Hot on the heels of World Cup 1 comes the European Championships, this year being held at Szeged, Hungary’s third largest city. It’s the first time this course has hosted a major senior championships. The European Olympic Qualifying Regatta is also being held at the same time (for the singles, light doubles and PR1 singles) which has impacted the entries for the European Championships.
So, here’s our look at the ones to watch in each of the Paralympic-class boats.
Entries: 5
2023 Champion: Birgit Skarstein (NOR)
At the top end of the field, you’ll find Birgit Skarstein. She comes in as the defending European and World Champion and the sculler to beat in 2024. In between those two events, Skarstein went on to win the second World Cup regatta and therefore comes in with bags of winning experience.
Despite being such a small entry field, this should prove to be a fascinating encounter with a couple of races unfolding at the same time. Alongside the race for gold, the tussle for the minor medals should prove to be a fascinating encounter. Early season form in recent years would suggest that Israel’s Moran Samuel is the favourite for the silver medal. Samuel saw success at last year’s Euros and World Cup II before being usurped at the World Championships by France’s Nathalie Benoit and Ukraine’s Anna Sheremet, both of whom are racing this weekend.
With one Paralympic berth available, Denmark’s Chinette Lauridsen, Switzerland’s Claire Ghiringhelli, and Sweden’s Ebba Einarsson will be keeping a close eye on one another to punch their ticket to Paris. The latter is the only sculler to have competed at the 2023 World Championships however, Ghiringhelli was the stronger of the two at World Cup II where she finished fifth, beating Einarsson by 47 seconds in the repechage. The Swiss sculler would go on to win the B Final and comfortably beat Lauridsen who gained her only international experience on Lake Varese.
Prediction
It’s unlikely that anyone will better Skarstein who has made this event her own. However, With a home Olympics looming, Benoit will certainly not want to disappoint home crowds and a silver medal to kick off the season would put her in a fantastic position for the rest of the year.
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