2022 European Rowing Under 19 Championships goes to Varese

The 2022 international rowing season will truly get underway with the 2022 European Rowing Under 19 Championships where approximately 400 rowers from 29 European nations will be racing in Varese, Italy, over the two days of competition.

The regatta takes place from 21 to 22 May at the same venue which is due to host this year’s World Rowing Under 19 and Under 23 Championships. Lake Varese also hosted last year’s European Rowing Championships.

Of the 13 boat classes that will be raced, Italy has an entry in every event and a team with varying levels of international experience. Italy’s duo of Marco Gilardoni and Marco Dri are potential medal prospects in the men’s double sculls, with the latter finishing fourth at the World Rowing Junior Championships last year. Their main competition is likely to come from Daniel Galeza and Piotr Sliwinski of Poland, with the former taking bronze at the Junior Worlds last year.

The likely favourites for Italy will be the men’s pair, with Marco and Luca Vicino, World Rowing Junior Champions in 2021 in the men’s coxed four. Watch out too for the host nation’s men’s coxed four who has been very strong in 2021 and, even with a new combination, will try to assert their domination on that boat class.

The women’s quadruple sculls has rowers from 12 countries entered. With brand new combinations all across the field, this will surely be an interesting boat class to follow – Switzerland are the reigning World champions but will face tough competition from Italy, Romania, France and the Czech Republic.

In the women’s single sculls, all eyes will be on Lina Kuehn of Switzerland. She was World Junior Champion last year in the quadruple sculls and she will be trying to follow the footsteps of Aurelia Maxima-Janzen, who was also crowned World Junior Champion last year in the single. She will be facing young rowers with little international experience but keen to make their mark on that stage – watch out for Aurora Spirito of Italy, racing on home waters.

For the men’s eight, the heavy favourites will be Romania, returning three members of the boat that finished fourth at the 2021 World Rowing Junior Championships. They will have to face a strong French squad, led by bronze medallist from last year Pierre-Esteban Soubeste, but also Switzerland, Italy and Czech Republic.

The European Rowing Under 19 Championships is raced in 14 boat classes and is open to all European Member Federations (which includes Israel) for athletes under the age of 19. A rower may compete in a junior rowing event until 31 December of the year in which he/she reaches the age of 18.

Racing begins on Saturday 21 May with heats and progresses through repechages, semifinals and to the finals on Sunday 22 May.

On Sunday only, there will be live video streaming available on World Rowing’s website and YouTube Channel, https://www.youtube.com/user/WorldRowingFISA

Keep track of results, race information, photographs on www.worldrowing.com