PHOTO AND STORY COURTESY WORLD ROWING

There was nothing to separate Great Britain and Italy at the top of the medal table at this year’s World Rowing Under 19 Championships in Paris, France. Both nations claimed six medals in total, picking up three gold, two silver and one bronze each. Thirteen other nations took home medals across the 14 boat classes.

Italy began their medal haul early on in the session when they picked up gold in the men’s coxed four, a step up from their silver in 2022. The women’s coxed four had earlier been won by USA, defending their title from last year.

Romania has a strong pedigree in women’s sweep rowing and their U19 women’s pair rowed to an impressive gold, while Turkiye dominated the men’s pair, repeating their success from the European Rowing U19 Championships earlier this year.

For Great Britain, their women were particularly strong with every single women’s crew picking up a medal. Their first medal was a silver in the women’s four. Although they had led for much of the race, Italy’s final sprint was just too much for them and Italy crossed the line less than half a second ahead. Meanwhile, in the men’s four, Romania took gold, but an incredible final sprint from Germany moved them through from fourth to second in the closing stages of the race.

Further success came for Germany in the quadruple sculls as they took gold in both the women’s and men’s boats, their anthem being heard twice in succession as their scullers were crowned World U19 Champions.

Great Britain’s medal haul continued in the women’s double sculls as they overcame a very strong Greek boat featuring a reigning World U19 Champion. This year’s European Rowing U19 gold medallists in the men’s double, Josef Giorgio Marvucic and Maichol Brambmilla repeated their success on the world stage to win a final gold for Italy.

The women’s eight was perhaps the most exciting race of the Championships and resulted in four boats crossing the line just 0.24 second apart. Germany had led for the first half of the race before Romania went into the lead. However, in the final sprint, it was Great Britain who got their bow ahead to cross the line first, a step up from their silver in 2022, and the first time they have won gold in this boat class since 2010. Great Britain also won gold in the men’s eight after a familiar battle with Germany, who took silver.

The single sculls had had the biggest entries of the Championships and competitors in the finals came through three previous rounds of racing. It was Romania’s Bianca-Camelia Ifteni who took the honours in the women’s event while Turkiye’s Halil Kaan Koroglu worked his way through the field to become World U19 Champion in the men’s single sculls.

The next international rowing events to be hosted at the Stade Nautique Olympique in Vaires-sur-Marne will be the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Regattas. To learn more about the venue, please click here.
For more information on the 2023 World Rowing Under 19 Championships, visit our event page.

STORY COURTESY USROWING | PHOTO BY LISA WORTHY

Five U.S. crews advanced to either the semifinals or finals on Friday at the 2023 World Rowing Under 19 Championships at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, site of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic rowing events.

The women’s pair, men’s quadruple sculls, and women’s single sculls advanced to tomorrow’s semifinals, while the women’s eight and men’s four with coxswain moved on to tomorrow’s finals.

In the women’s pair, Caroline Krantz (Darien, Conn./Connecticut Boat Club) and Annika Nelson (Darien, Conn./Connecticut Boat Club) won the second repechage by two lengths to advance to the semifinals.

“We went in very excited,” Krantz said. “We knew what we needed to work on from yesterday, so we came in less nervous today and just ready to qualify for semis. Obviously, it was nice to be able to finish first on top of that. It felt like a much stronger race for us than yesterday.”

Krantz and Nelson took the lead over Italy’s Elena DeMaria and Beatrice Dileo in the first 500 meters and held a three-quarters-length advantage over the Italians at the midway point. The U.S. pair was able to keep Italy at a comfortable distance in the third 500 and pulled away over the final stretch of the race. The crew finished with a time of 7:35.75, with Italy crossing in second in a 7:40.58. Spain finished third to also qualify for tomorrow morning’s semifinals.

“Having raced yesterday was really nice,” Nelson said. “Like (Caroline) said, having gone down the racecourse once really gave us an idea of what we had to work on today and what could put us in a good position for the whole race, especially against Spain and Italy. We started off with a strong start, which was one of our goals – to be up and out.”

