Photo Credit: World Rowing / Benedict Tufnell
For the first time in three years, we finally get to have a senior World Championships and this year promises some mouth-watering contests across almost every boat class with very few clear favourites. The 2022 World Championships are being held on the Racice course in the Czech Republic. They last hosted the senior World Championships in 1993 and also played host to the European Championships in 2017. Unusually for a European based World Championship course, Racice has yet to host a World Cup regatta.
Anyway, as always I’ll give my run down of the entries and try and pick who I think will make the podium.
First up, the single.
M1X
2019 champion: Ollie Zeidler (Germany)
Entries: 40
A big field, but all eyes will be on just two or three scullers, and mostly on one man; Ollie Zeidler. The defending champion is coming off of a disappointing couple of years; his supposed vulnerability to rough water was exposed in Tokyo where he finished seventh and this season after a solid start with a win at World Cup 1, he had a very disappointing European Championships, being sculled through by three scullers in the final 250 metres and missing the podium altogether. He’s been highly critical of the German team management and the big question is just what his mental state is coming into these championships?
The big star of the M1X this season has been Melvin Twellaar of the Netherlands. The Olympic M2X silver medallist switched to the single for this season, taking silver behind Zeidler at the opening World Cup before winning his first World Cup gold in Poznan. A stunning sprint took him to European gold in Munich. His progression this season has been the opposite to Zeidler’s, and he’ll be coming into Racice on a massive high.
Stefanos Ntsoukas of Greece is the reigning Olympic Champion but has only made one appearance so far this season, taking silver at the European Championships. There were some comments after his unexpected win in Tokyo that his victory was in some way a fluke, but with his silver medal in Munich the former lightweight has shown he’s a genuine contender.
Kjetil Borch of Norway won this event in 2018 and in Tokyo took the silver medal behind Ntsoukas. However, an injury in training in May (he fell off his bike) resulted in knee surgery, putting a serious dent in his preparations for the 2022 season. He made a return to competition at the European Championships just missing out on a place in the A-Final. With a significant period of training since Munich now under his belt I fully expect Borch to be back challenging for the medals.
Another experienced crew sculler who has made the switch to the single is Graeme Thomas of Great Britain. He’s the most experienced member of the British team, having made his senior debut in 2011 and showed good form in the M1X early on with a fourth place at the 2012 Europeans. Most of his career has been spent in crew sculling boats, and he and partner John Collins took fourth at the Tokyo Olympics. After winning the GB Trials he switched back to the single, winning bronze in Belgrade and then an historic gold on the Rotsee in Lucerne. He was in medal contention until the final few metres at the Europeans but eventually came in fifth. He will be among the medal contenders in Racice.
Whilst a lot of the focus this season has been on the likes of Zeidler, Twellaar and Thomas, Kristian Vasilev of Bulgaria has quietly been putting together a pretty good series of races. Fifth at the opening World Cup, he took silver behind Thomas in Lucerne, (Bulgaria’s first medal in this event since 2013) and then bronze at the Europeans. For a sculler who finished 13th in 2019 and missed qualification for the Tokyo Olympics this season looks to be the breakthrough year for the 30-year-old.
Another sculler who is having a breakout year is Bastian Secher of Denmark. He takes over the single’s spot for Denmark from Sverri Nielsen. In 2019 Secher finished fifth in the M2-, but he switched to the single in 2021, winning a bronze medal at the U23 World Championships. In 2022 he made the A-Final at both the second World Cup and the European Championships.
One of the most experienced athletes in the field is Mindaugus Griskonis of Lithuania. He made his senior debut in 2006 and has four Olympic appearances to his credit including a silver medal in the M2X from Rio. He also has two World Championship bronze medals (the last from 2018) and was European Champion three times (2009, 2011 & 2012). He made the A-Final in Tokyo but made a very slow start to his 2022 campaign, managing to only place 20th in Lucerne.
Amongst the non-European challengers there look to be three names to watch out for; Jack Cleary of Australia, Trevor Jones of Canada and Ben Davison of the USA.
Jack Cleary made his senior debut last season and was a member of the Australian M4X that won bronze in Tokyo. This season he raced in the M2X at the Lucerne World Cup taking a bronze medal. Racice will be his first international race in the single.
