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 champion: Mahe Drysdale (New Zealand)
Rio silver medal: Damir Martin (Croatia)
Rio Bronze medal: Ondrej Synek (Czech Republic)
Benin: Privel Hinkati – 32 years old.
Privel made his international debut in 2014. 5th at the African Olympic qualifying regatta. Finished 41st at the 2019 World Championships and has a best result at a World Championships of 25th in 2018.
Tokyo prospects: likely to be battling in the E-Final.
Bermuda: Dara Alizadeh – 27 years old.
A former Cambridge Blue, Dara rowed for the USA at the U23 World Championships in 2015, winning a silver medal. Finished 40th at the 2019 World Championships in the single racing for Bermuda. He has been racing for Goldie Boat Club in the UK this season and finished 4th in the C-Final (18th overall) at Marlow Regatta and recently took 3rd in Champ M1X at the British University Championships. He qualified for Tokyo after finishing 3rd in the B-final at the Americas Olympic Qualifying Regatta.
Tokyo prospects: A high D-Final placing will a good result.
Brazil: Lucas Verthein Ferreira – 23 years old.
He won a junior world championship bronze medal in 2016 and made his senior international debut at the 3rd World Cup that year. Finished 11th at the U23 World Championships in 2017 and 24th at the Senior Worlds that year. In 2018 he made the A-Final at the U23 Worlds. He qualified for the Olympics by winning the Americas Qualifying regatta. He also raced at the 2nd and 3rd World Cups this season with a best result of 12th in Sabaudia.
Tokyo prospects: top end of the C-Final.
Canada: Trevor Jones – 23 years old.
He made his senior debut in 2017, finishing 14th at the final World Cup, went on to win the U23 World Championships that season and successfully defended his title in 2018. In 2019 he made his first appearance at a senior World Championships finishing 14th in the M2X with Matt Buie. However, he moved back into the single at the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta and booked his place after finishing 2nd.
Tokyo prospects: Capable of reaching the B-Final.
Croatia: Damir Martin – 32 years old.
The only medallist from the Rio M1X final competing in Tokyo. A silver medallist at both the Rio Olympics in the M1X and from London in the M4X. He made his senior debut in 2007. Won gold in the U23 BM4X in 2009 and 2010, and that quad went on to win senior World Championship gold on Lake Karapiro in New Zealand that year and then a 2nd World Championships in 2013. He moved in the single in 2015, winning the European Championships. He finished 4th at the 2017 Worlds but then had a loss of form and injuries in 2018 and 2019, which saw him finish 8th at the 2019 Worlds. However, 2021 has seen a return to form, starting with 5th place at the Europeans and 4th in Sabaudia.
Tokyo prospects: Should make the A-Final and has an outside chance of a medal.
Czech Republic:
At the time of writing, the representative for the Czech Republic is still to be announced. Ondrej Synek had qualified the boat after finishing 6th at the Linz world championships and was set to make his 5th Olympic appearance. However, ill-health has meant that he’s had to withdraw from Tokyo. His place will most likely be taken by a member of the M4X, which narrowly missed qualifying that boat at the FOQR; Jan Fleissner, Jan Potucek, Tomas Sisma or Filip Zima.
Denmark: Sverri Nielsen – 27 years old.
A member of the Danske Studenters Roklub and the 2019 Faroese Sportsperson of the Year. He made his international debut at the 2012 European Championships. He was 4th at the U23 World Championships in 2015 and made the A-Final at the 2016 European Championships. He had a strong year in 2018, reaching the A-Final at the first 2 World Cups and 7th at the World Championships, but it was in 2019 that he really made his breakthrough. He won silver at the European Championships and gold at the 2nd and 3rd World Cups and then won Denmark’s first-ever World Championship M1X medal taking silver. He won the European Championships in 2020 and then silver this season. He has two more silver medals from the 2nd and 3rd World Cups.
Tokyo prospects: strong medal contender.
Dominican Republic: Ignacio Vasquez – 22 years old.
10th at the Americas Qualifying Regatta. He raced at the 2019 Pan-American Games in Lima, finishing 10th.
Tokyo prospects: probable E-Final contender.
Egypt: Abdelkhalek Elbana – 33 years old.
He qualified the boat by winning the African Olympic Qualifying Regatta. He made his debut in 2014 and raced in the Egyptian quad at the 2014 World Championships. He qualified for Rio by winning the African Qualifying regatta and finished a very strong 10th (the 2nd best ever result for an Egyptian M1X). He was 25th at the World Championships in both 2018 and 2019. So far this season, he has raced at both the 2nd and 3rd World Cups, with a best result of 17th in Sabaudia.
Tokyo prospects: Back end of the D-Final.
Germany: Ollie Zeidler – 24 years old.
