Olympic stars enter 2008 European Rowing Championships

The European Championships were re-established in May 2006, after last being held in 1973. The first edition of the newly reinstated European Rowing Championships regatta was held last year in Poznan, Poland. Races are held in the 14 Olympic boat classes.

The Women’s Single Sculls will feature newly crowned Olympic Champion from Bulgaria Rumyana Neykova, who will also race in the Women’s Double Sculls with Kristina Boncheva. Romania’s Georgeta Damian-Andrunache who won her fifth Olympic gold medal in Beijing in the Women’s Pair will race in this event in Greece but with a different crewmate, Ana Maria Apachitei, a two-time Under 23 World Champion.

Julien Bahain and Julien Despres from France won bronze in Beijing, but in different boats. Now they have joined forces to race in the Men’s Double Sculls. Also in this event, three-time World Champion Luka Spik from Slovenia has formed a new crew with younger brother Jan.

Tight racing can be expected in the Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls, with a field including Greece’s 2008 Olympic silver medallists Vasileios Polymeros and Dimitrios Mougios, Top 10 rower Daniele Gilardoni from Italy with Lorenzo Bertini will race 2005 World Champions and 2007 European Champions Zsolt Hirling and Tamas Varga from Hungary.

In the eights, Romania send their 2008 Olympic bronze medallist Women’s Eight (with two changes to the crew) to defend last year’s European title among a field of six boats including Belarus, Great Britain, Italy, Poland and Ukraine. Poland send the Men’s Eight that placed fifth at the Beijing Olympics (with one change to the crew) while France line up a new boat including 2006 World Champions in the Men’s Double Adrien Hardy and Jean-Baptiste Macquet and 2008 Olympic bronze medallists in the Men’s Four Benjamin Rondeau, Germain Chardin and Dorian Mortelette.

Poland boasts the largest number of crews entered (11), along with Italy and Ukraine who both have entered a total of ten crews. Host nation Greece will see seven crews competing.

Live scoring, 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 consulted here.

For more information:
FISA media officer
Débora Feutren
Mobile: +41 79 793 5600
E-mail: debora.feutren@fisa.org