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: Poland (Magdalena Fularczyk-Kozlowska & Natalia Madaj)
Rio Silver Medallist: Great Britain (Vicky Thornley & Katherine Grainger)
Rio Bronze Medallist: Lithuania (Donata Karaliene & Milda Valciukaite)
Australia: Amanda Bateman (25) & Tara Rigney (22)
The Aussies have never won this event; the best they achieved was silver in 2012 (which arguably could have been gold if Kim Brennan hadn’t been doubling up in the single… but that’s a whole other story and debate.)
The Australians have selected a relatively young and inexperienced crew for Tokyo. Bateman raced in this boat class during the 2019 season with Genevieve Horton; they won medals at both the 2nd and 3rd World Cups. Still, at the Linz World Championships, they could only manage 11th, securing the final Olympic qualification spot. She has a new partner for Tokyo, Tara Rigney. The Olympics will be Rigney’s senior international debut, having previously raced for Australia at the U23 level. Earlier this year, she won the Australian National W1X title.
Tokyo prospects: In a hugely competitive field, I think the Australians will find the competition challenging. So I’ll pick them for 10th or 11th.
Canada: Gabrielle Smith (26) & Jessica Sevick (32)
Canada was 4th in the world in 2019 with their double of Gabrielle Smith and Andrea Proske, a duo who had been racing together since 2018. But, for Tokyo, they have partnered Smith with Jessica Sevick from Calgary Rowing Club. Tokyo will be Sevick’s first open international competition. She represented Canada at the 2019 Pan American Games, winning a gold medal in the W1X (beating Trinidad & Tobago’s Felice Chow into silver). Smith’s experience is a little more significant. She first represented Canada on the world stage at the 2015 U23 World Championships, placing 5th in the BW4X. She made her senior debut in 2018, winning a silver medal at the 3rd World Cup and finishing 6th at the World Championships. 2019 brought another World Cup medal and then a 4th place in Linz.
Tokyo prospects: It’s a bold move to break up an existing partnership, especially a proven one. But if this combination is faster than that from 2019, they could be fighting for medals. However, I think it’ll be an achievement to reach the A-Final in such a tough field.
China: Shuangmei Shen (23) & Xiaoxin Liu (26)
China qualified this boat for Tokyo after finishing 10th at the 2019 World Championships. However, the duo that raced in that boat (Shiyu Lu and Yuwei Wang) are racing in different boats for Tokyo (W4- and W8). So, in their place comes Shuangmei Shen and Xiaxin Liu. Shen raced in the W2x with Jinchao Liu at the Lucerne World Cup, finishing 9th of the nine entries (one place behind their lightweight teammates). Liu was a U23 bronze medallist in 2018 and made her senior debut in the W8 at the 2019 World Championships. She raced in the W2- at the Lucerne World Cup with Kaifeng Huang but didn’t progress beyond the repechage.
Tokyo prospects: On paper, this looks the weakest of all the entries and isn’t the priority boat for the Chinese women’s team. I think this is probably the crew that will miss out on the B-Final.
Czech Republic: Lenka Antosova (29) & Kristyna Fleissnerova (28)
This duo has been racing together as a double since 2015, longer than almost any other partnership in the event. Antosova raced in the double with her sister, Jitka, at the London Olympics, placing 1st in the B-Final. She started her international career back in 2010 and won her first senior medal at the 2011 European Championships. In 2015 she formed a new partnership with Fleissnerova, winning a bronze medal at the 2016 European Championships and placing 10th at the Rio Olympics. 2017 was a standout year for the Czechs, winning gold at the European Championships and recording their best World Championship finish of 7th. Another 7th place in 2018 was followed by 8th in 2019, securing qualification for Tokyo. They’ve raced once so far this season, placing 4th at the Lucerne World Cup.
Tokyo prospects: Top end of the B-Final, 7th or 8th.
France: Hélène Lefebvre (30) & Élodie Ravera-Scaramozzino (25)
France has only made the W2X A-Final at the Olympics once, but that was by this duo in Rio when they finished 5th. Like the Czech’s, this duo has been racing together since 2015. They won France’s first Championship W2X title with gold at the Europeans in 2018. In 2019 they secured Olympic qualification by reaching their 1st World Championship final. In 2020 they won their 2nd European Championship medal with a bronze, and this season they won silver in a three-boat final at the Zagreb World Cup.
Tokyo prospects: Likely to be 9th or 10th.
