Focus on Lucerne ? Women's Single

Neykova back in the single after silver at Sydney. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
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It takes a certain temperament to row the single. It means hours of training, often by yourself. It means being the steerer, the motivator and the rower all in one athlete. The women that line up in the single at Lucerne will be a mixture of years of experience through to relative new blood in the sport.

On the comeback is Roumiana Neykova. A local hero in home country, Bulgaria, Neykova became big news after the 2000 Olympics when she took silver in a photo finish ? the official margin a mere hundredth of a second – to long time singles rival Ekaterina Karsten.

The two will meet in Lucerne for the first time since that tense moment.

Neykova, who gave birth last August to a son, Emile, started training again at the beginning of this year with her sights set on the 2004 Olympics. She came back in veritable style by winning the women’s single at the Henley Royal Regatta last weekend. No mean feat when her face off in the final was 2001 World Champion Katrin Rutschow-Stomporoski.

The result was a pleasant surprise to Neykova who was testing her speed for the first time since the 2000 Olympics and the final turned out easier than she expected, wining by open water.

Going into Lucerne Neykova will continue to build her racing base and along with husband/coach, Swilen Neykova, they are maintaining realistic expectations.

Twenty-six women will start in the single on Friday and included in the medal hopefuls will also be silver medallist from 2001, Yulya Levina of Russia as well as current yellow jersey holder, Karsten and Miroslava Knaplkova of the Czech Republic who surprised punters in Hazewinkel by taking the silver.