2023 World Rowing Cup I – Women’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 women’s events.

Women’s Single Scull

Twelve Scullers

Not a particularly strong field in this event, with only one sculler from the World Championship A-Final last year: Virginia Diaz Rivas of Spain. She placed sixth in Racice, having switched to sculling after a sixth-place finish in the women’s pair in Tokyo. She will probably start as a favourite in Zagreb, with Serbia’s Jovanna Arsic hot on her heels. Arsic was fifteenth in Tokyo and finished tenth in the world last season. She made a good start to the 2023 season with a victory at the Memorial Paolo D’Aloja in Piediluco last month. 

Fourth in Piediluco was Diana Dymchenko, formerly of Ukraine, now representing Azerbaijan. She won the women’s single at the first World Cup in 2021 and made the A-Final of the European Championships that year.

Switzerland has two scullers racing, with Pascale Walker moving out of the quad that finished fifth at the World Championships last year. Switzerland’s second sculler is the exciting 19-year-old Aurelia-Maxima Janzen. She was the junior World Champion in 2021 and an U23 silver medallist in 2022. She’s unique amongst senior international athletes in racing with macon blades rather than the usual cleavers (which have been the standard blades since the early 1990s). Zagreb marks her senior international debut, and with what is a relatively weak field, she could well be challenging for a medal.

The Czech Republic also has two scullers entered. The first is Anna Santruckova. She’s a former junior world champion and also has a Youth Olympics silver medal from 2018. She switched from sweep to sculling in 2021, making the A-Final at the U23 World Championships, and in 2022 she was a member of the Czech quad that finished fourteenth.

The second Czech crew is the more experienced of the two; Lenka Antasova has been a member of the senior team since 2009, and she has a number of European and World Cup medals to her credit. Her best-ever result was winning the women’s double European title in 2017, whilst she’s also raced the women’s double at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics. As a single sculler, she raced at the World Championships last year, finishing eleventh.

One place behind Antasova at last year’s World Championships was Desilava Angelova of Bulgaria. She’s a former U23 medallist, and her best result at a senior championship was a B-Final win at the 2022 European Championships.

Also racing is Kitti Bertus of Hungary, Nina Kostanjsek of Slovenia, Thailand’s Nuntida Krajangjam and Turkey’s Elis Ozbay.

Predictions

I’m picking Diaz Rivas for the win, with Arsic in silver and Janzen in bronze.

Women’s Double Sculls

Six Entries

Austria is the only crew racing in Zagreb that made the A-Final at the 2022 World Championships. Magdalena and Katherina Lobnig finished just outside the medals in Racice. Magdalena has been a feature of the women’s single for the last decade and has a host of World and European medals as well as an Olympic bronze medal to her credit. Her sister, Katherina, has had a less illustrious career. She quit the international circuit in 2013, returning briefly for one World Cup in 2018. However, her partnership with her sister has given her international career a reboot, and they will come into Zagreb as the probable favourites to take the gold.

Switzerland is doubling-up, splitting their quad into two doubles, with Fabienne Schweizer partnering with Lisa Loetscher and Sofia Meakin joining Salome Ulrich. Loetscher and Ulrich raced in the quad last season, placing fourth at the Europeans and fifth at the World Championships. They also sculled together in the U23 quad that won the World title in 2021. Meakin, the 2019 World Champion, has moved to openweight from the lightweight division. Schweizer raced in the double at the 2022 Worlds, with Nina Wettstein placing sixth in the B-Final.

South Africa has a new combination with Paige Badenhorst partnering with Katherine Williams. Badenhorst is a former Michigan Wolverine and Cambridge Blue. Zagreb marks her senior international debut. Katherine Williams, from the University of Pretoria, also makes her senior debut in Zagreb. She raced on the South African U23 team in 2021 and 2022 winning a bronze medal in the single in 2021 and reaching the A-Final of the double in 2022.

Another new combination is that from Ukraine, with Yevheniia Dovhodko and Diana Serebrianska joining forces. Dovhodko is hugely experienced and was a member of the quad that finished fourth in Rio; she also has a number of European and World Cup medals to her credit. Serebrianska raced in this boat class last season, placing eighth at the Europeans and seventh at the World Championships (partnered by Anastasiia Kozhenkova).