The young 6ft 8 German has become something of a rowing sensation in the last couple of years. He only took up rowing in 2016 after a successful career as a swimmer. He made his senior debut at the 2018 World Cup in Belgrade – his heat at that World Cup was just his 4th ever 2000m race and ended up winning medals at all three World Cups that season and reached the A-Final at the World Championships. 2019 was a breakout year for him, winning the European Championships and coming through to win a nail-biting final at the 2019 World Championships. He won his 2nd European title in 2021 and then gold at both the 1st and 2nd World Cups. His dominance took a bit of a knock in Sabaudia finishing behind Neilsen and Borch of Norway. There is a suggestion that he’s vulnerable in rough water, but he’s almost unbeatable in calm conditions. The weather will play a crucial factor in his challenge in Tokyo.
Tokyo prospects: Gold medal favourite, but will be hoping conditions work in his favour.
Greece: Stefanos Ntsoukos – 24 years old.
A former lightweight, he raced in the LM4- at the Rio Olympics, reaching the A-Final. He went on to win silver in the BLM2- at the U23 World Championships later that year. In 2017 he switched to open weight, finishing 16th in the M2X at the 2018 World Championships. In 2019 he won his 2nd U23 silver medal and followed that with 11th at the senior World Championships. He qualified for Tokyo with victory at the European Olympic Qualifying Regatta and followed that with his best result at a senior championship after taking 4th at the European Championships.
Tokyo prospects: Has the potential to reach the A-Final, but more likely to be a solid B-Finalist.
Hungary: Bendeguz Petervari-Molnar – 28 years old.
Tokyo will be his 2nd Olympic Games. He raced in the M1X in Rio, finishing 14th. His best result in the single was 10th at the 2017 European Championships. After that, 3rd place at the European Olympic Qualifying Regatta saw him book his plane for Tokyo.
Iraq: Mohammed Al-Khafaji – 27 years old.
Another former lightweight, although he made his senior debut in a M4X at the 2013 World Championships, finishing 17th. After that, he qualified for Rio in the M1X and finished a solid 3rd in the D-Final (21st overall). Later that year, he went to the U23 World Championships and placed 12th in the BLM1X. His last appearance was at the 1st World Cup of 2018, finishing 22nd in the LM1X.
Italy: Gennaro di Mauro – 19 years old.
The youngest competitor in the field, he beat out his more experienced teammate Simone Martini to win the seat for Tokyo. He’s the reigning 2K world record holder for the 17–18-year-old age group with a frankly astonishing 5:45.5. He made his senior debut in a boat at the European Championships this year, finishing 10th. He also took 10th at the Lucerne World Cup, and then in Sabaudia, he made the A-Final. Tokyo will be a tremendous learning experience for him, and he could well go on to be a significant force to be reckoned with at the Paris Olympiad and beyond.
Tokyo prospects: Outside chance of an A-Final place.
Ivory Coast: Franck N’Dri – 24 years old.
He secured his place in Tokyo with a 6th place finish at the African Olympic Qualifying Regatta. He’s made one appearance at a FISA event, taking 20th in the BLM1X at the 2019 U23 World Championships. He’s also a member of the Ivory Coast Olympic Canoe Sprint team but didn’t qualify for Tokyo.
Tokyo prospects: likely to be E or F final.
Japan: Ryuta Arakawa – 26 years old.
The hopes of the host nation lie with the former lightweight international from Kanagawa. He missed out on qualifying for the Rio Olympics in the LM4 and placed 5th in the BLM4 at the U23 World Championships that year. He switched to heavyweight in 2017, finishing 18th at the World Championships. His best result to date was 8th at the 1st World Cup of 2019. He switched to the M2X for the 2019 World Championships but switched back to the single this season and placed 9th at the Lucerne World Cup. He won the Asian qualifying regatta on the Olympic course.
Tokyo prospects: Top end of the C-Final.
Kazakhstan: Vladislav Yakovlev – 28 years old.
He raced at both the junior and U23 World Championships back in 2011. Tokyo will be his 3rd Olympic Games. He finished 28th in London and 31st in Rio. His best result as a senior international was 18th at the 2nd World Cup of 2017. He finished 29th at the 2019 World Championships and qualified for Tokyo with 3rd place at the Asian Olympic qualifying regatta.
Tokyo prospects: D or E Final.
Kuwait: Abdulrahman Al-Fadhel – 26 years old.
He raced at the Asia and Oceania Olympic qualifying regatta placing 5th in the repechage.
Tokyo prospects: the back end of the E-Final.
Libya: Alhussein Ghambour – 31 years old.
