Cover image: World Rowing / Benedict Tufnell
With all the heats completed, we look at what has happened so far in the Olympic class boats over the past few days in Belgrade. Early Olympic qualification spots are up for grabs so everyone is on their A-game to try and book their seat on the plane to Paris. Will the current world champions still be on form? Olympic champions looking sharp? Are the favourites having a good start or will they have to put up a fight to earn their slot? Here’s a breakdown of what’s happened so far, who to look out for and which races to watch…
Men’s Single Sculls
Day One treated us to some early racing from the men’s single sculls – and it did not disappoint. In heat one the current Olympic champion, Stefanos Ntouskos of Greece, claimed the win with a time of 6:45.46, securing his quarter-final position. To no surprise, Oliver Zeidler claimed the heat three win at a time of 6:44.10. But only 2.09 seconds behind, Kjetil Borch claimed third to Canada’s Trevor Jones, only missing out by only 0.12 seconds. He would however go onto to claim the win in the repechage with a clear 4.07 second margin. It’s heat six however that would see some real speed as Simon Van Dorp would claim the win in a time of 6:40.82, with New Zealand’s Thomas Mackintosh getting second place with a time of 6:41.58, making them the fastest times in the men’s single sculls of the day. Simon Van Dorp and Stefanos Ntouskos may have the easier quarter finals, having slightly easier competition in quarter finals three and one respectively, but quarter final two has a big showdown which can lead to some exciting racing, with Olli, Kjetil and Thomas all contending in the same race for the semis.
Women’s Single Sculls
Over in the women’s single sculls, some exciting racing was underway. Olympic champion Emma Twigg won her heat in an impressive time of 7:23.43. But in other races Tara Rigney, of Australia, and Alexandra Foester, of Germany, won their heats in times of 7:21.90 and 7:23.31 respectively. It was, however, Karolien Florijn of Netherlands, the current World Champion, who raced an astonishing time of 7:18.55, making her the only woman to go sub 7:20 in the single sculls. Quarterfinal One will see Twigg face off against Foester in what should be a tight race given there was only 0.12 seconds between them in their heats. While Florijn and Rigney will have slightly easier quarterfinals, it’s still early days to see what the rest of the field have to offer.
Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls
The lightweight men’s double sculls are highly contested. Not only because of the Olympic qualification spot, but as it has been confirmed that there will be no Olympic lightweight events post Paris, this is the last chance to become a world champion in an Olympic class boat as a lightweight. The current world and Olympic champions, Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan of Ireland, did not disappoint with a win in heat One in a time of 6:15.40. While the Swiss did go faster in a time of 6:11.93, they held a 2.01 second lead whereas the Irish held a big 4.25 second lead. Sitting just behind the Swiss was the Norwegians and Czech Republic, who both beat the Irish for time. I can see all three of these boats contesting for the gold and should deliver some truly exciting racing. However, not out of the picture are the other three winners of their heats. The Italians, Spanish and Germans all won their heats with times around 6:17. It’s not often we have six boats so close in timings. Look no further for a highly contested event.
Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls
Much like with the men’s category, this is the last chance as a lightweight women to become world champion in an Olympic class event. The current world champions, Great Britain, are the favourites to win, and for good reason. They dominated their race, winning their heat in a time of 6:59.28, which is competitive even for a heavyweight women’s double! Not only were they the only crew to go sub seven, but they won with a massive 5.93 second margin. The competition is still tough, as the Canadians won their heat in 7:01.81, with a 2.86 second lead. Both crews clearly still have a few gears to go. The fight for the bronze looks like it will be tough. Plenty of crews posted similar times; Romania beat Ireland by 0.38 seconds in a time of 7:07.16. Not far behind were the USA in a time of 7:08.58, with a 0.73 second lead over China. New Zealand trailed Great Britain in a time of 7:05.21, and an even more impressive lead of 11.81 seconds over the Austrians. Sitting not far behind Canada were Poland, France and Greece, with times of 7:04.67, 7:05.74 and 7:06.27 seconds respectively.
Men’s Double Sculls
The men’s double sculls were the last races of day one, giving us the early look into what the finals could look like. The fastest time of the day went to the Romanians, with a time of 6:08.15. While they may lead the pack, they won their heat by a margin of only 1.91 seconds. I say this, as only 0.39 seconds behind them were the Netherlands. While the two countries may have close times, the big difference is that the Netherlands won their heat by a massive 6.96 seconds. Another close duo who we won’t see fight in the quarters are the Americans and the Chinese. The US double won their heat in 6:11.12, with a 1.65 second margin, whereas the Chinese won theirs with a time of 6:11.88, with a 1.12 second margin. Having two sets of doubles to keep an eye out for some tight racing will surely develop into some enticing racing. Sitting behind on time but not on position were the Sinkovic brothers. After coming fourth in last year’s world championships, the Croatians won their heat in a time of 6:15.01, but with a 2.46 second lead. Current world champions France found themselves third in their heat, securing their place in the quarter-final but giving them work to do to contend for medals. I think this could be a category to follow, and the final could be a true battle for gold/silver and bronze/no medal.