After finishing third in its heat and missing an automatic qualifying spot for the semifinals by just 0.02 seconds, the men’s quadruple sculls crew of Edward Achtner (Marin County, Calif./Molesey Boat Club), Cole Bruen (Charlottesville, Va./Albemarle Rowing), Henry Cooper (Seattle, Wash./Pocock Rowing Center), and Charles Boldt (Zionsville, Ind./Indianapolis Rowing Center) came back to win a tight race in the second of two repechages. With three to advance to the semis, the U.S. got off the line in second position before inching ahead of France into the top spot as the crews reached the halfway point of the race, with the Italians just a half-second back. The U.S. continued to row at the head of the field with 500 meters to go, and while Italy tried to chase down the U.S., the Americans were able to hold off the challenge and win by a little less than one second.

“Something we really worked on after the heats was having a defined shift in the last 500, and we really executed that today,” Boldt said. “It was really important for us to keep up with France and Italy in that last 500. We even got a little more space on them. Yesterday, we got walked through there, so it was a really strong piece for us today.”

The U.S. finished with a time of 5:58.44, with Italy crossing in a 5:59.33. France claimed the other qualifying spot in a 5:59.42.

“It’s really like a race for recovery,” said Bruen about turning around for two races tomorrow. “We have maybe 24 hours until we race the semis, so now its maximizing getting fluids in our body, getting food, having a quick, short, easy workout on the erg later to get some of that pain out of our legs, and just making sure we can recharge as much as we can in order to bring a full battery to the race tomorrow.”

The U.S. women’s eight of coxswain Ella Casano (Fairfield, Conn./Saugatuck Rowing Club), Joely Cherniss (San Francisco, Calif./Marin Rowing Association), Sofia Simone (Miami, Fla./Sarasota Crew), Kennedy Housley (Sarasota, Fla./Sarasota Crew), Ava Schetlick (Charlottesville, Va./Virginia Rowing Association), Charlotte Jett (San Carlos, Calif./Norcal Crew), Audrey Leurck (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club), Ellie Smith (Rye, N.Y./RowAmerica Rye), and Lizzie Hedeman (Concord, Mass./Community Rowing, Inc.) came back from a third-place finish in the heat to win the repechage by 1.66 seconds. With four to advance to tomorrow’s final, the U.S. got off the line in fourth, with the Czech Republic at the head of the field. Great Britain took the lead in the second 500 meters, with the U.S. moving into second and the Czech crew dropping to fourth. The American boat then pulled its bowball ahead in the third 500 meters, taking a half-second lead into the final quarter of the race before pulling away from the British boat. The U.S. finished with a time of 6:18.10, with Great Britain crossing in a 6:19.76. New Zealand finished third in a 6:23.96, with Italy overtaking the Czech Republic for fourth.

“We had a good race today,” Casano said. “We thought we executed well, learned some stuff from our heat. We’re excited to keep working on it in the final.

“It’s definitely a change, but the goal is just to not let it phase us,” Casano said about the shorter window between races. “We’re just going to come together as a boat, re-focus for the final, and talk about some things we can continue to do (to improve) for the final.”

Women’s single sculler Annelise Hahl (Cary, N.C./Triangle Rowing Club) finished second in her quarterfinal to move on to tomorrow morning’s semifinals. With the top three to advance, Hahl used a strong start to jump to the front of the field by three seconds ahead of Latvia’s Evija Freimane in the first quarter of the race. Hahl continued to lead at the midway point, with the neutral individual athlete, Tatsiana Pratasevich, sitting in second position, still more than two seconds behind. Pratasevich put some pressure on Hahl during the third 500 meters, closing the gap to 0.68 seconds going into the final stretch. Hahl was able hold off Pratasevich’s charge, but the Netherlands’ Anna Menke was able to make a late run and edge past Hahl at the line. Menke clocked a 7:48.53 to win the race by 0.16 seconds, with Hahl finishing in a 7:48.69. Pratasevich also qualified for the semis, finishing third in a 7:52.29.

“It started off very strong,” Hahl said. “I’ve been worried about my start, but it went great. The first 1,000 (meters) felt amazing. I definitely need some tech work in the choppier waters, although today was pretty great water for what it has been. I felt really strong throughout the whole piece. I could tell the (other scullers) were catching up on me in the end, but I felt strong and was trying my best to hold them off.

“I’ll take this afternoon to rest, refuel, make sure to stretch out, basically the same that I did yesterday. I’m pretty used to a lot of racing – not this type of racing – but I’ve done quite a few races being in the eight and the single throughout the season.”

