Race Report: Twelve more World Rowing Cup Leaders confirmed

The final day of racing at the first World Rowing Cup of the 2023 series took place on another day of good conditions in Zagreb, Croatia. After a series of B-Finals, the medal races got under way and crowds were entertained by exciting and close racing including home favourites, and a very strong Swiss team.

Women’s Pair (W2-) – Final

With three crews racing, it was a race not to be last as only two medals were to be awarded. Croatia’s Jurkovic sisters were keen to make an impression on home waters, but it was Spain that got off the start fastest. Could they maintain their position from the preliminary race? Into the second quarter of the race, the Spanish pair were continuing to look strong and with the Czech Republic in second, the Jurkovic sisters were off the pace slightly with clear water back to their boat. What difference could the Croatian supporters make? Spain continued to be unable to shake off the Czech Republic and, with 500m to go, it was looking to be Croatia that would miss out on the medal this time. Czech Republic took the stroke rate up again, now at 38 strokes per minute, in a desperate attempt to overhaul Spain. Aina Cid’s Olympic experience in this boat class was needed now as they came under attack from Czech Republic in the closing stages of the race. Spain held on to take gold and the crowds went wild as Ivana and Josipa Jurkovic crossed the line in third, even if they hadn’t quite got a medal.

Result: ESP, CZE, CRO

Men’s Pair (M2-) – Final

We had just about caught our breath when the final of the men’s pair got underway. There was six crews in this race, and everyone was hoping it would be as close as the race for gold had been in the women’s pair. Switzerland had the best of starts and got the early lead, with Denmark and Spain well in the mix. As the crews passed 500m, there was just a couple of seconds separating all six crews, with Switzerland continuing to lead. In the second half of the race, the Swiss maintained their position at the front of the field, but things were really starting to heat up for the silver medal between Denmark and Spain. Could Spain hold on to that silver medal position? Croatia was sitting in fifth, but they weren’t out of medal contention either. Switzerland continued to lead to the line and Spain held off the charge from Denmark and Croatia in the final sprint. The crowds once again gave huge cheers as their own boat sprinted to the line, with the Loncaric brothers securing fourth place.

Result: SUI, ESP, DEN, CRO, SRB, AUT

Women’s Double Sculls (W2x) – Final

Two Swiss boats were going head-to-head in this race and it was Switzerland 1 that had the fastest start, with Austria going with them. As the race started to settle, Austria, South Africa and Ukraine started to break away, although Switzerland1 wasn’t far behind. The Lobnig sisters from Austria were showing their extensive sculling experience, but it was far from over. As the halfway marker approached, Switzerland 1 had moved back into medal contention, ahead of Ukraine and, with an incredible few strokes, Schweizer and Loetscher had moved into the lead! Austria would need to respond if they wanted gold. With South Africa continuing to sit in third going into the final quarter, the medals were far from set. Switzerland 1 continued to move away from the field, they were looking so impressive, but there was still a race for the other medals. It was silver for Austria’s Lobnig sisters and South Africa taking the bronze.

Result: SUI1, AUT, RSA, UKR, SUI2, CZE 

Men’s Double Sculls (M2x) – Final

Probably the most anticipated races amongst the home supporters, and the noise from the crowds was incredible as Croatia’s Sinkovic brothers were announced on the start line! All eyes were on lane 4 and it was the Croatian brothers that led out off the start, but Spain was not going to give them an easy job, they had a point to prove. Martin and Valent crossed 500m first, but Spain had significant overlap. We had a huge race on our hands! Croatia continued to lead at 1,000m and had opened up a slightly bigger gap ahead of Spain, but still not enough to be comfortable. Serbia1 was sitting in bronze medal position, with Estonia close behind them. As the race moved into the final 500m, the crowds erupted and appeared to work as it helped the Sinkovic brothers lift their boat speed as they sprinted towards the line. Spain’s Aleix Garcia Pujolar and Rodrigo Conde Romero didn’t have enough to give and the result from last year’s World Rowing Championships had been reversed. Serbia’s first boat took the bronze with their second boat finishing fifth. The noise as the Croatian double paddled in after their race was incredible, there will be one huge party in Croatia tonight!

Result: CRO, ESP, SRB1, EST, SRB2, UKR

Women’s Four (W4-) – Final

With just three boats in this race it was, once again, a race not to be last. Chile was leading Spain in the early stages, with clear water then back to Hong Kong. The race was panning out similar to the preliminary race. Inside the final 500m, Chile was continuing to open up clear water and it was looking like nobody could catch them. Spain was continuing to sit in a comfortable position for the silver medal. The positions remained unchanged, it was a well-earned gold for Chile.

Result: CHI, ESP, HKG

Men’s Four (M4-) – Final

Ukraine and Switzerland, the two crews who had gone direct to the A-final were the early leaders in the first 200m of the race, with South Africa sitting in third and Austria in fourth. Switzerland was looking impressive and were continuing to move away in the second quarter of the race. At 1,000m, the positions were unchanged, but into the third quarter, South Africa had moved into second place and were starting to challenge Switzerland too. Ukraine was going to need to respond if they wanted the silver medal, but South Africa was continuing to charge and putting Switzerland under real pressure. With 250m to go South Africa was clear of Ukraine, could Switzerland hold on to the gold? It was an epic sprint, Switzerland really had to go for it to take the gold.

