Cover image: World Rowing / Benedict Tufnell
Reigning Champions: Marius Cozmuic and Sergiu Bejan (Romania)
Entries: 28
Olympic qualifying places: 11
Romania are the reigning champions but it’s the British duo of Tom George and Ollie Wynne-Griffith who come into Belgrade as the crew to beat. They were both members of the GB M8 that won bronze in Tokyo and switched to the pair in 2022, picking up a bronze medal. They opened their season with silver behind the Swiss at the European Championships, but since then they have looked imperious winning at both the Varese and Lucerne World Cups (as well as winning the Silver Goblets at Henley). Their time of 6:13.15 in the final in Varese was the fastest ever by a British pair (and a time only bettered by the legendary Eric Murray and Hamish Bond).
For their part the Romanians, Marius Cozmuic and Sergiu Bejan, have had a slightly slower start to the season in the pair. They were fifth at the European Championships and then finished just under half a second behind the British in Lucerne. It is worth noting that the Romanians doubled-up in the M8 at both the Europeans and Lucerne which they won’t be doing in Belgrade – that lack of extra racing may be crucial in their attempt to take down the British.
One of the standout crews of the season has been the Swiss, Roman Roeoesli and Andrin Gulich. They won the opening World Cup in Zagreb and then went on to defeat the British at the Europeans (winning Switzerland’s first M2- Championship gold medal). The British got their revenge in Varese, pushing the Swiss back into silver, and with the arrival of the Romanians in Lucerne, they finished one place further back in bronze. Roeoesli is a former Oxford Blue and raced in the M2X at the Tokyo Olympics. Gulich is a Yale graduate (as is Ollie Wynne-Griffith) and was in the M4- that finished ninth in Tokyo.
Another standout crew is the Spanish duo of Javier Garcia Ordonez and Jaime Canalejo Pazos. They have been racing together for a number of years and made the A-Final at the Tokyo Olympics. Their best performance came at the 2022 World Championships where they won silver (Spain’s first M2- World medal since 1985). This season they have had a solid year – silver in Zagreb was followed by bronze at the Europeans and then fifth in Lucerne.
Denmark’s Joachim Sutton and Fred Vystavel’s silver medal was, perhaps, one of the biggest surprise results at the Tokyo Olympics (grabbing the final qualifying spot at the FOQR). They’ve raced twice so far this season, picking up a bronze medal in Zagreb, but were a little off the pace at the European Championships, finishing second in the B-Final.
The Belarussian duo of Dzmitry Furman & Siarhei Valadzko (competing under the Individual Neutral Athletes flag) unsurprisingly are racing for the first time since finishing eighth at the Tokyo Olympics. They were 11th in 2019 and in 2021 finished ninth at the European Championships. They will be expecting to claim a top 11 finish in Belgrade and book their place in Paris.
Another crew that will be targeting a top 11 finish is Ireland, Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney. They are both former U23 World Championship medalists and raced in the M4- at the 2022 World Championships, finishing eighth. They continued in the M4- at the start of this season, finishing 11th at the European Championships. They made their debut as a pair in Lucerne, reaching the A-Final (the first time since 1978 that an Irish M2- raced in an A-Final). If they can repeat their result from Lucerne they will be comfortably qualified for the Olympics.
The M2- is the third priority boat for the Australian men’s sweep team and as such their task is just to try and qualify for Paris. They have a mixture of youth and experience to try and achieve that. Simon Keenan was in the Aussie M8 that finished sixth in Tokyo and raced in the M8 that picked up a silver medal in Varese this year. 23-year-old Fergus Hamilton won bronze in the U23 BM8 in 2022 and made his senior debut in Lucerne when he and Keenan won the B-Final in the M2-
New Zealand has a tremendous history in this event – Murray and Bond won six back-to-back world titles between 2009 and 2015. Last year, the pair of Matt McDonald and Tom Mackintosh made the A-Final at the World Championships but ended up sixth. This season the Kiwis have a new combination, Philip Wilson and Ben Taylor. Wilson was a member of the Olympic gold medal M8 in Tokyo and last year switched to sculling as part of the M4X that finished a disappointing 16th at the World Championships. Taylor won silver in the BM4- at the 2019 U23 World Championships and went on to race the M4- at the Senior Worlds. As a pair Taylor and Wilson have raced once, in Lucerne, but came away with a C-Final win for 13th overall. I fully expect them to have improved in time for Belgrade, and whilst they may not make the A-Final I would pick them to make the top 11.
Another crew that comes to Belgrade with a new combination of youth and experience is South Africa, John Smith and Chris Baxter. Smith is one of the most experienced athletes in the entire field. He was part of the outstanding South African LM4- that won Olympic gold at the London Olympics. He switched to sculling for the Rio Olympic cycle, just missing out on a podium place. At his third Olympics in Tokyo, he raced in the M4-, finishing in tenth. Belgrade will be his first international race since that Olympic final. His partner, 23-year-old Chris Baxter, won gold in the U23 BM2- in 2022 and went on to make his senior debut in the M4- later that year. This year he opened his season as part of the M4- that won silver in Zagreb before moving to the M2- (partnered by James Mitchell) in Lucerne where they finished 14th.
Home favourites will be the highly experienced Serbian pairing of Milos Vasic and Martin Mackovic. This duo was fifth at the Olympics and went one better at the 2022 World Championships. This season they have been consistent A-Finalists without making the podium – fifth in Zagreb was followed by sixth at the Europeans and then fourth in Lucerne.
Italy also has a good tradition in this boat class, but their crew for Belgrade have the look of a development crew about them. Giovanni Codato and Alfonso Scalzone haven’t raced together as a pair so far this season. Codato finished eighth in the pair last season (with Davide Comini) and this year he and Comini also raced at the European Championships finishing ninth. In Lucerne the Italians tried a different partner for Codato, Paolo Covini, and that partnership finished 11th. Scalzone raced in the M8 last season and also raced in that boat at the Europeans and Varese. We’ll have to see what sort of pace this new combination brings to Belgrade.
Other crews to mention include the Croatian twins, Patrik and Anton Loncaric. They have had an up-and-down season; fourth place at Zagreb and fifth in Varese is dovetailed with tenth at the Europeans and again in Lucerne. If they can put together a good series of races in Belgrade, they stand a good chance of Olympic qualification. The Lithuanian twins, Domantas and Dovydas Stankunas were ninth at the World Championships last season and come into Belgrade on the back of some decent performances so far this season – fourth at the Europeans was followed by ninth in Lucerne. The USA has a relatively young and inexperienced duo, Evan Olson and William Bender. Both are former U23 World Championship medallists, and both make their senior debuts in Belgrade. Speaking of young crew, the youngest are from Turkey. Aytimur Selcuk and Enes Biber are both still only 17 but are the reigning U19 World Champions.
Predictions: The British will start as favourites and are likely to make good on that favouritism. The Romanians will push them hard, especially without the distraction of the M8 to get in the way, but I think the British are just too strong. The battle for the bronze should come down to Spain, Switzerland and Serbia. I’m picking the Spanish to get the bronze.
About The Author
