So here it is, the big one, the one all rowers want to race at, and for some, the culmination of years of training and dedication: it’s the Olympic Games. Finally, after months of uncertainty, it looks like the Games will happen. One thing’s for sure, these Games will be unlike any other in history. The venue is the Sea Forest Waterway, specially built for the Games and inaugurated in 2019. As the name suggests, it’s a coastal venue and has had its fair share of issues, from strong winds to oysters growing on the buoys. But when conditions are right, it’s a fantastic course.
As always, with my previews, I’ve tried to give a rundown of the form, experience and prospects of those competing. I hope that readers find this a valuable and exciting guide to those racing in Tokyo. If you have enjoyed what I write, perhaps you’d consider buying me a coffee via my Ko-Fi page https://ko-fi.com/X8X64ORYM
Current Standings:
Reigning Champions: The Netherlands (Ilse Paulis & Maaike Head)
Rio Silver Medallists: Canada (Lindsay Jennerich & Patricia Obee)
Rio Bronze Medallists: China (Wenyi Huang & Feihong Pan)
Argentina: Milka Kraljev (38) & Evelyn Silvestro (22)
Argentina secured their place in Tokyo with victory at the Americas qualifying Regatta in Rio back in March. Tokyo will be Milka Kraljev’s third Olympics in her 17-year senior career. She finished 17th back in Athens in 2004, missed the Beijing Games but qualified for London, where she finished 15th and then missed qualification for Rio. She’s joined by Evelyn Silvestro, 16 years her junior, making her senior international debut in Tokyo. She raced on the Argentine Junior team at the 2015 and 2017 World Junior Championships.
Tokyo prospects: the front end of the C-Final
Austria: Valentina Cavallar (20) & Louisa Altenhuber (260
Austria qualified for Tokyo following a 3rd place at the European Olympic Qualifying Regatta (thanks to the Greeks – who had finished 2nd – taking their M1X forward rather than the LW2X due to the rule that a country can only qualify one boat at a continental qualifying regatta…yes, I know it’s confusing….bad luck for the Greeks, good luck for the Austrians). Cavallar is one of the youngest athletes at the regatta, having turned 20 in March. She raced at the Junior World Championships in 2019, finishing 14th in the JW2X. Altenhuber made her senior debut at the 1st World Cup of 2018, and she went on to race in the LW2X at the 2018 World Championships with Laura Arndorfer. This double continued through 2019 with 8th place at the Europeans and 13th at the World Championships.
Tokyo prospects: Like the Argentinians, I reckon they will be near the front end of the C-Final
Belarus: Ina Nikulina (26) & Elena Furman (30)
Elena Furman qualified this boat for Tokyo after finishing 6th at the 2019 World Championships partnered by Anastasiia Ianina. Furman is a former U23 world Champion and senior world Championship medallist in the LW1X. She and Nikulina raced at the Rio Olympics in the W2- placing 15th. After spending 2017 on the open-weight squad, Furman switched back to the lightweights in 2018, winning gold in the LW1X at the European Championships. She won her 2nd European LW1X title in 2021 and raced at the Zagreb World Cup in the LW2x with Tatsiana Hancharova, winning a silver medal. Then, she switched partners for the Lucerne World Cup, with Nikulina coming into the boat, and in Nikulina’s first race since 2019, finished in a creditable 5th place.
Tokyo prospects: Likely to be mid-B-final…8th or 9th.
Canada: Jill Moffatt (28) & Jennifer Casson (25)
Canada has won Olympic medals twice in this event, silver in Rio and bronze in Beijing. Their crew for Tokyo reached the Games following 8th place at the Linz World Championships in 2019. Jill Moffatt and Jennifer Casson have been racing together in the LW2X since 2018. Moffatt ran in the LW4X in 2016, and in 2017, Casson joined the LW4X that finished 4th at the World Championships (missing a medal by just 13/100th of a second). As a LW2x, this pairing has raced throughout the 2018 and 2019 seasons, and their best result was 5th at the 3rd World Cup of 2018.
Tokyo prospects: Unlikely to make the A-Final but should have a solid B-Final placing…7th or 8th.