The men’s four with coxswain of George Bentley (Fairfield, Conn./Saugatuck Rowing Club), Leo Shetler (Saratoga, Calif./Los Gatos Rowing Club), Keenan Heinz (Orinda, Calif./Oakland Strokes), John Salvi (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier Rowing Club), and Kyle Fox (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier High School) held off South Africa to finish fourth in the repechage and advance to tomorrow’s final. Australia took the early lead before Turkey moved into the top spot as the crews reached the midway point. With four to advance, the American boat sat in fourth through the 1,000-meter mark before making a move into second ahead of South Africa and a faltering Australian crew. However, the Aussies were able to regain their composure over the final 500 meters and moved back into second, with France using a strong sprint to move from fifth to third in the final strokes. The U.S. held off a late run by South Africa to take the final qualification spot. Turkey won the race in a 6:20.20, with Australia crossing in a 6:22.95. France clocked a 6:24.21, with the U.S. finishing in a 6:24.51 and South Africa in a 6:24.72.

The U.S. men’s eight of coxswain Gabrielle Zammit (Princeton, N.J./Princeton National Rowing Association/Mercer), Tyler Murphy (Orlando, Fla./Orlando Area Rowing Society), Cole Thomas (Rye, N.Y./RowAmerica Rye), Jack Skinner (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier Rowing Club), Nathan Fineman (Orinda, Calif./Oakland Strokes), Sandro Scalfi (Chester, N.J./Atlanta Junior Rowing Association), Luke Taylor (Andover, Mass./Middlesex School/Cambridge Boat Club), Luke Meisenbach (La Jolla, Calif./San Diego Rowing Club), and Christian Lawrence (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis Rowing Club) finished fifth in the repechage, missing the final. With four to advance, the crew got off the line in fourth position before dropping back to fifth before the halfway point. Germany took control of the race in the first 500 meters and held Romania at a comfortable distance for the back half of the race. Germany won the race in a 5:38.00, with Romania taking second in a 5:39.64. The Czech Republic finished third, finishing with a time of 5:43.14. Italy finished fourth. The U.S. clocked a 5:45.32.

After finishing fourth in his morning quarterfinal, Henry Davison (New York, N.Y./Oak Neck Rowing Academy) came back to win the C final to finish 13^th overall. Davison clocked a 7:31.28 to finish 0.63 seconds ahead of Brazil’s Daniel Filho Passold. Latvia’s Patricks Strazds, who led for most of the race, finished third.

The men’s pair of Max Burget (Buffalo, N.Y./RowBuffalo) and James Dodman (Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo Scholastic Rowing Association) finished fifth in its morning repechage, which sent them into the afternoon C final. In the afternoon race, Burget and Dodman finished fourth for a 16^th-place finish overall. Burget and Dodman finished in a 6:58.88. Poland won the C final in a 6:51.61.

The U.S. women’s double sculls crew of Avery Packard (Brookline, Mass./Cambridge Boat Club) and PJ Balazy (Carlisle, Mass./Cambridge Boat Club) advanced to the C final thanks to a fourth-place finish in the morning repechage. In the C final, the duo finished fourth in a 7:26.86 for a 16^th-place finish overall. Poland won the race in a 7:22.89.

In addition to the five crews that advanced today, three additional crews will be racing tomorrow.

With only three entries, the women’s four with coxswain of Lucy Herrick (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Rowing Foundation), Carly Brown (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Detroit Boat Club), Rosie Lundberg (Westport, Conn./Saugatuck Rowing Club), Ella Wheeler (South Orange, N.J./Northfield-Mount Hermon), and Rebecca Stelmach (Alameda, Calif./Oakland Strokes) won its race for lanes and enters Saturday’s final as the top seed. The U.S. will race against Australia and Italy in the medal race.

The men’s four of McKeane McBrearty (Oakland, Calif./Oakland Strokes), Jack Hume (Alameda, Calif./Oakland Strokes), Mattis Hevin (Alameda, Calif./Oakland Strokes), and Cosmo Hondrogen (Alameda, Calif./Oakland Strokes) finished second in its heat and will race in the semifinals tomorrow morning for a chance to make the afternoon medal race.

