Who to watch at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Women’s pair (W2-)
Great Britain’s Helen Glover and Heather Stanning have remained unbeatable ever since becoming Olympic Champions in front of their home crowd at the London Olympics. Their gold was also the first Olympic gold in women’s rowing for Great Britain. In this Olympic cycle, Glover has won at every World Rowing Championship – twice with Stanning. This year at World Rowing Cup III, Glover and Stanning set another World Best Time together, having previously also set one at the 2014 World Rowing Championships. They will be a hard crew to beat.

Watch out though for New Zealand. They have medalled at World Championship level each year during this Olympic cycle and in 2016 have claimed two World Cup silver medals with the crew of Rebecca Scown and Genevieve Behrent. Scown and Behrent will also race in the women’s eight. 

The United States are always strong contenders. They won world silver in 2014 and world bronze in 2015. This season, Grace Luczak and Felice Mueller took gold ahead of New Zealand at World Rowing Cup II.

Do not discount the Romanians. Elena-Lavinia Tarlea and Laura Oprea have won two bronze medals so far this season – at World Rowing Cup III and at the European Rowing Championships.

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Men’s pair (M2-)
This boat class presents perhaps one of the greatest rowing partnerships of all time. New Zealand’s Hamish Bond and Eric Murray have not lost a race since they teamed up in 2009. This gives them six World Championship titles in the pair and the 2012 Olympic gold. They also hold the World Best Time and for Rio, Bond and Murray are considered the closest thing to a dead certainty for gold.

Over the recent years Bond and Murray have regularly won by large margins, but that has not stopped other crews pressing hard. Pressing this season has been the Dutch combination of Mitchel Steenman and Roel Braas. So far this season Steenman and Braas have medalled at each regatta that they entered: silver at World Rowing Cup II behind the Kiwis as well as silver behind the British at World Rowing Cup I. At the European Rowing Championships they took bronze.

After winning two world silvers in the past two years, the British have also been systematically reaching the podium this year, although with two different crews. At World Rowing Cup III, Alan Sinclair and Stewart Innes won bronze  which booked this duo their tickets for Rio as part of the British team.

Look out too for more from the Southern Hemisphere. Australia’s Spencer Turin and Alexander Lloyd improved from a fifth-place finish at World Rowing Cup II to a silver medal at the final stage of the World Rowing Cup in Poznan. And South Africa’s Lawrence Brittain and Shaun Keeling medalled at World Rowing Cup I and finished a close fourth at World Rowing Cup II.

Lightweight men’s double sculls (LM2x)
In this Olympic cycle, no one nation has fully claimed ownership of the lightweight men’s double sculls. A different crew has claimed the World Championship title each year.

Norway has been scoring the most consistent results with Kristoffer Brun and Are Strandli not missing a single World Championship podium. In 2013 the Norwegians became World Champions and then took world bronze medals in the two following years. This season, the Norwegians have claimed two silver World Cup medals as well as European Championship bronze. If they medal in Rio, it will be the first for their country in this boat class at the Olympic level.

France has been on the rise in the past few years. Stroke seat, Jeremie Azou has not lost a race since the beginning of the 2015 season, claiming the World Championship title in the process. In 2016 he was joined by a new partner, Pierre Houin, and together they have continued to dominate the field, claiming two World Rowing Cup gold medals.  

South Africa is the nation that currently holds the World Best Time, having secured it at the 2014 World Rowing Championships in the final along with the World Champion title. John Smith and James Thompson of South Africa medalled twice during this year’s World Rowing Cup season and will be looking to repeat the historic result they scored for South Africa at London 2012 in another boat class, the lightweight men’s four, when they won gold.

Look out too for the British duo of William Fletcher and Richard Chambers, last year’s world silver medallists, as well as the Irish boat featuring brothers Gary and Paul O’Donovan, who took the European Championship title this year.

Lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x)
New Zealand has had a successful Olympic cycle, with two World Championship titles from 2014 and 2015. This season, however, they have not yet scored gold with Julia Edward and Sophie MacKenzie taking two World Cup bronze medals instead.

This indicates the extent of the competition in the lightweight double and there are a number of names that have a shot at the medals. South Africa’s Ursula Grobler and Kirsten McCann have scored two World Cup medals this season while 2012 Olympians, Lindsay Jennerich and Patricia Obee of Canada took gold at World Rowing Cup II.  Keep an eye out too for Denmark. Juliane Rasmussen and Anne Lolk Thomsen finished ahead of New Zealand at World Rowing Cup III, winning silver.

Then there are the up-and-comers, Maaike Head and Ilse Paulis from the Netherlands. They qualified at the last chance qualification regatta in May and this season have been medalling against the best crews in this boat class. At World Rowing Cup III, the Netherlands won gold ahead of the Kiwis. Not only that, they also set a new World Best Time of 6:47.69. At the European Rowing Championships, the Dutch duo claimed the title ahead of an experienced field that included the reigning Olympic Champion from Great Britain, Katherine Copeland.

