Well. What a weekend of racing! After such a long break from international racing (other than the European Rowing Championships 2020), it was fantastic to see all of our favourite crews racing again, and didn’t it deliver? With dynasties birthed and exsanguinated across the events, let’s dive into the results from each Olympic class event.
PR1 Men’s Single
In this race, Ukraine’s Roman Polianskyi dominated his opposition, leading from the beginning with his high rating approach. In contrast, Great Britain’s Ben Pritchard moved his boat further each stroke, and although he couldn’t catch the Ukrainian, he performed well, taking silver.
Looking to the Paralympics, the Australian Erik Horrie will contend at the top; however, most of the top competitors are Europeans. If Pritchard can maintain his form, it will be exciting to see what he can achieve for Great Britain this summer in Tokyo.
PR1 Women’s Single Sculls
Contrary to the men’s race, the women’s final was much closer. Moran Samuel from Israel led out of the start, but around the 1000m mark, she was overtaken by Birgit Skarstein from Norway, who went on to win the gold. Ukraine’s Anna Sheremet rounded out the podium in third.
Comparing these results to the 2019 World Championships, it seems as though the top scullers are Europeans, so you can count on these athletes being in the mix come the Paralympics.
PR2 Mixed Double Sculls
This race was only ever going to go one way. Reigning world and Paralympic champions Rowles and Whitley from Great Britain raced clinically, winning the gold by nine seconds over the silver medallists from the Netherlands. France came in third, completing a top three identical to that from the 2019 World Championships, indicating the clear favourites for this year’s Paralympics.
PR3 Mixed Coxed Four
Similarly to their teammates in the double, Great Britain’s crew dominated their A final. Winning by 13 seconds; they continue their winning streak throughout this Olympiad.
Behind them, the Ukrainians, Italians and French fought for the remaining medals. By halfway, the French had pulled into clear second, and by 1500m Ukraine had secured the bronze.
Notable competitors for this event are the Australians and Americans, both of whom will be right in the mix for Paralympic medals. However, it seems unlikely that anyone will get past the British.
Women’s Single Sculls
Starting with the small boats, the women’s single sculls. A notable absence from the A final was the Austrian Magdalena Lobnig, whose performance was much anticipated after the arrival of the famed coach, Robert Sens, to Austrian Rowing. Due to illness, she, unfortunately, had to pull out after the heats. The reigning world champion, Sanita Puspure from Ireland, was also absent, leaving a somewhat depleted field in the A final.
However, it was a standout performance from Hanna Prakhatsen that surprised everyone, the Russian winning gold with Great Britain’s Vicky Thornley taking silver just ahead of Switzerland’s Jeannine Gmelin, who took the bronze.
With none of the top three from the 2019 World Championships attending, it would be bold to make any predictions for this season based on this race. That said, we have a new front runner in Hanna Prakhatsen, who produced dominant performances in all of her races throughout the competition.
Men’s Single Sculls
Perhaps the most exciting event to watch after nail-bitingly close finals at the 2019 World Championships and 2020 European Championships, this was difficult to call.
Oliver Zeidler of Germany led the race from the beginning, and although he was challenged towards the end by Denmark’s Sverri Nielsen, he held out to take the title. Stefanos Ntouskos from Greece surprised everyone by going head to head with the Dane throughout the race. However, by the 1750 metres, the effort required began to show, as he ground to a halt before the line, allowing Natan Wegrzycki-Szymczyk from Poland to snatch the bronze medal.
Former Olympic silver medallist Damir Martin and former world champion Kjetil Borch both started strongly but weren’t able to keep the pace in the middle of the race. Great Britain’s Matt Haywood did well to secure 9th place in his senior debut earlier in the day. Yet to qualify for Tokyo, Haywood will aim to secure his seat in the men’s single at the last chance regatta in Lucerne.
Women’s Pair
What a performance from the new(ish)-look Great Britain pair: Helen Glover and Dr Polly Swann. They won at each stage of the competition and fended off late charges from the Romanians and the Spanish to take the European title.
However, as noted by commentators Camilla Hadland and Martin Cross, this close race still leaves much to be settled. The Americans, Canadians, Australians, and – world champions – the Kiwis will all be in the mix come the summer. By no means can we assume a return to dominance seen by Glover and Stanning between 2012-2016.
But let’s give credit where credit’s due: after nearly four years away, bringing up children for Glover, and a turbulent 2020 working on COVID wards as a junior doctor for Swann, this is undoubtedly an exciting pairing going forward.
The Romanians took silver and the Spanish bronze behind the British, with the young Greeks just missing out in 4th.
Men’s Pair
Surprise surprise, the Sinkovic brothers win the men’s pair. Leading the race, the famous Croatians held off the Italians and Serbians towards the end, with the two taking silver and bronze, respectively.
At the Olympics, the Sinkovic brothers will also have to contend with strong crews from New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
Having just missed out on the A final, the British pair of Morgan Bolding and Harry Glenister won the B final, putting them in good stead to qualify for the Olympics at the last chance regatta.
