 seconds ahead of the USA. South Africa were the unlucky sixth crew in the B-final, which was won by Italy.

The women’s eight final was a fantastic race taken by Romania after Australia’s fast start, and these two boats headed the field for much of the race. Great Britain, Canada and the USA were fighting for third, but in the closing 500m it was the USA whose speed took them not only clear of the British and Canadians, but also past Australia for silver. Italy were sixth, missing Paris qualification. 

Oliver Zeidler of Germany looked supreme in winning a second consecutive men’s single sculls World gold medal, but his effort cost him and he spent some time being tended to on the bank afterwards. Dutchman Simon van Dorp took silver, and Thomas Mackintosh of New Zealand was rewarded with bronze after pushing van Dorp hard and just holding off Greece’s Stefanos Ntouskos. Individual Neutral Athlete Yauheni Zalaty won the B-final to finish seventh overall, with Japan’s Ryuta Arakawa second and Lithuanian Dovydas Nemeravicius seizing third on the line.

The women’s single sculls podium was a repeat of 2022, with Karolien Florijn of the Netherlands winning ahead of New Zealand’s Emma Twigg and Australian Tara Rigney. Kara Kohler of the USA pushed hard in the middle, but could not catch Rigney. Austria’s Magdalena Lobnig, Germany’s Alexandra Foester and Serbian Jovana Arsic picked up the remaining places for Paris 2024 in the B-final. 

Australia’s men’s eight led out defending champions Great Britain early in the race, but the British kept cool and their third-quarter move was devastating. The Netherlands sprinted through Australia for silver, with the Aussies hanging on for bronze. The USA missed out on Paris 2024 qualification. 

The 2023 World Rowing Championships were the first chance to secure national quota places for next year’s Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. For more on the Olympic Qualification Pathway see here. The Paralympic Qualification criteria can be found here.

RESULTS

Race Report: Great Britain and Netherlands Dominant on Day 7

By
Rowing News
-

PHOTO AND STORY COURTESY WORLD ROWING

Great Britain and the Netherlands won the bulk of the gold medals on offer on day 7 of the World Rowing Championships, with outstanding racing across A and B finals. A number of nations added to their Olympic qualification tallies in the B-finals before the first medals were awarded in Paralympic and Olympic-class events; Britain ended the day on top of the medal table with five golds, followed by the Netherlands with four.

Great Britain open World Championships account

Result: Great Britain, China, Poland

Britain’s Lauren Rowles and Gregg Stevenson were favourites coming into the PR2 mixed double sculls final, after a series of World Best Times this season including in the heat earlier in the week. But China’s Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists Liu Shuang and Jiang Jijian were the early leaders, forcing the British to respond in the second quarter of the race.

China kept the pressure on the British duo in the third quarter of the race and made Rowles and Stevenson use all their experience and power to try and pull further ahead. Liu and Jiang kept responding and Great Britain had to sprint hard in order to secure the win by just over 1.5 seconds. It was a great birthday present for Stevenson, who turned 39 on Saturday, in his first world championship final.

Poland’s Jolanta Majka and Michal Gadowski got the better of a race for bronze with the Netherlands despite a slow start.

“I knew as they started pushing back on us we had to go. Today was our day and today was our gold medal. We’ve trained all season for that and we both deserve that more than anything,” said Rowles.

Dominant Brits hold off chasing pack in PR3 Mix4+

Result: Great Britain, USA, Germany

Great Britain have not lost a race in the PR3 mixed coxed four for over a decade, but they were trailing the USA by 0.14 seconds at 500m with Germany not far behind.

As the British responded to coxswain Erin Kennedy’s calls to bring their bows in front, the USA and Germany also kept moving and at halfway margins were still tight, demonstrating how the rest of the world is beginning to put the work in to close the gap on the dominant British.

On this occasion, however, there was no overturning Great Britain. Kennedy and her crew of Francesca Allen, Morgan Fice-Noyes, Giedre Rakauskaite and Edward Fuller kept moving away from the USA, with Germany holding on for bronze despite some fade in the third quarter. For Kennedy, the title held particular emotion as she missed the 2022 World Rowing Championships while being treated for breast cancer.

“I’m actually very shaky. That’s the race you dream about. It’s amazing to have the field so close and pushing us. We had to row our absolute best, and I’m just so proud of the team. They responded to everything I asked, and I asked a lot,” Kennedy said afterwards.

Dutch spoil the Aussie party

Result: Netherlands, Australia, Romania

Boats qualified for Paris 2024: Romania, Ireland, Chile, Australia, Netherlands, USA, Greece, Spain, Great Britain, Lithuania, Czechia

When Australia’s Jessica Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre posted an unofficial World Best Time at the Holland Beker Regatta earlier this year they made it clear they were among the leading contenders for gold at the 2023 World Rowing Championships. But Dutch duo Ymkje Clevering and Veronique Meester were also targeting that gold medal, after coming second to New Zealand in Racice last year.

By 500m in Clevering and Meester already held a 1.55 second lead, and they just kept extending it throughout the race. A three-second margin at 1500m was too much for anyone to catch. Morrison and McIntyre took silver, over Ioana Vrinceanu and Roxana Anghel of Romania whose final sprint was not enough to close the gap.

“We felt all the power we had trained for the whole year, and showed a lot of speed. From there we said make the gap bigger, make it bigger. We couldn’t make a really decisive move but piece by piece we went a little further away. The last 500 wasn’t that pretty but we thought keep it solid, row it to the finish line,” said Clevering.