The women’s quadruple sculls crew of Lila Henn (Palo Alto, Calif./Redwood Scullers), Lindsey Williams (Riverside, R.I./Narragansett Boat Club), Sumner Kerr (Richmond, Va./River City Crew), and Vivi Sun (Atherton, Calif./Redwood Scullers) also finished second its heat and will be racing in the A/B semifinals for a chance to move on to the final.

Due to the forecast of adverse weather, this weekend’s racing schedule has been compressed. Saturday’s racing will feature both semifinals and finals starting at 8:30 a.m. local time. There will be no racing on Sunday. Click here for a complete schedule.

Live streaming will be available on Saturday on www.worldrowing.com. 

Complete press coverage, athlete bios, and links to event information are available at www.usrowing.org and www.worldrowing.com. Follow along with the U.S. U19 National Team by using the hashtags #WRU19Champs.

USRowing would like to thank HUDSON, the Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Under 19 National Team. Through the partnership, HUDSON supplies racing shells for selection and training domestically, with matched shells provided internationally for racing.

PHOTO AND STORY COURTESY WORLD ROWING

Following changes to the programme due to the forecast of adverse weather, tomorrow, Saturday 5 August, will see an action-packed day of racing at the Stade Nautique Olympique in Vaires-sur-Marne in Paris at the 2023 World Rowing Under 19 Championships.

The racing day will begin at 08:30 CEST with a series of semifinals before we move straight into A-Finals from 10:10. The quick turnaround between these races will undoubtedly create competitive racing as the best Under 19 rowers from around the world will contest 14 boat classes for the opportunity to be crowned World Rowing U19 Champions.

For some boat classes, the line-ups for the medal finals are already confirmed, including the women’s and men’s eights. The USA come in as reigning U19 Champions in the women’s eight and although they didn’t qualify directly from the heats, they did win the repechage. Romania had qualified directly from the heats and as winners of this boat class at the recent European Rowing Under 19 Championships, they will be looking to challenge the USA.

The USA missed out on a place in the final of the men’s eight, and it will be Germany trying to defend their title in this boat class. They should expect to be challenged by Great Britain and New Zealand who won their respective heats.

Italy and Great Britain will go head-to-head in the Final of the women’s four having both won their heats. Great Britain will be eager to prevent Italy from repeating their success from last year. The final of the men’s four will be decided during the semifinals in the morning, alongside the remaining boat classes.

Following the A-Finals tomorrow, the B-Finals will be held from 13:45 for places 7-12.
Live video streaming of the final day of competition will be available on our website.

Live race tracker, results, race reports, photo gallery and live blog will be available throughout the regatta on www.worldrowing.com, as well as updates on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

For more information on the 2023 World Rowing Under 19 Championships, visit our event page.

The State Nautique Olympique in Vaires-sur-Marne will be the site for Rowing at the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Game Regattas. To learn more about the venue, please click here.

STORY COURTESY WORLD ROWING | PHOTO BY LISA WORTHY

This year the 2023 World Rowing Under 19 Championships will be taking place in Paris, France from 3-6 August, 2023. This will also be the first test activity before the Olympic and Paralympic regattas next year. 

The event has attracted over 615 athletes from 50 nations, who will compete over five days of racing in fourteen boat classes.

The first races will start on Thursday, 3 August at 8:30 CET. The medal races start on Sunday, 6 August at 10:45 CET.

Here is how to follow the event on mobile, tablet, or desktop:

1. The provisional time table for the events can be found here, and entries for all the races are available here.
2. Live race tracker and Live audio will be available for ALL races on www.worldrowing.com.
3. Live video streaming will be available on the World Rowing website Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 August. The video streaming will start 5 minutes before the first race.
4. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok for behind the scenes interviews, live updates, racing updates, photos and more.

And available on WorldRowing.com:

• Live blog
• Start lists
• Schedule
• Results
• News
• Photos
• Quotes from athletes
• & more!

STORY COURTESY USROWING | PHOTO BY LISA WORTHY

Four U.S. crews advanced to either the semifinals or quarterfinals Thursday at the 2023 World Rowing Under 19 Championships at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, site of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic rowing events.

The men’s four and women’s quadruple sculls advanced to the semifinals, while the men’s and women’s single sculls advanced to the quarterfinals. In addition, the U.S. won the race for lanes in the women’s four with coxswain.