Result: SUI, RSA, UKR, IND1, AUT, IND2 

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (LW2x) – Final

Austria had a particularly quick start, but Chile soon took the lead. Approaching 500m gone, five boats were almost level, with Argentina just slightly off the pace. Into the second quarter of the race, the highly experienced boat of Patricia Merz and Frederique Rol (Switzerland1) made their move and took the lead, and Frederique’s cousin Eline, in Switzerland2 with Olivia Nacht, was going with them. The battle for gold looked to be between the two Swiss boats, whilst the battle for bronze was happening between Spain and Austria. It was classic lightweight racing. Passing the halfway marker, Switzerland2 moved into the lead ahead of Switzerland1. Spain was going to need to do some work to steal the bronze from Austria. Into the final 300m, Austria were making their move though – could they split the two Swiss boats? Switzerland1 were now leading again and Austria was moving into silver medal position. It was a sprint to the line and Austria so nearly stole the gold from Switzerland1. Meanwhile, Switerland2 just managed to hold off the final sprint from Spain to secure the bronze medal. Despite their fast start, Chile had to settle for fifth place, with Argentina in sixth.

Result: SUI1, AUT, SUI2, ESP, CHI, ARG

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x) – Final

After the excitement of the lightweight women’s doubles, it was time for the men! Spain1 had the fastest start, but with Switzerland moving into the lead 250m into the race with India sitting in silver medal position. At halfway, Switzerland continued to lead, ahead of the Czech Republic, with Spain1 in third place. With 600m to go, Switzerland took their rating up again, now at 40 strokes per minute, and continued to move away, with nearly two lengths of clear water ahead of Czech Republic. It was looking like a third consecutive gold for Switzerland. The Czech were in a comfortable silver medal position with Spain1 looking comfortable for bronze.

Result: SUI, CZE, ESP1, AUT, ESP2, IND

Women’s Quadruple Sculls (W4x) – Final

With just two crews contending this boat class, there was only one medal up for grabs. It had been a tight turnaround for the Swiss athletes, who had just raced in the women’s double final. Would the freshness of the Ukrainian crew pay off? With 750m gone, the Ukraine crew was looking so smooth. Even with a stroke rate a couple of pips lower, their boat speed was higher. Into the final quarter of the race, Ukraine took the rating up 1 pip, to 35 strokes per minute, but they were in a comfortable position. The order was an unchanged at the finish, it was gold for Ukraine.

Result: UKR, SUI

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (M4x) – Final

Switzerland were looking impressive again, and were the quickest off the start, going off at 52 strokes per minute. As the race began to settle, Ukraine moved into the lead, narrowly ahead of Switzerland with Czech Republic in third place and the Croatian crew looking a little off the pace. By halfway, the Czech Republic had moved ahead of Switzerland and were starting to put pressure on Ukraine. Meanwhile, Croatia was also starting to close up. The Ukrainian crew was continuing to look impressive in the lead, but it was only half a canvas back to Czech Republic. Meanwhile, Croatia was looking to challenge for the bronze medal – the crowds were starting to increase the cheers again! Into the final quarter, the gold medal was far from set. Switzerland, who had started fastest, were now back in fourth position, and looking likely to miss out on a medal. The crowds were on their feet as Croatia started to sprint, putting pressure on Ukraine and Czech Republic too. Switzerland also had a final sprint, and it went to a photo finish! Switzerland had done enough, they had beaten Croatia to the bronze by just 0.05 seconds

Result: CZE, UKR, SUI, CRO

Men’s Single Sculls (M1x) – Final

Denmark’s Sverri Nielsen was the fastest off the start, but all eyes were on the reigning World Champion, Ollie Zeidler in lane 4. By 500m, Zeidler had established a lead, but Nielsen was going with him, and Spain’s Gonzalo Garcia Ferrero was sitting in third. Zeidler had opened up more of a lead by halfway and then began to move into clear water ahead of Nielsen. Meanwhile, Serbia’s Nikolak Pimenov had moved into bronze medal position, and this part of the field was really starting to heat up. Zeidler looked to be in a dominant position in the final quarter of the race, and it was great to see Nielsen back on form too. The race for bronze was still on, and it was all to play for. Garcia Ferrero had fallen off the pace in the second half of he race. With Zeidler claiming the gold and Nielsen the silver, Pimenov grabbed the bronze medal, under a second ahead of Bulgaria’s Kristian Vasilev.

Result: GER, DEN2, SRB, BUL1, DEN1, ESP2.

Women’s Single Sculls (W1x) – Final

The last race of World Rowing Cup I was underway! Slovenia’s Nina Kostanjsek quickly established a lead, but how long could she maintain it for? She was quickly reigned in by Lenka Luksova of the Czech Republic and also Aurelia-Maxima Janzen, of Switzerland2. Serbia’s Jovana Arsic also moved into the medal zone in the second quarter of the race and Kostanjsek had slipped back to sixth. At the 750 marker, 19-year old Janzen had moved into the lead, this was impressive for such a young sculler. Coming through 1,000m, Janzen was down at 30 strokes per minute whilst the rest of the field was up at 32-34, Janzen had 3/4 length lead over Luksova. Bulgaria’s Desislava Angelova was now on the charge too though, positions were far from set! With 500m to go, Janzen was still leading, but there were several other scullers in medal contention, including Spain’s Virgina Diaz Rivas! In the final 250m, there was four scullers racing for the three medals. Could Janzen hold on to take gold? The Spanish sculler was putting her under serious pressure – it was a photo finish! The result was confirmed, Diaz Rivas had stolen the gold from Janzen by 0.02 seconds, with Luksova taking the bronze.

Result: ESP, SUI2, CZE1, BUL, SLO, SRB