Image credit: World Rowing
So, we have our 2024 European champions. This is a significant milestone in the season and gives us, as rowing punditry, an ever-increasing sense of the runners and riders that we can expect to be watching come Paris in just under three months’ time. However, those who fell short in Szeged will be fueled by the unique fire that failure finds and those who were crowned winners on blustery Hungarian waters would trade it all for a shot at Olympic and Paralympic glory.
Let’s take a closer look at Sunday’s racing…
PR3 Mixed Coxed Four
JRN Prediction: GB, France, Italy
Actual Result: GB, France, Italy
The day started in predictable fashion, as Great Britain wrapped up yet another title in this category. Versions of this boat have collected the last three Paralympic golds and Erin Kennedy – who steered the crew in Szeged – is a reigning Paralympic champion from Tokyo. With one change from the crew that won the 2023 world championships, GB got the better of the four starts, stretching gradually away from a French crew whose attempts to cling onto the coattails of the British faded as the course unwound. Italy wound up third with Spain a long way back in fourth.
Men’s Coxless Four
JRN Prediction: GB, Italy, Romania
Actual Result: GB, Italy, France
As Katherine Grainger on BBC commentary duty pointed out, Great Britain are learning quickly. After losing out to the fast-finishing Italians in Varese two weeks ago, the British were in no mood to suffer in a similar fashion at the European championships. After a slightly slower start, their inexorable rhythm started to pay dividends as they rowed down the field, taking the lead at the halfway point and stretching effortlessly out to a length with 500m to go. Behind them, the battle for bronze threatened to suck the Italians in on a few occasions but the FOQR-bound crew held off the advances of France, who secured third.
Women’s Pair
JRN Prediction: Romania, GB, Greece
Actual Result: Romania, Greece, Croatia
This was quite simply a classy row from a classy pairing. Romania thundered down the far-side of the track, taking inch by inch over their Greek rivals in lane #2. Without some of the heaviest hitters present – including the world champions from the Netherlands and Australia’s silver medalists – Romania took full advantage to secure a compelling gold over Greece and Croatia, who overtook Great Britain in the third 500m.
Men’s Pair
JRN Prediction: GB, Switzerland, Spain
Actual Result: GB, Romania, Switzerland
So often the late-starters, this was a remarkable role-reversal from Great Britain, who took off with gusto to establish an early lead that was never relinquished. The British strength often comes in their middle 1000m, when the horsepower available to this talented pairing really plays into proceedings, but if they have developed a killer opening act, crews like Switzerland and Romania will fear for their Olympic prospects. The latter timed their push to perfection, sweeping past a slightly dysfunctional Swiss duo to claim silver, but this race was all about supreme British control.
PR2 Mixed Double
JRN Prediction: GB, Netherlands, Poland
Actual Result: GB, Germany, Ukraine
Great Britain’s dominance at Paralympic level is the stuff of legend and this race played out according to the formbook, as Lauren Rowles and Gregg Stevenson reaffirmed their untouchable status in this category. Despite early pressure from France, the British were relatively untroubled throughout the bulk of the 2000m course and ended up winning by the proverbial mile. The race for the minor medals was a lot more interesting though, as France’s early pace clearly cost them their second 1000m speed as the Ukraine and then Germany rowed through them, with Germany pipping the Ukrainians to the silver.
Women’s Double
JRN Prediction: Romania, Lithuania, Ireland
Actual Result: Norway, Lithuania, Romania
Well, we got that one wrong. To be fair to us, no-one could have predicted this Romania collapse. They came to Szeged unbeaten in open competition since 2019 and arguably the stand-out crew in World Rowing. Well, consider the cat well and truly amongst the pigeons with less than 100 days to go until Paris. Norway came from nowhere to claim an astonishing – and relatively convincing – gold ahead of effervescent bridesmaids from Lithuania, who will be particularly interested in the new-found Romanian weakness. With the Americans to re-enter the fray alongside New Zealand, this category just got a whole lot spicier.
Men’s Double
JRN Prediction: Italy, Spain, Germany
Actual Result: Romania, Spain, Germany
Another one where JRN’s predictive algorithm did not excel but the way in which Romania grabbed hold of this race will send a strong message to the absent Dutch, who are the current world champions. Italy, who secured silver at WC1, looked a little off the pace throughout the regatta and it meant that Germany, who were fourth in Varese, could climb a place into bronze, falling to a fast-starting and super-sprinting Spanish pairing who opened their 2024 account with a European silver.
Women’s Single
JRN Prediction: Germany, Serbia, Bulgaria
Actual Result: Serbia, Germany, Czech Republic
The skewed lane draws were increasingly coming into effect by this stage of racing as, for the third contest in a row, lane #1 stole an insurmountable early march on the rest of the field. Serbia’s Jovana Arsic took the European title with little fuss, sculling steadily away from her opponents, whilst Germany’s Alexandra Foester took silver, a few second clear of Alice Prokesova of the Czech Republic. This was Serbia’s first-ever women’s gold medal in rowing.
Men’s Single
JRN Prediction: Germany, Denmark, GB
Actual Result: Germany, Greece, Lithuania
It seems that rumours of Ollie Zeidler’s demise in rough water were greatly exaggerated. Here, the great German sculler laid down another exceptional marker in his pursuit of Olympic glory by seeing off a strengthened field in tougher conditions in comparison to his exploits at WC1 in Italy two weeks ago. Behind him, Stefanos Ntouskos of Greece had an excellent row in claiming silver whilst Sverri Nielsen was pushed off the podium in the closing stages by Giedrius Bieliauskas of Lithuania. All eyes now turn to Lucerne in four weeks’ time when world silver and bronze medalists from the Netherlands and New Zealand rejoin the fray.
Women’s Eight
JRN Prediction: Romania, GB, Italy
Actual Result: Romania, GB, Italy
What a brilliant row from Romania. Despite seven of their eight boat-rowing athletes doubling up over the course of the weekend, they found a remarkable gear change in the middle 1000m to throw down the gauntlet and secure successive European titles in the women’s eight. Behind them, Great Britain won their second silver medal of the season but this will arguably feel just as disappointing as Varese, where they were overturned by Italy, who finished in third today. With Romania arguably as weak as they could be given racing timetables, this was an opportune moment to overturn their stranglehold on this event but the trailing field could not find the gas.
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