Spik and Cop Unlikely to Row Double in 2001

Olympic double sculls champions Iztok Cop and Luka Spik look set to go their separate ways in 2001, with Cop rowing the single and Spik the double with a new partner.

Spik and new double partner Davor Mizerit will race in their first Zurich Rowing World Cup regatta at Munich on Friday. The regatta is the final in the series of four.

And former world singles champion Cop will look to repeat his Seville winning performance when he takes to the single again.

Cop said today that he and Spik would most likely stay in separate boats for the World Championships in Lucerne in August.

But the split in 2001 is not the final word for the Spik/Cop combination, in fact it seems to be a tactic to make them stronger in the future.

“I felt like we needed to make a break if we want to continue to row together again in the next seasons,” Cop said.

“I don’t think we could remain undefeated for six years in a row.”

Cop, 29, took time away from the Slovenian national team after Sydney, training separately until April.

He said training in the single went better than he expected and he hopes to fight for the top places in Lucerne.

In the double, Spik will be joined by a talented young sculler. Mizerit was a 1999 junior world champion in the men’s quadruple sculls and was part of the silver medal Slovenian quad at Seville.

The two will be put to the test in a 19-strong field that includes World Cup leaders Akos Haller and Tibor Peto of Hungary and Vienna runners-up Andre Vonaburg and Christian Stofer of Switzerland

Cop will have an equally challenging task as he meets Vienna winner and Olympic bronze medallist Marcel Hacker of Germany, Princeton winner Olaf Tufte of Norway, Vienna runner up Vaclav Chalupa of the Czech Republic and Australian national champion Duncan Free.

All races will be followed live on the Race Tracker, with heats scheduled to begin on Friday at 09:00 CET. A provisional timetable, entries list and more are available in the Events section of the site.