Record number of entries for the European Rowing Under 23 Championships

For immediate release
Lausanne, 25 August 2020

Entries are in for the European Rowing Under-23 Championships to take place in Duisburg, Germany and it is the largest entry in this fourth year of the event. A record number of 650 competitors are entered in the regatta from 32 member federations, compared to 25 in 2019.

To be held at the Sports Park Duisburg, the venue has previously hosted six World Rowing events since the 1983 World Rowing Championships, including the 2001 World Rowing Junior Championships and more recently, the 2012 World Rowing Masters Regatta. This will be the first “water” competition for the 2020 international rowing season following the postponement of all major rowing events in 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The Duisburg Organising Committee and the Duisburg City and State medical authorities have carefully followed the WHO and World Rowing safe event guidelines to establish the necessary and appropriate preventive measures during the event. Appropriate plans have been put in place to ensure that the event is staged with the lowest possible risk for contamination.

The men’s single sculls has attracted a large and very competitive field of 21 boats. Defending champion Ronan Byrne from Ireland will take on Romania’s Mihai Chiruta who finished fourth at last year’s European Rowing Under 23 Championships and World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Sarasota. Byrne also raced as a senior in 2019 winning silver in the men’s double sculls at the World Rowing Championships. Austria’s Lukas Reim will be a serious contender as well in the single, having finished fifth in Sarasota last year.

The second largest field is the men’s double sculls with 18 entries. 2019 World Rowing Under 23 Championships’ bronze medalists Nikita Eskin and Aleksandr Matveev from Russia will take on Belarusian Ivan Brynza, World Rowing Junior Champion in the men’s single sculls last year and his partner Yahor Shliupski. These scullers will face local heroes Paul Krueger and Klas Ole Lass from Germany. Krueger took second place in the junior men’s double sculls finals last year.

Germany is boating the biggest team with entries in all 22 boat classes.  Romania has sent a large team and will aim at topping the medals table for a third straight year after winning nine gold medals in 2019, dominating, among others, both the men’s and women’s eights.

The European Rowing Under 23 Championships is raced in 22 boat classes and is open to all European Member National Federations (which includes Israel) for athletes under the age of 23. A rower may compete in an Under 23 rowing event until 31 December of the year in which he/she reaches the age of 22.

Racing begins on Saturday 5 September 2020 with heats and progresses through repechages, semifinals and to the finals on Sunday 6 September.

There will be live video streaming available on World Rowing’s YouTube Channel, https://www.youtube.com/user/WorldRowingFISA.

Keep track of results, race information, photographs on http://www.worldrowing.com/events/2020-european-rowing-under-23-championships/event-information