Trevor Jones raced in the double in 2019 but moved into the singe for the Tokyo Olympics, qualifying via the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta and then placed third in the B-Final at the Games. This season, the 2018 U23 World Champion raced at the second and third World Cups reaching the A-Final on both occasions.
Ben Davison made his senior debut in 2016 at the age of 20. He moved from the sculling to the sweep team in 2019 and was a member of the M8 that came fourth in Tokyo. This season he’s moved back to sculling and picked up a bronze medal at the second World Cup (the USA’s first medal in this event since Ken Jurkowski won bronze in Hamburg in 2011).
Amongst the rest of the field a few names to watch out for include Ireland’s young Brian Colsh (U23 bronze medallist this season), Jordan Parry of New Zealand (13th in Tokyo), Quentin Antognelli of Monaco (who produced a lifetime best in making the A-Final at the second World Cup) and Tristan Vandenbussche of Belgium (BM2x World Champion).
My picks: Lots of unknowns…can Zeidler put his Munich disappointment behind him, how fit is Borch, can Twellaar repeat his European heroics or will Ntsoukos follow up his Olympic title with a World gold…or will we someone new step-up to take the crown? If I’ve got to pick, which I suppose I have to, I don’t think Zeidler will win a medal – I think it’ll be a battle between Twellaar and Ntsoukos with the Greek just getting the better of the Dutchman and a revitalised Borch taking the bronze.
W1X
2019 champion: Sunita Puspure (Ireland)
Entries: 25
One of the standout athletes across any event this season has been Karolien Florijn of The Netherlands. She made her senior debut back in 2016 whilst still a junior. In 2018 she won world bronze as a member of the W4X before moving to the W4- winning silver in 2019 and then Olympic silver in Tokyo. After Tokyo she moved to the single and has taken the event by storm and is so far unbeaten across two World Cups and the European Championships. What’s been most impressive is the manner of her victories – no-one has gotten within seven seconds of her so far. The Netherlands have never won this event at the World Championships; indeed, they haven’t won a medal since 1979 (Hette Borrias winning a bronze if you wanted to know) but given Florijn’s form so far this season she will start as favourite to take the Netherlands’ first ever W1X World Championship gold.
The biggest challenger to Florijn will come in the shape of the Olympic Champion, Emma Twigg of New Zealand. Twigg has been one of the dominant forces in this event since winning the U23 World title in 2007 and has competed at the last four Olympic Games, finally getting her first Olympic medal in Tokyo (which was the first Olympic W1X for New Zealand). There was speculation that she would retire after Tokyo, but she’s back and will be looking for her second World title eight years after her first. She’s not raced internationally so far this season, so it’ll be interesting to see what sort of form she’s in, but someone of her pedigree can never be discounted.
Another strong antipodean contender is Tara Rigney of Australia. A relative newcomer to the scene, she made her senior international debut at the Tokyo Olympics finishing seventh in the W2X. For the 2022 season the University of Sydney sculler switched to the single and raced at the second and third World Cups, winning bronze and silver respectively (Australia’s first medal in this boat class since 2016).
Kara Kohler of the USA won bronze in this event in 2019 and was fourth in 2018. She’s won world gold in the W4- and was Olympic bronze medallist in the W4X in London. She missed out on the Rio Olympics but was back for Tokyo; her 2019 result suggested she was a strong contender for an Olympic medal, but a disappointing semi-final pushed her into the B-Final and she ended up ninth overall. This season she has raced in the W2x at the second World Cup, picking up a bronze medal.
Jeanine Gmelin of Switzerland was World Champion in this boat class in 2017 (becoming the first Swiss woman to win a world title) and silver medallist in 2018. However, difficulties between her and the Swiss Rowing Federation marred her 2019 season, resulting in a relatively disappointing fifth place at the 2019 World Championships. She repeated that fifth place at the Tokyo Olympics. 2022 got off to a strong start for Gmelin, taking silver at the second World Cup and bronze at the third. After a strong performance in her heat at the European Championships she was forced to withdraw due to illness. An in-form Gmelin would be up there contending for the medals.
One of the bright sparks in an otherwise dismal season so far for Germany is the performance of Alexandra Foester. The 20-year-old successfully defended her U23 BW1X title and then went on to win gold at the Lucerne World Cup (which somewhat surprisingly was Germany’s first World Cup gold in the W1X for 18 years). She went on to win bronze at the European Championships. Whilst I’m not sure she’s quite got the speed to get on the podium in Racice, she will definitely be one to watch for Paris and beyond.
