Cover image: World Rowing / Benedict Tufnell
2022 Champions: Dominik Czaja, Mateusz Biskup, Miroslaw Zietarski, Fabian Baranski (Poland)
Entries: 17
Olympic qualifying places: 7
Poland are the reigning World Champions in this event and they have an unchanged line-up for the 2023 season (Dominik Czaja, Mateusz Biskup, Miroslaw Zietarski and Fabian Baranski). They picked up where they left off in 2022 with gold at the European Championships and another at the Varese World Cup. They didn’t race in Lucerne but will surely start as favourites in Belgrade. All four athletes raced at the Tokyo Olympics – Czaja and Baranski in the quad that finished one place off the podium and Biskup and Zietarski were the sixth-placed M2X.
The Netherlands are the reigning Olympic Champions and they have two of that crew still racing in the quad; Koen Metsemakers and Tone Wieten. In 2022 the Dutch quad finished fourth, although only one member of that crew, Finn Florijn, returns for 2023. Florijn, Metesmakers and Wieten sculled with Simon Van Dorp at the European Championships, winning the silver medal. In Lucerne Van Dorp was replaced by Leannart Van Lierop. He had raced in the M8 last year that won silver and this season raced in the M1X, producing a remarkable race at the Europeans to win the gold medal (becoming the only man other than Ollie Zeidler to win a M1X gold medal this season). As a quad this crew took gold in Lucerne and will head into Belgrade as the biggest challengers to the Polish.
Great Britain also will consider themselves as one of Poland’s main challengers. They have one returner from the Olympic silver medal crew, Tom Barras. In 2022 the crew of Barras, George Bourne, Matt Haywood and Harry Leask won silver behind Poland. Leask left rowing earlier this season to race for the GB America’s Cup squad and his place was taken by Callum Dixon. He raced at the U23’s last year, winning the B-Final in the BM1X. This year the British have been improving as the season progressed; fourth at the Europeans was followed by bronze in Varese and silver in Lucerne.
Another strong line-up are the Italians; Andrea Panizza, Nicolo’ Carucci, Luca Chiumento and Giacomo Gentili. They were European Champions in 2022 and took bronze at the World Championships. Two of the crew, Panizza and Gentili, were in the quad that made the A-Final in Tokyo. This season the Italians have raced twice and made the podium both times, bronze at the Europeans and silver in Varese.
Bronze medalists in Lucerne were Romania; Andrei-Sebastian Cornea, Ioan Prundeanu, Marian Enache and Mihai Chiruta. Prundeanu, Enache and Chiruta were in the crew that finished sixth in 2022 and this season were fifth at the Europeans. Cornea raced in the M2X last year and was 17th.
Australia come into the Worlds with a crew containing two of the Olympic bronze medal crew, Caleb Antill and Jack Cleary. They are joined by Henry Youl and David Bartholot. Bartholot and Antill were bronze medalists in the M2X last season. This season, the Australians have been trying various combinations for their M4X and placed sixth in Varese with a crew of Youl, Antill, Campbell Watts and Cormac Kennedy-Leverett. In Lucerne, they finished fourth with Kennedy-Leverett, Bartholot, Antill and Campbell Watts. So, the final line-up for the Aussies haven’t actually raced together this season so it’ll be interesting to see what pace this latest line-up has.
Germany has a proud tradition in this event, but they haven’t won a World Championship medal since taking bronze in 2014. Their crew for 2023 is Moritz Wolff, Tim Ole Naske, Anton Finger and Max Appel. Appel and Ole Naske were in the crew that finished eighth in Tokyo. Germany’s results so far this season can be described as solid rather than spectacular – eighth place at the Europeans was followed by fifth place at both the Varese and Lucerne World Cups. They will be hunting for similar in Belgrade which would ensure Olympic Qualification.
One of the most experienced crews in the event is Estonia; Tonu Edrekson is the oldest man in the competition at the tender age of 44 and has been racing on the senior circuit since the turn of the century. During his career he’s made the final of the last five Olympic Games and won silver in the M2X in Beijing. He’s also got five World and four European medals to his credit. Joining him is 40-year-old Allar Raja. Raja has raced at the last three Olympics, winning a bronze in Rio and also has four World and seven European medals. The two remaining members of the crew are relative “spring chickens” – 23-year-old Mikhail Kushteyn and 26-year-old Johann Poolak. They were both in the crew with Raja and Edrekson last season that finished fifth. This season Kushteyn and Poolak raced in the M2X in Zagreb and at the Europeans before moving back into the quad for Lucerne where they finished sixth.
Ireland has a young crew with three U23 medallists form this year. Konan Pazzaia and Brian Colsh won gold in the BM2X this year and Andrew Sheehan took silver in the BM1X. The fourth member of the crew is the “daddy” of the boat – Ronan Byrne. He partnered Philip Doyle to silver in the M2x in 2019 and then tenth at the Tokyo Olympics. Belgrade will be this crew’s first race, but it should be fun to see what they bring to the competition.
China come to Belgrade with two of the crew that won the B-Final in Tokyo, Ha Zang and Xudi Yi. They are joined by Wei Han and Sulitan Adilijiang. Zang, Yi and Adilijiang (along with Zhiyu Liu) finished 12th at the Worlds last year (with Wei Han racing in the M1X finishing 1sixth). This season they have raced once, winning the B-Final in Varese.
Also look out for Czechia (Filip Zima, Marek Diblik, Dalibor Nedela, Jan Potucek) winners in Zagreb and tenth in Lucerne, and Ukraine (Ivan Dovgodko, Mykola Kalashnyk, Olexandr Nadtoka, Dmytro Hula), who were silver medallists in Zagreb and B-Final winners in Lucerne.
Predictions: Poland will be the strong favourites and I can’t see anyone beating them. The Netherlands to take the silver with GB in bronze.
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