Image credit: World Rowing
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 on the entries for the Euro Champs.
So here’s our look at the ones to watch in each of the Olympic-class boats.
Entries: 8
2023 Champion: Great Britain
Twice defending Paralympic champions, the British setup is almost unparalleled in para-rowing. Both golden combinations have included Lauren Rowles but last season left her in search of a new partner following the retirement of Laurence Whiteley at the end of 2022. This came in the form of Gregg Stevenson, a former Commando who returned to the sport after missing out on selection to this crew almost a decade ago. Their pairing was immediately successful, stretching Rowles’ unbeaten run to 15 races as they set a World’s Best Time to win their first world title together. A class above all their European competition last season, the expectations for this crew would be nothing short of a dominant victory as they eye Paralympic glory in September.
With the Chinese obviously unable to take part this weekend, the Polish are the closest challengers to the Brits to race this weekend, having won bronze in Belgrade. Veteran of the sport, Jolanta Majka has raced at every Paralympics to include rowing following her switch from swimming at the Sydney 2000 games. In Beijing she rowed alongside her husband Piotr, but since 2011 her partner in the double has been Michal Godowski. Through the length of that relationship, they have won four world championship medals, including at both of the two most-recent games. With this positive momentum, the pairing will be hoping that this is the year they finally win a Paralympic medal, and a strong performance here will encourage that belief.
Coming out of retirement in this race is Gertrudes Bregitta Van Der Loos, a Dutch athlete who last competed in international rowing at the 2016 Paralympics, placing fourth. She reunites with her partner from Rio, Cornelis De Koning who has remained active on the para-rowing scene. Away from the double, De Koning has dominated the competition in the PR2 men’s single, having won four world titles in his undefeated career in the non-Paralympic boat class. But with Paralympic success in mind he has had a variety of partners. In the 2020 Olympic cycle he paired with Annika Van Der Meer and lost only once before the Olympic games where the pairing would ultimately be disrupted by the British and fall to silver. Since Tokyo there has been more trouble as his partnership with Chantal Haenen didn’t replicate earlier successes, so the Dutch contingent will be hoping that reuniting with Van Der Loos will bring them back to the top of the mountain.
Another crew with a new face on board is the Ukrainian line up. Iaoslav Koiuda returns to the boat he has helped qualify at the past two Paralympic Games whilst Anna Aisanova will step into the bow-seat. The only entry in the PR2 women’s single at last year’s world championships, she won bronze in a contested field in 2022. Making this change to a qualified crew, the Ukranian selectors will have seen greater potential in this line-up as they shoot for a medal this weekend ahead of a trip to Paris in September.
The fastest crew not to qualify at last year’s world championship, the Israeli boat remains unchanged. Saleh Shahin, who has reclassified since racing in the PR3 version of this event in 2019, is joined once again by Shahar Milfelder who made her international debut in Belgrade. After winning the B-final they will once again be competing against many of those opponents and will surely be the favourite to obtain one of the one remaining places. With other countries changing their lineups, a strong performance here in Hungary will be important in setting the tone for the rest of the campaign.
Having rowed together for the first time only last month, the Czech combination of Eliska Krejci and Josef Duchan both make their international rowing debut in Hungary this weekend. Their stated aim to qualify for the Paralympics begins here before a trip to Lucerne to fight for the single remaining spot in Paris at the Final Paralympic Qualifying Regatta. If they hope to do well, a strong performance after such little time together will be needed.
Five-time Paralympic champion across biathlon and cross-country skiing, Benjamin Daviet picked up rowing as part of his summer training. With the transferrable cardio bases, he performed well and now looks for selection to his first summer games in front of a home crowd. Joining him on that quest is Perle Bouge, a veteran of the sport who has competed in this event at three successive Paralympics, winning medals in London and Rio. Together they will be a hot pick for qualification in Lucerne and can cement that status with a strong performance this weekend in Szeged.
With no entry to last year’s world championship, the German season in the PR2 Mixed Double was far from ideal. After a tough European championships, the crew was excluded from the minor final at the World Cup II regatta due to their boat being under weight. This would be the end for that particular pairing, as Paul Umbach would race in the men’s single, earning his second bronze medal in as many world championships. Joining him in the double is Jasmina Bier, a PhD student whose only other international experience was at the coastal rowing championships in an able-bodied quad. This remarkably young combination will be hoping to shine this weekend as they measure themselves against the continent’s competition.
Prediction
Only a fool would suggest that anyone but Great Britain will be taking home gold here; the world champions and holders of the world’s best time have not been troubled by continental opposition all Olympiad. For second, my pick would go to the reinforced Netherlands pairing who will be hoping that the return of Van Der Loos will be enough for them to pose a threat to the British again. In third, the Polish have the benefits of great experience and have been doing their best-ever rowing in recent years.
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