Shiyu Lu of China raced in the W2x at the 2019 World Championships (finishing tenth) before switching to the W4- for the Tokyo Olympics, reaching the A-Final. This season she has switched back to sculling, winning silver in the single at the first World Cup and then gold in the W4X at both the second and third World Cups. For Racice she loses out on her seat in the much-fancied W4X and instead will race the single. She should be an A-Final contender, but I don’t pick her to be amongst the medals.
Romania have entered Ionela Cozmiuc in this event and the LW1X, so I assume this is due to concerns over her ability to make weight for the lightweight event (for which she would be a much stronger contender for a medal). She was World Champion in the LW2X in 2017 and 2018 and raced the light double at both the Rio and Tokyo Olympics. This season she has raced at both lightweight and open weight, winning the European title in the LW1X and finishing fifth in the W4X at the Lucerne World Cup. It remains to be seen which event she competes in; if it’s the LW1X she will be one of the favourites, if it’s the W1X she will do very well to make the A-Final.
Great Britain is represented by Hannah Scott. She made her debut at the 2021 European Championships as part of the silver medal winning W4X and then went on to race at the Tokyo Olympics in that boat class but missed out on the A-Final. She made a strong start to the 2022 season, winning a bronze medal at the Belgrade World Cup. Illness forced her to miss both Lucerne and the Europeans, so it’ll be interesting to see how she gets on at the Worlds. An A-Final placing, or B-Final win, would be a strong result.
Ireland are the reigning champions in this event, but with defending champion Sunita Purspure racing in the double, the responsibility for defending the title falls to 20-year-old Alison Bergin. The Fermoy rower is one of the rising stars of a very strong Irish women’s rowing team and she makes her senior debut in Racice. She was a member of the U23 team in 2021 and 2022 and took bronze in the BW1X at this season’s U23 World Championships. Certainly a name to watch for the future.
Amongst the other scullers to watch are the Czech Republic’s Lenka Antosova (tenth in the W2X in Tokyo and eighth in the W1X at the Europeans), Virginia Diaz Rivas of Spain (a former European champion in the W2- who placed fifth in the W1x at this year’s Euros), and Emma Lunatti of France (a member of the W4X at the Tokyo Olympics and seventh in the W4X at the Europeans).
My picks: Florijn to round off a perfect season with gold ahead of Twigg in silver and Kohler in bronze.
LM1X
2019 champion: Martino Goretti (Italy)
Entries: 30
A large, but relatively open field. For the majority of the larger rowing nations, the LM1X is used to give racing to the spare for the LM1X or to “blood” newer younger athletes. There are a few exceptions however with athletes who spend most of their career in this boat class, especially among the smaller rowing nations.
The leading contender for gold will most likely be Antonios Papakonstantinou of Greece. He made his international debut in 2018 racing in the senior M2- at the first World Cup and then the LM2- at the World Championships (picking up a silver medal). He switched to sculling in 2019 and in 2021 won the U23 BLM1x world championships. This season he raced in the M2x at the first World Cup before going on to win the LM1X European Championships in Munich.
Gabriel Soares of Italy will also be a strong contender for the gold medal – he finished runner-up to Papakonstaninou in Munich and was also the silver medallist at the 2021 Europeans. He raced in the LM2X earlier this season, winning the gold at the Lucerne World Cup. He also has European gold from the LM4X in 2020 and World silver in that boat class from 2019.
Bronze medallist at the Europeans this season was Andri Struzina of Switzerland. He was U23 World Champion back in 2017 and raced in the LM2X at both the 2018 and 2019 World Championships. He also raced in the double during this season’s World Cups winning a bronze medal in Poznan.
Rajko Hrvat of Slovenia is one of the few athletes who has spent almost his entire career racing in the LM1X and has been doing so for over a decade. The highlight of his career came in 2015, winning a bronze at the Europeans and a silver at the World Championships. He’s had a strong season so far in 2022 with a silver medal in Belgrade and fifth in Lucerne. At the Europeans in Munich he again reached the A-Final, just missing out on a podium.
