World Rowing announces 2015 Award winners

For immediate release
Sarasota-Bradenton, 20  November 2015

World Champions dominate the 2015 World Rowing Awards as the World Rowing Federation, FISA, honours the outstanding performances of the year. Great Britain, France and Israel have taken out the athlete awards while the top coach goes to Croatia.

The women’s pair of Helen Glover and Heather Stanning of Great Britain have won the Female Crew of the Year in recognition of their continuing success. An unbeaten season and a heartfelt World Championship win for Jeremie Azou and Stany Delayre of France in the lightweight men’s double sculls earned them Male Crew of the Year. Persistence paid off for first-time World Champion para AS women’s single sculler Moran Samuel of Israel in winning the Para Crew of the Year. Nikola Bralic, Croatia’s coach of the Sinkovic brothers in the men’s double sculls is named Coach of the Year. And the Distinguished Service to Rowing Award goes to boat-builder extraordinaire Klaus Filter of Germany.

•  2015 World Rowing Female Crew of the Year:
  Helen Glover and Heather Stanning, women’s pair (GBR)
  Since taking gold at the London Olympics in 2012, Glover and Stanning are  unbeaten together. Despite determined challenges, no one has been able to surpass the standard that the duo has set in the pair. Leading from start to finish has become their style. They are the Olympic, World and European Champions and also hold the World Best Time in the pair.
• 2015 World Rowing Male Crew of the Year:
  Jeremie Azou and Stany Delayre, lightweight men’s double sculls (FRA) 
  Azou and Delayre proved they were a powerful combination ever since they came together in 2012. A collision with another rowing boat during a training camp left Delayre nearly paralyzed. His comeback was remarkable and the duo can now count 36 wins in 37 races. This year they were unbeaten and they capped off the season by becoming World Champions in an emotional finish in front of their home crowd in Aiguebelette, France.
• 2015 Para Crew of the Year:
  Moran Samuel, para AS women’s single sculls (ISR)
  After suffering a rare spinal stroke Samuel, a promising basketball player, joined the wheelchair basketball team. She then took up rowing and raced in the 2012 Paralympic Games. Persistence and steady improvement enabled Samuel to take silver in 2014 and then gold at the 2015 World Rowing Championships.
• 2015 Coach of the Year:
  Nikola Bralic, men’s double sculls (CRO)
  The Croatian men’s quadruple sculls followed by the Croatian men’s double sculls have become synonymous with winning and leading them has been Bralic. The quad earned Croatia’s first ever senior World Championship title in 2010 and then when the double of Martin and Valent Sinkovic formed in 2014, Bralic guided them on an unbeaten winning streak including World Championship titles in 2014 and 2015.
• 2015 Distinguished Service to Rowing:
  Klaus Filter (GER)
  Filter is known for revolutionising boat building. He began as a rower in East Germany and moved to boat building as a way to help support his family. Filter’s innovative ideas included bringing composite materials into boat building. He was a FISA commission member for a number of years and is known for always helping a rower with a boat problem. 

The award winners will be presented with their awards on 21 November 2015 in Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida, USA, at the 2015 World Rowing Coaches Conference gala dinner.

For the full article on the finalists, click here.
For more information on the World Rowing Awards, click here.