Romanian success at European Junior Champs

More than 400 athletes from 27 nations took part in the event racing over 2000m on the Zaslavl rowing course.

Romania topped the medal table winning seven of the 13 finals raced and also secured four silver medals. Gold medals came in the women’s pairs, women’s four,  women’s double sculls, men’s double sculls, women’s quadruple sculls, men’s quadruple sculls and the women’s eights.

Italy was second overall with two gold, four sliver and one bronze medal. The gold came in the men’s coxed four and men’s four with the women’s eight building on their success from the 2012 World Rowing Junior Championships by taking silver in Minsk. Belarus came in third with one gold, two silver and three bronze medals. Belarus boated a full field of 49 athletes in the 13 events. Belarus’ gold medal came from Tatiana Klimovich’s victory in the women’s single sculls. Klimovich’s international racing has been in the quadruple sculls, but her win in the single in a time of 7:36 was impressive.  

The men’s single sculls was won by Azerbaijan’s Boris Yotov. Yotov was the only boat to go under seven minutes in the final with a time of 6:57. Last year he finished sixth in the single at the World Rowing Junior Championships.

The other medals were spread among Austria, Serbia, Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, France and Lithuania.

Organiser Olga Tarasava of the Belarus Rowing Federation noted that as well racing for European Championship medals, there was also internal competition going on as this regatta was used by many nations to help with national team selection for the 2013 World Rowing Junior Championships in August. It also gave crews the experience of participating at an international event.

The trend this month at regattas throughout Europe has been wind and rain. In Minsk the junior rowers endured rain and strong tail winds on the first day, but then for the finals it was warmer and sunny with slight tail wind conditions.

In the closing ceremony chair of the European Management Board, Ryszard Stadniuk took the FISA flag from Alexander Meshinskiy, President of the Belarus Rowing Federation and handed it over to Gwenda Stevens, President of the Belgian Rowing Federation, representing the Organising Committee of the 2014 European Rowing Junior Championships in Hazewinkel, Belgium.

Athletes at the European Rowing Junior Championships must be 18 years of age or younger.

For detailed results click here
More event photos can be viewed here