2023 World Rowing Cup I – Men’s Preview

Photo Credit: World Rowing / Benedict Tufnell

It’s time for the first World Cup regatta of the year, and with the World Championship’s all-important pre-qualification slots up for grabs in only a few months’ time, every nation will now be beginning their charge to Paris in earnest. 

This year’s World Rowing senior series kicks off on Lake Jarun, near Zagreb, in Croatia. Entries for the first World Cup are always a little thin on the ground, and 2023 is no different: there are no eights, and six of the events will be straight finals. Absent, too, are entries from the European ‘big hitters’, with Britain, Italy, France and Romania staying home; Germany and The Netherlands join with a single entry each. 

Spain and Switzerland have the biggest entries, both with twelve boats racing. Despite the short roll call, however, there are still set to be a number of intriguing contests across several boat classes.

To kick things off, here’s my preview of the men’s events.

Men’s Single Scull

Twenty-Five Entries 

The biggest entry of any event at the regatta. The red-hot favourite to take the gold will be the 2022 World Champion, Ollie Zeidler of Germany. Zeidler won the first World Cup last year, and during the “off” season, he won the World Indoor Rowing 2k title, posting an impressive 5:37.3. The main challengers to Zeidler are likely to be home favourite Damir Martin and Denmark’s Sverri Nielsen. Martin struggled with injury post-Rio but returned with a bang for Tokyo, where he took the bronze medal. Injury ruled him out for most of 2022, so it’s going to be interesting to see what form he’s in for 2023.

Another sculler making a return to competition is Denmark’s, Sverri Nielsen. The Faroese athlete hasn’t raced internationally since finishing 4th at the Tokyo Olympics, but with a silver medal from the 2019 World Championships and a 2020 European Championship, he’ll provide Zeidler with a serious test.

Nielsen will face tough competition of his own, however, notably from compatriot Bastian Sechser. Sechser stepped into the singles spot Nielsen vacated after Tokyo and has produced some solid performances: reaching the A-Final at the 2022 Europeans and winning the B-Final at the World Championships.

Damir Martin also has competition from a countryman, David Sain. These two were crewmates in the 2013 Men’s Quad that won the World Championships (along with the Sinkovic brothers). Sain’s career post-2013 hasn’t quite been on par with his former crewmates, and Zagreb will be his first international regatta since racing at the same event (and venue) in 2021.

Bulgaria has three scullers racing in this event, and the pick of the bunch is Emil Neykov. He was U23 World Champion in 2021 and won bronze in the same event in 2022. He raced in the single at the first World Cup last season, placing 10th. The second Bulgarian racing is Kristian Vasilev, a European bronze medallist in 2022 and C finalist 13th at the 2019 World Championships. He raced at the 2022 World’s but withdrew at the semi-final stage due to illness. The final Bulgarian is former lightweight Lazar Penev. He was twelfth in the Lightweight Single at last year’s World Championships.

The strongest non-European entry is probably Lucas Verthein Ferrera; the Brazilian makes his first international appearance since finishing thirteenth at the Tokyo Olympics. 

There is also strong representation from the Middle East and Asia, with entries from Iraq, India, Hong Kong and Thailand, as well as Zimbabwe’s Stephen Cox.

Prediction

This “should” be a relatively easy win for Zeidler, but at this stage of the season, it’s always difficult to predict. The more curious watch will be Damir Martin and Sverri Nielsen show – the form book suggests that these three will share the podium, but the order could be flipped on its head. 

Men’s Double Sculls

Twelve Entries

Even if the best doubles in the world had entered, then the Croatians would still start as favourites, and as such, this should be an exhibition piece for hometown heroes Valent and Martin Sinkovic. Lake Jarun is their home water, and they are the “faces” of the organising committee for the regatta. They dominated the event for most of 2022, winning all three World Cups and the Europeans. However, they came unstuck at the World Championships, where they missed the podium completely, one of the biggest shocks of the season. This was the first time the brothers had been beaten in a Doubles final since the first World Cup of 2009. To say they are keen to put that right would be an understatement.