Women’s Double Sculls
The women’s double sculls was the first heavyweight sculling race of day two, with some tight results. Current World Champions Romania set the bar in heat four with an impressive time of 6:55.41, made even more impressive with the 7.33 second lead they had over France, who took the second position. This also gave them the fastest time of the day in the women’s double sculls. Not too far behind, however, Ireland and the USA won their heats, both going sub seven too. Ireland beat Lithuania to the line with a time of 6:59.39, holding an impressive 2.87 second lead. USA however won in a slightly faster time of 6:58.91, holding a lead of 1.65 seconds over Italy. We also cannot forget about the New Zealand double, who won heat three in a time of 7:03.74. While the Romanians are the clear favourite to win, the fight for silver will be fierce and one to watch.
Men’s Pair
The men’s pair is highly contested, and while the Great Britain pair are the favourites to win, they still have their work cut out for them. The fastest heat went to the Spanish pair, with a time of 6:19.85, with Ireland sitting close behind, only a 1.19 second margin. A similar lead was held by the Swiss, who did a similar time of 6:26.62 with a 3.89 second lead. Romania clocked a 6:25.66, well within the realms of reasonable. There could be some interesting racing develop between these five crews as they show their strength in close-season.
Women’s Pair
Romania and the Netherlands both had over four seconds separating them and second place in their respective heats. Chile banked a 7:13, but they had a tough race with the USA only 0.42 seconds behind and Greece a further 0.45 seconds back. The Australians put on a clinic, moving slower than Romania but finishing some eight seconds clear of the field. Current world champions, New Zealand, came in fourth in their heat with a time of 7:19.71 and missed out on the A/B semis in their repechage.
Men’s Quadruple Sculls
Poland are the current world champions in the men’s quad, but will they retain that title? They won their heat in a respectable 6:00.17, with a 1.81 second lead, but the Netherlands, winners in Lucerne, are turning on the style when it matters. They were the only crew to go sub six with a time of 5:59.78, but it wasn’t needed as they held a margin of 4.79 seconds, huge in such a fast boat. The Italians also showed off their speed, winning their heat with a 2.06 second lead in a time of 6:01.12, who came third in last year’s world championships. The Great Britain quad came second overall in last year’s world championships, and also grabbed silver at the Tokyo Olympics, so where do they stand? In heat three they claimed second place behind the Italians in a time of 6:03.18, 3.4 second behind the Netherlands. The only other crew to go faster than GB were the Swiss, who grabbed a time of 6:01.98 in heat one, behind Poland.
Women’s Quadruple Sculls
Reigning world champions, the Chinese showed their form once again, winning their heat with the fastest time in the women’s quad of all heats after a disappointing Lucerne regatta. With an impressive time of 6:30.75, they held a 1.64 second lead over the Swiss and a 3.14 second lead over the Australians. They still seem to be the favourites to bring home the gold, but the fight for silver and bronze is going to be highly competitive. While the Swiss and Australia only just trail behind, the Great Britain crew showed impeccable form and won their heat in a respectable 6:33.47. Over in heat two, the Netherlands – winners at World Cup 3 – won their heat in a time of 6:42.00, which will make for an interesting semi-final.
Men’s Coxless Fours
Great Britain have been dominant in this event throughout this whole Olympiad. Current world champions, they won their heat in 6:03.65. While it may have been the slowest time of all three heat winners, they had the largest margin of 2.35 seconds. The USA won heat one in 6:01.51, over two seconds faster than GB, whereas the Netherlands were the only boat to go sub six in 5:59.50, but whilst holding a slender 0.91 second advantage over New Zealand. The Australians, current Olympic champions, were close behind USA in a time of 6:03.76, putting them only 0.11 seconds behind GB. Australia and New Zealand will face off with Great Britain in semi-final two on Thursday, which will no doubt be a great contest to watch unfold.
Women’s Coxless Fours
The heats of the women’s coxless fours have made one thing clear – we’re in for some exciting racing! Tight margins between the winning crews should lead to compelling narratives and the race for medals and Olympic qualification is truly on. The current world champions, Great Britain, are the favourites and for good reason. While they may have published the second fastest time (6:39.50) they did so in stylish fashion with a 4.02 second lead. The Netherlands took the fastest time in 6:38.45, but with a 2.20 second lead. Behind the Dutch were the USA with a time of 6:40.65. This puts them 0.25 seconds behind Romania, who won their heat over China with a 4.27 second margin. Four boats locked in near-perfect harmony. This should be a lot of fun.
Men’s Eight
Great Britain are the current world champions (a trope that is getting a little repetitive when we move into sweep shells) and it’s a title they intend to retain in Serbia and beyond. Posting a 2.26 second lead on all the other boats is a good way to impose yourselves on proceedings. With a time of 5:34.35, they were followed by the Netherlands in 5:36.61 and Canada in 5:38.26. Over in Heat 2, Australia beat the USA by 2.56 seconds in a time of 5:37.85. Great Britain have work to do to earn back their title as the fastest men’s eight in the world, but their lead over the other crew sets a strong early precedent. With the Netherlands, Canada and Australia sitting close behind, tight racing should ensue and GB will want to avoid getting pulled into a dogfight for minor medals.
Women’s eight
Romania took the win in heat two in the women’s eight, posting the fastest time of 6:17.67. Not far behind, the USA won their heat with a time of 6:18.36. Securing their A-final places, the battle for gold is on. Romania are the current world champions, and look good to retain their title. Australia bagged a solid time of 6:20.56, while Great Britain, Italy and Canada all sat around the 6:24 mark. Looking towards the repechage, these four boats, alongside Germany and China, will have to wait until Friday to battle it out for spots in the A final.
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