France: Claire Bové (23) & Laura Tarantola (27)
Bové and Tarantola were 5th in the world in 2019, this was the best result for a French LW2X since 1999, and only the 6th time the French have reached a World Championship final in this event since 1985. This double also became the first French LW2X to win a European Championship medal when they took silver in 2019, and they also become the first French LW2x to race at the Olympics since 2000. This season Bové raced in the LW1x at the European Championships, picking up a bronze medal. They raced as a double at the Zagreb and Lucerne World Cups, taking their country’s first-ever World Cup gold medal in this event in Zagreb; they followed that up with a bronze in Lucerne.
Tokyo prospects: The best French LW2X for decades; I’m not convinced they will quite have the pace to get among the medals but should be targeting an A-Final place.
Great Britain: Emily Craig (28) & Imogen Grant (25)
One of the iconic images from the London 2012 Olympics was GB’s Kat Copeland’s look of disbelief when she realised that she and Sofie Hosking had just won the Olympic LW2X gold. After a very disappointing Rio Olympics where the British finished back in the C-Final, the British boat for Tokyo come into the regatta as powerful medal contenders. Former Cambridge Blue Grant (who’s had to put her return to medical school on hold due to the delay to the Olympics) leapt to prominence in 2018, winning gold in the BLW1X at the U23 World Championships and following that up with bronze at the Senior Worlds. Craig was World Champion in the LW4X in 2016 and won European bronze with Copeland in 2018. She and grant formed their double towards the end of the 2019 season and immediately earned bronze at the 2019 World championships. This season they have won medals at both the European Championships (silver) and the Lucerne World Cup (gold).
Tokyo prospects: Many people’s pick for the gold, they are certainly capable of winning the whole thing, but for once, I’m going to be a little more cautious about a GB boat. I think they will just miss out and take the silver medal.
Guatemala: Yulisa Lopez (27) & Jennieffer Zuniga (34)
The first Guatemalan LW2X to race at the Olympics, they got their spot after finishing 6th at the Americas Olympic Qualifying Regatta. They benefitted from crews ahead of them having other boats from their nation gaining places. These two athletes raced together at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships, finishing 24th. They also raced at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima but didn’t progress beyond the repechage.
Tokyo prospects: the back end of the C-Final, 17th is my prediction.
Indonesia: Mutiara Putri (17) & Melani Putri (21)
Mutiara Putri is the youngest athlete at the regatta; she turned 17 on the 7th of July. Melani and her sister qualified for Tokyo after finishing 4th at the Asia and Oceania Olympic Qualifying Regatta. Melani Putri also raced at the 2018 Asian Games, placing 6th in the LW4X.
Tokyo prospects: Another C-Final contender.
Ireland: Aoife Casey (22) & Margaret Cremen (22)
Ireland had their best ever Olympic performance in Rio when Claire Lambe and Sinead Lynch made the A-Final. Unfortunately, their crew for Tokyo got there the hard way; in 2019, the Irish double of Aoife Casey and Denise Walsh placed 17th. This meant they had to race at the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta. In Lucerne, they secured their spot with 3rd place (typically, only two places would be available via the FOQR, but thanks to a reallocation from the Americas Qualifying Regatta, an extra spot at the FOQR was made available). Casey has been racing in the double since 2018 and had the best result of 8th at the 2018 Europeans. Cremen made her senior debut at the 1st World Cup of 2018, finishing 12th in the LW2X with Denise Walsh. Cremen and Casey came together for the 2021 season and their 5th place at the European Championships, which was the best result for an Irish LW2X at a championship event since 2010.
Tokyo prospects: Not sure they will emulate the performance of their teammates in Rio, but a solid B-Final placing will be a good result for this young crew.