The biggest challengers to the Croatians will be Spain, Aleix Garcia Pujolar and Rodrigo Conde Romero. They took a superb silver medal at the 2022 World Championships (Spain’s first Open-weight men’s World Championship medal since 1990), having also medalled at the Europeans and the first two World Cups. It will be interesting to see if they can pick up where they left off in 2022.

Behind the Croatians and Spanish, the battle for the podium will most probably be led by Estonia’s Johann Poolak and Mikhail Kushteyn. They were both members of the quad that finished 5th at the 2022 World Championships. They raced together as a double at the 2019 U23 World Championships and throughout the 2021 senior season. They raced earlier this season at the Memorial Paolo d’Aloja regatta in Piediluco, where they finished 6th (with the Serbians Bedik and Filipovic in 5th).

Argentina has two boats racing in this event. The first is Emiliano Calderon and Santiago Deandrea; they were both members of the U23 quad that finished 10th in 2022. Argentina’s second boat comprises Alex Haack and Agustin Scenna. Haak raced in this boat class at the 2022 World Championships, finishing last of the 20 entries. Scenna makes his senior debut, having raced in the U23 quad that finished 10th at the World Championships.

Other crews in the hunt for a minor medal include Ukraine with Pavlo Yurchenko and Yuiry Ivanov. Yurchenko was in the quad that finished 7th at the World Championships last year, and Ivanov competed in the M8 in 2022.

Predictions

I fully expect the Sinkovics to take the gold, with the Spanish in a close second and then a bit of a gap back to Estonia in bronze.

Men’s Pair 

Ten Entries

Making their first appearance since the Tokyo Olympics are the Danes Joachim Sutton and Fred Vystavel. Their Olympic bronze was one of the surprises of the Games and delivered Denmark’s first medal in this event since 1968. Both men studied in the USA, Sutton for Cal Berkeley and Vystavel (who competed at junior level for Great Britain) at Princeton.

Spain’s silver medal at last year’s World Championships was also something of a surprise. Javier Garcia Ordonez & Jaime Canalejo Pazos placed sixth in Tokyo and, in 2022, took bronze at the Europeans and then silver in Racice. Their medal last year was the first in this boat class at a World Championships since 1985.

Fourth at last year’s World Championships was Serbia’s pairing of Milos Vasic and Martin Mackovic. They also raced in Tokyo, reaching the A-Final and finishing fifth. They also have European bronze to their names from 2021 and were 7th at the 2019 World Championships.

One of the most interesting combinations to watch will be Switzerland, with Roman Roeoesli and Andrin Gulich. Roeoesli was better known as a sculler, and he and Barnabe Delarze finished fifth in the double in Tokyo. He then switched to sweep, and along with winning the Boat Race with Oxford, raced in the four at the World Championships in 2022, finishing fifth. Gulich was also in the four last year and raced again in four in Tokyo; like many others, he studied in the USA and was a member of the Yale Varsity crew that won the IRAs. It’s going to be hugely interesting to see how this new Swiss combination gets on.

One of the most experienced duos in the field is the Hungarians Bela Simon and Adrian Juhasz. They have been racing together as a pair since 2009. Their best-ever result came back in 2016 when they took gold at the European Championships and placed ninth at the Rio Olympics. Their results since then haven’t quite lived up to that standard, and in 2022 they finished ninth at the Europeans and eighteenth at the Worlds.

It will be an emotional regatta for the Austrian team, it being their first international regatta since the tragic death of Christoph Seifriedsberger. It will be especially so for Bruno Bachmair, who partnered with Seifriedsberger in the pair last year. In Zagreb, Bachmair is partnered by Lorenz Lindorfer, who was a member of the four last season.

