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: Kim Brennan (Australia)
Rio Silver medallist: Genevra Stone (USA)
Rio bronze medallist: Duan Jingli (China)
Austria: Magdalena Lobnig (31)
One of the most well-established athletes in the W1X event, Lobnig made her senior international debut in 2008 when she raced in the W4x at the European Championships, having won silver at the Junior World Championships earlier in the season. In 2012 she became U23 World Champion in the BW2X, and in 2013 she won her first senior championship medal taking silver at the European Championships. She won her first championship title in 2016, winning the European Championships in incredibly challenging conditions in Brandenburg. An A-Final appearance at the Rio Olympics followed, and in 2017 she won medals at all three World Cups (including gold at the 2nd World Cup) and then her first World Championship medal (the first open weight women’s World Championship medal for Austria). She followed that up with more European and World Championship medals in 2018. 2019 was a less successful season; her 9th place in Linz was her worst performance at a World Championships since 2015. However, 2020 saw her return to the medal podium with a silver at the Europeans. Illness forced her to miss the 2021 Europeans, but she returned for the Zagreb World Cup-winning gold and finished a strong 4th in Lucerne, just 8/10th off a medal.
Tokyo prospects: One of the most consistent scullers in the field, anything less than an A-Final appearance will be something of a disappointment, and she has an outside chance of a medal.
Belarus: Tatsiana Klimovich (26)
2nd place at the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta secured the Belarussian spot at the Tokyo Games. She was a U23 World Champion in 2017. She raced at both the Junior and U23 World Championships in 2010 and spent five years on the U23 team. During that time, she also made her senior debut whilst still a teenager, finishing 22nd in the W1X at the 2014 World Championships. She raced in the W4X throughout the 2018 season, culminating in 8th place at the World Championships. 2019 saw her record her best result by finishing 4th in the W2X at the European Championships, but 12th at the Worlds meant she and partner, Krystsina Staraselets, missed Olympic qualification. 2021 saw her move into the single, matching her best European Championships result with another 4th place. At the Lucerne World Cup, she won the B-Final for 7th overall.
Tokyo prospects: Unlikely to make the A-Final but should be towards the front of the B-Final.
Canada: Carling Zeeman (30)
The “Zeemonsta”…. Canada’s most successful W1X since the legendary Silken Laumann. She was a World Championship silver medallist in the W4X in 2013 and a double gold medallist at the Pan American Games in 2015. She made her senior debut in 2013, racing in both the quad and single at the Sydney World Cup. 2013 was an excellent year for the Canadian as she won U23 BW1X silver and then senior W4X silver at the respective World Championships. She made her first A-Final appearance in the single at the 2015 World Championships, comfortably qualifying the boat for Rio. After some robust World Cup performances in 2016 (including gold at WC1), the 10th place in Rio was perhaps a little below expectations. Another A-Final appearance followed in 2017, and then in 2019, she won another World Cup medal and reached her 5th World Championship A-Final.
Tokyo prospects: having had no international competition for two years (like so many athletes at the moment), her speed is difficult to judge, but she’s one of the fiercest racers on the circuit and is more than capable of making the A-Final, although I think a medal is just beyond her.
China: Yan Jiang (32)
Jiang has been competing on the senior international circuit since 2010 and raced in the W4X that finished 7th on Lake Karapiro at the 2010 World Championships. She wasn’t selected to race in London despite finishing in a qualification spot in the W2X at the 2011 World Championships. She moved back into the quad for the 2014 season, winning a World Championship silver. The quad missed direct qualification in 2015 but secured the place in Rio with a win at the FOQR. At the Olympics, the W4X reached the A-Final. After racing in the W2X again in 2018, she switched to the W1X for 2019 and qualified for Tokyo with a win in the B-Final. She raced at the Lucerne World Cup this season, placing 8th.
Tokyo prospects: The form guide would suggest something like 10th or 11th.
Chinese Taipei: Yi-Tang Huang (31)
Tokyo will be Huang’s 2nd Olympic Games. She finished 25th at the Rio Olympics. She raced at the 2nd World Cup of 2018, placing 19th and then raced at her first World Championships in 2019, where she finished 17th. She qualified for Tokyo with 3rd place at the Asia and Oceania Olympic Qualifying Regatta.
Tokyo prospects: She’ll be hoping to improve on her E-Final placing in Rio.