Italy: Valentina Rodini (26) & Federica Cesarini (24)
Despite being one of the top nations in lightweight rowing, Italy has only won one medal at World or Olympic level (taking the gold in 2013). They qualified for Tokyo after winning the B-Final at the 2019 World Championships. Rodini is a former junior and U23 World Champion who has been a member of the Italian senior team since 2015. She raced in this event with Laura Milani at the Rio Olympics, finishing 13th. Cesarini started her international career as a cox, steering the Italian W8 to a European silver medal at the 2012 European Championships. She switched to rowing in 2013 and made her international debut as a sculler in 2015, winning her first medal after taking bronze in the LW1X at the 1st World Cup of 2016. She was a member of the LW4xthat won World Championship gold in 2017. Cesarini and Rodini formed their doubles partnership at the start of 2018, winning World Cup gold and then in 2019 taking the European title. They won their2nd European title in 2021, and so far, this season has medals from both the Lucerne and Sabaudia World Cups.
Tokyo prospects: Italy’s best result at an Olympics was 4th in Atlanta, and this Italian boat has a strong chance of emulating that result – I don’t think they will better it, but they won’t be far off.
Japan: Chiaki Tomita (27) & Ayami Oishi (30)
Japan’s home favourites have raced in this event at every Olympic Games and qualified for their home Games by winning the Asia and Oceania Olympic Qualifying Regatta (held on the Olympic course) at the beginning of May. This duo raced together at the Rio Olympics, finishing 12th. at the 2019 World Championships, Tomita raced in the LW1X, winning the silver medal (only the 2nd time Japan have won a World Championship medal – and the only other time was the LM8 finishing 2nd in a 2-boat final in 2005, so I don’t count that!) Oishi was in the double in 2019 partnered by Kanako Ueda and finished 14th. Tomita and Oishi came back together as a double for 2021. After securing qualification, they came to Europe and raced at the Lucerne World Cup, finishing 6th, albeit in a 6-boat event and were 13 seconds off 5th place.
Tokyo prospects: Japan’s best result at the Olympics in the LW2x was 9th in Beijing; this crew stand a good chance of emulating that performance on their home water.
The Netherlands: Ilse Paulis (27) & Marieke Keijser (24)
The Netherlands are the defending Olympic Champions. They will head into Tokyo as favourites to retain their title. In 2016 the Dutch became only the 2nd crew ever to win Olympic gold, having qualified via the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta (ironically, the only other crew to achieve this feat was the Dutch LW2X in 2008). This double is also the first Dutch LW2X since Athens to qualify directly for the Olympics. Paulis was in the LW2x that won Olympic gold in 2016. She’s one of the most successful female Dutch rowers, as well as one Olympic gold medal to her name. She has gold, silver and bronze World Championship medals and two European titles and one European silver (she also has U23 gold and Junior silver medals to her credit). Marieke Keijser is a two-time U23 Gold medallist. She and Paulis started racing together as a double in 2017, winning silver at the European Championships. Injury meant Paulis was unavailable for the Worlds that year, but Keijser raced in the LW1X, winning a silver medal. The duo won their first European title in 2018 and followed that with World Championship bronze. Silver at the 2019 World Championships secured qualification, and they won their 2nd European title in 2020. 2021 has been a little bit mixed, they could only win bronze at the 2021 Europeans, but at the 3rd World Cup in Sabaudia, they took gold, setting a new World Best Time of 6:43.79 in the process.
Tokyo prospects: they will start as favourites in Tokyo, but, as the European Championships showed, they are not unbeatable, and several crews like the British, Italians and Americans will fancy their chances. That being said, I think the Dutch will take it….just.
Russian Olympic Committee: Anastasia Lebedeva (28) & Maria Botalova (30)
Tokyo will be the first time a crew from Russia will be racing at the Olympics (they did qualify a boat for Rio but were one of the crews excluded following Russia’s expulsion for doping). As it is, the crew racing in Tokyo will not officially be representing Russia. Still, it will compete under the auspices of the “Russian Olympic Committee” – no, I’m not convinced what the difference is either!) They secured their spot with victory at the European Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta. Lebedeva debuted in 2016, and at the 2017 European Championships, finished 4th in the LW1X. Botalova was a U23 medallist back in 2010and spent the majority of her senior international career in the Russian open-weight women’s team. She missed out on qualification in the W4x for London and the W2- for Rio. She took a break after Rio and returned to the competition for 2021 in the lightweight squad. As well as winning the EOQR this double placed 6th at the European Championships and 4th at the Lucerne World Cup.
