Fraga features in D’Inverno sul Po

Fraga finished fifth in the lightweight men’s double sculls at the London Olympic Games and since then he has not been sitting idle. The D’Inverno sul Po is one of many races (mostly indoor rowing) that Fraga has competed in this ‘off-season’.

Fraga raced in the senior men’s single sculls over the 6km, curving course (with bridges to navigate) on the river Po. He finished first overall in a time of 20:09 holding off a fleet of Italian rowers. Federico Gherzi, 18, was 41 seconds back in second and Davide Magni was third. Magni, 18, competed on the Italian junior national team when he was just 14 years old and Gherzi is a name to watch out for in rowing.

A well-known Italian junior, Giorgia Lo Bue won the women’s double sculls with partner Greta Masserano. Lo Bue, 18, competed at the 2012 World Rowing Junior Championships and, along with her younger sister Serena, they were the only athletes to medal in two events. The Lo Bue sisters won the women’s pair and then took bronze as part of the women’s eight.

D’Inverno sul Po has a number of boat classes including the single, double, and quadruple sculls and the pair and eight, with racing spread over two days. Crews start in procession form at 20 second intervals. In terms of entries the novice men’s single sculls and the novice men’s double sculls had the highest number. The junior men’s eight received considerable interest with the Italian junior men’s eight racing.

The weather at this time of year is often problematic with D’Inverno sul Po translated as ‘winter on the Po’, but this year competitors got to enjoy sunny, warm racing conditions.

 In its 30th year, the D’Inverno sul Po attracted 700 athletes on the first day of racing and 1,200 participants on day two.

Full results: http://canottaggioservice.canottaggio.net/dati/rix13CFD2.html