Germany: Leonie Menzel (22) & Annekatrin Thiele (36)
A mixture of youth and experience in this crew. Menzel won silver at the U23 World Championships in 2019, and on her senior debut at the European Championships, she took the gold medal in the W2X with Carlotta Nwajide. With Nwajide moving to the quad for the 2019 World Championships, Menzel raced with Pia Greiten. But, their 15th place wasn’t enough to gain Olympic qualification. Thiele is heading to her 4th Olympic Games. She’s won silvers at both the Beijing and London Olympics and got two World Championship titles (2013 and 2014). At the Rio Olympics, she was a member of the W4X that won gold. After Rio, she switched to the single, winning the Princess Royal at Henley Regatta and bronze at the European Championships. Unfortunately, 13th at the 2019 World Championships meant she missed out on an Olympic spot, and in 2020 she and Menzel came together in the double. They finished 5th at both the 2020 and 2021 European Championships and then secured their place in Tokyo with 2nd place at the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta.
Tokyo prospects: Germany last medalled in this event in 2004, and I can’t see them repeating that achievement in Tokyo. So I am reckoning they’ll be fighting with the Czechs for 7th or 8th.
Italy: Alessandra Patelli (29) & Chiara Ondoli (25)
Patelli and Ondoli were both members of the Italian W4- that just missed qualifying for Tokyo after finishing 3rd at the FOQR. They raced at the Sabaudia World Cup, beating their teammates (Steffania Buttignon & Clare Guerra) to take the bronze medal and secure selection. Patelli made her debut in 2012, and in 2015 finished 14th in the W2-. She qualified the pair for Rio at the FOQR, and together with Sara Bertolasi, took 11th at the Olympics. She continued to race in the pair after Rio recording her best World Championship result (4th) in 2018. Ondoli was junior World Champion in 2013 and made her senior debut the following year. In 2018 she was a member of the W4X that placed 12th at the World Championships, and she stayed in that boat for the2019 season, ending with 8th in Linz. Ondoli and Patelli raced in the W4 at the 2020 and 2021 European Championships, winning their first senior medals with a silver in 2020. At the 2021 Europeans, the W4- finished 6th.
Tokyo prospects: A reasonably new combination for the double, and beaten fairly comfortably by both the Netherlands and Germany in Sabaudia, I’ve got the Italians for a B-Final and 10th or 11th.
Lithuania: Donata Karaliene (32) & Milda Valciukaite (27)
One of the most experienced boats in the event, this duo were World and European Champions in 2013 and took the bronze medal in Rio. Karaliene (nee Vistartaite) made her senior debut in 2008, finishing 7th in the w1x at the 2009 World Championships. She won back-to-back u23 BW1X world titles in 2010 and 2011 and won her first senior medal with a bronze at the 2011 Europeans. She raced in the W1X at the London Olympics, ending in 8th place; she also won her first senior championship that season, taking gold in the W1X at the European Championships. Milda Valciukaite won back-to-back junior world titles in 2011and 2012. She skipped the U23 team and wait straight from the junior to the senior squad. She had a remarkable first year on the senior team when she and Karaliene went undefeated to claim the European and World titles. After Rio, Karaliene took a break from the sport. In her absence, Valciukaite formed a new partnership with Ieva Adomaviciute, and this partnership won the World Championships in 2018. Karaliene returned to the sport in 2021, and the pair picked up pretty much where they left off with a silver medal at the European Championships and gold at the Zagreb World Cup.
Tokyo prospects: strong medal contenders, possibly the bronze.
The Netherlands: Lisa Scheenaard (32) Roos de Jong (27)
Another partnership who have been racing together for a few years, this double first raced together at the 2018 European Championships, coming away with a silver medal. They followed that with an A-Final placing at the 2018 World Championships and a bronze medal in 2019. That bronze was followed in 2020 with a silver medal at the European Championships and then 4th at this year’s Euros. Scheenaard first raced as a senior international in 2013, winning a medal in the W4x at the European Championships. In 2017 she represented the Netherlands in the W1X at the world Championships reaching the A-Final. De Jong raced on the U23 team from 2013-2015, winning a bronze medal in the BW2X in her final year. She first ran for the senior team in 2017 and finished 7th in the W1x at the Europeans. So far this season, de Jong and Scheenaard and placing 4th at the Europeans this season, have won medals at both the 2nd and 3rd world Cups (including gold in Sabaudia). Scheenaard is also no mean cyclist – she’s also a two-time champion of the slightly odd Dutch Headwind Cycling Championships!