In the B-final, the Greek combination of Evangelia Anastasiadou and Christina Bourmpou went out very hard in the middle of the course and had established a good lead by 500m as the field spread out behind them. Italy were the best of the pack in the first half but faded as Spain came into the picture. Great Britain and Lithuania, steady initially, were able to maintain their pace through the second half to take third and fourth, with Czechia holding on to fifth and Italy missing out on Paris qualification.

Sweet success for Switzerland

Result: Switzerland, Great Britain, Ireland

Boats qualified for Paris 2024: Great Britain, Switzerland, USA, Romania, Ireland, South Africa, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Croatia

It was the Irish crew of Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney who led out the men’s pair final, chased by Oliver Wynne-Griffith and Tom George of Great Britain. Switzerland’s Roman Roeoesli and Andrin Gulich put in a huge push in the middle of the race, and were leading at 1500m, with Ireland holding on for second.

Britain then made their move in an attempt to improve on their third place, and as Ireland faded, the British sprinted through for silver. In fact Britain and Switzerland posted identical splits for the final 500m of the race.

Ireland’s bronze was celebrated by their large contingent of fans in the grandstand, and the medal was also worthy of note as Corrigan and Timoney have rowed together since they were young.

“We thought about it quite a lot the last two months, it was definitely the goal that we had, but to be totally honest even if we medalled today I would be totally happy. I’ve never medalled at the world champion elite level, so the first medal being gold, I’m happy,” Gulich said.

Less than three seconds separated the entire field in the men’s pair B-final on the line after an incredible race. Australia led to 1500m but were overtaken in the last quarter by Spain; New Zealand held on to third despite the sprints coming from Italy and Croatia behind them. Denmark’s Olympic bronze medallists Frederic Vystavel and Joachim Sutton had nothing to counter with, and finished sixth and out of Paris contention.

Craig and Grant reign supreme

Result: Great Britain, USA, Romania

Boats qualified for Paris 2024: Great Britain, Romania, China, Canada, New Zealand, USA, Ireland

World Best Time holders and defending champions Emily Craig and Imogen Grant of Great Britain were first to the 500m mark in the lightweight women’s double sculls, despite a poor start, and soon were able to look back on the field behind them.

But the racing was close for the minor medals behind them. From lane 1, the new USA combination of Michelle Sechser and Mary Jones were slowest to 500m but gradually worked their way back through the field to second.

Then it was a three-way battle for bronze between Romania, Canada and New Zealand. The Romanian sprint started bringing them back to the USA and further ahead of Canada and New Zealand. It wasn’t enough to gain silver, but it was certainly enough to secure bronze.

“It’s an honour and a privilege to be able to race against such a highly qualified field, and the changes in who was in that A-final compared to World Cup season and Europeans really shows the work that all the other crews have put in and the work that we’ve had to put in to make sure we cross that finish line first,” Craig said.

The B-final was as exciting as many had hoped. The Greeks were fastest off the blocks, but there was only 1.25 seconds splitting the field at the first marker. By 1000m, Olympic silver medallists Claire Bove and Laura Tarantola of France and Ireland’s Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen were leading, with Poland trying to stay in contention. But then disaster struck; Bove caught a big crab and Ireland were able to scull away to the win and a Paris berth.

Ireland enjoying golden holiday

Result: Ireland, Switzerland, Italy

Boats qualified for Paris 2024: Ireland, Czechia, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Mexico

The lightweight men’s double sculls final was one of the most-anticipated races of the day, with world champions Ireland going head-to-head with Switzerland for the first time in the regatta. At World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne, Jan Schauble and Raphael Ahumada had beaten the Irish – and early in the race it looked like a repeat might be on the cards.

Ireland were actually fifth to 500m, although little separated the field. Switzerland began their move in the second quarter. However, Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan were not going to let the Swiss have it all their own way. They built speed and had just drawn ahead at 1500m, with the momentum keeping them moving out towards the finish line. Remarkably, the Irish were slowest in the first 500m of the race and then just got faster.

2022 silver medallist Stefano Oppo of Italy, and his new partner Gabriel Soares, also got faster down the course and took bronze. In fact, Italy almost rowed down Switzerland but just ran out of water.

O’Donovan said: “We were both very happy today. We’re in Serbia, we’re on our holidays and the sun’s out. Those three things, life doesn’t get any better than that. Very happy.”

Mexico have never previously qualified a boat in this event for the Olympic Games, but Miguel Carballo and Alexis Lopez were clinical in winning the B-final. They were level with China at 500m but had taken a bit of a lead by halfway, and as China faded and the field came back, Mexico held their heads and took the win.

Women’s four

Result: Netherlands, Romania, Great Britain

Boats qualified for Paris 2024: Netherlands, Romania, Australia, Great Britain, USA, China, New Zealand

Defending world champions Great Britain had an exceptional start to the women’s four final, getting their bows in front early on in what looked like a repeat of their semifinal performance. But this time, the rest of the field knew what was coming.

Last year’s silver medallists the Netherlands stayed with the British, content to sit half a length or so down before shifting in the third quarter. Britain were unable to respond to the move, which was also tracked by Romania – and Romania’s last quarter was stronger than Britain’s, taking them through for silver.

The British bronze was not the hoped-for golden comeback for double women’s pairs Olympic champion Helen Glover, making her second return to rowing after previous breaks before and after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, but bow Heidi Long said she believed there was more still to come from the combination.

“It means a lot. We couldn’t believe when we got over the finish – I looked left, I looked right, and it was ‘what? we are first?’” said Benthe Boonstra of the Dutch crew.

New Zealand were the fastest out of the blocks in the B-final of the women’s four and really never looked troubled by the rest of the field, despite the closing sprint from Denmark and Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists Ireland. The crew became the first New Zealanders to qualify a boat in this event for the Olympic Games, having missed out for its debut in Tokyo.

