FISA Team Cup breaks winter training

Dominguez ready to race in Seville
© Deporte Andaluz

The international rowing season gives a sneak preview of the upcoming racing year when 23 countries line up in Seville, Spain this weekend for the FISA Team Cup.

World and Olympic medallists are among the mix of competitors including the return of the fastest woman in the world, Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski of Germany and team mate, four time Olympic gold medallist, Kathrin Boron. Rutschow-Stomporowski will also join Spain’s Nuria Dominguez to race the double. A Sevillian local, Domínguez finished sixth at Athens in the single becoming the first Spanish woman to ever row in an Olympic final. 

“It is a great honour and a surprise that Katrin was interested to row in a mixed boat with me. Without a doubt it is going to be an unforgettable experience for me,” said Dominguez who will also race in the single.

For the first time since the Team Cup began in 1995 there will be no Matthew Pinsent who recently retired from rowing. But Great Britain will not be lacking in talent. Steve Williams, who bowed the British men’s four to Olympic gold in Athens will line up in the pair with team mate Alex Partridge. Partridge returns to international rowing after injury kept him out of the Olympics.

Great Britain, who has entered the most number of boats after Spain, will stay on in Seville after the Team Cup for a two week winter training camp.

Also racing will be the Chinese women’s squad as well as athletes from Canada, Hong Kong, Italy and Russia. The men’s single will be hotly contested with 26 boats lining up on Saturday including seven British entries. On Sunday the women’s single will be a sea of German boats as coach Jutta Lau races 11 members of her squad against each other including Rutschow-Stomporowski and Boron. A total of 27 boats will line up in this event.

This is the eleventh year of the Team Cup which was designed to be a break in the long distance rows of winter training. It is also planned for Seville to make the most of the large number of nations that come to the city to train over the winter. 

The races will be over a 1,000 metre distance on Saturday and 500 metres on Sunday with most of the athletes racing in multiple events.

Points will be scored for the top eight places in the 13 events and countries will accumulate team points over the two days to determine the FISA Team Cup winner. On both Saturday and Sunday, racing will start at 8.30am with heats, followed by finals in the afternoon.

For results and information go to www.deporteandaluz.com

The World Rowing team values feedback.