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Men’s four (M4-)
The most consistent World Championship medallists in this Olympic cycle have been Australia. They took silver at London 2012 and did not miss a single World Championship podium leading up to Rio, with two world silvers and one world bronze. During this year’s World Rowing Cup season, they took a bronze as well as a silver.

But for 2016 it has been Great Britain winning gold with coach Juergen Grobler placing his top four sweep rowers into the boat. The British also own the current World Best Time that was set at the 2014 World Rowing Championships and this flagship crew will be looking to defend their 2012, 2008, 2004 and 2000 Olympic Champion title.

Watch out too for the Italians and the Dutch. They are the reigning World Champions and this season they have continued to do well with two World Cup silver medals. The Netherlands are the 2013 World Champions and they are still going strong having made the podium twice this season.

Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x)
Leading up to Rio, Germany remains the top crew to look out for. In this Olympic cycle, Germany has secured two World Rowing Championships (2013 and 2014) and one world silver (2015). They are the London Olympic silver medallists and hold a long legacy of winning in this boat class.

So far this season, Germany and Poland have been at the top of the podium. Germany claimed the European Championship title followed by a World Cup silver (Lucerne) and a World Cup gold (Poznan). Poland took European silver followed by World Cup gold in Varese and another World Cup gold in Lucerne. The Polish results put them in a strong position to be the crew to really challenge the Germans.

Look out too for the Netherlands who medalled at each of the three stages of the World Rowing Cup this season.

Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x)
Leading up to Rio, Germany are again in the spotlight. They are the reigning Olympic and World Champions. Not once have they missed a World Championship podium in this Olympic cycle, making them the most predictable boat in the field. All four athletes who won Olympic gold in London are back together this season.  The Germans, however, have slipped back slightly this season and only made the podium once so far. 

Australia, meanwhile, is looking very promising.  They have won gold this season both at World Rowing Cup II and III and are also the bronze medallists from the London Olympics. Look out too for Estonia, this year’s European Champions, and fourth-place finishers from London 2012. On board for Estonia is the very experienced Tonu Endrekson who is off to his fourth Olympics. And don’t discount Great Britain, Poland and Switzerland. They have all medalled at World Cup level in 2016 and are definite Olympic medal contenders.

Men’s double sculls (M2x)
Croatian brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic, formerly part of their nation’s medal-winning quad line-up, formed a doubles duo in 2014 and have not lost a race since then. They set a new World Best Time at the 2014 World Rowing Championships becoming the first double to go under the six-minute mark. If they continue their winning ways, they will be the first Croatian boat to medal in this event at the Olympics.

The closest challengers this season to the Croatians seem to be Robert Manson and Christopher Harris from New Zealand. The Kiwi duo raced at World Rowing Cup II where they took silver, and in the absence of the Croatians at World Rowing Cup III they won gold.

But perhaps the time is right for Lithuania. The duo of Rolandas Mascinskas and Saulius Ritter medalled twice at the World Championship level during this Olympic cycle, taking world silver in 2013 and again in 2015. This season they raced at the European Rowing Championships and at World Rowing Cup II where they took bronze and the duo come to Rio with a history that stretches back to an A-final finish at the London Olympics.

Then there are some very familiar names to spice up this boat class. Two-time Olympic Champion in the men’s single, Norway’s Olaf Tufte is back in the boat he medalled in at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Tufte has teamed up with 2013 World Champion Kjetil Borch. Also very familiar to rowing fans is Marcel Hacker of Germany. Like Tufte, Hacker has medals from the men’s single, but he is now in the double and doing well with Stephan Krueger.

Women’s double sculls (W2x)
New Zealand are the 2014 and 2015 World Champions with Zoe Stevenson and Eve MacFarlane in the boat this year. The duo, however, have been beaten this season.

Poland’s Magdalena Fularczyk and Natalia Madaj have won two World Rowing Cup gold medals this year, at the first and final stages of the series. Lithuania’s Donata Vistartaite and Milda Valciukaite, the 2013 World Champions, took gold at World Rowing Cup II. Belarus are the reigning European Champions.

Other World Cup medallists this season have included France, Australia who hold the World Best Time, Greece and the Netherlands. Rio will be far from a clear-cut decision in this boat class.

Lightweight men’s four (LM4-)
The lightweight men’s four is Denmark’s flagship boat class. Historically, they are the most medalled nation in this boat class at the Olympic level. At London 2012, they won bronze and in 2008 they were the gold medallists. During this Olympic cycle, Denmark won the World Rowing Championships twice, in 2013 and 2014, and this season they took a World Cup bronze and silver.

This, however, may be Switzerland’s year. In 2015 the Swiss topped the medals podium at the World Rowing Championships and so far in 2016, they have won a World Cup gold and silver medal as well as the title of European Champions. At the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne, they finished behind New Zealand.