Tokyo prospects: Another strong contender for the medals, I think they will be battling the Lithuanians and Americans for the bronze.
New Zealand: Brooke Donoghue (26) & Hannah Osborne (27)
New Zealand has dominated this event throughout the Tokyo Olympiad. Brooke Donoghue and Olivia Loe were World Champions in 2017 and again in 2019, with a silver medal in between. They also won every World Cup they entered throughout the 2017-2019 seasons. However, observant readers will notice that Brooke Donoghue won’t be partnered with Olivia Loe in Tokyo. New Zealand selectors have taken the courageous decision to break up this winning combination and moved Loe into the W4X to strengthen that boat. She effectively swaps seats with Hannah Osborne, who moves across from the W4X. It remains to be seen if this strategy pays off; the Kiwis may feel that this new combination is faster than the 2019 version (or at least is still quicker than the opposition) and the addition of Loe to the quad makes that boat more competitive? We shall have to wait and see, but it’s bold.
Donoghue raced on the U23 team in 2014 and 2015, winning a bronze and silver medal. She made her senior debut in 2016, racing in the W4X that just failed to qualify for Rio at the FOQR. She moved into the double at the start of the 2017 season and has been in that boat ever since. Throughout that time in the double, she’s only been beaten twice, both times at the 2018 World Championships, by the USA in the Semi-final and Lithuania in the final. Osborne made her senior debut in 2017, racing to 8th place in the W1X at the World Championships. She repeated that placing at the 2018 Worlds, and in 2019 raced in the W4X that finished 5th in Linz.
Tokyo prospects: A Donoghue/Loe combination would have been nailed on gold medal favourites. I think the Donoghue/Osborne combo will still start as favourites, but as with any new combination, there is always an element of uncertainty. But you would hope the Kiwi selectors know what they’re doing and haven’t screwed up a gold medal! So I’m going to say they will take the title.
Romania: Nicoleta-Ancuta Bodnar (22) & Simona Geanina Radis (22)
They may be the youngest crew in the event, but the Romanians are probably the biggest challengers to the Kiwis for the gold medal. Radis was a member of the BW4X that won U23 gold in 2018, and she also raced in the senior W4X that year. She and Bodnar came together as a double at the start of the 2019 season and won silver at the Europeans (the first European W2X medal for Romania since 2012). 2019 saw them win gold at the 3rd World Cup and pick up World Championship silver behind the New Zealanders. Since that silver medal in Linz, the Romanians have been unbeaten in Europe, winning the 2020 and 2021 European Championships and winning gold at the Lucerne World Cup.
Tokyo prospects: The form crew of the season so far will be serious challengers to the Kiwis, but I think they will just come up short…silver or possibly bronze.
Russian Olympic Committee: Ekaterina Pitirimova (25) & Ekaterina Kurochkina (27)
Winners of the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta, Pitirimova and Kurochkina were both in the W4X that finished 10th at this year’s European Championships. Kurochkina raced in the W4X at the Europeans in 2014, 2016 and 2017 with the best result of 6th. In 2018 she raced in the W1X at the World Championships, finishing 1st in the C-Final. Pitirimova made her debut racing alongside Kurochkina in the 2017 European Championships W4X crew. In 2020 she also raced at the Europeans in the W4X that finished 8th.
Tokyo prospects: 11th or 12th.
USA: Genevra Stone (36) & Kristina Wagner (28)
Tokyo will be Gevvie Stone’s 3rd Olympics, but the first in a crew boat. She raced the single at both the London and Rio Games and came away with a silver medal in 2016. She’s a former two-times U23 World Champion and nine times winner of the Championship single at the Head of The Charles. In 2015 she finished 4th in the W1X at the World Championships. After Rio, she took a break to focus on her medical career (she graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine in 2014) and combines her rowing with working at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston. In 2019 she raced the W2X with Cicely Madden finishing 5th at the World Championships. Wagner, by comparison, is something of an international rowing novice! The Yale graduate raced on the U23 team in 2013, but it wasn’t until 2019 that she made her debut on the senior team, running in the W4X at the 3rd World Cup. After that, she and Stone came to Europe for the Lucerne World Cup, picking up a bronze medal.
Tokyo prospects: strong medal contenders, one of five boats I reckon will be fighting for the podium. The US could finish anywhere from 3rd to 5th.
Conclusions & Predictions:
Medal picks: despite being a different combination from 2019, I still think the Kiwis will take gold, the young Romanians in silver and the USA grabbing bronze.
About The Author
Discover more from JRN
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
