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
There is an argument to be made that the Great Britain crew is, pound-for-pound, the best boat in World Rowing. On a 21-race unbeaten streak since just missing out on the medals in Tokyo, Emily Craig and Imogen Grant have been the standout duo, crafting up big wins in a traditionally very close event. At the 2023 world championships in Belgrade they were winners by more than three seconds over the rest of the field, and the strong results continued into 2024 as they won at the first World Cup by several lengths, posting a time that would have won the open weight event too. As much of their closest competition comes from outside Europe, they will be expecting to defend their continental crown without too much fuss.
But if there is to be fuss, it will most likely come in the form of the Romanians. Bronze medallists in Belgrade in September, they have changed their lineup for this season as Gianina Van Groningen teams up with Ionela Cozmmiuc, reuniting for the first time since the Olympic final in Tokyo.
At the Olympics in 2021, the champions were the Italians in the lineup of Federica Cesarini and Valentina Rodini but this Olympiad, they have struggled to regain that spark, having missed the A-final at both world championship regattas. On their home water in Varese, the Italians were only able to beat the ITA2 crew by two one-hundredths of a second, a result that left the selectors looking for speed from that younger crew. Up steps Silvia Crosio; three times an U23 world champion, she placed seventh in the openweight double at the 2023 World Championships and has raced with Casarini before. They will be hoping that this sparks speed and gives them a strong chance in Lucerne at the FOQR.
Another crew that had an underwhelming world championship in 2023 were the Swiss. The selectors have made some radical changes as the 30-year-olds who finished seventh at the Olympics in 2021 and tenth at the World Championships in 2023 have been replaced by two 24-year-olds. In the bow seat, Olivia Nacht steps in for Patricia Merz while in the stroke seat Frederique Rol is replaced by cousin Eline Rol. This new line up got their first test in Varese ad were not terribly convincing, coming sixth in a weakened field, but will be hoping to build speed before the worry of Olympic qualification comes on home water on the Rotsee.
Having won this event at the U23 world championships, Greece have a talented pipeline coming through in this event. One half of that crew, Dimitra Eleni Kontou, made her senior international debut before her 17th birthday and now enters her third season as a senior international, aspiring to become a teenage Olympian. She is joined in this crew by Zoi Fitsiou, the experienced head in the boat who went through the Olympic qualification challenge three years ago, narrowly missing out at the European Olympic qualification regatta. Determined to make it this time, this balance of youth and experience will want to set a good standard here before they challenge in Lucerne for the last two spots.
The crew from the hosts, Hungary, have a great deal of unknowns onboard. Zsofia Csepel has not raced at a World Rowing event in almost three years, while Eszter Fehervari has raced at senior level for several years with limited volume and limited success. With a home crowd this crew will be hoping to upset predictions and challenge some of their central and eastern European neighbours.
The Turkish entry in this event seems to be a crew more focused towards the U23 world championship. This crew of Nisan Ipar and Deniznur Baykara made up half of the U23 lightweight quad that placed third in a four-boat field in Plovdiv and will be looking to make gains in the more hotly-contested double event this summer in St Catherine’s, Canada. Racing this weekend against some of the best crews in the world will provide invaluable experience and they will also be wanting to measure themselves against the other development crews entered.
Another development crew comes courtesy of Poland. The nation had a eighth-placed finish at the world championships last summer in Belgrade, but that crew will be racing for Olympic spots rather than the European crown. Jessika Sobocinska has some decent international experience, racing in the openweight double in Belgrade and finshing 17th. She is joined by Zuzanna Jasinska, who raced in the lightweight single at the World Championships. Whilst this crew are development by nature of not being the top selection from Poland, they will be wanting to punch with these ‘A’ crews and show the Polish selectors what they have got.
Prediction
As I said at the top of the piece, the Great Britain women’s lightweight double are possibly the best crew in the world and I would be massively surprised if any challenge can match them. For the silver medal, my pick would be the boat from Italy, as they were able to boat two crews that beat all others at the first World Cup. For bronze, the Romanians have too much class on board to not be on the medal podium this weekend.
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