The final crew racing is the Czech Republic. They also have a new line-up with Marketa Nedelova, joined by Alice Prokesova. Nedelova raced in this event at last year’s World Championships, where she finished seventeenth, whilst the 22-year-old Prokesova makes her international debut in Zagreb.

Predictions

Austria will start as favourites, with the two Swiss doubles hot on their heels. I think Ukraine and the new South African double won’t be far off contention for the medals, either.

Women’s Pair

Five entries

Spain is guaranteed at least one medal in this event with three of the five entries. They are doubling up in the women’s four, with Izaskun Echaniz Rodriguez partnering with Olivia Del Castillo and Maria Fernanda Valencia Nunez, joining Iria Jarama Diaz. Echaniz Rodriguez makes her international debut, and 20-year-old del Castillo makes her senior debut, having raced on the junior worlds team in 2021. Valencia Nunez is the most experienced of the four athletes doubling up; she raced in this boat class at the 2022 World Championships, finishing tenth. Her partner, 22-year-old Jarama Diaz, also makes her senior debut in Zagreb after racing on the U23 team last season. Forming the final Spanish pair are Aina Cid and senior debutant Esther Briz Zamorano. Cid is one of Spain’s most successful oarswomen, with European medals from 2020 and 2021 and an A-final placing at the Tokyo Olympics. Briz Zamorano raced in the single at the U23 World Championships last season, winning the B-Final.

One of the most interesting contests will be between the pairs from Croatia and the Czech Republic. Sisters Josipa and Ivana Jurkovic of Croatia and Pvlina Flamikova and Radka Novotnikova of the Czech Republic have been racing against each other for the last couple of seasons, and there’s been very little between them. The Jurkovic sisters, U23 World Champions in 2021, just edged out their Czech rivals for a place in the A-Final at the World Championships. They went on to finish sixth, with the Czech Republic winning the B-Final. The Czechs did score one win over the Croatians in 2022, beating them to fourth place at the final World Cup.

Predictions

This is really difficult to call; the Spanish look to be trying various combinations, so their speed is unknown. It could well be the established pair from Croatia who give the home crowd something to cheer about and take the gold, with probably the Spanish boat of Cid/Zamorano in silver and the Czechs in bronze.

Women’s Four

Three Entries.

As mentioned above, Spain is doubling up their four in the pairs. They face Chile and Hong Kong in the larger boat. 

Chile contains the very experienced Abraham sisters, Melita and Antonia. They were U23 World Champions in 2017 and finished twelfth at the 2019 World Championships. They only raced once in 2022, at the first World Cup, but that saw them win an historic silver medal (the first World Cup medal for any open-weight Chilean crew). They are joined in Zagreb by Magdalena Rojas and Victoria Wells. Rojas is just 19 and makes her senior debut in Zagreb; she raced on the junior team in 2021 and 2022, winning silver in the pair in 2021 whilst finishing four in 2022. Wells raced for Chile at the 2019 Pan American Games, placing 4th in the double. Zagreb marks her World Cup debut.

Hong Kong has not entered a four at a World Cup before, but their crew of Lok Yiu Wong, King Wan Leung, Hoi Lam Cheung and Wing Ki Hui all raced at the 2022 Asian Games, winning a bronze medal.

Predictions 

Spain in gold with Chile in silver, and Hong Kong in third (there are no bronze medals awarded for a three-boat race).

Women’s Quad

Two Entries

As mentioned above, the Swiss are doubling up with their double, but they face stiff competition from an experienced Ukraine crew in the quad. Ukraine boats a crew with three of the fourth-placed quad from 2022: Nataliya Dovgodko, Kateryna Dudchenko and Daryna Verkhogliad. The only change to last year’s boat is Anastasiia Kozhenkova. She raced in the double in 2022, finishing eighth at the European Championships and seventh at the Worlds.

Predictions

This should be quite an interesting race; the Swiss finished one place behind the Ukrainians at the World Championships last year, but with a number of changes to the crew, it remains to be seen what sort of speed they have. My money is on Ukraine.

