Men’s Single Sculls (M1x) - Final

In yesterday’s semifinals Olympic bronze medallist and local hero, Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic won and also recorded the fastest qualifying time. Olympic silver medallist, Damir Martin of Croatia won the other semi. Today Martin and Synek met for the first time since the Olympic Games final. Martin is the reigning European Champion. But could he beat Synek in front of his home crowd. Synek was the first to show at the start. This is not always Synek’s style and it looked like Synek wanted to give the Czech’s something to watch. Martin, looking strong and relaxed, sat in second. Then Stanislau Shcharbachenia of Belarus began to close on Martin as Synek moved out to an open water lead.

Meanwhile Germany’s under-23 Champion, Tim Ole Naske was moving swiftly down the outside. In the third 500 Martin managed to shake off Shcharbachenia, but it did not look like he could catch Synek. Synek had taken gold in his first race of the 2017 season, Martin held on to silver with Shcharbachenia just holding on to bronze over a late charge from France.

Results: CZE, CRO, BLR, FRA, GER, AZE

Ondrej Synek, Czech Republic, gold
“Really enjoyed that race. Lots of people here to cheer on the whole race. That was a perfect Sunday for me. From the first stroke I just focused on my race and the boat until the end.”

Damir Martin, Croatia, silver
“The race was very good – the wind changed 3 or 4 times during the race, so it was not constant. It was hard to adapt. However, I was satisfied with the race. Today, Ondrej was faster. I hope, no, I KNOW I will catch up next time. “

Stanislau Shcharbachenia, Belarus, bronze 
“The finish was the highlight of my race. In the middle I still did go strong. It was very difficult with these wind conditions.” 

B-final

After winning in the World Rowing Cup earlier this month, Nico Stahlberg of Switzerland found the pace of the European Championships too challenging and he raced in today’s B-final heading out at the start behind Serbia and Denmark. By the middle of the race Marko Marjanovic of Serbia had earned a small lead over Denmark with Stahlberg now gaining on the leader. Marjanovic held off Stahlberg to finish seventh overall at this regatta.

Results: SRB, SUI, DEN, HUN, SWE, NOR