He made his debut in 2013, finishing 25th in the LM1X at the World Championships. He qualified for the Rio Olympics and finished 32nd of the 32 entries. His last World Championship appearance was in 2016, when he placed 24th in the LM1X. At the African Qualifying Regatta, he placed 7th overall.
Tokyo prospects: will be fighting to avoid the F-Final.
Lithuania: Mindaugus Griskonis – 35 years old.
The Lithuanians have been having a season-long contest between Griskonis and Saulius Ritter for the M1X spot. Griskonis is one of the most experienced athletes in the field. He’s been competing on the senior international scene for the last 16 years and is a three-time European champion in the M1x, winning in 2009, 2011 and 2012. He also has four other European Championship medals and was a World Championship bronze medallist in 2015 and 2018. Tokyo will be his 4th Olympic Games. He finished 8th in the M1X in both Beijing and London. For Rio, he raced in the M2X with Ritter winning a silver medal. He and Ritter finished 4th in the M2X at the 2017 World Championships before Griskonis moved back into a single for the 2018 season. He qualified the boat for Tokyo with 4th place in 2019, and so far, this season has the best finish of 4th at the Lucerne World Cup.
Tokyo prospects: the back end of the A-Final or top of the B-Final.
Monaco: Quentin Antognelli – 26 years old.
He has awarded a spot in Tokyo via a tripartite invitation. Antognelli is very well known on the UK regatta circuit, having been a member of Oxford Brookes for a number of years. He was a member of the Brookes crew that won the Ladies Plate in 2018 and 2019. He also raced in the single at the 2018 World University Championships in Shanghai. For Monaco, he’s raced on the senior circuit since 2013, and at the 2019 World Championships, he finished 34th. He recently raced in the Champ M1X at the British University Championships (BUCS), finishing 2nd to his Brookes teammate and GB lightweight, international Jamie Copus,
Tokyo prospects: D or E Final.
The Netherlands: Finn Florijn – 21 years old.
He started rowing in 2015 and is a member of the ASR Nereus club. He made his international debut in 2018, racing in the U23 BM8 at the World Championships. In 2019 he again raced in the U23 BM8, winning a bronze medal at the World Championships. This season, he made his senior debut, finishing 11th at the European Championships and then made the C-Final at the 2nd World Cup. He secured selection by winning the M1X National title. Tokyo will be a good experience for him, but I expect him to be more of a feature for the Paris and LA Olympiads.
Tokyo prospects: the back of the C-Final.
New Zealand: Jordan Parry – 25 years old.
Parry has enormous pressure on his shoulders as he has some mighty big shoes to fill, having ousted the two-time Olympic champion, Mahe Drysdale, from the singles spot. He started rowing in 2010 and is a member of the Tauranga Rowing Club on the Bay of Plenty. He is a three-time U23 World Championship medallist, including taking gold in the BM4X in 2017. He made his senior debut in 2018, reaching the A-Final of the M4X at the 2nd World Cup, and in 2019, he was a member of the M4X that finished 9th at the World Championships. However, with no opportunity to gain senior international experience in the M1X due to the pandemic, Tokyo will be a very steep learning curve for Parry, and his ultimate speed is a bit of an unknown quantity.
Tokyo prospects: with little single scull form to go on, it’s tough to predict, but to oust Drysdale from the Olympic spot shows he has good speed, not sure it’ll be enough to make the A-Final, but I think he’ll be close. So the Top-end of the B-final or back of the A-Final is my call.
Nicaragua: Felix Potoy – 26 years old.
Potoy secured Nicaragua’s spot at the Games after finishing 5th in the B-Final at the Americas Olympic Qualifying regatta.
Tokyo prospects: D or E-Final.
Norway: Kjetil Borch – 31 years old.
One of the medal favourites. Borch was world champion in the M2X in 2013 and then won the M1X European and World titles in 2018. He won world bronze in 2019 behind Zeidler and Neilsen. These three have been dominating the single scull’s event for the last couple of years, and it isn’t easy to see the medals going anywhere else. Tokyo will be the Norwegian’s 2nd Olympics; he won bronze in the M2X with Olaf Tufte at the Rio Olympics before moving into the single in 2018. He won bronze at the 2020 Europeans, and in the 2021 World Cups, he has occupied all three spots on the podium with a silver in Zagreb, bronze in Lucerne before claiming the gold in Sabaudia. That victory puts him in a prime spot heading into Tokyo, and the bookies have him at 11/2 for the gold.
Tokyo prospects: Should win a medal, but what colour it is depends to a certain extent on the weather; breezy conditions will suit the Norwegian, but if I had to make a prediction, I think he’ll get bronze.
Peru: Alvaro Masias – 28 years old.