Amongst the “new blood” athletes racing in Racice is Ireland’s Hugh Moore. The 22-year-old Queen’s University student is one of the rising stars of the Irish men’s team and Racice marks his senior international debut. He’s spent the last two years on the U23 team and won a silver medal in the BLM2X this season.
Another talented youngster is France’s Bapteste Savaete. The 21-year-old finished one place behind Moore at this year’s U23 World Championships. He raced at senior level in 2021, winning a silver medal in the LM4X at the European Championships and another at the U23’s. This season, he and partner Pierrick Verger, raced as FRA2 at the Poznan World Cup before going on to take another U23 medal.
Australia’s Hamish Harding made his senior international debut this season. The National University of Australia student raced in the LM2X with Redmond Matthews, at the second and third World Cups with a best result of tenth in Lucerne.
Great Britain is represented in this event by Scotland’s Dale Flockhart. He also made his senior international debut this season, racing in the LM2X with Jamie Copus. Unfortunately for them, a seventh place in Lucerne was not deemed good enough to keep the boat together for the Worlds. It’ll be interesting to see how Flockhart gets on in the single and whether or not GB try again next season to find a double capable of being competitive in Paris.
Bulgaria also have an U23 medallist racing. Lazar Penev won bronze in the BLM1X last year and in 2022 he just missed out on a podium finish in Poznan and made the A-Final at the Europeans.
Another former U23 World Champion stepping up to the senior ranks is Germany’s Finn Wolter. He won gold in the BLM4X in 2021. He made his senior debut this season finishing ninth in Poznan. He finished second in his heat in Lucerne, but as spare for the LM2x he was required to step into that boat due to illness to Paul Leerkamp and along with Arno Gaus finished 13th.
One of the great things about this event is it allows athletes from smaller rowing nations to compete and Racice. One of the standout performances from the smaller rowing nations so far this season has been Bruno Cetraro Berriolo from Uruguay. His bronze medal in Lucerne was the first for Uruguay since 1991. He and partner Felipe Ferreira’s performance in Tokyo, where they reached the A-Final, was the best result for Uruguay at the Olympic Games since 1952.
My picks; Should be a good contest between Greece and Italy for the gold. I’m going to go for another Italian win in this event with Greece in silver and Switzerland in bronze.
LW1X
2019 champion: Marie Louise Drager (Germany)
Entries: 25
This has the makings of a very competitive event. 2019 champion, Marie-Louise Drager of Germany, is back to defend her title. The 41-year-old has been racing internationally since 2001 and has fice World Championship titles and raced at three Olympics. This season she has World Cup bronze from Poznan and also made the A-Final in Lucerne and the European Championships.
As mentioned above, Romania have entered Ionela Cozmuic in both the W1X and LW1X events. If she races as a lightweight, she will be one of the favourites for the gold. World Champion in the LW2x in 2017 and 2018 and a two-time Olympian, this season she won the Europeans as well as racing as an open weight during the World Cup series.
The USA has a very strong chance at taking gold in this event. Mary Jones won gold at both the first and second World Cups this season. She made her senior debut in 2014 and won bronze in this boat class at the 2017 World Championships. She switched to the LW2X in 2018, winning a World Championship silver medal with Emily Schmieg.
The Netherlands is represented by Martine Veldhuis. She made her debut in 2018 finishing seventh at the World Championships. She made the A-Final at the 2019 World Championships and then won European gold in 2020. She ended the 2021 season with gold at the Sabaudia World Cup and then in 2022 she took silver in Belgrade and then bronze at the European Championships.
Great Britain’s Maddie Arlett won bronze in this event in 2019 and made the A-Final at the 2021 Europeans. For the 2022 season she raced with Emily Craig in the LW2X, winning gold at both the first and third World Cups. With the return of Imogen Grant to the LW2X she moved back into the LW1X for the European Championships. Illness wrecked her performance in Munich but at her best she will be a contender for a medal.
Susannah Duncan of France was U23 BLW1X World Champion in 2019 (when she represented Great Britain). Since switching to France in 2021 she placed fourth in the LW2X at the Sabaudia World Cup and this season finished ninth in the LW2X at Poznan and made the A-Final in the LW1X in Lucerne.