Women’s Double Sculls
Several absences from non-European crews in the Women’s Double Sculls meant that some lesser-known crews had the opportunity to prove themselves in this A final. Romania’s pairing led from the start and stayed there, taking the win. The Dutch, who were perhaps the favourites to win this race, wrestled with the Lithuanians and the British, eventually losing out in a photo finish with Great Britain (Saskia Budgett and Holly Nixon) for the bronze medal.
The British crew are still to qualify for the Tokyo Games, but this performance is promising as they now prepare to contest the last chance regatta.
Men’s Double Sculls
This A final was a cracker. There was no more than a length across the field throughout the race, with a final sprint from the French crew taking them in front. The Dutch, British and Swiss all finished within a second of each other, with the Dutch taking silver and the British pairing of John Collins and Graeme Thomas taking bronze.
Notably, the Irish double didn’t make it through to the A final, instead winning the B final. No doubt, however, they will be back to contest the World Cup series and the Olympic Games. With world champions China and the Kiwis still to come into the mix, it will be a challenging but dramatic field come the summer.
Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls
With the recent news about the New Zealand crew, this event has opened up to new leaders. Silver medallists from the 2019 World Championships, the Netherlands, didn’t quite deliver on previous form, coming into bronze medal position. The Romanians blasted out, leading the field in the first 500m; however dropped back, finishing 4th. The Brits Imogen Grant and Emily Craig fought with the Italians for the win, losing out on this occasion and taking a nonetheless impressive silver.
Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls
Once again, the Irish double showed their strength. The combination of Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy came through in the middle, overtaking the Germans to take a dominating win. The top three contained the same crews as the 2019 World Championships, with the Germans overtaking the Italians, who took the bronze this time around.
Great Britain’s Jamie Copus and Sam Mottram were some way off pace, not making it to the A final. They too, must now head to Lucerne in their bid to make it to Tokyo.
Women’s Four
This new Olympic boat class certainly delivered on its promise this weekend. The Dutch crew led out and held out to the finish line to take gold ahead of a charging young Irish squad. The British unit, stacked with talent, had a strong race but couldn’t hold on to second place towards the end and took bronze.
The Danish four, who impressed at the 2019 World Championships, failed to make the A final, instead finishing second in the B final to Ukraine. Looking to the Olympics, world champions Australia and the USA will undoubtedly look to contend the top spots.
Men’s Four
An event that has been pretty open since 2016, one could have picked several crews to win the men’s four. The Dutch won the 2020 European Championships with a classy performance, the Poles won the 2019 World Championships, and the Romanians and Italians have consistently been competitive.
It was the British who came out on top, however. Clearly looking to maintain Great Britain’s record of winning the men’s four at the Olympic Games since 2000, this crew showed their worth taking the win with a solid middle section.
Come the Olympics; the striking Aussie crew will surely be in contention with these crews, as will the USA.
Women’s Quadruple Sculls
The favourites for this race were surely the Dutch, and indeed they came through with their silky style and won the gold. A new-look British crew, strengthened by Hannah Scott and Lucy Glover, who both made their senior debuts, impressively took the silver ahead of the more experienced Germans. The Norwegians impressed by first qualifying for the A final and then by finishing 4th.
At the top of the field, the reigning world champions China are still to come into the mix. However, a strong performance from this new British crew can only bode well for Tokyo.
Men’s Quadruple Sculls
One of the standout crews from the 2019 World Championships was the Dutch men’s quad. Their strikingly relaxed but swift style saw them destroy the opposition and set the standard. However, this time it wasn’t meant to be. The Italians stepped out in front and held off the Dutch to the finish line in what is surely the upset of the regatta.
Great Britain was right in the mix for most of the race but couldn’t handle the pace towards the end, finishing in 5th place. Notable absentees from this event are the reigning Olympic gold and silver medallists, the Germans and Australians.
Women’s Eight
There was still much to be seen after the race for lanes on Friday, with only six entries for this year’s’ championships. The favourites Romania came away with the win, proving that more often than not, the crew that starts the fastest wins the race. The Dutch arrived in second and the Russians in third, with the British force in 4th.
Moving forward, the Kiwis, Aussies, Americans and Canadians will set the pace at the Olympics. As such, the Europeans and the British will have to step up their game to be competitive.
Men’s Eight
On form alone, one would have picked the Germans as clear favourites for this race. Their domination over the past four years has been impressive, winning all three world championships over that period. However, something clearly went wrong for them today, as they dropped off the pace after leading for the first 1000m. Great Britain stormed through to steal the win, with Romania hot on their heels and the Netherlands clinching bronze ahead of the dying German crew.
Is this a one-off, or have we seen the end of the famous Deutschland-Achter? Surely they will come back to form for the World Cups and the Olympics, but this event will give their opposition – particularly the British – much need confidence for the rest of the season.
For the Olympics, provided they qualify, a strengthened Kiwi crew will be quick, as will the Aussies and Americans. Although the Europeans are heading the field and the British look to be back to their winning ways.
That’s a wrap! Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed this rundown, and it has got you excited for what’s to come on the international scene. The main takeaway was that the British team performed much better than in recent years, topping the medal table. And about time, too, with the Olympic Games looming.
That’s all for now. If you’re hungry for more, check out any of our other pieces from The Catch, listen to the latest podcast episode, or flick through our race previews.
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