Cuba: Melena Venega Cancio (24)
Cuba’s best result in the W1X at an Olympics came in Sydney in 2000 when Mayra Gonzalez won the B-Final to finish 7th overall. Venega Cancio is a two-time Pan-American bronze medallist, having won medals in the LW1X and LW2X in Lima in 2019. She qualified for Tokyo with 4th place at the Americas Qualifying Regatta and raced in Europe this season, taking 14th at the Lucerne World Cup.
Tokyo prospects: A D-Final placing will be a solid result for the Cuban
Great Britain: Victoria Thornley (33)
Thornley is a former equestrian and was identified as a potential rower via the British “Sporting Giants” and “World Class start” programmes. She was the first graduate of that programme to win a gold medal when she won the U23 BW8 title in 2009. She won her first senior World Championship medal in 2011 when the W8 won bronze, and she went on to race in that boat class at the London Olympics. After London, she moved into the single scull, winning the B-Final at the 2013 World Championships. In 2015 she formed a double scull with the defending Olympic Champion, Katherine Grainger. Despite undoubted talent, this double didn’t fire, and although they qualified the boat for Rio with a 6th place in 2015, it looked likely that the boat might be split up in the run-up to the Games, as both Grainger and Thornley were tested in the W8. But, the two of them got it right when it mattered and won a superb silver medal on the waters of the Lago Rodrigo de Freitas.
After Grainger retired, Thornley returned to the W1X, and in 2017 she became the first British woman to win a W1X Championship title when she took gold at the European Championships. She followed this up with a silver medal at the World Championships (becoming only the 3rd British woman to achieve that feat after Beryl Mitchell in 1981 and Katherine Grainger in 2009). However, 4th place in 2019 was enough to secure qualification for Tokyo. Her return to competition in 2021 saw her win a silver medal at the European Championships and then 5th place at the Lucerne World Cup.
Tokyo prospects: An A-Final placing is an absolute minimum result for the Brit, and she has a strong chance of making the podium, although my gut is telling me she’ll just miss out…. I’m picking her for 4th.
Greece: Anneta Kyridou (22)
Kyridou holds a slightly unusual record of having made her U23 international debut before her junior one. She finished 6th in the BW4X in 2015 and then won Junior World Championship silver in 2016. She made her senior debut as an 18-year-old racing in the W2X at the Lucerne World Cup of 2017, where she and Aikaterini Nikolaidou finished 8th. She went on to win U23 silver in 2017 in the BW2X (with Dimitra-Sofia Tsamopolou) before reuniting with Nikolaidou to take 12th at the World Championships. She continued to race at both senior and U23 levels throughout 2018 and 2019, reaching the A-Final of the European Championships and winning U23 gold in the BW2X in 2019. She won her first senior medal at the 2020 European Championships, winning a bronze in the W1X. She failed to qualify the boat for Tokyo at the European Olympic Qualifying Regatta but secured the top spot at the FOQR to reach her first Olympics.
Tokyo prospects: Greece’s best performance in the W1X at an Olympic Games was 7th in Barcelona. I’m not sure Kyridou will match that, but a mid-B-Final placing is entirely possible.
Hong Kong: Winnie Hung (22)
7th at the Asia and Oceania Olympic Qualifying Regatta, Hung is a lightweight who made the A-Final of the BLW1X at the 2019 U23 World Championships and then placed 17th at the Senior Worlds that year.
Tokyo prospects: mid-D-Final
Iran: Nazanin Malaei (29)
Malaei first raced as a junior in 2009 and then at the U23 World Championships in 2010. She made her senior international debut in 2011 as part of the LW4X. In 2014 she was part of the W4X that raced at the Aigubelette World Cup and then went to the U23 World Championships in the BLW2X. She qualified the boat for Tokyo with 2nd place at the Asia and Oceania Olympic Qualifying Regatta.
Ireland: Sanita Puspure (39)
Puspure had been the dominant force in women’s sculling for the last few years. She was World Champion in 2018 and 2019 and also won the Europeans in 2019 and 2020. She started her career racing for her native Latvia at the junior World Championships in 1999 and made her senior debut at the Hazewinkel World Cup in 2002. 2003 brought her first international medal when she won bronze in the BW1X at the U23 World Championships. She moved to Ireland in 2006 and made her debut for the Irish at the Lucerne World Cup of 2010. She raced in the single at the London Olympics, placing 13th (the first Irish woman to race the W1X at an Olympic Games since Frances Cryan in 1980). She won her first medal for Ireland with a bronze at the 2013 Europeans, and in 2014 became the first Irishwoman to reach a World Championship A-Final in the W1X. A 2nd European bronze medal followed in 2016 and then at the Rio Olympics finished in 13th place. Her breakthrough year came in 2017 when 4th at the World Championships showed what potential she had. She won silver at 2 World Cups in 2018 and went on to win her first world title. She went unbeaten in 2019 and 2020 and came into Olympic year as the sculler to beat. This season she’s raced once, at the Lucerne World Cup, and perhaps showed a bit of race rustiness ending up 3rd behind Russia and the USA.
Tokyo prospects: despite defeat earlier this season, she is still my favourite to take the gold medal in what could a genuinely exceptional Games for Team Ireland.
Mexico: Kenia Lechuga Alanis (27)
Mexico’s most successful female rower won U23 bronze in 2016 and a World Cup bronze in the LW1X at Plovdiv in 2019. She made her senior debut in 2015, finishing 12th in the LW1X at the World Championships. She qualified for Rio placing 25th in the W1X. 2017 saw her place 7th at the World Championships. She moved to the open weight w1X for 2019 in an attempt to qualify directly for Tokyo. She was unsuccessful in 2019 but secured her spot with a comfortable win at the Americas Olympic Qualifying Regatta. She raced at the Lucerne World Cup this season, finishing 12th.
Tokyo prospects: A B-Final placing would be a significant achievement for the Mexican; however, I think she’ll likely finish in a mid-C-Final placing.
Morocco: Sarah Fraincart (22)
With a Moroccan mother and a French father, Fraincart has dual French/Moroccan nationality. She switched to Morocco after missing out on a place with the French team. She made her debut in 2017, finishing 22nd. She also competed at the Arab Rowing Championships, winning a silver medal. She also raced at the Arab Games, winning a bronze medal in the 500m sprint, and at the 2019 World Championships, she finished 37th. She secured the spot at Tokyo with 4th place at the African Olympic Qualifying Regatta, becoming the first Moroccan woman to race in the W1X at an Olympic Games.
Tokyo prospects: D-Final
Namibia: Maike Diekmann (27)
Diekmann started rowing at Rhodes University and, after only seven months, found herself representing her country at the African Qualifying Regatta for the Rio Olympics. Whilst she was unsuccessful in that attempt, it lit the fire to try and qualify for Tokyo. She raced at the U23 World Championships in 2016, finishing 22nd and then in 2018, she raced at the 3rd World Cup finishing 16th. At the 2018 World Championships, she placed 16th, a position she repeated in 2019. In 2021 she raced at the Sabaudia World Cup, producing an excellent scull to reach the A-Final. She qualified for Tokyo by winning the African Qualifying Regatta and is finishing her Tokyo preparation by training with the Swedish team.
Tokyo prospects: A solid C-Final should be on the cards.
The Netherlands: Sophie Souwer (34)
Souwer made her debut in 2013, winning a silver medal in the W4X, the first of five European silver medals she’s won so far in her career. She went on to race in the W4X at the 2013 World Championships, just missing the podium. She moved into the W8 in 2014, and in 2015 won her 2nd European silver medal. A 3rd European silver followed in 2016, and the W8 finished 6th at the Rio Olympics. In 2017 she moved into the quad, and yet another European silver medal and then The Netherlands won their first-ever W4X world championship title. 2018 brought quad bronzes at both the Europeans and the Worlds, and Souwer won her fifth European silver medal in 2019 and another World Championship bronze. In 2021 she switched to the single, making the A-Final at the Europeans and silver at the Sabaudia World Cup.
Tokyo prospects: Could well reach the A-final, but I think the upper end of the B-Final is more likely.