New Zealand has a strong record in this event and are represented by Jackie Kiddle. She was U23 World Champion in the BLW2X in 2015 and then won silver at the senior World Championships in 2017. She and partner Zoe McBride took gold at the 2019 and were one of the favourites for Tokyo before McBride retired from international rowing prior to the Games. Kiddle raced in the double at the Lucerne World Cup with Rachael Kennedy but could only manage ninth. Now back in the single she will be one of the medal contenders.
South Africa’s Kirsten McCann made her international debut in 2007 and raced in the LW2X at the Beijing Olympics. In 2010 she won the U23 World title and in 2015 she and partner, Ursula Grobler, won bronze at the World Championships and followed that with an A-Final appearance at the Rio Games. In 2017 she switched to the single winning the World Championships. After missing out on the Tokyo Games she went back to the single for this season, racing in Lucerne winning the bronze.
Another sculler to watch is Georgia Nesbitt of Australia. She raced in this boat class at the 2015 and 2016 World Championships and then in 2017 won silver in the LW4X. Like McCann she missed out on Olympic qualification and has moved into the single for this season. She won silver at the Poznan World Cup, but illness forced her withdrawal at Lucerne.
Other scullers to watch are Zoi Fitsiou of Greece (silver medallist at the European Championships), Stefania Buttignon of Italy (U23 World Champion in 2018 and fifth at the Europeans this season) and Lydia Heaphy (bronze in the LW2X at the Poznan World Cup and fourth at the Europeans).
My picks: A really competitive event, I’m picking Mary Jones for gold ahead of Ionela Cozmuic (if she races) and Jackie Kiddle in bronze. If Cozmuic doesn’t race, then it’s Kiddle in silver with Maddie Arlett taking the bronze.
PR1 W1X
2019 champion: Birgit Skarstein (Norway)
Entries: 8
Can anyone beat Birgit Skarstein of Norway? She has dominated this event for nearly a decade and is unbeaten since 2017, winning the World title in 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019 and the Paralympic title in Tokyo. She also has two European titles to her credit and is one of a very select band of athletes who have competed at both the summer and winter Paralympics. This season she took gold at the Poznan World Cup and the European Championships
Skarstein is not the only World Champion racing in this event; one of the few people to have beaten Skarstein is the 2015 World Champion Moran Samuel of Israel. These two have been racing each other for the best part of a decade and Samuel was runner-up to the Norwegian in 2014, 2017, 2018 and at the Tokyo Paralympics. This season has, so far, been relatively underwhelming for the 40-year-old Israeli with “only” a fourth place at the Europeans (her poorest performance at a Championship regatta since 2013).
Another highly experienced athlete is the 45-year-old Brazilian, Claudia Sabino. She’s been competing in this event since 2007 and was World Champion that year. She’s raced at the last four Paralympics, finishing sixth in Beijing, fourth in London, fifth in Rio and sixth in Tokyo. At a World Championship level, as well as gold from 2007, she has silver from 2010 and bronze from 2013.
There is a fourth World Champion competing in this event. Nathalie Benoit of France won the title in 2010 and also has World silver medals from 2009, 2011 and 2019. At the Paralympics she won silver in London and bronze in Tokyo. This season she raced at the Lucerne World Cup, finishing fourth.
Winner of the second World Cup this season was Manuela Diening of Germany. She is a relative newcomer to the event (compared to most of her competitors), having only made her international debut in 2021. She took fifth in her opener at the 2021 Europeans and then this season won bronze in Poznan and then silver at the European Championships.
Bronze at the 2022 Europeans was Ukraine’s Anna Sheremet. She finished fourth in 2019 and then also won bronze at the 2021 Europeans. She raced at the Tokyo Paralympics making the A-Final, but just missed out on a podium.
The final 2 athletes racing are Brenda Sardon of Argentina (ninth in 2019 and eighth at the Tokyo Paralympics) and debutant Mukhayy Abdusattrova of Uzbekistan.
My picks: Can’t see anyone getting the better of Skarstein. Benoit to get the better of Samuel for the silver.
PR1 M1X
2019 champion: Roman Polianskyi (Ukraine)
Entries: 17
This event has seen some epic battles between Erik Horrie of Australia and Roman Polianskyi of Ukraine.
Horrie was world champion in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. But, he has yet to secure a Paralympic gold, and has three silver medals (from London, Rio and Tokyo). In 2019 he finished third and this season has gold from the Belgrade World Cup and silver in Poznan.
