Early season Italian shake-up at Memorial d'Aloja

Raced over three days making a chance for competitors to race in two separate finals days allowed teams to experiment with different boats and line-ups in this early season measure of racing speed.

World Champions in the lightweight men’s double, James Thompson and John Smith from South Africa, found themselves in a regatta duel with a new Italian line-up of Andrea Micheletti and Pietro Ruta. In the first final Smith and Thompson sprinted home to a half-second win. But Micheletti and Ruta beat the South Africans at their own game in the second final by edging out Smith and Thompson at the line. (Thompson is World Rowing’s April Athlete of the Month here.)

Lithuania entered their established doubles. Rolandas Mascinskas and Saulius Ritter who won the men’s double sculls on both days and with healthy margins, including pushing World silver medallists, Romano Battisti and Francesco Fossi of Italy into second during Saturday’s finals. Also entered from Lithuania were the 2013 World Champions from the women’s double sculls, Milda Valciukaite and Donata Vistartaite. Like their male counterparts, Valciukaite and Vistartaite won on both days.

Behind Lithuania for Sunday’s final was South Africa’s lightweight double combination of Kirsten McCann and Ursula Grobler followed by Greece’s Aikaterini Nikolaidou and Sofia Asoumanaki. This young Greek duo are names to watch out for. Nikolaidou was second in the lightweight women’s single sculls at both the 2014 World Rowing Championships and Under-23 Championships. The younger Asoumanaki recently set a new World Record on the indoor rowing machine by recording a fast 6:30 for the 13-18 year old female category.

[PHOTO src=”118546″ size=”mediumLandscape” align=”right”]

Men’s single sculls, Angel Fournier Rodriguez of Cuba

In the men’s single sculls, 2014 World medallist, Cuba’s Angel Fournier Rodriguez showed his early season form by winning on both days – day one over Lithuania’s Mindaugas Griskonis and then on day two over Italy’s Battisti.

The Italians easily won the overall points table earning a score of 81 with Lithuania, Greece, Switzerland and South Africa closely matched on the medals table behind Italy.

Organisers commented that this year’s event was especially impressive in terms of the quality of competing crews. Many of these crews will go on to compete at the first World Rowing Cup in Bled, Slovenia from 8 to 10 May and the European Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland from 29-31 May.

For full results, click here: http://www.memorialdaloja.org/results.shtml