Image credit: World Rowing
The first World Cup of any new season is often a bit of a tepid affair, with lots of straight finals or no races in some boat classes at all. But, this year, in Varese, it’s a different matter. Being Olympic year, and with the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta just five weeks away, Varese has drawn a huge and high quality field.
So, as always, I’ll look at each boat class and pick out the main contenders.
Entries: 11
This event has the makings of the highlight of the regatta. It sees the top three pairs from last season (Switzerland, Great Britain, and Ireland) up against the reigning Olympic champions (Croatia), throw in the Olympic bronze medallists (Denmark) and some strong German and Italian pairs, and we could be in for a real barnstormer.
All eyes will be on Martin and Valent Sinkovic from Croatia. A lot of people were surprised when they announced earlier in the season that they were switching from the M2X to the M2-. They were Olympic champions in the double in Rio and were World Champions in 2014 and 2015. After winning in Rio they switched to the M2- and won an unprecedented gold medal in Tokyo, becoming the first athletes to win Olympic gold in both the M2X and M2-. They have been on record as saying the double is their preferred boat and they switched back after Tokyo winning the European Championships in 2022. However, they were no longer the dominant force in the double that they had been, missing the podium at the 2022 Worlds but they looked to have returned to form in 2023 winning the Euros before finishing runners-up at the Worlds. But, they clearly feel that they stand a better chance of winning gold in Paris with one blade each rather than two, so back to the pair they go.
The crew of the season last were was Switzerland, Roman Roeoesli and Andrin Gulich. Roeoesli (along with partner Barnabe Delarze) finished fifth in the M2X in Tokyo and after the Olympics he switched to sweep joining Gulich in the M4- (Gulich had been in that boat in Tokyo that finished ninth). In the M4- they finished a strong fifth at the 2022 World Championships, but it was when they moved to the smaller boat that they really came alive. They won gold at both the first World Cup and the European Championships (Switzerland’s first M2- European title). Silver and bronze followed at the second and third World Cups before they produced an outstanding race at the Worlds to take the title.
Runners-up to the Swiss last season were Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George of Great Britain. They were both members of the GB M8 that won bronze in Tokyo and after moving to the pair it looked like GB had found a duo that could dominate the event in the mould of some of the great British pairs of recent decades. But their form is frustratingly inconsistent. On their day they can obliterate the competition and have won every World Cup they have entered, but when it comes to the “big” championship regattas they don’t quite show the same dominance. They won silver at the 2022 Europeans and bronze at the Worlds and then last season took another silver at European level and then had to have the race of their lives to overhaul the Irish to claim the silver at the World Championships. They have the talent to dominate the event, they just need to put it all together on a consistent basis.
Ireland were one of the surprises of the 2023 season in this boat class. Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney were both members of the Irish M4- that finished eighth at the 2022 World Championships and then tenth at the Europeans. After the Euros the M4- broke up and Timoney and Corrigan moved into the pair. Sixth in their first race at the Lucerne World Cup showed their promise but they produced an outstanding race in the final of the World Championships leading through halfway before being overhauled by first the Swiss and then just being pipped by the British for the silver. Their bronze was Ireland’s first ever men’s open weight sweep World Championship medal. The question for the Irish is, can they carry on at this level and consistently make the podium?
If the Irish were the surprise crew of the 2023 season then the same could be said of Denmark’s Fred Vystavel and Joachim Sutton in 2021. They grabbed the last qualifying spot for Tokyo via the FOQR and then produced an outstanding race to win the bronze medal (Denmark’s first Olympic medal in this boat class since 1968). They didn’t race in 2022, but returned to the pair for the 2023 season, taking bronze at the opening World Cup before slipping back to eighth at the Europeans and 12th at the Worlds.
Great Britain have a second pair racing, Sam Nunn and Will Stewart. They are the spare for the British team, but it’s not often the spares for a country are both senior World Champions. Both Nunn and Stewart were in the M4- in 2022 that won World gold. Last season they both acted as spares; Nunn raced in a second M4- at the Lucerne World Cup that finished fourth and Stewart raced in the M8 at the second and third World Cups winning gold and silver respectively.
Germany is yet to qualify this boat for Paris and they look to be seat racing in Varese ahead of the FOQR. Racing as GER1 is Julius Christ and Soenke Kruse. Christ was in the M2- last season (with Jannik Metzger) but finished down in 15th place. Kruse raced in the M4- throughout the 2023 season ending 16th at the World Championships. GER2 are Mark Hinrichs and Marc Kammann. Hinrichs rowed in the M8 that finished seventh in 2022 and in 2023 he moved to the M4- (with Kruse). Kammann went the other way to Hinrichs, he was in the M4- in 2022 finishing seventh and then moved into M8 for the 2023 season, ending up fifth at the World Championships.
Italy has qualified the boat for Paris thanks to the tenth-place finish in 2023 by Davide Comini and Giovanni Codato. This duo race as ITA1 in Varese. They have been together as a pair for the past couple of seasons although they have yet to make an A-Final. They raced on both days at the Memorial Paolo d’Aloja in Piediluco last month winning on both. ITA2 is Paolo Covini and Alfonso Scalzone. This duo were both members of the M4- last season that finished ninth at the World Championships.
The final boat in the event is Sweden, represented by Gustaf Arvidsson and Erik Broete. Arvidsson raced in the M4X at both the 2021 and 2022 Europeans and Broete raced the M2X at the 2022 Europeans.
Prediction
With no form to go on, this really could be anyone’s race. If I have to pick a 1,2,3 I’m going for GB in gold with Croatia in silver and Switzerland in bronze.
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