Italy first in Coupe de la Jeunesse

As the best under-19 rowers in the world race at the 2021 World Rowing Junior Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, a week ago, just down the road in Austria the Coupe de la Jeunesse took place.

Italy sent a strong team to Linz for the regatta and finished in first overall with 427 points. France was in second with 401 points and the Netherlands finished third with 286 points. Host nation Austria was in fourth.

For Italy their overall win saw a medal haul of 21 medals including 12 golds. This came through the three-day format which sees two days of finals. This is designed for the rower to get as much racing as possible.

The 14 boat classes attracted over 300 participants making it one of the biggest years for the Coupe. This comes after the event had to be cancelled in 2020 due to the global pandemic.

“Normally for 2020 it was meant to run in Linz, but due to the pandemic we had to cancel the event,” says Secretary General of Coupe de la Jeunesse Gwenda Stevens. “So the organising committee moved it one year. In 2022 we will go to Castrelo del Mino in Spain and in 2023 to Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

“We must not forget that young people have suffered a lot, so this undoubtedly had an impact on some of them in their preparations. Some at the last moment had to stay home due to positive (covid-19) cases. But one thing is for sure, everyone did their very best and you could tell by the many happy faces.”

Founded in 1985, the Coupe de la Jeunesse is open to 16 European nations and this year 15 of the member nations were able to make it to Linz to race. For the majority of these under-19 rowers it is their first time racing internationally and allows for development of these young racers.

Next year, in 2022 the regatta will be held in Castrelo de Mino, Spain.

Full results: https://couperowing.org/results-startlist-information/

Photo – Facebook / Coupe de la Jeunesse