Britain maintain men’s four legacy

Result: Great Britain, USA, New Zealand

Boats qualified for Paris 2024: USA, Netherlands, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Romania

Great Britain’s legacy in the men’s four is immense, and this year’s crew successfully defended their 2022 title to keep it going a bit longer.

The British had to remain calm in the opening stages of the race, with the USA, New Zealand and the Netherlands all making good starts. But the crew had taken the lead by 1000m and thereafter were not troubled, extending the margin at each marker. The win was particularly special for Matthew Aldridge and David Ambler; last year, Ambler was subbed in for Aldridge after he caught Covid-19, but this year they were able to win together.

A new USA combination looked strong in taking silver, while New Zealand were comfortable in third. Tokyo 2020 Olympic champions Australia finished fifth.

Aldridge said: “There’s a nice little headwind on the course which slowed everything up a little bit, made the race a little bit longer. It hurt a lot but it was a good place.”

Switzerland rowed a long, loose stroke that took them out to a two-second advantage at the 1500m mark in the B-final. The field started closing up in the last 500m with Romania unleashing one of their trademark sprints, taking them clear through Switzerland to take the win by almost a length.

Another title for Great Britain

Result: Great Britain, Netherlands, China

Boats qualified for Paris 2024: Netherlands, China, Romania, Great Britain, Switzerland, Australia, Germany

The women’s quadruple sculls final was perhaps the race of the day. For much of the course Great Britain and the Netherlands were absolutely level, posting identical splits and speeds and leaving the rest of the field trailing – including China’s Olympic and 2022 world champions.

Coming into the line there was still nothing to call between the Dutch and the British, until the women in white and blue put in a burst that was enough to just pull them ahead. They took the title by 0.67 seconds, the first win in this event for a British crew since 2010.

China won bronze, some five seconds back on the Netherlands, and beating the Swiss who had pushed them off the podium at World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne.

“I knew we could do it, I just have so much belief in this crew. I knew we had it as long as we did everything how we know we can do it. We sat on the start line and we were like we’ve done this before, nothing different, we just need to do it again,” said Britain’s Georgina Brayshaw.

Germany have huge pedigree in the women’s quadruple sculls, but have not yet re-found the form of years past. However, they produced an almost perfect row in the B-final of the women’s quadruple sculls, taking the lead before halfway and then controlling the race to claim the Paris qualifying spot with a win.

Dutch end the day on top of the world

Result: Netherlands, Italy, Poland

Boats qualified for Paris 2024: Poland, Netherlands, Germany, Netherlands, Great Britain, Switzerland, Romania

The Netherlands’ men’s quadruple sculls made good on the promise of the early stages of the regatta with a solid, assured performance in the final. Their second quarter was absolutely dominant and the rest of the field were unable to counter the silky Dutch speed.

The battle for the minor medals, however, was electric, with 2022 medallists Poland, Great Britain and Italy all in the mix. First Italy, then Poland looked like they would take silver and Britain seemed to have the momentum for bronze – but it was Italy who found the most speed into the line that took them past Poland for silver.

Poland claimed bronze ahead of a disappointed Great Britain.

Dutch bowman Lennart van Lierop said: “It’s very special to be the best of the world. Maybe it wasn’t even a perfect race. The final gets some extra pressure. It was a hard race, the other crews really put the pressure on us.”

A quality Ukrainian boat led out the men’s quadruple sculls B-final, but by 1000m Romania were pushing back hard and their mid-race speed took them into the lead, with a three-second advantage with 500m to go. That was more than enough to take the win, as Estonia crossed the line second but out of Paris qualification.

SCHEDULE | RESULTS | LIVE STREAM

More Paris places secured and first medals awarded at the 2023 World Rowing Championships

By
Rowing News
-

PHOTO BY LISA WORTHY | STORY BY WORLD ROWING

The first medals were handed out at the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade on Friday, after more crews qualified their boats for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games on a blustery Lake Sava. The morning’s A/B semifinals brought exciting racing, with the top three crews in each race booking tickets to the A-final and also to Paris.

The PR1 men’s single sculls semifinals saw a close head-to-head race between Italy’s Giacomo Perini and reigning world and Paralympic champion Roman Polanskyi of Ukraine, with Britain’s Benjamin Pritchard taking the second semifinal win.

Double Olympic bronze medallist Damir Martin of Croatia raced himself to his fourth OIympic Games in the men’s single sculls, also securing a spot in his first A-final since the Tokyo 2020 final two years ago. Defending world champion Oliver Zeidler of Germany and Olympic champion Stefanos Ntouskos of Greece are also safely through. Lithuania’s Viktorija Senkute has never previously reached a major final, but she did so today in the women’s single sculls with a great row. Olympic champion Emma Twigg also qualified, to reach her fifth Olympic Games.

The Sinkovic brothers of Croatia also gave themselves a chance at their fourth Olympic Games after winning the second semifinal of the men’s double sculls. But the Dutch crew look incredibly strong ahead of Sunday’s final. Romania are the form crew in the women’s double sculls and they added another win, a place in the final and an Olympic place to their achievements. The USA won the other semifinal, and Lithuania, New Zealand, Ireland and France complete the finalists.

The repechages of the men’s and women’s eights both had incredible sprint finishes. Romania went past Germany in the men’s event, with both progressing to the final, and Australia overturned Great Britain by 0.05 seconds in the women’s race.

Switzerland’s Andri Struzina became the first world champion of 2023 in the lightweight men’s single sculls after a patient race, rowing through Italian Niels Torre. In the lightweight women’s single sculls there were three first-time medallists: Ireland’s Siobhan McCrohan consolidated a comeback after seven years out to win, with Mexico’s Kenia Lechuga second and the USA’s Sophia Luwis third.