Also racing are the Loncaric twins, Anton and Patrik, from the Czech Republic, who finished fourteenth last year. Slovenia’s Nik Krebs and Jaka Cas, who finished one place behind the Czechs in 2022, will them on the start line, as will Hong Kong’s entry of Wai Chun Wong and San Tung Lam. The final name to keep an eye on could be the young Turkish pair of Aytimur Selcuk and Enes Biber – both still juniors and who finished fourth in the pair in 2022.

Predictions

As mentioned above, I think this could be a fascinating contest, and whilst so much depends on who has the early season speed, the form book would suggest it’ll be Spain and Denmark slugging it out for gold and silver, with the Swiss not far behind in bronze.

Men’s Four

Seven Entries

The Swiss, who finished fifth at the 2022 World Championships, return with only one member of that 2022 crew, namely Joel Schuerch. For the World Cup, he’s joined by three members of the 2022 quad that finished eleventh: Dominic Condrau, Kai Schaetzle and Patrick Brunner. 

Ukraine, on the other hand, who placed sixth in 2022, are unchanged from their 2022 line-up with Mykola Mazur, Sergii Gryn, Oleksii Selivanov and Maksym Boklazhenko. 

South Africa has made two changes to the crew that finished eleventh last season, with Henry Torr and James Mitchell moving from the pair to join Jake Green and Christopher Baxter. Green is the most experienced member of the boat, having raced at both the Tokyo and Rio Olympics, where he finished fourth in the four. 

Austria has a new line-up for 2023 which includes Xaver Haider and Michal Karlovsky, who raced on the U23 team last season. They’re joined by Harald Steininger and Jakob Stadler, who rowed in this boat during the 2022 season.

India has two crews racing in Zagreb, much like they did at the first World Cup last season. The top boat of Ashish Ashish, Bheem Singh, Jaswinder Singh and Punit Kumar finished a strong ninth at the World Cup, where they comfortably beat crews from more established rowing nations such as Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands. India’s second boat is much less experienced, with all four of the crew making their senior debuts. 

Hong Kong makes up the final entry, with two international debutants in Man Hon Yeung and Siu Po To, along with Ho Yin Wong and Yee Ping Chau, who together raced in the lightweight pair at the third World Cup of 2019.

Predictions: 

This one is incredibly difficult to call: Ukraine are the only established crew, but South Africa and Switzerland look to have decent combinations. I’m going for South Africa to take the gold – which would be their first in this boat class – with Switzerland pipping Ukraine for the silver.

Men’s Quad

Four Entries

Ukraine will start as strong favourites for gold in this event. They come to Zagreb with three of the crew that won the B-Final at the 2022 World Championships: Olexandr Nadtoka, Ivan Dovgodko and Mykola Kalashnyk. The new member of the crew is Dmytro Hula, who competed in the eighth last season.

Switzerland has one returner from the eleventh-placed 2022 crew in Nils Schneider. He’s joined by Scott Baerlocher, who raced in the single at the 2022 World Championships, and last year’s C-final winners in the pair, Jan Jonah Plock and Maurin Lange.

The Czech Republic have two of last year’s boat that finished fifteenth, with both Dalibor Nedela and Filip Zima making a return. They are joined by Jan Potucek, who raced in the single last season, and Marek Diblik, who was in the eight last season and the fourth-placed U23 quad.

The final entry is from the host nation. The Croatians have a brand-new combination, with the 2022 U23 double of Davor Poljancic and Roko Boskovic being joined by Fran Suk, who raced in the double during the 2021 World Cup series, and Karlo Borkovic from the 2021 pair.

Predictions

It’ll be a surprise if Ukraine doesn’t take a comfortable gold, but behind them, it should be a real bunfight from the remaining three crews to take the final two medals. I’m picking Switzerland in silver and the Czech Republic in bronze.

Lightweight Single Scull

Fourteen Entries 

This has the makings of a showdown between the two old-timers of the lightweight single, Peter Galambos of Hungary and Rajko Hrvat of Slovenia. These two have been racing each other off and on in this class for over a decade. Galambos has the better record; he was world silver medallist in 2019 and European Champion in 2021. Hrvat, not to be outdone, ended 2022 on a high with bronze at the World Championships. 