With only three entries, the women’s four with coxswain of Lucy Herrick (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Rowing Foundation), Carly Brown (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Detroit Boat Club), Rosie Lundberg (Westport, Conn./Saugatuck Rowing Club), Ella Wheeler (South Orange, N.J./Northfield-Mount Hermon), and Rebecca Stelmach (Alameda, Calif./Oakland Strokes) won its race for lanes and will enter the final as the top seed. The U.S. grabbed nearly a two-second lead on Australia in the first 500 meters and held almost three seconds on Italy as the crews reached the halfway point. Italy cut a second off the lead in the third 500 meters and continued to put pressure on the U.S. over the final sprint, but the American boat was able to hold on by about a half-length to win in a 7:03.02. Italy finished second in a 7:04.18, with Australia finishing third.

With three to advance to the semifinals, the U.S. men’s four of McKeane McBrearty (Oakland, Calif./Oakland Strokes), Jack Hume (Alameda, Calif./Oakland Strokes), Mattis Hevin (Alameda, Calif./Oakland Strokes), and Cosmo Hondrogen (Alameda, Calif./Oakland Strokes) edged out Switzerland to finish second in the third of three heats. The U.S. sat in third position, just ahead of Croatia, until the final couple of strokes. Italy won the race in a 6:11.40. The U.S. was able to pass Switzerland at the line, finishing in a 6:12.60. The Swiss crew took third in a 6:12.69, claiming the other spot in the semifinals. Croatia finished fourth.

“We were just trying to stay as loose as possible, stay as relaxed as possible,” Hume said. “It’s a lot of pressure representing your whole country. We just knew we had to block all that pressure out and stay focused on the first five strokes of the race. The start went pretty well. We managed to stay with Croatia and Switzerland off the start. Italy jumped us a bit, but from there, it was just a battle with Croatia and Switzerland the whole race, and we finally edged out Switzerland in the sprint. It was very exciting. It just came down to how we kept our composure through the whole race.”

The women’s quadruple sculls crew of Lila Henn (Palo Alto, Calif./Redwood Scullers), Lindsey Williams (Riverside, R.I./Narragansett Boat Club), Sumner Kerr (Richmond, Va./River City Crew), and Vivi Sun (Atherton, Calif./Redwood Scullers) finished second in the third of three heats to advance to the semifinals. With three to advance, the U.S. boat grabbed third place early in the race, moved away from The Netherlands to establish its qualifying spot, and then chased down Italy in the final 500 meters. Germany pulled away from the Italians in the second half of the race to win in a 6:37.75. The U.S. finished second in a 6:43.27, with Italy taking third in a 6:43.82.

“We all feel really proud,” Williams said. “We came in this morning knowing what we could do and the potential that we had. It was out first race together as a boat, so we wanted to go out and race our race, no one else’s, and just see what we could do. Thankfully, that got us to where we needed. We’re on to A/B semis, so we’re really proud of ourselves. We definitely have things to work on as a boat. With the wind, it was a bit unpredictable, so (now) we know what the race will feel like next time. This one was really important  just to get our nerves out and just go for it.”

The men’s four with coxswain of George Bentley (Fairfield, Conn./Saugatuck Rowing Club), Leo Shetler (Saratoga, Calif./Los Gatos Rowing Club), Keenan Heinz (Orinda, Calif./Oakland Strokes), John Salvi (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier Rowing Club), and Kyle Fox (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier High School) finished second in the first of two heats and now will race in tomorrow’s repechage. With only one to advance, Italy grabbed the lead off the start and was able to maintain the top position the entire way down the course. The U.S. pulled away from the rest of the field in the second 500 meters. Italy won the race in a 6:19.99, with the U.S. finishing in a 6:23.65.

In the men’s single sculls, Henry Davison (New York, N.Y./Oak Neck Rowing Academy) advanced to tomorrow’s quarterfinals thanks to a third-place finish in the second of five heats. Davison got off the line in second position before sliding into third place in the second quarter of the race. Poland’s Dominik Syposz took the lead over Slovenia’s Aljaz Kunstelj just after the midway point and led the rest of the way down the course. Syposz won the race in a 7:14.98, with Kunstelj finishing in a 7:16.50. Davison crossed third in a 7:26.89.