Lightweight Women’s Single Sculls

Five Entries 

Not a great deal of pedigree among the entrants; only one, Hong Kong’s Wing Wun Leung, raced in this boat class at the 2022 World Championships finishing 22nd. Leung raced at the 2022 Asian Games, winning silver in the lightweight single.

My favourite for gold will probably be the Netherlands’ sole entry at the regatta, Tosca Kettler. She raced in this boat class at the first World Cup of last season, taking fourth. She raced for her university, Delft, at the European University Championships in 2019, winning a gold medal in the lightweight quad and 5th in the lightweight single.

Her main challenger will most likely be the host nation’s Dora Dragicevic. The Croatian raced in this boat class at the 2022 European Championships finishing third in the B-Final. She also raced at the 2022 European University Championships, winning the lightweight single B-final.

The Czech Republic is represented by Kristyna Neuhortova. She was a European U23 silver medallist back in 2018 and, in 2019, won the B-Final at the senior European Championships. She raced in the LW2X at the 2022 World Championships, placing 16th.

Thailand’s Rawiwan Sukkaew is still only 19; she raced at the 2022 U19 World Championships finishing sixteenth, and at the 2022 Asian Games took silver in the lightweight quad.

Predictions 

Kettler in gold, Dragicevic in silver and Neuhortova in bronze.

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls

Nine Entries

Switzerland will start as the overwhelming favourite to take the gold. They have two crews racing, and their number one boat of Frederique Rol and Patricia Merz, will be the ones to watch. They have been rowing together since their days on the junior team in 2011; they were then European bronze medallists in 2018 and took fourth in the world that season. They won the B-Final at the Tokyo Olympics and, in 2022, finished fifth at both the European and World Championships. The second Swiss boat includes Frederique’s younger sister, Eline. She is partnered with Olivia Nacht. Eline Rol was thirteenth in the lightweight single at the 2022 World Championships, whilst Nacht raced as SUI2 in the lightweight women’s single at the third World Cup last season, finishing tenth.

Argentina has Tokyo Olympian Evelyn Maricel Silvestro partnered with Sonia Baluzzo Chiaruzzo. Silvestro placed thirteenth in the lightweight double in Tokyo, and Chiaruzzo raced in the lightweight single at the final World Cup last season, placing fourteenth. This duo raced together at the 2019 Pan American Games, where they finished 4th.

Chile has a young double of 20-year-old Antonia Heise and 21-year-old Isidora Niemeyer. They raced together in the four at the 2021 U23 World Championships, finishing fourth. Heise also raced at the Junior Worlds that year, winning a silver medal in the pair. Neimeyer raced in the quad at the 2019 Pan-Ams, winning gold.

Peru’s crew features the Palacios twins, Valeria and Alessia. They won silver in the lightweight pair at the 2022 U23 World Championships. They also raced in the quad at the 2022 South American Games, securing a bronze medal.

Austria also has a Tokyo Olympian in their boat, Louisa Altenhuber. She was fourteenth in this event in Tokyo. Zagreb is her first international regatta since the Olympics, and she’s partnered with Lara Tiefenthaler. Tiefenthaler had an illustrious career on the U23 team, winning a bronze medal in the lightweight single in 2019 and making the A-Final in 2021. On the senior circuit, she has 10th place from last year’s Europeans and 14th at the Worlds.

Spain will be hopeful of a medal with their crew of Natalia Miguel Gomez and Rocio Lao Sanchez. This duo raced together at the 2019 World Championships finishing eighteenth and followed up with two twelfth places at the 2020 and 2021 European Championships. They raced in separate boat classes last season, Gomez placing fourteenth in the lightweight single and Sanchez fourteenth in the lightweight double with Ana Navarro. Now back together, they will be hoping to get close to the podium.

Sheung Yee Wong and Wing Yan Winne Hung of Hong Kong won silver in the lightweight double at the 2022 Asian Games and followed that with 22nd at the World Championships. Thailand is represented by Matinee Raruen and Parisa Chaempudsa. They are also silver medallists from the Asian Games, this time in the lightweight quad.

Predictions

It will be a big surprise if the top Swiss boat doesn’t come away with an easy victory. Behind them, it’ll be interesting not only to see who takes the minor medals but who comes out on top in the South American battle. Switzerland in gold, Austria in silver and Spain in bronze.

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