New Zealand claimed two World Championship silver medals in this Olympic cycle, in 2013 and 2014. After failing to medal in 2015 at the worlds, they came back this year in full force, claiming gold at both World Rowing Cup stages that they entered.

Look out too for Great Britain. In this Olympic cycle they crossed the line in bronze medal position at both the 2013 and 2014 World Rowing Championships. This season they won European Championship silver and a World Cup bronze medal.

Women’s eight (W8+)
The United States has remained unbeaten for a staggering ten years straight in the women’s eight, winning all World Rowing Championships and Olympic Games during this time. Can their winning streak continue through Rio? So far this season, the US crew has raced only once and on this occasion they won just marginally ahead of Great Britain – by just eight tenths of a second.

Each World Rowing regatta this season saw a different nation top the medals podium: Great Britain took the European Championship title, the Netherlands won gold at World Rowing Cup I, the United States at World Rowing Cup II and New Zealand at World Rowing Cup III.

Great Britain has shown  the most consistency in its results so far in 2016. As well as gold, they also took two silver medals at the World Rowing Cup level, while the Netherlands also took European silver and a World Cup bronze in Poznan.

Keep an eye out too for London 2012 silver medallists, Canada. They are regularly near the front of the field and have been known to push the United States to the edge on various occasions.

This boat class is shaping up to bring on some A-final surprises.

Men’s single sculls (M1x)
A rivalry of Olympic proportions has been going on between Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand and Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic for over a decade. The World Championship podiums have featured these two extraordinary single scullers each year since 2005, with hardly an exception and both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic podium included Drysdale and Synek. The two have amassed a total of 17 World Championship medals and four Olympic medals. But despite Drysdale being the reigning Olympic Champion, Synek may have the upper hand in Rio as he has claimed all of the World Championship titles in this Olympic cycle.

Drysdale, though, is impressive. He owns the current World Best Time, which he set at the 2009 World Rowing Championships at 6:33.35, nearly two seconds faster than the one he had set three years prior. He has also won gold at this season at World Rowing Cup II ahead of Synek. If Drysdale wins gold in Rio, he will belong to the exclusive group of scullers who have become the Olympic Champion in the men’s single more than once. 

Look out too for Cuba’s Angel Fournier Rodriguez, a two-time world medallist, and Croatia’s Damir Martin – both scullers claimed two World Cup medals this season with Martin also claiming European Championship gold. There is also relative newcomer Hannes Obreno of Belgium there to shake up the leader board. Obreno recently finished ahead of Drysdale at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta and he may create waves in Rio. 

Women’s single sculls (W1x)
Australia’s Kim Brennan (nee Crow) has not missed a podium spot since winning Olympic bronze at London 2012. Brennan claimed World Championship gold twice in this Olympic cycle – in 2013 and last year in 2015. Her bronze medal in London was the first Olympic medal ever won for Australia in this boat class. This season, she claimed gold at both regattas that she entered: World Rowing Cup II and III and there is little doubt that she is the one to beat.

But watch out for New Zealand’s Emma Twigg. She has been on the rise since 2010, the year in which she won her first World Championship medal. Twigg finished fourth at the London Olympics and then won the world title in 2014.  Despite taking a break from international competition in 2015, Twigg is back on form and will be aiming to win New Zealand’s first ever Olympic medal in this boat class. At the final stage of the 2016 World Rowing Cup in Poznan she crossed the line in silver behind Brennan.

The reigning Olympic Champion Mirka Knapkova from the Czech Republic did not win a World Championship in this Olympic cycle, but she has remained a regular medal contender. Is Knapkova keeping her best for Rio?

Look out too for the United States’ Genevra Stone and Switzerland’s Jeannine Gmelin. They have both medalled at the World Cup level this year. Austria’s Magdalena Lobnig, the reigning European Champion, also should not be discounted. But putting all of these athletes in perspective is 44 year old Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus. The two-time Olympic Champion in the single is racing at her seventh Olympics.

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Men’s eight (M8+)
Great Britain has had an amazing run during this Olympic cycle, winning three World Championship titles. This has pushed the London 2012 Olympic Champions, Germany into the world silver medal spot three years in a row.  The deep-seated rivalry between these two crews will be part of the Rio Olympic racing.

So far this year, Great Britain has not yet reached the top of the podium, while Germany has won European Championship gold and a second gold at World Rowing Cup III. Great Britain medalled at two of three regattas – taking silver at World Rowing Cup III and bronze at the European Rowing Championships. These statistics look to give Germany the upper hand, but with Olympic gold on the line, it will be hard to pick the winner.

This race, however, will not just be about Great Britain and Germany. The Netherlands has proven that they will be a force to reckon with in Rio, winning gold at World Rowing Cup II ahead of Germany as well as at World Rowing Cup I. Look out too for the United States who carry a long legacy of winning Olympic gold in this boat class and also the young New Zealand crew who took a bronze medal at World Rowing Cup III.