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Ana-Maria Matran (b), Andreea-Fabiola Iorgovan, Diana-Ionela Petian, Elena-Diana Suta (s), Women's Quadruple Sculls, Romania, 2021 European Rowing Junior Championships, Munich, Germany / Detlev Seyb/MyRowingPhoto.com

The 1972 Olympic Rowing venue was host to the last on-water event of the 2021 season as 500 rowers from 27 European nations took part in the 2021 European Rowing Junior Championships. There was a wide spread of medals with rowers from 18 of the 27 nations returning home with medals around their necks. Romania maintained its position at the top of the table again this year after securing an impressive five golds and one silver. Italy took six total medals; two of each colour.

It was a great start for Italy, winning gold in the first two A-Finals – the junior women’s and junior men’s coxed four – but the streak was broken by Switzerland when reigning World Rowing Junior Champion Aurelia Maxima-Janzen won a comfortable gold in the junior women’s single sculls. In the junior men’s single sculls, the gold and silver medallists from the World Rowing Junior Championships swapped positions as Aaron Andries of Belgium took gold this time beating Povilas Juskevicius of Lithuania who won the silver.

The Romanian rowers started their medal haul with a convincing win in the junior women’s pair followed by a win in the men’s pair, the next race. The Romanian national anthem would be heard three more times as three more gold medal performances followed in the women’s four, the women’s quadruple sculls, and the last race of the Championships, the men’s eight.

Belarus prevented Romania from doing the double in the eights, by winning gold in the women’s eight, Romania taking silver and the Czech Republic a hard-fought bronze. The gold for Belarus added to a silver in the men’s quadruple sculls, and bronze in both the men’s four and the women’s double sculls.

For race reports, photos, race results and videos go to www.worldrowing.com.

Rowing will return to the Munich rowing course next year when it plays host to the rowing events of the 2022 Multi-sport “European Championships”, the second edition of the multi-sport event that started in 2018 with Glasgow and Berlin as joint hosts.

The 2022 edition of the European Rowing Junior Championships will be held in Sabaudia, Italy from 21 to 22 May 2022.