Image Credit: World Rowing
How do you define greatness? A mind-bending feat that surpasses expectation and rationality? A moment of authentic surprise that inverts the weight of pressing odds? Or perhaps an incision in the linear unfurling of your heart?
In sport, we are quick to anoint greatness upon each other. A performance that impresses us is often bestowed the virtue of greatness before it can even truly be understood. It is easy to attach brilliance onto bravery and boldness but sometimes the two should not be conflated. True greatness should combine mastery, magnanimity and more than a hint of magic.
The Olympic Games is our ultimate magic show. A procession of truly elite talent, operating at the pinnacle of their sport and thrust forward into a limelight fostered by four years of relative translucency. These two weeks are stitched into the very fabric of competition, dating back to the lore of Ancient Greece, and have transcended the politics of modern society to become the ultimate marker in sporting excellence. To win Olympic Gold gives you immortality of a rare and timeless specification – your story will be perpetuated forevermore, carried forward by the whispers of generations to come, who too aim to climb those sacred steps and join this club of champions. Emerging over the horizon, this time in the blue and red hue of palatial Paris, we are ready for the very fastest in rowing to be crowned.
Step forward, my friends – The Olympic Games have come.
Norway – Thea Helseth and Inger Seim Kavlie
If anyone has a shot at upsetting the odds and sneaking onto the Olympic podium, it’s the Norwegians. They’ve had a rip-roaring 2024 which has seen them crowned European champions and they’ve podiumed at every World Rowing Cup regatta this season, earning two silvers and a bronze. The bronze medal came at the second World Rowing Cup when the rest of the world showed up for a proper ding-dong ahead of the Olympic Games. That event was the only one where we’ve seen a field close to the roster of boats that will be competing in Paris and, importantly for the Norwegians, they were less than three seconds back on the winners from the United States, who are one of the favourites for the gold medal. The big question for Norway is whether this turn of speed is here to stay or if it’s just a flash in the pan; after all, they placed third in the B-Final at last year’s world championships, albeit in a slightly different combination.
Australia – Amanda Bateman and Harriet Hudson
This duo have been a new combination for Australia in the 2024 season. Harriet Hudson has been brought into the double after placing fifth in the quad at the 2023 world championships. They’ve raced twice together and it’s already a stark improvement from the results last season. Amanda Bateman was one half of the double that placed eighth overall in Belgrade but this new combination is taking the world by storm. A silver medal ahead of the Norwegians at World Rowing Cup II was backed up with a gold in Poznan back in June, meaning Australia will be disappointed if they’re not vying for medals come the big dance in Paris.
Great Britain – Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne and Rebecca Wilde
The Final Olympic Qualification Regatta has often been cruel for the British but not for this combination. Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne and Rebecca Wilde snatched the final qualification spot ahead of a fast-finishing combination from Germany. They played second fiddle to Czechia throughout the regatta though, losing out to them in the heat and the final. No matter though as they are on the Eurostar and heading for Paris. Britain won the B-Final at the European championships, pushed out of an A-Final spot by – you guessed it – the Czech crew. While not likely to be in the mix for a medal, an A-Final berth for this crew would be the best result they have had in their short time together. This combination brings a mixture of experience. For Becky Wilde, this is her first Olympics after making her international debut this season. As for Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne, she’s looking to improve on her last Olympic experience where she placed seventh overall in the women’s quad.
Czechia – Anna Santruckova and Lenka Luksova
The infamous Czechia…if you’re British. As mentioned, Czechia and Great Britain have been nip and tuck all season, be it at the European championships or FOQR. While GB placed in the B-Final in Szeged, Czechia placed an impressive fourth but they will have been disappointed to be so far back on the leading three crews. Lenka Luksova has been a servant of the women’s double for well over a decade, having raced every Olympics since London in this boat class. Luksova has very rarely been out of a double during her distinguished international career except for the 2007 junior world championships in a quad alongside a two-year stint during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, where she ventured into the single. For Anna Santruckova, at just 23-years-old, this is her first taste of Olympic action. She tried to qualify the pair for Tokyo but fell short at FOQR.
China – Shuangmei Shen and Shiyu Lu
China’s ticket to the games was punched after placing fourth in the B-Final at last year’s world championships. Since then, we’ve only seen this duo race together once, which resulted in a sixth-placed finish in the A-Final of World Rowing Cup II. This isn’t the first trip to the Olympics for either athlete. Shuangmei Shen returns to her second Olympics in the double after being knocked out in the repechage three years ago. Shiyu Lu has picked up another blade and moves from the four where she placed fifth in the A-Final.
New Zealand – Brooke Francis and Lucy Spoors
While New Zealand sent boats to race at the second and third World Rowing Cup regattas, only one of them was the boat heading to Paris. Lucy Spoors and Brooke Francis were fifth overall back in Lucerne and desperate for more than that next week. Both athletes are Olympic medallists from Tokyo. Francis won silver in this boat class while Spoors shifts over from the silver medal-winning eight. Spoors returned to the international scene in 2023 and straight away formed this partnership. A ninth-placed finish at the 2023 World Rowing Cup III was improved upon at the world championships, where they qualified for Paris after placing fifth in the A-Final. The Kiwis will be hoping for a similar trajectory after moving to European soil ahead of the Olympics.
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