New Zealand: Emma Twigg (34)
Tokyo will be Twigg’s fourth Olympic Games. She started her international career in 2006 racing in the W8 at the World Championships. She moved into the single in 2007, winning the U23 BW1X World Championships and reaching the A-Final at the senior World Championships. Her first Olympic appearance in Beijing ended with 9th place. 4th at the World Championships in 2009 was followed a year later by her first senior World Championship medal-winning bronze on her home water at Lake Karapiro. A second bronze medal followed in 2011, and at the London Olympics, she finished in 4th place. World Championship silver followed in 2013 before she finally secured her first senior World Championship title in 2014. After taking a year out to study for a Masters degree in 2015, she returned in 2016 to win her seat back by winning the NZ trials and securing Olympic qualification with 1st at the 2016 FOQR. Rio brought more heartache as she agonisingly missed out on a podium place for the second time, losing out on the bronze medal to Jingli Duan of China by 3/10th of a second. She retired after Rio and went to work for the IOC. She returned to training in 2018 and won gold at both the2nd and 3rd World Cups before losing out to Puspure at the World Championships.
Tokyo prospects: With two years away from international competition, it’s going to be tough for Twigg. But she is one of the most talented and experienced scullers in the field and certainly can finally win herself an Olympic medal.
Nicaragua: Evidelia Gonzalez Jarquin (23)
A recipient of one of the two Tripartite invitations, Gonzalez Jarquin, raced in the W2 at the 2015 and 2019 Pan-American Games. She placed 10th at the Americas Qualifying Regatta.
Tokyo prospects: Likely to be in the E-Final and will be wanting to match herself against her Central and South American rivals.
Nigeria: Esther Tamaramiyeb Toko (21)
The youngest athlete in the event, Tamaramiyeb Toko, is the first home-based female rower to qualify for the Olympics for Nigeria. She and her coach, Regina Enofe, received assistance from the IOC and World Rowing to train Tunisia in preparation for the Games. She raced at the 2019 African Games and won two medals in the Coastal Rowing events at the 2019 African Beach Games. She qualified for Tokyo after finishing 9th at the African Qualifying Regatta.
Tokyo prospects: Likely to be fighting for 30th – 32nd places.
Paraguay: Alejandro Alonso Alderete (24)
A student at Barry University in Miami took a break from her Sports Management course to focus on Olympic qualification. She raced at both the junior and U23 world Championships in 2014 and reached the Youth Olympics final that year. She made her senior debut in 2017, culminating in 20th place at the World Championships. After 20th in BW1X at the 2018 U23 World Championships, she raced at her 2nd Senior World’s in 2019, finishing 32nd. She successfully qualified the single for Tokyo after finishing 2nd at the Americas Qualifying Regatta.
Tokyo prospects: A D-Final result should be the target.
Puerto Rico: Veronica Toro Arana (26)
She took up rowing as a Freshman at MIT after playing volleyball at high school. Initially, she was part of the Lightweight team but soon realised that to fulfil her Olympic ambitions, it would need to be in the W1X. She made her representative debut for Puerto Rico at the 2015 Pan-American Games, reaching the A-Final. She went on to race at the World Championships that year, making the F-Final. She had her best result in 2018, placing18th at the World Championships and then in 2019 placed 24th. She secured her place in Tokyo thanks to 5th place at the Americas Qualifying Regatta. She’s currently studying at Stanford School of Medicine.
Tokyo prospects Her C-Final placing in 2018 show’s she has the potential for a solid mid-field result. However, I think a result closer to the top of the D-Final (20th) is more likely.
Qatar: Tala Abujbara (29)
Abujbara started rowing as a freshman at Williams College in Massachusetts. Within a short period, she was representing Qatar at the World Championships in 2014, finishing 27th. She started the 2015 season with 5th place at the Bled International Regatta and 12th at the 1st World Cup before finishing 29th at the World Championships.2018 saw her best World Championship result with an 18th place. She qualified for Tokyo after finishing 9th at the Asia and Oceania Olympic Qualifying Regatta.
Tokyo prospects: A solid D-Final finish will be a good result for Qatar’s sole Olympic rowing representative.
Russian Olympic Committee: Hanna Prakatsen (28)
Russia’s Prakatsen has been the revelation of 2021. This season, she is unbeaten, winning the European Olympic Qualifying Regatta by over 11 seconds, then beating GB’s Vicky Thornley by 7 seconds to win the European Championships. Her 3rd gold of the season came at the Lucerne World Cup, where she beat the USA’s Kara Kohler by 1.5 seconds with Ireland’s World Champion Puspure in 3rd. These performances have been quite a step up from her previous racing career. She raced at the U23 World Championships from 2010-2014 with the best result of 5th in the BW8 in 2012. She made her senior debut in 2014 again in the W8 that finished 11th at the World Championships. She took a break from international rowing after 2016, returning to the competition in 2019. She had more success as a coastal rower, winning gold in the Coastal CW2X at the 2019 world Championships. On flat water, she raced in the Russian W4X that finished 9th at the World Championships and then in 2020 finished 8th at the Europeans. Much happier in a single than a crew boat, the big question is can she carry that form to Tokyo, or did she peak for the qualification regatta….can the rest of the field catch her up?
