Junior rowers attracted by YOG qualification

This year 783 athletes from 66 nations shall compete. According to FISA's events commission chair Mike Tanner the large numbers must be due to the added element of Youth Olympic qualification.

"It seems to be the only obvious reason for the increase," says Tanner. "We have promoted the Youth Olympic Games well and this is the only chance for nations to qualify rowers for next year's Games. There is a lot of interest amongst nations in finding out what the Youth Olympics can do for our sport."

The Youth Olympics will include four rowing events. One of these, the men's single, has attracted the largest field. The event has been won for the past two years by Bulgaria, but in Brive the Bulgarians have a newcomer, Veselin Rusinov competing. Rusinov will take on 37 other nations in his quest for a junior medal.

As the majority of these athletes are competing for the first time on the international stage, the field is wide open to exciting new results. In recent years Germany has been prominent on the medals podium and there is every indication that its strength will continue this year. Germany has entries in all 13 events.

Germany is the reigning champion in the men's double. But with entries from 34 nations in this event, the Germans will face strong competition from around the world. Last year's silver medallists, Lithuania have retained Algirdas Bendaravicius in the boat. Bendaravicius, 17, raced last week at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships and he is considered a top prospect for his nation. Bendaravicius will team up with first time junior Ernestas Zarskis.

This year's event shall be held on the French Lake of "Causse Corrézien" near Brive-la-Gaillarde in the south west of France from 5 to 8 August. The venue is being used for the first time for a World Rowing event. The regatta will be staged around the water sports centre which has recently been renovated to meet international standards. The area is accustomed to rowing regattas, having hosted many regional and national events over the years.

To compete in the World Rowing Junior Championships, rowers must be 18 years or under. An athlete can compete as a junior until 31st December of the year in which s/he reaches the age of 18. After that date s/he shall be classified an Under 23 rower.

The World Rowing Junior Championships is partly subsidised by the World Rowing Masters Regatta which donates 1 Euro of every Masters Regatta entry fee for supporting youth rowing.

Live scoring, audio streaming, race reports, results and a photo gallery will be available throughout the regatta on www.worldrowing.com .

A full list of entries and an updated provisional timetable can be found here .

E-mail: debora.feutren@fisa.org