Cornelis de Koning won the PR2 men’s single sculls for a fourth championships in a row to give the Netherlands their first medal. The PR3 mixed double sculls was won by World Best Time holders Nikki Ayers and Jed Altschwager of Australia, ahead of the USA, with France taking bronze after a battle with Great Britain. Germany also qualified for the Paralympic Games with fifth.

As in 2022, Italy swept the non-Olympic lightweight boat classes, taking the wins in the lightweight men’s and lightweight women’s pairs and lightweight men’s quadruple sculls. And the day finished with two gold medals for Ukraine, in the PR3 men’s pair and PR2 women’s single sculls.

The A-Finals for all 27 boat classes continue tomorrow and Sunday, 10 September. Entries, Startlists, Results, editorial images, and more can be found here. You can also re-watch today’s racing here.

The 2023 World Rowing Championships are the first chance to secure national quota places for next year’s Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. For more on the Olympic Qualification Pathway see here. The Paralympic Qualification criteria can be found here.

About the World Rowing Championships

The senior World Rowing Championships are held every year at the end of the international rowing season and World Champions are crowned in 14 Olympic boat classes – seven for men and seven for women, as well as six International boat classes for lightweight rowers. Para-rowers compete in nine boat classes, five are Paralympic boat classes.

SCHEDULE | LIVE STREAM | RESULTS

Daily Digest: Olympic Berths Secured in Eight Boat Classes

By
Rowing News
-

PHOTO AND STORY COURTESY WORLD ROWING

Tickets to Paris were booked by 19 nations on the first day of semifinals at the 2023 World Rowing Championships. Crews found themselves racing into a stiff headwind, but in most cases pre-event favourites were able to overcome the bounce and book themselves an Olympic Games berth and stay in medal contention.

Romania become first boat going to Paris Olympics

The Romanian women’s pair impressed in the heats and they impressed in the semifinal, leading out the first race of the day to qualify their boat for the A-final and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Behind them, Ireland rowed well to come second, and there was joy for the Chilean quadruplets Melita and Antonia Abraham, who just missed out on a Tokyo 2020 berth at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in 2021 but booked their spot with third place. In semifinal 2 the USA were third, two-time Olympic women’s eight champion Meghan Musnicki making a great comeback after some time out of the sport.

“Alie (Rusher) did an incredible job, she called an amazing race. We trusted ourselves, stuck with our plan; she kept me on point. I couldn’t be more proud of her and I’m super-excited to have qualified this boat for the US for the Olympics. It’s an amazing thing,” said Musnicki.

Boats qualified: Romania, Ireland, Chile, Australia, Netherlands, USA

Favourites and defending champions both win

The strong British crew of Tom George and Oliver Wynne-Griffith led out semifinal 1 in the men’s pair, chased by Switzerland right down the course. The USA’s young pair were delighted with third place and a Paris berth. In semifinal 2, the 2022 world champions Romania and silver medallists Spain were next to each other; while birthday boy Marius Cozmiuc and Sergiu Bejan made no mistakes to win the race, Spain found themselves out the back and were never really in contention. Instead, Ireland and South Africa booked places in the final and the Olympic Games.

Switzerland’s Andrin Gulich said: “The first goal was achieved, Olympic qualification, so it’s all good; pretty tricky conditions out there today, so the goal was just to keep it clean and be sure to get in the final. Now we have two days more of recovery and then it’s full gas on Saturday.”

Boats qualified: Great Britain, Switzerland, USA, Romania, Ireland, South Africa

Olympic medallists pushed to B-final

At least one of Olympic champions and silver medallists Italy and France will miss out on Olympic qualification in the lightweight women’s double sculls, with both relegated to the B-final where just one spot is available. Defending world champions Emily Craig and Imogen Grant of Great Britain won semifinal 1 by five seconds, despite a slowish start. In semifinal 2, four boats were in contention for the three places at the 1500m point, Ireland having rowed their way back through France and Switzerland. But that effort cost them, and they were unable to contend with the American sprint.

“In the stroke seat I just try to keep my head forward. But we like a headwind in New Zealand, so we were like ‘yep these are our conditions’, so we’re just really excited to put out a good race,” said New Zealand stroke Jackie Kiddle.

Boats qualified: Great Britain, Romania, China, Canada, New Zealand, USA

Bicep work pays off for Ireland

It’s never entirely clear when Ireland’s Paul O’Donovan is joking, so when he said that he and Fintan McCarthy had been putting in lots of work on their biceps ahead of Belgrade, it may or may not have been true. But whatever training the Olympic and world champions have done paid off, as they secured a win and another Olympic berth in the lightweight men’s double sculls. Jan Schaeuble and Raphael Ahumada of Switzerland were also dominant in semifinal 2, followed home by Italy and Spain. Meanwhile the conditions got the better of Germany, who capsized soon after halfway, but got back in their boat and paddled home to applause from the grandstands.

“It’s a lot of emotions right now, because since I started rowing it’s my dream to qualify a boat for the Olympics, and we just did it. I’m really happy with that, I’m really glad to be here,” said Ahumada.

Boats qualified: Ireland, Czechia, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Spain

GB and Netherlands strong in women’s four, but Ireland out of final

Olympic bronze medallists Ireland are out of contention for the women’s four medals, with fifth place in semifinal 2. But reigning world champions Great Britain, world and Olympic silver medallists the Netherlands, and Olympic champions and world bronze medallists Australia all progressed. The first semifinal was significantly faster than the second, but wind conditions changed between the races and the final will show the crews’ true relative speeds.