Tokyo prospects: It’s almost unheard of for someone to come into the single sculls field and win big in their first year; it’s also rare for an athlete who qualifies via a continental qualifying regatta to medal, let alone win. She has undoubtedly shown she will be a force to be reckoned with in Tokyo, but I don’t think she’ll take the win; in fact, I’m not convinced she’ll make the podium. I think the rest of the field will have caught her up. So I’m going to say 5th or 6th.
Serbia: Jovana Arsic (28)
Arsic made her senior debut at the World Championships of 2014, finishing 9th in the W2-. After a World Championship appearance in the W1X in 2015, she moved back into the W2- for the 2016-2018 seasons with the best result of 9th at the 2018 European Championships. For the 2019 season, she switched to the single and scored the best result of her career to date, with 5th place at the 1st World Cup. She raced in the double at the 2019 World Championships, with Milica Slijepcevic coming away with 17th place. For 2021 she’s back in the single and secured Olympic qualification with a 3rd place at the European Qualifying Regatta. She won the first medal of her career at the 1st World Cup, taking bronze behind Lobnig of Austria and Fleissnerova of the Czech Republic (Serbia’s 1st W1X medal since the 2012 European Championships). She also raced at the Lucerne World Cup, ending with 5th in the B-Final to take 11th overall.
Tokyo prospects: likely C-Finalist.
Singapore: Joan Poh (30)
Poh, a staff nurse at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, took 16 months of unpaid leave from her job at the start of 2019 to focus on her ambition of qualifying for Tokyo. Her first foray into international competition saw her finish last place (34th) at the 2019 World Championships. The COVID pandemic saw her return to frontline medical service treating kidney dialysis patients whilst still training for 20 hours per week. She achieved her goal after an anxious 20 day wait when World Rowing announced the complete list of Olympic qualifiers and decreed that her 12th place at the Asia and Oceania Olympic Qualifying Regatta was good enough.
Tokyo prospects: If she can make the E-Final, it will be a great result.
South Korea: Hyejeong Jeong (24)
Jeong secured qualification with 6th place at the Asia and Oceania Olympic Qualifying Regatta. However, with no other racing experience to note, it isn’t easy to assess her prospects.
Tokyo prospects: possible D-Finalist?
Sudan: Esraa Khogali (29)
Sudan was awarded one of the two Tripartite invitations to secure their spot at the Tokyo Olympics. Kogali is another athlete for whom Tokyo will mark their senior international debuts. She raced at the African Qualifying Regatta, finishing 13th.
Tokyo prospects: probable F-Final
Sweden: Lovisa Claesson (26)
Claesson made her senior debut in 2014 when she and partner Filippa Kaarfelt followed up their 5th place at the U23 World Championships with 19th place at the Senior Worlds. After that, she raced in the BW1X at the 2015 U23 World Championships, won a silver medal, and partnered with Frida Svensson in the W2X at the World Championships. 2016 brought her 2nd U23 BW1X silver medal, and in 2017, she made her first senior appearance in the W1X, finishing 5th at the European Championships. Later in 2017, she won gold in the BW1X at the U23’s and 11th in the W2X at the Senior Worlds (partnered by Anna Malvina Svennung). After that, she raced in the single at the 2018 and 2019 World Championships, placing 12th and 15th. However, 4th place at the European Qualifying Regatta was enough to gain a spot for Tokyo. So far on the World Cup circuit this season, she’s taken 4th in Zagreb, 13th in Lucerne and 5th in Sabaudia.
Tokyo prospects: 4th at the Zagreb World Cup was the best result by a Swedish W1X since 2013, but the quality of the field at that World Cup somewhat skews the picture. Her result in Lucerne is more of an indicator of likely performance in a full field…. I’m plumping for a mid-C-Final placing…15th?
