U23 Lightweight Men's Four (BLM4-) - Final

Japan and Italy qualified directly for their A-Final from their respective heats, but it was France who qualified with the fastest qualifying time from their repechage. Every boat in the repechage, in fact, was faster than the boats in the heats.

It was Italy out in front in the first quarter. They reached the 500m mark rating 39 strokes per minute. France was in second and Germany in third.

At the half-way mark, Germany had moved up into second while France had fallen back into fourth and it was Great Britain in a possible bronze-medal position. Italy’s lead was clear-cut and they remained untouchable. Germany held off the British crew to take silver.

Results: ITA, GER, GBR, FRA, JPN, USA

Piero Sfiligoi (3) – ITA – gold
“It’s pretty amazing to be World Champion. It is my first medal at the World Championships. I am very proud of the Italian squad as everyone is doing well. The feeling in the boat was amazing.”

Alexander Kevin Diedrich (3) – GER – silver 
“We had a very good race, the start was not so good, but in the middle we were strong. I am really happy about this medal.”

Jonathan Jackson (3) – GBR – bronze 
“It’s the hardest race of my life. The competition is quite difficult here, especially with the heat. I am so happy as it is my first under-23 medal.”

B-Final

Three boats lined up in the B-Final of the lightweight men’s four and it was Ireland in front of Spain and Denmark for the first half. When the Irish crew began to tire after the 1000m mark, Spain took advantage to take the leading position. Ireland continued to fall behind, with Spain increasing their lead and Denmark crossing the line ahead of Ireland in second position.

Results: ESP, DEN, IRL