“I’m really happy, we did a good job, but we are here for this World Championships and not for Paris. Everybody is like you have to be celebrating, and we’re like: no. We’re here for the finals,” said the Netherlands’ Marloes Oldenburg.

Boats qualified: Netherlands, Romania, Australia, Great Britain, USA, China

French four give hosts Paris berth

The French men’s four held on against the Italian sprint to secure third place in the first semifinal, giving the Paris 2024 hosts their first Olympic Games qualification spot alongside the USA and the Netherlands. Semifinal 2 saw New Zealand get off to a brilliant start, and they led out reigning world champions Great Britain by a second at 500m. However, the British stayed patient and put down the power in the third 500m to move through and take a win of nearly five seconds. Australia’s Olympic champion crew were third.

New Zealand’s Tom Murray said: “We knew there were going to be really tricky conditions going in, so it was really cool to get off the start like we did. Really happy about that, especially after a slow start in the heat. A couple of boxes ticked today, but definitely a lot more to come in the next two days.”

Boats qualified: USA, Netherlands, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia

China beaten again, Swiss make big boat history

For the second time this season China’s women’s quadruple sculls crew were beaten by World Rowing Cup III winners the Netherlands, who led their semifinal from start to finish. A young Romanian crew were ecstatic to secure the third qualifying spot, some distance back. Great Britain looked totally in control of semifinal 2, winning by six seconds ahead of Switzerland and Australia; Switzerland qualified their first ‘big boat’ for an Olympic Games. Australia stayed patient in the first 1,000m, clawing back a two-second deficit on Ukraine to beat them by three seconds at the finish.

“We are absolutely ecstatic, we probably couldn’t be happier right now. We found ourselves in fourth position early, but the crew stayed really calm and we stuck to our race plan and were able to execute our pushes where we needed them, and get ourselves into that vital third spot,” said Australia’s Caitlin Cronin.

Boats qualified: Netherlands, China, Romania, Great Britain, Switzerland, Australia

Netherlands set up showdown with Polish world champions

The two form crews in the men’s quadruple sculls, the Netherlands and Poland, won their semifinals, but the story was all about the second and third qualifying spots. In semifinal 1, Germany produced an extraordinary fourth quarter to come into contention. The German surge for the line not only took them clear of Ukraine, but almost past Italy. In semifinal 2, the pack trailed the Dutch early on, with the Swiss second and Australia third. Olympic and world silver medallists Great Britain got the better of the field to come through some distance behind Poland.

“It’s so great to see this team develop from four individuals to really get this team together and now qualify for the Olympics and go to Paris next year is more than a dream come true,” said Germany’s Tim Ole Naske.

Boats qualified: Poland, Netherlands, Germany, Netherlands, Great Britain, Switzerland

Struzina finishes a good day for Switzerland

Swiss lightweight men’s single sculler Andri Struzina made light work of the headwind to take the win in the second semifinal of the event, well up on Italy’s Niels Torres. Poland’s Artur Mikolajczewski won semifinal 1 ahead of the fast-starting Baptiste Savaete of France. Algerian Sid Ali Boudina was unable to replicate the form which took him to heat and quarterfinal wins, and finished fourth.

A-finalists: Poland, France, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary

McCrohan consolidates comeback

Before the 2023 season, the last time Siobhan McCrohan represented Ireland was in 2016. But the 36-year-old has had a superb comeback and she secured herself an A-final place with a steady, assured row that took her past the quick start of Mexico’s Kenia Lechuga in the first lightweight women’s single sculls semifinal. The USA’s Sophia Luwis took semifinal 2 after rowing past France’s Aurélie Morizot.

A-finalists: Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, USA, France, Romania

SCHEDULE | LIVE STREAM | RESULTS

Katie Lane Named Head Coach for Drexel Rowing

By
Rowing News
-

PHOTO AND STORY COURTESY DREXEL ATHLETICS

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Sept. 5, 2023) – Drexel University Director of Athletics, Maisha Kelly, and Director of Rowing, Paul Savell, announced on Tuesday the hiring of Katie Lane as the head coach of women’s rowing.

“Katie brings an outstanding resume and experience at all levels to our rowing program,” said Kelly. “Her knowledge of the Philadelphia rowing community is an invaluable asset as we continue to grow our women’s program, both locally and beyond.”

Lane’s experience within the city comes from her time as an assistant coach at Penn, where she led the recruiting efforts for the Quakers. During her time, her Varsity 4+ boats turned in second and fourth place performances at the Head of the Charles Regatta and was part of a third place team finish at the 2018 Ivy League Championships.

“After three years away, I couldn’t be more excited to be returning to Philadelphia and Boathouse Row,” said Lane. “Thank you to Maisha Kelly, Paul Savell, Mary Mulvenna and the search committee for their efforts and ultimately this opportunity to join the athletic department at Drexel University. Throughout the course of my coaching career, I’ve seen Drexel evolve into an incredible program, rich with enthusiasm and tradition. The athletes and the staff that came before me built a strong foundation to grow from and I look forward to building on their success moving forward.”

She also has time on the Schuylkill as the head coach of the U23 team at the Vesper Boat Club. There, she led a team of 14 athletes through a 10-week training program and helped the club to a gold medal finish at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in the Senior 8+ and the U23 8+ and a silver medal in the 8+ dash and the women’s Senior 4.

Most recently, Lane was the digital marketing manager for HUDSON Boat Works in Worcester, Mass., where she was responsible for the global digital media strategy.

Lane holds a USRowing Level 3 Coaching Certificate. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont in English in 2012 and her M.S. in Marketing Intelligence from the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham in 2017.

