Fast brothers: men’s double sculls

World Rowing continues its series, reviewing the top boats of the year for each event.

In the years leading up to London 2012, New Zealand was the top crew in the men’s double sculls. Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan won the World Rowing Championships in 2010 and in 2011 followed by Olympic gold in 2012. Post London, when they left the doubles scene, the field opened up for opportunists ready to take up the challenge.

In 2013, a Norwegian duo did just that and stormed to World gold in Chungju, Korea. Nils Jakob Hoff and Kjetil Borch had led the way for the entire World Championship final, winning ahead of other accomplished crews.

Coming into 2014, expectations were high for the Norwegian double. But the scenery changed markedly with the arrival of Croatian brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic. Well-known to the world of rowing, the Sinkovics brought with them an impressive track record from the men’s quadruple sculls: World Champions in 2010 and 2013, world bronze medallists in 2011 and Olympic silver medallists in 2012, Martin and Valent already had vast experience and were hungry for more.

Making a first appearance as a duo at the second World Rowing Cup of 2014 in Aiguebelette, France, it was still unclear at that point how dangerous the Croatians would become for the rest of the doubles field in 2014. Starting out in front in the final, they fell behind Azerbaijan before overtaking them again in the last 500m. “It was a good race for us,” said Valent Sinkovic after winning gold. “We had planned to go out hard, take first and stay there. Before the World Cup we didn’t know where we stood but we’re very, very happy.”

Other crews had made their mark earlier in the year. Lithuanians Rolandas Mascinskas and Saulius Ritter won gold at the first World Rowing Cup of 2014 in Sydney, Australia, and then again at the European Rowing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. This reconfirmed their status as one of the top contenders, as the duo already had World and European Championship silver under their belts from 2013. Their form had apparently not declined.

A promising Azerbaijani combination also came to the fore in 2014. Aleksandar Aleksandrov and Boris Yotov had already raced together internationally twice in recent years. The double had hoped to race at the London Olympic Games but then missed out at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. Aleksandrov and Yotov then paired up in 2013 at the World Rowing Cup in Eton, finishing fourth. This year they came to medal.

At the European Rowing Championships, the Azerbaijanis led the field for half the race before being overtaken by the Lithuanians in the final quarter. A few weeks later at the World Rowing Cup in Aiguebelette, Aleksandrov and Yotov finished second behind the Croatians. They seemed to be a strong crew. Despite their potential however, the Aiguebelette final would be their last race as a crew in 2014. Aleksandrov, aged 24 and already well-known in the senior single sculling field, would finish sixth in the men’s single sculls final at the World Rowing Championships. Yotov, also an accomplished single sculler and just 18 years old, would win silver in the single at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. With youth in their favour, it is likely they will show up again together in the future and possibly even get faster with time.

Another very consistent crew in terms of results this year was Australia. The new Australian combination put in a steady performance early in 2014. Both James McRae and Alexander Belonogoff had already been successful in the men’s quad in the past – McRae at senior level and Belonogoff at under-23 level. McRae, 27, became a World Champion in the quad in 2011 and then won Olympic bronze in the quad the following year. Belonogoff won two world under-23 bronze medals in the quad, in 2011 and in 2012.

At the first World Rowing Cup in Sydney, Australia’s double combination had not yet been decided. Belonogoff doubled up in the men’s quadruple sculls, raced in two A-finals and medalled twice. McRae raced in a second Australian quad boat and also medalled. For Aiguebelette the duo were seated in the same double. From then on they made the podium at each regatta they entered – Aiguebelette, Lucerne and Amsterdam. Their two silvers and one bronze during the World Rowing Cup season allowed them to become the overall World Rowing Cup winners in the men’s double sculls.

With the Amsterdam World Champs in sight, the crews to beat seemed to be Croatia, Lithuania and Australia. 2013 World Champions, Norway had been out of medal contention. Azerbaijan did not enter. But one crew, almost forgotten, would show that it was ready to be competitive at the most important regatta of the season: Italy.

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This year was a tough one for Italians Romano Battisti and Francesco Fossi. Although it started out well with a bronze in Sydney, injury and illness slowed them down for the months afterwards. During the European Rowing Championships, Fossi had flu-like symptoms, so the boat was withdrawn. In Lucerne Battisti had a bad headache and so was substituted. But come Amsterdam, the duo were back in shape and with as much experience under their belt (they are the 2013 World Champion bronze medallists and Battisti is the 2012 Olympic silver medallist), they could only be back in medalling form.

While the Croatians had been dominant throughout the season, they were even more so in Amsterdam. In the semifinal the Sinkovic brothers were the first double ever to go under six minutes, setting a new World Best Time at 05:59.72. In the final, they led the race from start to finish, finishing clear of the rest of the field. After the race, Valent said, “I enjoyed the race, the others were in a line and we were watching them. It’s a great way to watch the World Championships.”

Following in silver was Italy and in bronze, Australia. The Lithuanians missed the podium by one tenth of a second.

No doubt a number of these crews will be back in 2015. Whether the Sinkovic brothers will want to continue an exclusive partnership or reintegrate Croatia’s previously successful men’s quadruple sculls will considerably influence what the men’s double sculls field will look like next year.

2014 World Rowing Championships, Amsterdam (NED) men’s double final:

2014 World Rowing Cup III, Lucerne (SUI), men’s double final:

2014 World Rowing Cup II, Aiguebelette (FRA), men’s double final: