Germany relishes under 23 rowing

Of the 21 events contested, Germany won medals in 13 of them and raced in the Final of all but two events.

Coming away with the coveted championship title were five German boats dominated by lightweight rowers – the lightweight women’s single and quad, the lightweight men’s double and four and the men’s single. This saw the German flag being raised five times and the nation’s national anthem playing along with it. The remaining gold medals were spread between 11 nations. New Zealand was the next best after Germany on the gold medal front winning three championship titles including both the men’s straight four and the coxed four.

The biggest event of the regatta, the lightweight men’s single (31 countries entered) was won for the first time by Iran. Mohsen Shadi Naghadeh of Iran won in dominating style and for this goes down in history as the first Iranian gold medal at a World Rowing event. Iran also entered a women’s crew with three of the members doubling up in two events, sometimes racing twice a day.

Overall the number of entries was the most ever seen at a World Rowing under-23 regatta with a record 302 boats entered, an increase of over seven per cent from 2008. This was helped by the inclusion of a new under-23 event, the lightweight women’s quad, to the programme.

Angola raced for the first time at a World Rowing event with the entry of Matias De Albuquerque in the lightweight men’s single. De Albuquerque, 20, has been rowing since he was 17 and he helped build for this regatta by training with the Portuguese team. De Albuquerque hopes to compete at the African Games in 2011.

Just over 38 per cent of these athletes had never rowed before at a World Rowing event and eight of the coaches were brand new to the international scene. FISA youth commission member Guin Batten compared the championship to a senior championship and commented, “It feels like a more encouraging atmosphere, a more nurturing mentality.”

This feel also came out in the reaction of the attending nations following a freak storm that caused boat damage. Many countries helped to arrange replacement boats for those that could not be repaired and Germany received a Fair Play award for their work in securing replacement boats.