Daily Digest: Rising Stakes on Day 4 in Belgrade

By
Rowing News
-

PHOTOS AND STORY COURTESY WORLD ROWING

With temperatures and the wind rising, day 4 of the 2023 World Rowing Championships delivered nailbiting racing. Crews knew they had to progress through the repechages or quarterfinals on the programme to keep their Paris 2024 hopes alive – and the devastation and exhaustion from those who missed out was clear to see, with athletes slumped on the docks or helped away by coaches after giving it their all on the water.

Solid wins see Paris tickets booked

The PR1 women’s single sculls got day 4’s racing underway, with tickets to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on the line for the two top finishers in both repechages. France’s Nathalie Benoît won the first repechage comfortably ahead of China’s Rio 2016 Paralympic silver medallist Wang Lili; in repechage 2, it was Ukrainian 2022 bronze medallist Anna Sheremet who took the win, with Germany’s Manuela Diening in second. Both Benoît and Wang carried tokens in their boats: Benoît a small plastic figurine as a mascot, Wang a good luck note from the volunteer helping the Chinese team with translation.

“I felt great. I tried a few little things compared to yesterday’s race, I tested things out and made the most of having an extra race. Everyone’s worked hard, and you see everyone’s at a good level. It’s a great motivation to race strong boats – it’s stimulating, even if it’s stressful,” said Benoît.

Semi-final line-ups complete for PR1 men

The four repechages of the PR1 men’s single sculls determined the remaining eight semifinalists of the event. Germany’s Marcus Klemp, European bronze medallist this year and a regular finalist, had a fast final 500m to come through Spaniard Javier Garcia for the win in the second repechage. Paralympic bronze medallist Rene Campos of Brazil progressed safely behind Alexis Sanchez, and Israel’s Shmuel Daniel was a long way clear of the field in repechage 4. Uzbekistan’s Egamberdiev Kholmurod, Mexican Michel Munoz, and Poland’s Arkadiusz Skrzypinski were the other scullers progressing.

Shuang Liu (b), Liang Luo (s), PR2 Mixed Double Sculls, People’s Republic of China, 2023 World Rowing Championships, Belgrade, Serbia © Detlev Seyb / MyRowingPhoto.com

Dutch made to fight

There was almost disaster for European silver medallists Corne de Koning and Chantal Haenen in the first PR2 mixed double sculls repechage. A crab off the start saw them lose a couple of lengths on the field, and they did not come into a qualifying position until the 1500m mark. The Dutch duo finished second, just over two seconds ahead of Brazil and five behind Poland’s 2022 world silver medallists Jolanta Majka and Michal Gadowski. In the second repechage, China’s Liu Shuang and Jiang Jijan were comfortable winners, but defending champions Iaroslav Koiuda and Svitlana Bohuslavska found themselves in a battle with Israel for second, winning by 0.32 seconds. Poland, China, the Netherlands and Ukraine all booked places in the final and at Paris 2024.

“We’ve had better moments, but when everything will settle down in the body we feel very satisfied. We caught a very huge crab off the start so already lost a couple of lengths from the rest of the field off the start, and had to reel in first the other crews. It was a good feeling that we got it done,” said de Koning.

Competitive PR3 Mix2x racing

The PR3 mixed double sculls continues to be a thrilling event to watch, and the second repechage saw Brazil and Germany go head-to-head for the win. Brazilians Diana Barcelos and Jairo Frohlich crossed the line first, while Germany beat the young Ukrainian crew for the second qualifying spot in the final. In repechage 1, the USA and Great Britain were first and second in a relatively straightforward race.

Sprint sends South Africa to semifinals

South Africa’s Paige Badenhorst and Katherine Williams said they had been inspired by their men’s four teammates’ row on Tuesday into throwing everything into their sprint for the line in the repechage of the women’s double sculls. It took them through Germany for the crucial second place behind the Netherlands. But there was heartbreak for early race leaders Great Britain, who lost speed dramatically in the last 500m. Australia won repechage 1, with Norway in second, well ahead of the rest of the field.

Badenhorst said: “It’s not over until it’s over. Anything can happen. I just kept thinking ‘go for it’. We watched our four do something similar yesterday and we took our inspiration from that. There’s another job to do still, but this is a big win for us.”

Borch out, favourites progress

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games silver medallist Kjetil Borch (Norway) drifted across the line in fifth place in his quarterfinal of the men’s single sculls, after a race led from start to finish by reigning champion Oliver Zeidler of Germany. New Zealander Thomas Mackintosh was a fairly close second to Zeidler with Japan’s Ryuta Arakawa third. Olympic champion Stefanos Ntouskos, the impressive Dutchman Simon van Dorp, and Dane Sverri Nielsen were the other three quarterfinal winners, with van Dorp posting the fastest time of 7:05.97.

“I had a very tough draw for the quarterfinal, it was kind of the race of the day, maybe more like a semifinal. It was a very good race, very tough conditions especially in the second 1000m, very slow, so you really needed to have some power in the boat to pull away from the others. It was a bit difficult to come into racing here on Sunday, but now I feel ready and now the World Championships can really start,” said Zeidler.

A tough day for Olympic silver medallists

Just like Borch, Tokyo 2020 Olympic women’s single sculls silver medallist Anna Prakaten of Uzbekistan is out of the running for Paris 2024 qualification, after she finished fourth in quarterfinal 1. The race was won by Olympic champion Emma Twigg, in a time almost identical to that of the USA’s Kara Kohler, who won quarterfinal 3. Australian Tara Rigney and the Netherlands’ Karolien Florijn also won their races. There was good news for home fans, with Serbian Jovana Arsic making it safely through to the semifinals.

