Stepping up in the women’s double sculls

The women’s double sculls has had its share of star performers over the years. As we get ready for the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, we’re looking back on this last Olympiad in the women’s double and making some bold predictions.

Recap of last four years: With stiff racing competition and bow-to-bow battles right down the course, the women’s double is one of those events that never disappoints. While New Zealand has been dominant in the double this past quadrennial, chinks in their armour have shown up from time to time. Lithuania’s win at the World Champs in 2018 broke what could have been a string of back-to-back-to-back World Championships for the Kiwis leading into the Tokyo Games. The Romanians too have had their say, with a decisive victory at the 2020 European Rowing Championships that put the world on notice that nothing is certain in what is one of the sport’s toughest events.

• 2019 World Championships: NZL, ROU, NED, CAN, USA, FRA
• 2018 World Championships: LTU, NZL, USA, GBR, NED, CAN
• 2017 World Championships: NZL, USA, AUS, LTU, CHN, FRA

Must watch: The 2019 World Rowing Championships final is the must watch race of this past quadrennial. All six crews would automatically qualify for the Tokyo Olympics allowing the crews to race for the pure joy of World Championship success. Every crew made it into a medal position over the course of the 2000m race with Canada, the United States and France taking early leads. But they then were struck by bitter back-and-forth competition from New Zealand, Romania and the Netherlands in the middle stretch. The lead passed from Canada to the United States to New Zealand, who held on for gold. Romania meanwhile surged with the fastest final 500m section and the Netherlands rounded out the medals, but only just. The race for bronze went down to the line with Canada 0.63 seconds and the United States 0.064 seconds outside the medals. Check out the action here.

Closest medal race: The final of the 2018 World Rowing Cup III was the closest medal race of the quadrennial. With New Zealand clear in the lead by the half-way mark, Canada was sitting comfortably in silver position when a powerful United States stepped things into another gear and started closing the gap with every stroke. It took all that Canada could muster to hold on as the crews cross the line 0.24 seconds apart for silver and bronze. Watch the race here.

World best time: 6:37.31 (AUS). Sally Kehoe and Olympia Aldersey established the current World best time in the semifinals at the 2014 World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam, NED. Watch that race here.

There is a large gap between that result and the standing Olympic best time of 6:44.33, set in the heats of the 2012 London Olympics by Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins (GBR). That raises the question of whether a crew can pull off a new Olympic best time at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

Performance of the Olympiad: With their consistent appearance on the podium including two World Rowing Championship golds and one silver in the years since the last Games, New Zealand’s Brooke Donoghue and Olivia Loe have definitely pulled off the top performance of the quadrennial.

Quote of the Quadrennial: “That was all a bit of a blur. We really took control in the middle of the race and we managed to hold our own and push towards the finish. That was always the plan. I never tried to look out the boat so I had to assume everyone was behind me. This title will be great for our confidence. We’ll look to keep improving towards the Olympics but I believe we’re in a good position.” Olivia Loe (s), New Zealand, gold 2019 World Rowing Championships,

Olympic qualifiers to date:  NZL, ROU, NED, CAN, USA, FRA, ITA, CZE, LTU, CHN, AUS (11 of 13 spots)

The ramification of an ‘extra year’: While the international rowing events were primarily put on hold in 2020, some crews had the chance to test their speed on the water in October at the 2020 European Rowing Championships. Romania’s powerful performance at that race – finishing 5.61 seconds ahead of the Netherlands with France another 1.58 seconds behind them – was the boat class’s largest winning margin of this past quadrennial. For a boat class that usually comes down to fractions of a second, that results means the pressure is on as the Games countdown continues. The additional time will also be a benefit to those crews preparing for the Final Olympic Qualification event in May 2021.

Olympic prediction: While New Zealand is the most recent World Champions (2019) and, of course, was not at the 2020 European Rowing Championships, Romania’s commanding win at that Europeans makes both these crews targets in 2021. As it stands, the entire qualified field has podium potential with the Netherlands, France, Canada and the United States perhaps best placed to go after New Zealand and Romania.

Fun fact: Only three individuals have won Olympic gold in the women’s double on more than one occasion. Most recently, New Zealand sisters Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell celebrated back-to-back victories at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. Before that it had been legendary German sculler Kathrin Boron, who claimed gold with partner Kerstin Koeppen at Barcelona 1992 and again eight years later with partner Jana Thieme at Sydney 2000.