Cover image: World Rowing / Benedict Tufnell
Reigning Champion: Ionela Cozmiuc (Romania)
Entries: 23
As with the men’s lightweight single, the defending champion has moved to the Olympic-class lightweight double. But, Romania may well still be in prime position to take the title. They are represented by Gianina Van Groningen (nee Beleaga). She was in the LW2X that made the A-Final in Tokyo and was World Champion in that boat class in 2018.
The main challenger to Romania retaining the title may well be Sophia Luwis of the USA. The 26-year-old made her senior debut this season and won silver in Varese and gold in Lucerne. She should’ve made her senior debut in 2022 as part of the LW4X but injury forced her withdrawal just before the Championships started. She’s clearly made a big impact this season and must be among the favourites to make the podium.
Another athlete who made their senior debut in 2023 is Olivia Bates of Great Britain. The 22-year-old finished eighth at the European Championships but followed that up with podium finishes at both the Varese and Lucerne World Cups.
Martine Veldhuis of The Netherlands was European champion in 2020 and won silver at both the European and World Championships last season. This season she has been racing at open-weight and was in the W4X that won silver at the European Championships. She raced as NED2 W1X in Lucerne but was off the pace and could only manage 21st. Now back in the light single she will also be a major contender for the podium.
Winner in Varese was France’s Aurelie Morizot. She made her debut last season, finishing eighth at the European Championships. She’s had a strong 2023 so far – alongside a gold in Varese she has an A-Final finish at the Lucerne World Cup.
Elis Ozbay of Turkey is the current U23 BLW1X World Champion; she also has U23 medals from 2021 (gold in the BLW2X) and silver from 2022 in the BLW1X. As a senior international she has World Cup silver in the LW2X from 2021 and finished fifth in the LW1X at this year’s Europeans.
Kenia Lechuga is Mexico’s most successful oarswoman. She won Mexico’s first ever women’s rowing medal when she took bronze at the first World Cup of 2019. She raced as an open weight at the Tokyo Olympics before moving back to Lightweight for 2022. She won silver at the third World Cup and finished the season by winning the B-Final at the World Championships. Belgrade will be her first international race of the season.
Another U23 medallist racing in this event is Italian Ilaria Corazza. She was U23 World Champion in the BLW4X in 2021 and followed that with a senior World Championship win in the light quad in 2022. This season she’s taken silver in the BLW1X at the U23 World Championships.
Ireland’s Siobhan Mccrohan has had an interesting career. She made her debut back in 2007 and won her first medal at the Lucerne World Cup of 2011. However, issues in making the tight weight limits as a lightweight lead to her being dropped for the 2012 season. She made one brief return for the first World Cup of 2016, but it wasn’t until 2023 that she finally made a full return to the Irish squad. She opened her season with a strong fourth place at the Europeans and then went one better to make the podium and a silver medal in Lucerne.
Other scullers to watch include Dora Dragicevic of Croatia (bronze medalist at the opening World Cup and 11th at the Europeans) and Eline Rol of Switzerland (13th at the 2022 World Championships and sixth at the Europeans). Also as a point of interest, Angola are represented by Conceicao Ngola, who, at just 15 years of age, is the youngest competitor in the entire championships.
Predictions: With a different winner at all three World Cups and the Europeans there’s no stand-out athlete in the event. Luwis of the USA probably has the form at the moment with gold and silver from the last two World Cups, so she is possibly the marginal favourite. USA in gold ahead of Romania in silver and GB in bronze.
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