Twigg said: “It was another solid race, another step forward. When I saw (the quarterfinal draw) I thought ‘that’s going to be a challenge’. It gives me confidence moving forward.”

Bales-Smith overturns the form book

Based on progression from the earlier round, Murray Bales-Smith would not have been among those favoured to make the lightweight men’s single sculls semifinal – but the South African secured his spot with a great row in quarterfinal 2 from the tricky lane 5. Switzerland’s Andri Struzina set the fastest time of the day (7:34.42) to win that quarterfinal; the other quarterfinal victors were Algeria’s Sid Ali Boudina, Poland’s Artur Mikolajczewski, and Italy’s Niels Torres.

France out, Swiss look supreme

In a series of relatively close lightweight men’s double sculls quarterfinals, Switzerland’s Jan Schaeuble and Raphael Ahumada took the most comfortable win – but the fastest time was posted by Irish Olympic and World Champions Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan to win the first quarterfinal (6:46.53). Quarterfinal 2 saw two photofinishes, with Spain edging out Czechia for first and China denying Greece the third qualifying spot. France’s Hugo Beurey and Ferdinand Ludwig missed out on semifinal qualification and the chance of a Paris 2024 berth, just weeks after beating the Irish at World Rowing Cup III. Norway won the third quarterfinal.

Ahumada said: “It was good, a little bit of wind but we managed it quite well. At least we had some traction with the blades. We are used to it – where we train, that’s also the conditions, so it was perfect for us. We enjoyed it.”

Are the Brits the boat to beat?

The British men’s pair of Tom George and Oliver Wynne-Griffith were able to look back on the field in quarterfinal 3 of the event, while South Africa and Australia battled for second. Switzerland won the first semifinal, while hosts Serbia finished a disappointing fifth. The USA and Spain pushed each other to the fastest times of the round in quarterfinal 2, Spain eventually crossing the line first. The last quarterfinal was delayed after the Danish boat was damaged in the warm-up, but when it did take place defending champions Marius Cozmiuc and Sergiu Bejan of Romania came through the Danes to claim the win.

“We’re probably not a stereotypical headwind crew, so it’s really promising that we had a good result in conditions that maybe don’t favour us as much. We’re really excited. Just have to beat one crew now and then qualify the boat, which is so exciting,” said William Bender of the USA.

Norway bump out USA in men’s doubles

The USA’s men’s double won their heat on Sunday in style, but they were unable to find the same speed in Wednesday’s quarterfinal and found themselves fourth after a stunning scull from Norway. At 1500m only 0.34 seconds separated Norway, Spain and Italy; Spain’s Aleix Garcia and Rodrigo Conde won the sprint, with Italy second and Norway in the third semifinal qualifying spot. The other quarterfinals were more straightforward as Romania, the Sinkovic brothers of Croatia, and the outstanding Dutch crew of Melvin Twellaar and Stef Broenink all took wins. And defending champion Hugo Boucheron of France, now rowing with Valentin Onfroy, also safely progressed to the next round.

“We’re just getting fit at the moment. The way that we train, we’re getting better throughout the tournament. We were really pushing hard the last couple of weeks and now it’s time to recover a bit and get into race mode. We’re slowly getting there,” promised Broenink, in ominous words for the competition.

SCHEDULE | LIVE STREAM | RESULTS

World Best Times and more Paralympic qualifications for Day 3 at the 2023 World Rowing Championships

By
Rowing News
-

PHOTO AND STORY COURTESY WORLD ROWING

Heats wrapped up at the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia on Tuesday with finalists determined for the first Olympic boat classes and more Paris 2024 Paralympic Games quota places secured. 

Racing got off to a fast start with two new World Championship Best Times, and a new World Best Time. 

Moran Samuel has been Birgit Skarstein’s PR1 women’s single sculls biggest rival for some time, but she showed how her hard work is paying off with a solid scull in Belgrade. The Israeli came across the line in a World Championship Best Time of 9:56.42. However, the Norwegian Paralympic, World, and European Champion was up next and despite a slower first 1000m than Samuel, Skarstein set another World Championship Best Time of 9:54.08. Both Samuel and Skarstein progressed to the final, and booked their Paris 2024 berths.

After the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Paralympic champion Lauren Rowles in the PR2 mixed double sculls found herself on the hunt for a new partner, thanks to the retirement of Laurence Whiteley but her new crewmate, Stevenson, has proved more than an able replacement with the pair setting their hird World Best Time of the season. Ireland’s Steven McGowan and Katie O’Brien won the first heat after a superb battle with last year’s silver medallists from Poland. Both Ireland and Great Britain qualified for the final, and also the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

The eights wrapped up the heats at these Championships, with direct progression to Sunday’s A-Final for some. On the men’s side, Great Britain, Australia, the USA, and the Netherlands took the honours, with the USA and Romania for the women. The other crews will have to race the repechage before racing for the medals.

Olympic dreams put on hold for Repechage crews

While the first Paris 2024 Olympic class finalists kept their quota spots alive, Olympic dreams were put on hold for others.

All eyes were on the second repechage of the lightweight women’s double sculls, where Olympic gold and silver medallists Italy and France were rowing to keep their championships alive after disappointing heat performances. Both crews showed their experience, with Italy leading out before France came through for the win; they were the two qualifying boats from their repechage.The remainder of the crews will head to the C/D Semifinals, and therefore miss out on the top 7 spots in that boat class for a Paris 2024 qualification. 

In the men’s four, Poland’s hopes of qualifying for the Olympic Games in Belgrade were dashed after South Africa snatched the third semifinal spot on the line by just 0.02 seconds. Likewise for the German men’s four in the other repechage, falling short to the Danish by 0.24 seconds.