Where Horrie has the world golds but Paralympic silver, Polianskyi is the other way around. He won gold in both Rio and Tokyo and was runner-up to Horrie at the 2017 and 2018 Worlds. He secured his first World title in 2019 and his first European title in 2021. At this season’s Europeans he surprisingly missed out on defending his title, beaten into silver by Italy’s Giacomo Perini.
Perini is a newcomer to this event having made his debut this season. But he’s made quite an impact and is so far unbeaten, winning at both the Poznan World Cup and the European Championships.
Another relative newcomer to the event is Great Britain’s Ben Pritchard. He made his debut in 2019 medalling at the second World Cup and placing fourth at the World Championships. He won silver at the 2021 Europeans and made the A-Final at the Paralympics. This season he won silver in Belgrade and then bronze in Munich at the European Championships.
Spain’s Javier Reja Munoz made his international debut in 2021 at the age of 47, finishing fourth at the Paralympics. This season he raced at the European Championships, placing fifth.
Brazil’s Rene Campos Pereira raced at both the Rio and Tokyo Paralympics, winning bronze in Japan. He finished fifth at the 2017, 2018 and 2019 World Championships.
Also watch for Marcus Klemp of Germany (bronze medallist at both the 2020 and 2021 Europeans and eighth in Tokyo) and Shmuel Daniel of Israel (sixth in Tokyo and fourth at the 2021 and 2022 Europeans).
Racice sees no fewer than five scullers making their international debuts; Takuya Mori of Japan, Lifa Hlongwa of South Africa, Fatnassi Maher of Tunisia, Andrew Mangan of the USA and Egamberdie Kholmurod of Uzbekistan.
My picks: Should be a cracking race between Horrie, Polianskya and Perini, with Pritchard also in the mix for the medals. Current form would suggest that Perini will take the gold with Horrie in silver and Pritchard pipping the Ukrainian for bronze (maybe).
PR2 W1X
2019 Champion: Kathryn Ross (Australia)
Entries: 4
Kathryn Ross of Australia is back to defend her title. She’s been racing since 2007 and has mostly been racing in the PR3 mixed 2X, winning gold in 2013, 2014 and 2015. She finished eighth in Rio and seventh in Tokyo. This season she raced in both the single and mixed double at the second World Cup, winning gold in the double and silver in the single.
Ireland’s Katie O’Brien was bronze medallist in 2019 and this season took gold at the Poznan World Cup. Like Ross, she also races in the mixed double and finished fourth at both the Poznan and Lucerne World Cups. She’s doubling-up in the double in Racice.
Ukraine’s Anna Aisanova made her debut this season, finishing third at the Poznan World Cup.
The final competitor is Jennifer Fitz-Roy of the USA. She’s a member of the Community Rowing Inc in Boston and is making her international debut in Racice.
My picks: Ross ahead of O’Brien with Aisanova in bronze.
PR2 M1X
2019 Champion: Marinus de Koning (The Netherlands)
Entries: 7
As with the women’s PR2 single, the 2019 World Champion is back to defend their title. Marinus De Koning also won this event in 2018 and was a member of the PR2 Mixed Double that won silver in Tokyo. This season he has raced in both the mixed double and the single at the Poznan World Cup, taking gold in the single and bronze in the double.
His main challenger is likely to be Italy’s Gian Filippo Mirabile. The 54-year-old finished fifth in the mixed double in Tokyo and this year won bronze in the single in Poznan.
Fourth in Poznan was the 20-year-old German, Paul Umbach. Poznan marked his World Cup debut although he did race at the Gavirate Regatta finishing third behind de Koning and Mirabile.
Another 20-year-old making their international debut is Spain’s Benat Odriozola Aramburu.
At the other end of the age scale is the USA’s Russell Gernaat, the 56-year-old raced in the mixed double in Tokyo finishing tenth.
Latvia is represented by Krists Mickevics, who made his debut this season finishing fifth at the Poznan world Cup
The final competitor is Uzbekistan’s Otabek Kuchkorov, who came 11th in the double in Tokyo.
My picks: Hard to see anyone stopping De Koning from winning his third World title, with Mirabile in silver and Gernaat in bronze.
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