Tokyo prospects: middle of the B-Final
Romania: Ionela Cozmuic (26) & Gianina Beleaga (26)
Romania dominated this event for the first three Olympics that hosted lightweight events, winning the gold in Atlanta, Sydney and Athens. They failed to qualify for Beijing and London, but Cozmuic and Beleaga qualified for Rio via the FOQR and finished 8th in Brazil. 2017 was an excellent year for the young Romanians, winning gold at the U23 World Championships and taking the senior title. This was Romania’s first victory in this event since 1999. They successfully defended their senior world title in 2018 and then secured their spot in Tokyo with 4th place at the 2019 World Championship, just over half a second off a podium. They won bronze at the 2020 European Championships, and in 2021 they won silver at the Lucerne World Cup.
Tokyo prospects: Their performances recently haven’t quite been on a par with those that saw them win back-to-back World titles in 2017 and 2018. But they will still be a crew to be reckoned with in Tokyo. Definite medal contenders, although I think that will be in a fight for the bronze rather than silver or gold.
Switzerland: Patricia Merz (28) & Frederique Rol (28)
Tokyo will be the first time Switzerland has had a LW2X at the Games. Merz and Rol secured qualification after finishing 2nd at the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta. This duo first raced together at the 2012 U23 World Championships and made their senior international debuts in 2013. They have been racing as a double ever since, making them the longest established crew in the event. They won their first senior medal at the Lucerne World Cup of 2018 and also won European bronze that year. 2019 also saw them take World Cup and European bronze medals. Aside from racing at the FOQR, they have made another appearance this season, winning another bronze medal at the Sabaudia World Cup.
Tokyo prospects: an A-Final placing would be an outstanding achievement for the Swiss, although I think they may just miss out and take the top spot in the B-Final.
Tunisia: Nour El-Houda Ettaieb (24) & Khadija Krimi (25)
This duo will be racing at their 2nd Olympic Games, having finished 20th of the 20 entries in Rio. They had qualified for Rio by winning the African Olympic Qualifying Regatta, and they repeated that achievement in 2019 to qualify for Tokyo.
Tokyo prospects: If they can make the C-Final, that will be an excellent result for the Tunisians.
The USA: Michelle Sechser (34) & Molly Reckford (28)
In this event, the US’ Olympic record has been on something of a downward trajectory….silver in Atlanta followed by bronze in Sydney, then it’s been 7th,10th, 11th & 10th. However, their crew for Tokyo stand a solid chance of returning the USA to the A-Final and possibly even the medal podium. Sechser is the more experienced athlete of the two; she made her senior debut back in 2012. She raced with Emily Schmeig at the 2017 World Championships, winning a bronze medal, and in 2018 placed 4th in the LW1X. She raced at the 2019 World Championships with Christine Cavallo, but their 10th place wasn’t good enough to qualify directly for Tokyo. Reckford, the granddaughter of two-time Olympian Bill Spencer, made her senior international debut at the 2019 world Championships, finishing 4th in the LW4X. This duo won the US trials and produced a strong performance to take 1st at the FOQR.
Tokyo prospects: This duo stand a good chance of being in the fight for the bronze medal, probably with Romania and Italy, and I think the US might just come out on top.
Vietnam: Thi Thao Luong (22) & Thi Hao Dinh (23)
The Vietnamese secured their spot in Tokyo with 2nd place at the Asia and Oceania Olympic Qualifying regatta, just 1.5 seconds behind Japan. Both Dinh and Luong raced in the LW4X in 2019, finishing 5th. Dinh also ran in the LW4x in 2017 that came 8th.
Tokyo prospects: likely to be battling for the top of the C-Final
Conclusions and Predictions:
Medal Picks: should be an epic battle in the A-Final. I think it’ll come down to a contest between the Dutch and the British for the gold, with the USA, Italy and Romania fighting for the bronze. I’m going NED, GBR, USA.
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