Cover image: World Rowing / Benedict Tufnell
2022 Champions: Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Sam Redgrave, Rebecca Shorten (Great Britain)
Entries: 16
Olympic qualifying places: 7
Great Britain are the defending champions in this event, and this is a boat class that they dominated in 2022, winning the Europeans and the first and third World Cups as well as the World Championships. They return in 2023 with three of the defending World Champion crew, Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar and Rebecca Shorten. The one change for this season is the surprise return of double Olympic champion Helen Glover. She performed so well during winter trials that she thought she’d have a go at her fourth Olympic Games. So far, her return has delivered medals but the British have not been anywhere near as dominant as they had been in 2022. In fact a mischievous commentator could point out that since Glover has joined the crew the British haven’t won a race. But Glover is the consummate racer and with a solid block of training and preparation for Belgrade they will come into the World Championships as one of the favourites.
Leading the way so far this season has been Romania, Maria Tivodariu, Amalia Beres, Magdalena Rusu and Madalina Beres. They are doubling-up in the W8 in Belgrade, something they have been doing on a regular basis. This crew won in Lucerne and also took gold in both the 4- and W8 at the Europeans. Last season they won gold as part of the W8 and just missed the podium in the W4-. All four were also part of the Olympic W8 in Tokyo that finished sixth.
Australia dominated this event during the Tokyo Olympic cycle, winning all three World Championships and the Olympic gold. They have three members of the 2017-19 World Championship winning crews still racing in this event, Lucy Stephan (the only remaining member of the gold medal Olympic crew), Katrina Werry and Sarah Hawe (who both raced in the W8 in Tokyo). The fourth member of the crew was also in the Tokyo W8, Giorgia Patten. Last season Stephan and Werry were in the four that won bronze and so far this season this quartet has third from Varese and silver from Lucerne.
Runners-up to the British in 2022 was The Netherlands. They have the same quartet racing in Belgrade, Benthe Boonstra, Hermijntje Drenth, Tinka Offereins and Marloes Oldenburg. This season saw them win bronze at the Europeans and just miss out on a medal in Lucerne.
One of the most interesting entries is Ireland. The Olympic bronze medalists have only one returner from the Tokyo crew, Eimear Lambe. She’s joined by Natalie Long, Imogen Magner and the Irish legend, Sanita Puspure. Puspure became the first Irishwoman to win a medal in the W1X when she won the World Championships in 2018 and followed that with her second World Championship title in 2019. Illness robbed her of a possible Olympic title and in 2022 she won her third World Championship medal, taking bronze in the W2X. Lambe and Magner raced in the four in Lucerne (with Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh), finishing sixth. It’s going to be great to watch Puspure back in action, and in a sweep boat. I really hope the Irish can claim an Olympic qualification spot.
The USA also come to Belgrade with a highly experienced crew. Molly Bruggeman and Madeleine Wanamaker were part of the crew that won the world title in 2019. They are joined by Claire Collins and Kelsey Reelick. Collins and Wanamaker were in the boat that won the B-Final in Tokyo and then last year all four raced in the W8 that finished fourth with Collins and Wannamaker doubling-up in the W2- to take the bronze. This season they have raced once, at the Varese World Cup, winning gold ahead of Great Britain and Australia.
Also racing are New Zealand, with a crew that includes 2019 W8 World Champion and Olympic silver medallist Jackie Gowler. They raced in Lucerne, finishing fifth. Also watch out for the Chinese (Zifeng Wang, Xiaoxin Liu, Xingye Xu and Shuxian Zhang) fifth in the world last year and fourth in their only outing so far this season in Varese. The final crew to mention is Denmark (Astrid Steensberg, Marie Skytte Hauberg Johannesen, Julie Poulsen and Frida Sanggaard Nielsen). This is the same line-up that won the B-Final in 2022 and so far this season have a best result of fourth at the European Championships.
Predictions: Any one of Australia, Great Britain, Romania or the USA could, on their day, win gold. But who will get it right when it matters? I’m going for Romania in gold, Great Britain in silver and the USA to pip the Aussies for the bronze.
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