Behind these two, the fight for the minor medals looks like it will be between Andri Struzina of Switzerland and Sid Ali Boudina of Algeria. Struzina made the A-Final at the World Championships last year and took bronze at the Europeans. Boudina, Algeria’s most successful rower, won the B-Final last year, marking the best-ever result for Algeria at a World Championships). In 2016 he qualified for the Rio Olympics in the open weight single, eventually placing 5th in the D-Final.

Austria has three scullers racing: Lukas Reim, Paul Ruttmann and Sebastian Kabas. Kabas raced in the lightweight quad at the 2020 and 2021 European Championships, winning bronze in 2020 and finishing fourth in 2021. Reim competed in the lightweight double last season, finishing fourteenth, whilst Ruttmann makes his first international appearance since racing in the lightweight four in 2010.

There are also a number of young scullers stepping up to the senior ranks. Slovakia’s Peter Strecansky is the youngest competitor in the field at just 17. He raced at the U19 World Championships in 2022, winning bronze in men’s single. Turkey has three young scullers racing, all of whom are doubling up in the lightweight double. Halil Kaan Koroglu and Ahmet Ali Kabadayi won silver at the U19 World Championships in the double last season, whilst Enes Gok finished fourth in the U23 lightweight double. Also racing are Argentina’s Santino Menin, who makes his international debut at the age of 19, Hin Chun Chiu of Hong Kong, and Thailand’s Sornram Sinlapasorn, who competed in the lightweight quad on the World Cup circuit last season.

Predictions

Galambos for the gold with Struzina in silver and Hrvat in bronze.

Lightweight Men’s Double

Fourteen Entries

The top-form crew coming out of 2022 are Switzerland’s pairing of Jan Schaeuble and Raphael Ahumada Ireland. They were just off the podium at the World Championships and took bronze last year at the Europeans. 

The main challengers to the Swiss will most likely be the Czech Republic with Miroslav Vrastil and Jiri Simanek. They finished one place behind the Swiss in Racice and two places behind them at the Europeans. They also raced in Tokyo, where they just missed out on a bronze medal to the Italians.

Spain has had a good couple of seasons in this boat class. Caetano Horta Pombo and Manel Balasteugui won the B-Final in Tokyo and, in 2022, finished eighth at both the European and World Championships. The Spanish have a second double racing with Dennis Carracedo and Antonia Diaz Ramos. They were both in the lightweight quad that finished fourth last year, and in 2021 raced in the U23 lightweight quad that also finished fourth.

As mentioned above, Turkey is doubling up three of their athletes from the single. Ahmet Ali Kabadayi & Halil Kaan Koroglu are the U19 World silver medallists from 2022, whilst and Enes Gok is joined by Sefik Cakmak, the only athlete not doubling up. They finished fourth at the U23 World Championships and then 22nd at the Senior World Championships.

India’s Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh finished eleventh in Tokyo, the best-ever performance by an Indian crew at an Olympic Games. They raced at the first and second World Cups last season, finishing a respectable eleventh and tenth, respectively.

Another crew who raced in Tokyo is Chile’s Cesar Abarosa and Eber Sanhueza. They took fourteenth at the Olympics, and in 2019 won bronze at the Pan American Games.

Austria has a new combination for 2023 with Julian Schoeberl – who finished fourteenth in this boat class in 2022 – being joined by Konrad Hultsch, who placed fifth in the U23 lightweight single last year, and sixteenth at the Senior Worlds.

Also racing is Estonia, with Ander Koppel and Elar Loot, Croatian teenagers Nino Varat and Vito Prizmic and doubles from Hong Kong, Iraq and Thailand.

Predictions 

This should be a good three-way battle for the medals between the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Spain. I’m going to go for Switzerland in gold ahead of the Czechs, with the Spanish in bronze.

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