Women’s single sculler Annelise Hahl (Cary, N.C./Triangle Rowing Club) also finished third in her heat to move on to the quarterfinals. Hahl took the early lead before Belgium’s Marit Janssens moved into first during the second quarter of the race. Janssens extended her lead in the third 500 meters, with Spain’s Candela Martinez Pernas moving into second. Martinez Pernas and Hahl battled each other for second place over the final stretch, with the Spanish sculler finishing about a half-length ahead. Janssens won the race in a 7:54.43, with Martinez Pernas finishing in an 8:00.10. Hahl crossed in an 8:01.01.

With two to advance to the semifinals, the men’s quadruple sculls crew of Edward Achtner (Marin County, Calif./Molesey Boat Club), Cole Bruen (Charlottesville, Va./Albemarle Rowing), Henry Cooper (Seattle, Wash./Pocock Rowing Center), and Charles Boldt (Zionsville, Ind./Indianapolis Rowing Center) came up on the short end of a three-way race for the two qualifying spots, missing the semis by a bowball. The U.S. will race in the repechages for a second chance to advance to the semifinals. The American crew got off the line in second position behind New Zealand and continued to sit just a few feet behind at the midway point. The U.S. then inched ahead as the crews hit 500 meters to go. However, a hard-charging Czech Republic crew was able to overtake the two leaders in the final sprint, with New Zealand rebounding to edge the Americans for second by 0.02 seconds. The Czech crew won the race in a 5:59.08, with New Zealand crossing in a 5:59.88. The U.S. finished with a time of 5:59.90.

Caroline Krantz (Darien, Conn./Connecticut Boat Club) and Annika Nelson (Darien, Conn./Connecticut Boat Club) finished third in the last of three heats of the women’s pair and now will race in tomorrow’s repechages. Romania’s Gabriela Tivodariu and Ionela Elena Scutaru dominated the race, taking the lead early and rowing away from the rest of the field. Romania crossed the line in a 7:24.17. With two to advance to the semifinals, Greece’s Dimitra and Christina Papaioannou finished second in a 7:31.61. Krantz and Nelson crossed the line in a 7:40.63.

The U.S. women’s eight of coxswain Ella Casano (Fairfield, Conn./Saugatuck Rowing Club), Joely Cherniss (San Francisco, Calif./Marin Rowing Association), Sofia Simone (Miami, Fla./Sarasota Crew), Kennedy Housley (Sarasota, Fla./Sarasota Crew), Ava Schetlick (Charlottesville, Va./Virginia Rowing Association), Charlotte Jett (San Carlos, Calif./Norcal Crew), Audrey Leurck (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club), Ellie Smith (Rye, N.Y./RowAmerica Rye), and Lizzie Hedeman (Concord, Mass./Community Rowing, Inc.) finished third in its heat and will race in tomorrow’s repechages. With only one to advance, the U.S. sat in second position for much of the race but couldn’t get back on terms with Romania. The Romanian crew took the early lead and was never really challenged, winning the race by open water in a 6:21.90. Great Britain caught the U.S. at the line to finish second in a 6:24.63, with the U.S. crossing in a 6:25.14.

The U.S. men’s eight of coxswain Gabrielle Zammit (Princeton, N.J./Princeton National Rowing Association/Mercer), Tyler Murphy (Orlando, Fla./Orlando Area Rowing Society), Cole Thomas (Rye, N.Y./RowAmerica Rye), Jack Skinner (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier Rowing Club), Nathan Fineman (Orinda, Calif./Oakland Strokes), Sandro Scalfi (Chester, N.J./Atlanta Junior Rowing Association), Luke Taylor (Andover, Mass./Middlesex School/Cambridge Boat Club), Luke Meisenbach (La Jolla, Calif./San Diego Rowing Club), and Christian Lawrence (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis Rowing Club) finished fourth in its heat and will race in tomorrow’s repechages. With stroke seat Lucas Liow (New York, N.Y./RowAmerica Rye) unable to race today, the re-vamped lineup crossed the line in a 5:48.38. With only one to advance, New Zealand grabbed the lead off the start, and while Romania tried to chase them down over the second 1,000 meters, the Kiwis were able to come home with a 0.92-second victory. New Zealand won the race in a 5:40.77, with Romania taking second in a 5:41.69.

