Image Credit: World Rowing
With the Olympics done and dusted, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the international rowing season is done and dusted. But no, there’s still one more outing; the World Rowing Championships. This isn’t a full programme World Rowing Championships however – it’s just for lightweight and para-rowing events that weren’t included in the Olympic/Paralympic programmes. For the first time since 2016, these are being combined with a full programme age group world championships at both U19 and U23 levels – the so-called “Mega Worlds”.
The 2024 World Rowing Championships are being hosted by St. Catharines, Canada, the venue for the annual Royal Canadian Henley, who are hosting a senior World Rowing event for the first time since the 1999 World Rowing Championships.
The senior worlds offered events in the Lwt1X, Lwt2-, Lwt4X, PR2 1X and PR3 2- for both men and women, however there were no entries for the LW4X and only two entries for the PR3 M2-.
So, without further ado here’s a look at those crews who have entered.
Entries: 22
2023 Champion: Andri Struzina (Switzerland)
The standout name in this event, indeed in the whole championships, is Paul O’Donovan of Ireland. Hot on the heels of a fantastic gold medal in the LM2x at the Paris Olympics, O’Donovan is looking to finish his 2024 season with solo World Rowing Championship gold. He last raced in the light single back in 2017 when he just happened to win this title, a gold he also collected in 2016. In fact, 2024 marks the tenth anniversary of O’Donovan’s first World Rowing Championships – he took fourth in the LM1X as a 20-year-old in Amsterdam. Always a crowd-pleaser, O’Donovan will be the overwhelming favourite in Canada.
Leading the chase against the Irishman will be Niels Torre of Italy. He is the reigning European champion in this event and won the silver medal behind Struzina of Switzerland at the 2023 worlds. He has a World Rowing Championship title to his name, taking the gold as part of the LM4X in 2022.
Another strong challenger will be the Olympic LM2X bronze medallist Antonios Papakonstantinou of Greece. He’s no stranger to competing in the single, winning the European title and world silver in 2022 and he was also U23 BLM1X world champion in 2021. He also has a World Rowing Championship silver medal in the LM2- from 2018.
Another Paris Olympian competing in St. Catharines is Sid Ali Boudina of Algeria. He raced in the M1X, finishing in a very creditable 18th. He’s been racing on the senior circuit since 2011 and Paris was his third Olympics. His best performance in the LM1X at a World Rowing Championships came in 2022 when he won the B-Final. Last season, he also made the B-Final, finishing third for a ninth place overall.
Fourth at the 2023 world championships was Baptiste Savaette of France. The 23-year-old made his senior debut at the 2021 European championships, winning a silver medal in the LM4X. He was fifth in the LM1X at the 2022 world championships and this season took bronze at the Europeans and silver at the Lucerne World Rowing Cup. He ended the World Rowing Cup series with sixth in Poznan.
Competing internationally in the LM1X for the first time is Paul Leerkamp of Germany. He narrowly missed qualifying for Paris in the LM2X after finishing third at the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta. He was U23 world champion in the BLM4X in 2021 and made his senior debut in 2022 and has raced in the LM2X throughout his senior career so far. At the 2023 world championships, he and partner Jonathan Rommelmann finished tenth in the LM2X.
Racing for the USA is Sam Melvin. The Columbia University graduate was U23 world champion in 2019 and made his senior team debut last season, winning the B-Final in the LM1x at the World Rowing Championship. Like Leerkamp he also raced in the LM2X at the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta but didn’t progress beyond the repechage. He raced in the single at the Poznan World Rowing Cup, finishing fourth (The USA’s best result in this boat class since 2018).
Silver medallist at the European championships this season was Marlon Colpaert of Belgium. That silver medal was a big step-up in performance for the Belgian – his best previous result was sixth in the LM2X at the opening World Rowing Cup of 2022. He raced at the Lucerne World Rowing Cup, enjoying another strong performance and placing fourth.
Another Paris Olympian competing is Hong Kong’s Hin Chun Chiu. He was 20th in the M1X in Paris – his second Olympics – and earlier this season made history, winning Hong Kong’s first World Rowing Cup gold medal when winning the LM1X at the Lucerne World Rowing Cup. At the world championships, he raced the LM1X in 2018 placing 14th and slipped back to 23rd in 2019. In 2022 he moved to the LM2X placing 26th at the worlds.
The home crowd will be cheering on Stephen Harris. The Brock University graduate makes his senior debut at his home World Rowing Championship, having spent two years on the Canadian U23 team, taking bronze in the BLM1X in 2022.
The fifth Paris Olympian racing at Worlds is Alexis Lopez Garcia of Mexico. He and partner Miguel Carbello Nieto finished tenth in the LM2X at the Olympics. This duo won silver at the Poznan World Rowing Cup this season, the first men’s medal for Mexico since 2009. Lopez Garcia raced in the LM1X at the World Rowing Championships from 2017-2022 with a best result of fourth in 2019 (which was the best result for the Mexico men at a world championships since 1975). Last season he raced the LM2X at worlds, winning the B-Final.
Argentina’s Pedro Dickson also raced in the LM2X at the Paris Olympics, – he and partner Alejandro Colomino finished 12th. The 24-year-old raced at the U23 world championships in 2022, just missing out on the podium. As a senior international he raced in the LM1X at the Lucerne World Rowing Cup in 2022, placing tenth.
Amongst the other competitors to watch are Uruguay’s Felipe Kluver Ferreira, U23 world champion in 2022 and sixth in the LM2X at the Tokyo Olympics.
Prediction
Difficult to see anyone beating O’Donovan but behind him it should be a great battle between Torre and Papakonstaninou for silver and bronze
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