Image credit: World Rowing
The final World Cup in Olympic year is always a bit of a strange affair. It’s often a mix of Olympic-bound crews looking for some final race practice, and nations looking to give experience to their development boats ahead of the next Olympic cycle. This year’s final World Cup is no different. The host for this World Cup is the Lake Malta course in Poznan, one of the most frequently used courses in all of World Rowing.
So, here’s my look at who to watch out for in each event and also perhaps a few names to watch for the LA Olympic cycle.
Entries: 10
The top two crews in this event will be Denmark and New Zealand.
Danish women’s rowing is in a real purple patch at the moment and for the first time in their history, they have qualified for all the women’s sweep boats at the Olympic Games. Their W4- comprises Astrid Steensberg, Julie Poulsen, Frida Sanggaard Nielsen and Marie Skytte Hauberg Johannesen. This quartet also raced in 2022 where they won the B-Final (ahead of New Zealand who reversed that result in 2023 to claim the final Olympic qualifying spot). At the FOQR the Danes secured qualification with a second place behind Ireland. They also raced at the opening World Rowing Cup of the season, finishing fifth.
New Zealand’s crew includes Olympic Champion Kerri Williams and Tokyo silver medallist Jackie Gowler. They are joined by Phoebe Spoors and Davina Waddy. Both Spoors and Waddy have been racing in the W4- since 2019 and their results have been improving each year; 11th in 2019 was followed by eighth in 2022 and then seventh in 2023 (with Gowler joining the 2023 crew). They opened their 2024 campaign with a solid fourth place at the Lucerne World Rowing Cup.
Australia have entered two boats all of whom are racing in other events at the regatta. AUS1 is Eliza Gaffney, Jean Mitchell, Samantha Morton and Molly Goodman. They are all racing in the eight and Gaffney is also entered in the pair, meaning she is planning on racing in all three women’s sweep events! Gaffney, Goodman and Mitchell raced in this boat class at the Lucerne World Rowing Cup, finishing a somewhat distant sixth (24 seconds behind the gold medalists). AUS2 is Jacqueline Swick, Kathryn Rowan, Lily Alton Triggs and Olympia Aldersey. Alton Triggs joins Gaffney in racing the W2-, W8 and W4-. Swick and Aldersey are both doubling-up in the W8 and Rowan is facing the tough challenge of also competing in the W1X. The Australians are certainly getting the most out of their athletes in Poznan!
Great Britain’s “Project LA” crew for Poznan has a distinctly Dark Blue hue as three of the crew – Juliette Perry, Martha Birtles and Amelia Standing – have all represented Oxford in the Boat Race. The only non-Oxford rower in the boat is Eleanor Brinkhoff. All four now represent Leander Club. Perry raced for GB at the European U23 championships in 2019 and made her senior debut last season, racing in the W2- at the final World Rowing Cup. Standing makes her senior debut in Poznan and in 2021 won gold in the BW4- at the U23 world championships. Brinkhoff was selected as the reserve for the senior team for this season and Birtles makes her international debut in Poznan.
Poland were fifth (out of five) at the European championships, but made two changes to that crew for the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta. Zuzanna Lesner and Weronika Kazmmierczak joined the boat having raced in the pair at the Euros. They joined 19-year-old Kinga Stalega and 22-year-old Anna Potrzuska; the latter was U23 world champion in the BW4- last season. Despite these changes the Poles could only manage fourth at the FOQR and thus miss out on qualifying for Paris.
Romania has two boats entered, with six of the eight athletes doubling-up in the W8. ROU1 consists of the stern four of the W8 – Cristina Druga, Larisa-Andreea Bogdan, Andreea Popa and Geanina Juncanariu. This quartet raced in the eight at the opening World Rowing Cup, winning bronze. ROU2 has Manuela-Gabriela Lungu and Andreea Nicoleta Dinu along with two of the U19 squad from 2023, Ana-Maria Matran (U19 world champion in the JW4X) and U19 bronze medalist from the JW4- Iuliana Isabela Boldea.
The final two crews in the event are China and France, both containing young and relatively inexperienced athletes. China’s crew includes Yuehan Kong and Siyi Wei, who are both making their international debuts, along with Xueying Guo, making her senior debut after winning junior world championship gold eight years ago, and Guoru Liang who was LW4X world champion back in 2018.
France has its U23 crew, with an average age of just 19. Maelys Dournaux and Hezekia Peron both make their debuts, whilst Leontine Fouquet steps up from the 2023 U19 team and Jeanne Sellier makes her senior debut after racing at the U23 world championships last year.
Prediction
New Zealand in gold ahead of Denmark with Great Britain in bronze.
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