Up next at the 2023 World Rowing Championships.

Racing continues tomorrow, 6 September, with the Repechages, Quarterfinals and the start of minor Finals in certain boat classes. Find the full schedule here.

Rowing Away From Eating Disorders

By
Rowing News
-

BY NANCY CLARK | PHOTO BY LISA WORTHY

An estimated 30 percent to 60 percent of female athletes struggle with food, as do 10 percent to 30 percent of male athletes. Many such athletes believe they’re not “sick enough” to seek treatment. Others are too ashamed to seek help. Some believe getting treatment will hinder them from reaching their athletic goals. They fear:

1) they will gain weight, and any added weight will impair their performance. 

2) they will not be able to participate in training or competition during treatment, hence losing fitness and status with the team; and 

3) they might displease their coaches and teammates.

But the questions they really need to ponder are: 

What do you think your future will look like with the eating disorder? 

Are you satisfied with your current quality of life?

At October’s conference of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, sports nutritionist Page Love of Atlanta and psychologist Ron Thompson of Bloomington, Ind., addressed the topic of athletes with eating disorders. They offered insights from their years of professional experience, which I’m sharing here in the hope that their wisdom helps not only rowers who struggle with food, weight, and body-image issues but also their teammates, friends, family members, and loved ones. 

• When dieting goes awry and eating disorders (ED) take hold, relationships and quality of life suffer—to say nothing of athletic longevity. Rowers with EDs often believe they have more reasons to keep the eating disorder than to give it up. Eating disorders serve a purpose. They can distract a rower from feeling difficult emotions; offer a source of power and control; give a sense of security; provide an excuse for anything and everything; sustain an identity; offer a way to be angry, self-abusive, special, rebellious, and competitive inside and outside of sport.

• Because many rowers and other athletes with EDs deny the seriousness of this mental-health threat, Thompson has asked his clients, “Do you realize that people with your disorder sometimes die?” Indeed, athletes can—and have—died from eating disorders, often via suicide. From the inside, life can feel very grim, despite a rower’s appearing happy, bubbly, and “just fine” on the outside.

• Food should be one of life’s pleasures as well as an enjoyable source of energizing fuel that enhances performance. If you stop eating at mealtimes just because you think you should or because your allotted portion of food is gone but you’re still hungry, ask yourself these questions:

What are the food rules and nutrition beliefs that restrict your food intake? 

For example, do you forbid yourself to eat refined sugar, snacks, birthday cake, white flour?

What portion of your time do you spend thinking about food and weight?  

Thinking about food includes shopping for food, preparing food for yourself and others, reading cookbooks or other food- and diet-related publications, binge-eating, purging, and thinking about how much you ate at your last meal. If you spend way too much time thinking about food, you likely have a problematic relationship with food and are living in a state of hunger. That’s no fun and also limits your ability to recover, heal, and perform optimally. “Normal eaters” think about food as they begin to get hungry at appropriate times—before meals and snacks.

Do you enjoy eating socially with friends and teammates? 

Or do you avoid such situations?

Are your food allergies and intolerances real? 

Or are they convenient excuses to avoid certain foods?  

Ladies, do you currently have regular menstrual periods? 

Amenorrhea—loss of menses—can be a sign of under-eating, to the point of disrupting normal body functions.

Gentlemen, do you no longer have morning erections?

Another sign of under-eating, to the point of disrupting normal body functions.

Does your family have a history of eating issues, dieting practices, and/or mental-health problems? 

If yes, how have those issues influenced your food habits?

• Chronically underfed bodies can end up “hibernating,” which slows metabolic processes. Symptoms of inadequate fueling include fatigue, lack of energy, dehydration, anemia, frequent injuries, amenorrhea, stress fractures, and “weird” eating habits. These are all reasons to seek help from a registered dietitian who specializes in sports nutrition. The referral network at eatright.org can help you find one near you.

• Most of my clients tell me “I know what I should eat; I just don’t do it.” Given today’s confusing food environment, any rower with nutrition questions and weight concerns would be wise to meet with a sports nutritionist to learn how to overcome barriers that limit optimal fueling. Don’t let shame or embarrassment stop you. Eating right is not as simple as it used to be.

• All food can fit into a balanced sports diet, even fatty foods. Rowers should consume at least half their calories from carbohydrate (preferably nutrient-rich) and at least 20 percent of calories from fat (preferably health-promoting). Fat consumption less than that increases the risk of inadequate energy. 

• If you live in Food Jail and consume a very repetitive but “safe” diet, a sports dietitian can help you expand your food options so you can consume a wider variety of nutrients. If you want to try to do this on your own, begin by making a list of your fear foods (foods you’re afraid to eat because they lack nutrient density or because you deem them “fattening”). Challenge yourself to include at least one food each day in your meals or snacks, beginning with the easiest and ending with the hardest. In time, you’ll be able to enjoy social eating with your teammates.

• If other rowers look forward to a special holiday gathering such as New Year’s brunch but you don’t because the foods will be “way too fattening” or you’re afraid you’ll eat way too much, that’s a sign. Other rowers can eat holiday treats. Why can’t you? Your body is no different from anyone else’s, and it will not “get fat on you.” The problem isn’t the food or your body but more likely your self-imposed food rules.

• Few rowers will ever achieve a perfect body. Please don’t measure your self-worth by your body weight or size. You are more than just a person who rows. You are a valuable human, like the rest of us, and good enough the way you are.  

1...125126127...287Page 126 of 287

Since 1994, Rowing News has served the North American rowing community with news, results, features, training tips, and compelling images

Subscribe
Html code here! Replace this with any non empty raw html code and that's it.

Copyright 2026 - The Independent Rowing News, Inc.