A Year In Review - Top 5 Races of the Year

The 2021 season might go down in history as one of the most interesting and unusual rowing seasons in history. After almost a year without international racing due to the pandemic, crews finally had the chance to test their speed ahead of the all-important 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It meant that every race in the lead-up to the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games was a nugget of precious insight. Here is a selection of the top five best races in 2021, pre-Olympics and Paralympics.

PR1 women’s single sculls

2021 European Rowing Championships in Varese, Italy

There was no doubt about the favourite for 2021 in this boat class. Birgit Skarstein from Norway has been in a class of her own for the last Paralympic cycle. However, with several newcomers in this category, it was still an interesting opportunity to see where these athletes were lining up. Israel’s Moran Samuel took the lead and crossed the 500m mark first. It wasn’t until the middle of the race that Skarstein was able to claim her place out front. Behind them a tussle developed between Ukraine’s Anna Sheremet and France’s Nathalie Benoit. Benoit had the bronze medal position through the middle of the race, but Sheremet came through in the final stages to claim it back. Of course, a few months later Benoit got the better of Sheremet in Tokyo – but this race might just have lit the fire.

Men’s eight

2021 World Rowing Cup II in Lucerne, Switzerland

The racing in Lucerne may have been the fiercest that there was throughout this season. The calm water of the Rotsee attracted many countries from around the world – some to compete for only one world cup throughout the season. With just three crews entered in this race, it wasn’t an obvious choice. But the stakes were high. Could the Germans come after their loss at the European Championships? Had the Dutch finally put together a crew with decent speed? Or would the British surprise yet again.

The photo finish showed it all. Great Britain just 0.03 seconds ahead of Germany, with the Dutch lagging almost 7 seconds behind. Indicative of what was to come in Tokyo? Not quite.

Women’s quadruple sculls

2021 World Rowing Cup II in Lucerne, Switzerland

The women’s quad proved a fascinating boat class to follow throughout the entire Olympic cycle. There were three to four crews vying for the top spot and no one seemed to be able to find consistent speed. The World Cup in Lucerne was an interesting one. China raced for the first time since the 2019 World Championships, and everyone was curious if they would be able to show the same speed. And, of course, Italy had put together a new line-up that was having incredible speed. Germany managed to slot into the middle of the fray, but the Dutch and the Polish seemed to implode. This shake-up continued to Tokyo, when of course, Australia joined the mix and managed bump everyone down one rung.

Men’s four

2021 World Rowing Cup III in Sabaudia, Italy

The final chance for crews to compete ahead of the Olympic Games was in Sabaudia. The men’s four had a top entry list, with a few crews, like Australia, out of the mix. Italy was shaking up their entire men’s squad, in a desperate attempt to find more speed before the Olympics. The Italians went off fast but were sitting in second. They put on a massive push in the second half of the race, and in true Italian style, through pure grit and determination they crossed the line ahead of Great Britain. This effort may just have helped them to the bronze medal the secured in Tokyo a few months later.

Lightweight women’s double sculls

2021 World Rowing Cup III in Sabaudia, Italy

There is no arguing about this one: the World Best Time from Ilse Paulis and Marieke Keijser was a blistering race. The conditions were fast, with a hefty tailwind, but the waves were tricky to manage, meaning it wasn’t a world-best-time-day for every crew on the water. But Paulis and Keijser were in top shape. Sitting in second at the 500m mark, they turned on the engines and motored past the rest of the field. With the competition falling farther behind them, it must have been pure personal determination that pushed them to knock an astounding four seconds off the previous best time, finishing in 6:43.79. Unfortunately, this race did not predict an Olympic gold for the duo, who finished third after catching a crab in the last few strokes.