He raced at the Junior World Championships in 2009 and 2010 with a best result of 17th in the JM1X in 2010. 2015 saw him make his senior debut with 19th place in the M2X at the 2nd World Cup with Renzo Garcia. This partnership went on to the World Championships in 2015, where they finished 27th. He secured the Olympic berth with 5th place at the Americas Olympic Qualifying regatta. He’s also raced at the World Cup this season, placing 20th in Sabaudia.
Tokyo prospects: D Final.
Philippines: Cris Nievarez – 21 years old.
Another lightweight international, he made his debut at the Junior World Championships in 2018, finishing 28th in the JM1X. At the 2019 U23 World Championships, he placed 18th in the BLM1X and went on to make his senior debut at the 2019 World Championships, ranking 31st in the LM2X. At the Asia and Oceania Olympic Qualifying Regatta in May, he finished 3rd in the B-Final, enough to gain a spot in Tokyo.
Tokyo prospects: E-Final.
Russian Olympic Committee: Alexander Vyazovkin – 24 years old.
Vyazovkin was a member of the U23 BM4X that won silver at the 2017 U23 World Championships and then went on to race at the Senior Worlds, finishing 10th. In 2018 he raced again in the quad, taking 7th at the European Championships. 2019 saw him move into the single for the U23 World Championships, where he finished 12th. In 2020 he made his senior M1X debut, finishing 12th at the European Championships. 2021 has been something of a breakthrough year for the Russian. He placed 2nd at the European Olympic Qualifying Regatta. Still, He couldn’t take up that spot due to the qualifying rules limiting the number of boats that can qualify at a continental regatta. However, he went to Lucerne for the final Olympic Qualifying Regatta and secured the top spot with a 5-second victory over Canada’s Trevor Jones. It remains to be seen if he can carry this sort of form to Tokyo.
Tokyo prospects: solid B-Final.
Saudi Arabia: Husein Alireza – 27 years old.
Saudi Arabia gains a spot in this event thanks to a reallocation of the host quota place. Alireza raced at the Asia and Oceania Olympic qualifying regatta placing last in his heat, and did not start the repechage. With short-form to go on, I expect the Saudi to be at the back end of the E Final. Still, regardless of where he finishes, it’s excellent to see Saudi Arabia competing in the Olympic rowing regatta for the first time (as are Benin, Ivory Coast, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua).
Tokyo prospects: back of the E-Final.
Turkey: Oznat Kazakli – 28 years old.
Kazakli is one of the best heavyweight rowers to come out of Turkey. He made his senior debut in 2012, finishing 10th in the M4- at the European Championships. At the 2014 U23 World Championships, he was one second off the podium in the BM2- and he and partner Fuad Rafail went onto the senior World Championships, where they recorded Turkey’s best ever heavyweight men’s result with 8th place. He switched to the single in 2018, taking 18th at the World Championships and then 20th in 2019. He raced at the European Olympic Qualifying Regatta, gaining a qualifying spot with 6th place. He also raced at the Zagreb World Cup, making the A-Final.
Tokyo prospects: top end of the C- Final.
Vanuatu: Rillio Rii – 27 years old.
Awarded a spot at the Games via the Tripartite Invitation, Rii is no stranger to the international stage. He made his debut in 2015, racing in the LM2X at the World Championships. He raced in the M1X at both the 2018 and 2019 World Championships, placing last in 2018 and 2nd from last in 2019. But as with some of the other smaller nations racing in Tokyo, it’s great to see such a wide diversity of nations represented.
Tokyo prospects: battling for 31st or 32nd.
Zimbabwe: Peter Purcell-Gilpin – 26 years old.
Purcell-Gilpin is well known on the UK rowing circuit. The former Birmingham University student has raced at many regattas in the UK, including Championship M4x at the 2017 Marlow Regatta and a silver medal in the Champ M2X at the BUCS Regatta in 2017. On the international stage, he has been competing at the senior level since 2013. In 2015 he made his debut at a senior world championship finishing 31st in the M1X. He raced in the M2X at the 2018 and 2019 World Championships taking 20th in 2018 and 28th in 2019. So far in 2021, he’s raced at the Lucerne World Cup, making the Quarter Final. In April, he also raced at the Paolo D’Aloja Memorial Regatta at Piediluco, winning an excellent silver medal behind Italy’s Gennaro di Mauro.
Tokyo prospects: top end of the D-Final.
Conclusions & Predictions:
So who do I think will win the medals?….so much depends on the conditions. Zeidler has proved that he’s almost unbeatable in flat, calm conditions. Still, if it’s at all breezy, he becomes vulnerable and losing his last race before the Games will have raised the confidence of his competition even further. I’ve got a feeling Sverri Neilsen will snatch gold with Zeidler in silver and Borch in bronze. I also reckon these three will be clear of the rest of the field.
Images: World Rowing
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