Netherlands Confirmed for Mercedes-Benz World Rowing Sprints

Red white and blue joins orange at the Sprints
© Sybrand Treffers

Bright orange, tulip wavers will join crowds along the shore of the Serpentine Lake in October. The Dutch have been confirmed as the final country in the line up for the Mercedes-Benz World Rowing Sprints. They will compete head on against top rowers from Great Britain, the United States and Germany in what is shaping up to be a must-see on the rowing calendar.

The sprints will be held over a 500-metre distance on the Serpentine Lake in the middle of Hyde Park, London and with the drive of the elite athletes and large crowds expected, racing will be intense.

Designed for maximum audience viewing and excitement, the racing format consists of four countries competing with 13 rowers each – five women, seven men and a coxswain. The concept is for each of the rowers to race in two events. First they will race in their “small boat” (pair or four, single or double sculls) and then to combine into the two “large boats” (eight and quadruple sculls).

The unique feature of this concept is that the eight and the quad will be raced by mixed crews made up of men and women. The eight will be made up of the men’s four, the men’s pair and the women’s pair. The quad will consist of rowers from the women’s double sculls, the women’s single and the men’s single sculls. A team will be crowned the Mercedes-Benz Sprints Champion, based on the results of the races.