The men’s pair of Max Burget (Buffalo, N.Y./RowBuffalo) and James Dodman (Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo Scholastic Rowing Association) finished fifth in the third of four heats and now will race in tomorrow’s repechages. With two to advance to the semifinals, Burget and Dodman dropped to fifth off the line and were unable to stay in contact to advance. Turkey’s Enes Biber and Aytimur Selcuk led from start to finish, winning the race in a 6:46.69. South Africa’s Braden Howard and Myles Laburn took second in a 6:52.02. The U.S. finished in a 7:06.18.

With only one crew to advance to the semifinals, the U.S. women’s double sculls crew of Avery Packard (Brookline, Mass./Cambridge Boat Club) and PJ Balazy (Carlisle, Mass./Cambridge Boat Club) finished fifth in the final heat and will race in tomorrow’s repechages. The U.S. boat sat in fifth the entire way down the course. Norway used a strong second 1,000 meters to win the race in a 7:07.81. After leading for the middle 1,000 meters, Ireland finished second in a 7:11.15. Australia finished third. The U.S. clocked a 7:28.83.

Racing continues on Friday at 8:30 a.m. local time with the remaining repechages, quarterfinals, and some placement finals. Saturday’s racing will feature semifinals and finals.  There will be no racing on Sunday, as it was moved up due to the forecast of adverse weather conditions. A complete schedule is available on www.worldrowing.com,

Live streaming will be available Saturday on www.worldrowing.com. 

Complete press coverage, athlete bios, and links to event information are available at www.usrowing.org and www.worldrowing.com. Follow along with the U.S. U19 National Team by using the hashtags #WRU19Champs.

USRowing would like to thank HUDSON, the Official Boat Supplier for the U.S. Under 19 National Team. Through the partnership, HUDSON supplies racing shells for selection and training domestically, with matched shells provided internationally for racing.

STORY COURTESY WORLD ROWING | PHOTO BY LISA WORTHY

The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games rowing regatta venue in Vaires-sur-Marne, France, will play host to the top Under 19 rowers in the world for the 2023 World Rowing Under 19 Championships. This will take place from 2 to 6 August 2023. 

Fifty-three nations will be represented at the World Rowing Under 19 Championships by more than 615 competing athletes. Italy is sending a full team to contest all 14 boat classes. Last year, Greece finished first on the medals table with Italy in second and Germany in third. 

Greece will be looking to defend their titles in the women’s single and double sculls, with 2022 World Rowing Under 19 Champion Sofia Dalidou looking for a second gold medal – this time with a new partner, Gavriela Lioliou. 

The largest field entered is the women’s single sculls with crews from 29 countries racing. The name to watch is definitely Aurora Spirito of Italy who won a silver medal on home waters last year in Varese, and will look to improve on her performance. Just behind this is the men’s single sculls with 27 entries and Peter Strecansky of Slovakia, winner of the bronze medal last year, will look to capitalise on the experience of competing at senior level earlier this year. He will face the recent European U19 Champion, Marco Selva of Italy. 

Both Germany and the USA will look to defend their titles respectively in the men’s and women’s eights. Both boat classes have seven entries and racing promises to be thick and fast.  

As the World Rowing Under 19 Championships are the pinnacle rowing event for junior rowers, it usually takes until they are 18 years of age to make their junior national team. This means that the athletes often only race at one junior championships before they move on to the Under 23 or senior level. For rowers to be eligible to compete at the World Rowing Under 19 Championships, they must be 18 years of age or under. A rower can compete as a Under 19 rower until 31 December of the year in which he or she reaches the age of 18; after that date the rower advances to the Under 23 category. 

Located just east of Paris, the Stade Nautique de Vaires-sur-Marne will play host to both Olympic and Paralympic regattas in 2024 as well as the canoe and kayak events. The site is significant as the centre for rowing in France’s most populous region, Île de France, which includes Paris itself. The regatta course, which played host to World Rowing Cups in 1994 and 1995, was entirely renovated in 2019 and has welcomed two international Para regattas in 2022 and 2023. This will be the first test activity before the Olympic and Paralympic regattas next year. 

Live race tracker, results, race reports, photo gallery and live blog will be available throughout the regatta on www.worldrowing.com, as well as updates on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Live streaming will be available on Saturday and Sunday on worldrowing.com. 

For a complete entry list click here.