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: 7
Romania are the reigning World Champions although their crew for Varese only contains one member of that crew, Iuliana Buhus. The rest of the crew are predominantly U23’s (with the exception of stroke-woman Denisa Tilvescu). The majority of this line-up raced in Piediluco, finishing second to the Italians.
Australia were World Championship bronze medallists last season, but as with the majority of their crews in Varese they are fielding a development boat as part of their “Project LA” programme. That being said, it’s still a pretty strong line-up with one of the 2023 bronze medal eight (Georgie Gleeson) along with two members of the fifth placed W8 from 2022 (Eleanor Price and Ella Bramwell). The Aussies are also doubling-up in the W4-
With the top Romanian and Australian boats absent from Varese it’s the British who will start as favourites (even though they are also doubling-up in the W4-). They finished fourth at the 2023 World Championships and have five returners for the 2024 boat. Joining the crew are Holly Dunford (U23 World Champion), Rowan McKellar and Heidi Long (bronze medallists in the W4-) and former Dutch international Eve Stewart.
German women’s sweep rowing has always been the poor relation to their sculling programme (the German W8 last won a World Championship medal in 2006 and you have to go back to 1992 for the W8 to have last won an Olympic medal). If the German’s want to race at the Olympics this year they will need to go to the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta. Their crew for Varese is a mix of youth and experience. Sophie Leupold, Lena Osterkamp and Melanie Goeldner finished 11th in the W4- last year and Nora Peuser and Tabea Kuhnert were in the crew that finished fourth at the European Championships last year. The youth element of the crew comes from former junior world medallist Annabelle Bachmann and U23 international Judith Guhse.
Italy has two crews racing. ITA2 is another Development/U23 crew. ITA1 is the same line-up that finished sixth at the World Championships last year – the worst possible result as it meant they missed Olympic qualification. With all nine crew members back for 2024 they will have high hopes of taking one of the last two places available in Paris at the FOQR.
The final crew entered is Denmark. Like Germany, this is a crew that mixes youth with experience. Anchoring the boat in the stern pair are Sofie Vikkelsoe and Nikoline Laidlaw. This duo were 11th in the W2- in 2022. The crew also includes international debutants Nanna Vigild and Sara Johansen along with former junior international Frida Werner Foldager and U23 international Clare Hornnaess.
Prediction
Great Britain “should” win the gold with the Australian development eight taking silver ahead of the no.1 Italian crew in bronze.
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