Switzerland: Jeannine Gmelin (31)
Gmelin dominated the W1X event throughout 2017 and 2018, winning the World title in 2017, the European title in 2018 and all five of the World Cups she entered. Her run only ended when she lost out on the gold to Sanita Puspure at the 2018 World Championships. She began her career in 2014, placing 8th at the European Championships and finishing 15th at the Worlds. She won her first senior medal at the 2015 European Championships, winning silver behind Mirka Knapkova, and she followed this with her first World Championship A-Final appearance. 5th in the world was enough to qualify for the Rio Olympics, where she finished in 5th. In 2017 she had a new coach, Robin Dowell from Great Britain. Under his guidance, she won her first World Cup gold and then her first world title. She was again beaten into silver by Puspure at the 2019 European Championships and was “only” 5th at the Worlds (her poorest result since the Rio final). She was 5th again at the 2020 Europeans before returning to the podium with a bronze in 2021. Her one other race this season was 6th at the Lucerne World Cup.
Tokyo prospects: Not the force she once was, but she’s one of the most powerful athletes in the field, and her challenge cannot be discounted. That being said, I think she will make the A-Final, but I can’t see her making the podium.
Togo: Akossiwa Ayivon (24)
Tokyo will be Ayivon’s 2nd Olympic Games. She finished 32nd out of the 32 scullers at the Rio Olympics. She’s an experienced competitor, having raced at the Junior World Championships, Youth Olympic Games, World Cups and senior World Championships. Only once in her career, at the 2019 World Championships, has she finished anywhere other than the last place at an open competition (in 2019, she placed 38th of the 39 competitors). She qualified for Tokyo after finishing 8th at the African Qualifying Regatta. Regardless of how she performs in Tokyo, it’s a real positive for the sport to have a diversity of competitors.
Tokyo prospects: anything better than 32nd will be positive.
Trinidad and Tobago: Felice Chow (44)
The oldest competitor in the event, Felice (also known as Aisha), started rowing as a walk-on at the University of Miami. Her strength secured an athletic scholarship (she already had an academic one), and she rowed in the Varsity 8. After graduating from Miami, she stopped rowing whilst studying for a PhD. But the call of the water was always there, and she joined the brilliant Bair Island Rowing Club in Redwood, California. In early 2016 she started rowing for her country and made her debut at the Rio Olympics, placing 22nd out of the 32 competitors. 2017 saw her finish 17th, and in 2018, she repeated her 17th placing. At the 2019 Worlds, she slipped back a little to 23rd, but earlier in the season; she won silver medals at both the Pan-Am Games and the Central America And Caribbean Games. She raced at the Lucerne World Cup, finishing 15th. She combines her rowing training with her work as a drug development scientist.
Tokyo prospects: More than capable of a solid D-Final placing.
Uganda: Kathleen Noble (26)
Uganda’s first-ever Olympic rower, Noble, is the daughter of Irish missionaries and was born and grew up in Uganda. She represented Uganda as a swimmer and set a national record for the 50m butterfly in 2012. She was a walk-on at the Princeton University Lightweight rowing team as a Freshman. Her performances at Princeton attracted the attention of the Ugandan Rowing Federation, and in 2016, she made her first appearance for her country racing at the U23 World Championships, finishing 20th in the BLW1X. She combined her work in cancer research with training in Utah. She qualified for Tokyo after placing 7th at the African Olympic Qualifying Regatta.
Tokyo prospects: Another athlete for whom a D-Final placing will be a positive result.
USA: Kara Kohler (30)
Kohler studied at the University of California, Berkeley, winning the 2013 NCAA Championships. She made her international debut in 2010, winning gold in the BW8 at the U23 World Championships. She made her senior debut the following year, winning the World Championship W4- title. She raced for the USA at the London Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the W4X. She missed out on selection for the Rio Olympic team and came close to retiring from the sport altogether. But in 2018, she switched to the single and worked with coach Bernhard Stomporowski. The work paid off, and she achieved 4th place at the World Championships. In 2019 she made her first podium as a single sculler, winning a bronze medal at the World Championships. This season she’s been one of the few US athletes to race at the World Cups, winning a silver medal behind Prakatsen at the Lucerne World Cup.
Tokyo Prospects: A serious medal contender… I don’t think she’ll be right at the front pushing for gold, but she’s a contender for the bronze at the very least.
Conclusions & Predictions:
Medal Picks: Very, very tricky…I think Puspure will reassert her authority and take gold, with Twigg taking the silver and Kohler the bronze.
Cover image: World Rowing
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