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.
Romania – Gianina Elana Van Groningen, Ionela Livia
With more rowers qualified for this Olympic Games than any other nation, the Romanians have high expectations. Among their top crews is this double of Gianina Elana Van Groningen and Ionela Livia Cozmiuc, who won a bronze medal at the world championships in their only race of the 2023 season. This year, they have been similarly unseen with their only race at the highest level coming in April at the European championships. Picking up the gold medal, they will be eyeing some hardware this year as they aim to improve on their sixth-placed finish in Tokyo.
Canada – Jill Moffatt, Jennifer Casson
A crew who has been reliably racing this season is Jill Moffatt and Jennifer Casson for Canada. Having been based in Europe for much of the season, they reached the A-Final in both the Varese and Lucerne World Rowing Cup regattas this season, finishing fifth and fourth respectively. Given the relative field strength, this is probably behind where they would expect after finishing two seconds away from a medal at last year’s world championships. If they want a medal, they will have needed to improve through the intervening months, but it seems almost certain that they will improve on their 12th-placed finish from Tokyo.
Ireland – Aoife Casey, Margaret Cremen
The Irish crew of Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen was initially split up after their eighth-placed finish at the Tokyo Olympics but were reunited in time for the 2022 world championships, where they managed to win a bronze medal in a field brimming with talent. The Irish will have thought they had struck gold for the final running of this event. Instead, they didn’t quite make that step on and have joined in the tight battle at the bottom end of the A-final. At last year’s world championships, they missed the medal final by 0.35 seconds and needed to win the B-Final in order to secure qualification and seem to be around the same level this year after finishing fifth in Lucerne. They will want to channel the great success their men’s equivalent has seen in order to shuffle further up the order.
Poland – Martyna Radosz, Katarzyna Welna
The fastest crew to miss out on qualification at the 2023 world championships, the Polish crew earned their spot through the continental qualifier in Szeged, Hungary. Comfortably taking care of business there, they are yet to see a full-strength field as their only appearance at a World Rowing Cup came on home water in Poznan, where they picked up bronze in a reduced pack. That result left plenty to be desired, especially given the distance they finished behind the front of the field. With time to prepare towards Paris, they will be hoping to find more speed than their opposition but given the margins on display, an A-Final appearance may be the best that they could hope for.
China – Jiaqi Zou, Xiuping Qiu
Since making their senior debut together in 2022, the Chinese duo of Jiaqi Zou and Xiuping Qiu have been a fixture in the A-Finals of major world rowing events, missing it only at their debut world championships where they placed eighth. Despite this consistency, they have not won a global medal since their first World Rowing Cup, with their most prominent gold occurring at the 2022 Asian Games. At the 2023 world championships, they booked their place in Paris with a sixth-placed finish and matched that performance at their only race of the season in Lucerne. With the young crew building to what could be their only Olympic Games, they will be looking to finish as high up the rankings as possible.
France – Laura Tarantola, Claire Bove
If you ask any athlete who has competed in one, nothing motivates like a home Olympic Games. So, when the French double of Laura Tarantola and Claire Bove finished in 11th place, several lengths away from a spot on the start line in Paris, it looked a long shot for them to make it. However, over the winter and likely fueled by the desire to represent on home water in front of the biggest audience the sport has to offer, they built up phenomenal speed. They opened their season at the ‘last chance regatta’, comfortably winning and booking their place on the start line and followed that up with a strong second place at the Poznan World Rowing Cup regatta. If they can keep building their speed, the crew will be hopeful of an A-Final or more at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
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