Levina Wins Two Titles at Russian Champs

Olympic quadruple sculls bronze medallist Youlia Levina took both the women’s single and double sculls titles at the Russian National Championships at the Krylatskaya Rowing Course in Moscow at the weekend.

And she is set to team up with one-time rival Youlia Alexandrova to row the double at the FISA World Rowing Championships in Lucerne in August.

There was little contest in the single as Levina beat her nearest rival, Parisa Merk, by 5.12 seconds.

But in the double Levina and Alexandrova were even more convincing – they took the race with 27.29 seconds to spare.

Last month, Levina had pipped Olympic single sculls finalist Alexandrova for silver in the single at the second Zurich Rowing World Cup regatta in Seville.

She said at the time that the Russian champs would decide who would row the single in Lucerne but, despite winning the event, she will row the double with Alexandrova.

The two have been crewmates before. They were part of the 2000 Russian women’s quad until Alexandrova was replaced with the stronger Irina Fedotova with just a few weeks before the Olympics.

Several more of Russia’s top rowers were in action at the regatta. Among them were Sydney women’s coxless pair B final winners Albina Ligatcheva and Vera Potchitaeva who won the women’s coxless pair.

Two of the rowers from the Olympic men’s eight, Anton Tchermachentsev and Vladimir Volodenkov, took the men’s coxless pair final.

Five more of their Sydney crew members took the eight – Serguei Matveev, Pavel Melnikov, Andrei Gloukhov, Alexandre Litvintchev and Alexandre Loukianov.

Conditions were clear and calm for the finals that were held on the course built for the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Russia’s next outing at a FISA international regatta will be at the World Championships.