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
There are three standout crews in this event, Australia, Denmark and Ireland.
Australia’s number one crew is Jessica Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre. They were the stern pair of the gold medal W4- from the Tokyo Olympics and doubled-up to take seventh in the W2-. They also have world championship silver from 2019 and again in 2023. This season they opened their campaign in Lucerne, securing another silver medal behind the Dutch.
The Aussies have a second boat racing in Poznan, Eliza Gaffney and Lily Alton Triggs. This duo are also racing in two different coxless fours so it’ll be interesting to see if they keep this pair entry as well. Gaffney raced in the pair in 2022 with Georgie Gleeson finishing ninth. She didn’t compete in 2023, but this season raced in Lucerne in the W4-, finishing a distant sixth. Alton Triggs rowed in the W8 last year and this season raced as a second AUS pair at the Lucerne World Rowing Cup with Olympia Aldersey, finishing tenth.
Denmark is represented by the highly experienced duo of Helvig Rasmussen and Fie-Udby Erichsen. Erichsen qualified for her fourth Olympics at the FOQR and for each one she’s had to go through final qualifying. For her part, Rasmussen qualified for her third Olympics. Both Danes have Olympic medals to their credit; Erichsen a silver in the single from London, and Rasmussen a bronze in the pair from Rio (partnered by Anne Andersen). This pair raced together at Tokyo, placing eighth. They also raced at the opening World Cup, winning the bronze.
Ireland’s fourth-placed finish at the 2023 world championships was their best ever finish in this event. They have the same line-up in 2024, Aifric Keogh and Fiona Murtagh. This duo were in the four that won Ireland’s first ever women’s Olympic rowing medal with bronze in Tokyo. They moved to the pair for the 2023 season, just missing the podium at the world championships. This season they’ve secured two podium placings – silver at World Rowing Cup 1 and bronze at World Rowing Cup 2. In the absence of the top Dutch crew, a win for the Irish in Poznan may give them overall World Cup victory in this event (not that they care too much about that!)
The Netherlands does have a crew racing in Poznan, but it’s not their Olympic boat. They are represented by Ilse Kolkman and Willemijn Mulder. They both raced in the W4- at the European championships, winning the bronze medal. They raced as NED2 at the Lucerne World Rowing Cup, making the A-Final and placing fifth. Kolkman was a member of the quad that won silver at the 2022 world championships and Mulder was in the U23 BW4x that won gold that year.
As mentioned elsewhere, Great Britain are not sending any of their Olympic boats to Poznan and instead are sending their development team. In the W2- this means Amelia Standing and Juliette Perry. The Leander pair have a huge amount of domestic racing experience including Henley wins. Standing is an Oxford Blue and was a member of the U23 BW4- that won the world championships in 2021. Perry is another Oxford Blue and made her senior debut last season racing as a second GBR W2- at the Lucerne World Rowing Cup.
France haven’t qualified this boat for the Olympics, so are using Poznan as a development opportunity for two of their boats. Racing as FRA1 are the experienced duo of Emma Cornelis and Josephine Cornut. They raced together as a pair at U23 level, finishing fifth in 2021. They had a disappointing 2023 where they could only finish 19th. This season they raced in the W4- at the Europeans and narrowly missed qualifying the pair with a fourth-placed finish at the FOQR.
FRA2 is Lea Herscovici and Fleur Vaucoret. This is an U23 combination and they made their senior debuts at the European championships, finishing ninth.
The final two boats in the event are both from Romania. ROU1 is the U23 pairing of Daria-Ioana Dinulescu and Andreea Petras. They were both in the U23 BW8 last season. ROU2 are the U19 pairing of Delia Mirabela Gradinaciuc and Georgiana Blanariu. Gradinaciuc won U19 gold in 2022 and Blanariu won bronze in the JW8 last year.
Prediction
Australia 1 in gold with Ireland in silver and Denmark in bronze
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