Martin Sinkovic (b), Valent Sinkovic (s),_
Martin Sinkovic (b), Valent Sinkovic (s), Croatia, Men's Double Sculls, Heat 1, 2015 World Rowing Championships, Aiguebelette, France

It’s true that 2021 was a year with it’s own challenges, but there were some pretty great moments too. Now that we’ve hit the New Year, we’re already flying towards what has the makings of a thrilling new season. So, what does 2022 have in store? Here are 7 things to get excited about this season.

 

  1. The return of the Sinkovic brothers in the Men’s Double Sculls

The Men’s Double Sculls was arguably one of the most competitive boat class for the past couple of years. Why not add the 2016 Olympic champions to the mix? After winning yet another gold medal in Tokyo last year, in the Men’s Pair, Martin and Valent Sinkovic will switch back to the Men’s Double Sculls – a boat class in which they won Olympic gold, two World Championship titles and where they hold the World’s Best Time. And they are hungry for more.

Croatia's men's double sculls
Martin Sinkovic (b) and Valent Sinkovic (s) of Croatia during the start of the A-final of the men’s double sculls at the 2014 World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

 

  1. Oliver Zeidler looking for revenge

A devastating semifinal saw Oliver Zeidler just missing out on the A-Final. But after winning that B-final with a large margin, Olli is looking for revenge. He will certainly face fierce competition in the Men’s Single Sculls with, amongst others, Stefanos Ntouskos, Kjetil Borch and Sverri Nielsen, but don’t count out the 2019 World Champion just yet. And we’re pretty sure he circled the 2022 European Rowing Championships on his calendar, in his hometown of Munich…

Oliver Zeidler, Men’s Single Sculls, Germany, 2020 Olympic Games Regatta, Tokyo, Japan / World Rowing/Detlev Seyb

 

  1. Who will lead the charge in the Women’s Single sculls?

 Emma Twigg was on top of the rowing world last summer. The Kiwi sculler announced a few weeks after her gold medal at the Olympics that she and her partner will be having a baby boy this spring – which, understandably, will be keeping her pretty busy during the 2022 season. The field is wide open with other top names in the Women’s single sculls retiring (Vicky Thornley, Gevvie Stone). Will Hanna Prakhatsen dominate the field, after her fantastic 2021 season? Can Magdalena Lobnig beat her? Don’t forget about Sanita Puspure too…

Hanna Prakhatsen, Women’s Single Sculls, Russian Olympic Committee, 2020 Olympic Games Regatta, Tokyo, Japan / World Rowing/Igor Meijer

 

  1. Para-Rowing included at the European Championships Munich 2022

After an incredible Paralympic regatta in Tokyo, para-rowing will again be featured on the biggest stage. Following the successful additions of four Paralympic boat classes to the European Rowing Championships programme in 2020 and 2021, the European Rowing Board is pleased to confirm the boat classes offered as part of the programme for the 2022 European Rowing Championships.

 

Moran Samuel, Israel, Birgit Skarstein, Norway, PR1 Women’s Single Sculls, 2021 European Rowing Championships, Varese, Italy / World Rowing

 

  1. Indoor and Coastal rowing continues to expand

 New year, new opportunities to fall in love with indoor or coastal rowing. Over the years, the two disciplines have grown ever so much and reached new heights last year, with a great Virtual Indoor Championships and a superb combined event in Praia da Torre with the Beach Sprint Finals and the Coastal Championships. This year, due to the Covid-19 situation, the Indoor championships will be virtual again, while the Coastal champs are heading to Wales for what will surely be another great event.

 

2021 World Rowing Coastal Championships, Oeiras, Portugal / World Rowing/Benedict Tufnell

 

  1. Young stars on the rise

The new Olympic cycle is officially underway. And for the first time in Olympics history, it will be a year shorter than usual. With a lot of top names retiring after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (to name a few, Mahe Drysdale, Ondrej Synek, Olaf Tufte, Richard Schmidt, Annika Van Der Meer) and the qualification for Paris in just about a year and a half, watch out for some of the top U23 names to make a splash on the biggest stage in 2022. Emil Neykov of Bulgaria, Alexandra Foester of Germany, Calvin Tarczy and Douwe De Graaf of Great Britain or the Jurkovic sisters of Croatia are amongst the rowers to watch.

 

Emil Neykov, Men’s Single Sculls, Bulgaria, 2021 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, Racice, Czech Republic / Detlev Seyb/MyRowingPhoto.com 

 

  1. The return of the World Rowing Championships and the Masters regatta

After two years of disruption due to Covid, we’re set – and hopeful – to have a full 2022 rowing season. Favourite venues such as Poznan, Belgrade and Munich are earmarked to return while the Coastal Championships and Beach Sprint finals will be hosted in Saundersfoot, Wales for the first time in October. After two years of cancellation, the World Rowing Masters Regatta will be held in Libourne, France, followed by the World Rowing Championships in Racice, Czech Republic.

 

Men's quadruple sculls race at the 2013 W_
Men’s quadruple sculls race at the 2013 World Rowing Masters Regatta in Varese, Italy.

There’s no doubt in our mind that 2022 is going to be an action-packed season. Head over to social media to let us know what you are most excited for!

Want to keep track of all the World Rowing events? Download our 2022 World Rowing Wall Calendar!