Race Report - Olympic and Paralympic boat class A-Finals wrap up the 2023 World Rowing Cup II

The final day featured five World Best Times and many close races. Great Britain topped the medal table with 11 medals, followed by host nation Italy with nine medals.

PR1 Women’s Single Sculls

In the first A Final of the day, we were treated to a nail-biting race, with Israel’s Moran Samuel, the European Silver medallist, going off hard to maintain a solid lead through halfway. Norway’s Paralympic and World Champion Birgit Skarstein kept calm and gradually ate into Samuel’s lead, and was the fastest moving boat in the third quarter. In the last 250m, Skarstein overhauled Samuel to win both Gold for Norway and record a World Best Time of 09:47.83, with Skarstein earning Silver. The previous record, also by Skarstein, was 09:50.39 in 2022. France’s Nathalie Benoit wins Bronze. Ukraine, Switzerland and the Netherlands make up the remaining positions.

Remarking the fast time, Skarstein says “No way! Under 9:50! I cannot believe it! I did realise it was a very fast race, I was trying to push through it, and I just made it somehow!”

PR1 Men’s Single Sculls

Ukraine’s Roman Polianskyi hauled away at a high stroke rate of 38 in the final quarter to win both Gold and a World Best Time of 08:50.38. The previous World Best Time was 08:55.21 in 2022. Italy’s Giacomo Perini battled hard throughout to earn Silver, with Uzbekistan’s Egamberdiev Kholmurod gaining Bronze from behind Israel’s Shmuel Daniel, who has to settle for fourth. Brazil came fifth with France sixth.

After the race, Polianskyi remarks, “I am very happy with this result. I have been able to return to my home country, train in almost normal conditions, and therefore I was expecting to row faster, and eventually break the World Best Time.”

PR2 Mixed Double Sculls

In the third A Final of the day, Great Britain’s Lauren Rowles and Gregg Stevenson led all the way with a steady rate of 33. By the final quarter Great Britain had clear water and won Gold with a World Best Time of 08:01.59.

The battle for the minor medals was much tighter, with four crews virtually neck to neck in the last hundred metres. Ukraine’s Svitlana Bohuslavska and Iaroslav Koiuda won Silver with just a canvas lead from Poland’s Jolanta Majka and Michal Gadowski who earn a well deserved Bronze. The Netherlands came fourth, with Ireland fifth and France sixth.

This marked the third World Best Time of the day and three in a row! Immediately after the row, Rowles says “We just want to keep improving! We came out here and wanted to be faster that we were in Bled, this is what we train for. More aggression, more belief, we’re just trying to build our confidence and it paid off today.”

Women’s Pair

World Rowing Cup Leader: Spain

Australia’s Jessica Morrison and Annabelle Mcintyre blew the field away with a dominating performance, with the top three boats settling into their positions early on. Australia maintained their power and length with a rate of 37 strokes a minute to win Gold by clear water.

The USA’s Alison Rusher and Meghan Musnicki won Silver with Spain’s Aina Cid and Esther Briz Zamorano grabbing the Bronze medal after fending off the second the USA’s Pair of Jessica Thoennes and Charlotte Buck who finished fourth. Great Britain 1 and Germany came fifth and sixth.

“It felt so good, we’re happy to be back. We trusted each other and it paid off” says McIntyre.

Men’s Pair

World Rowing Cup Leader: Switzerland

Wow! That was fast. Great Britain’s Tokyo Olympic Bronze medallists Oliver Wynne-Griffith and Tom George dominate to win Gold by clear water – with a World Cup Best Time of 06:13.15.

The British pair shot off from the start, with the Swiss pair of Roman Roeoesli and Andrin Gulich going with them in the first 500m before losing ground in the final quarter. Australia’s Angus Dawson and Joseph O’Brien gradually gained with Switzerland and were side by side in the final few hundred metre. Switzerland held their nerve to win Silver with the Australians getting Bronze. USA 1 came fourth, with Croatia and the Netherlands making up the final two positions.

Women’s Double Sculls  

World Rowing Cup Leader: People’s Republic of China

The race started with both of China’s crews swapping leads throughout the first quarter before Chinese 1’s Shiyu Lu and Shuangmei took control to lead the field and win Gold. The USA 1’s Kristina Wagner and Sophia Vitas got into their groove to move to second at halfway and sprinted well to almost catch China to earn Silver.

In the end they had to settle for Silver. China won Gold with a gap of just 0.07 seconds! Bronze was won by France’s Margaux Bailleul and Emma Lunatti to the delight of their energetic fans. Australia, USA 2 and China 2 take the final three positions respectively in the A Final.

Men’s Double Sculls

World Rowing Cup Leader: Italy

There was a very fought race with the three crews of USA, Italy 1 and China 1 all closely bunched up halfway through. This evolved into a duel between Italy’s Luca Rambaldi and Matteo Sartori and USA’s Sorin Koszyk and Benjamin Davison, with the Italian home crowd delighted as their double crossed first to win Gold. China’s Tokyo Olympic Bronze Medallists Zhiyu Liu and Liang Zhang, first time back together internationally since the Olympics, held off Australia to win Bronze.

“The outcome was unexpected as I had a back injury at the beginning of the week. I was in a lot of pain, and it was not sure I was going to be able to compete. I am also very emotional because today would have been the birthday of our former team-mate Filippo Mondelli. This race was definitely for him”, reflects Rambaldi.

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls

World Rowing Cup Leader: Great Britain

Another close race! Great Britain’s Emily Craig and Imogen Grant seize Gold, ahead by just 0.08 seconds against USA 1’s Michelle Sechser and Molly Reckford who win Silver. The Great Britain double gradually upped their pace, trailing in the first three quarters of the course before winding up in spectacular fashion. France’s Laura Tarantola and Claire Bove take Bronze.

“We came in with a lot of pressure, breaking the World Best Time yesterday, and you can’t underestimate the French and the US, the pedigree of this event is so high. We had to take it to the last stroke today. We try to push each other to places we haven’t been before in training, to be even better in competition”, says Grant.

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls 

World Rowing Cup Leader: Switzerland

Switzerland’s Jan Schaeuble and Raphael Ahumada Ireland held a clear lead from halfway with a tighter fight for the other medals. A photo finish was needed between France’s Hugo Beurey and Ferdinand Ludwig and Italy’s Stefano Oppo and Gabriel Soares, with France edging out to win Silver and Italy taking home Bronze.

“It felt like a good improvement from yesterday, where we were beaten by the French. We started a bit faster, we learned from our mistakes, and we’re pretty pleased with the result today,”says Ahumada Ireland.

PR3 Mixed Double Sculls

Australia’s Nikki Ayers and Jed Altschwager, and Brazil’s Diana Cristina Barcelos De Oliveira and Valdeni Da Silva Junior led the field for the early parts of the race. In the second half, Australia tightened the screw to gradually lengthen their lead, with a large clear water gap by the final 500m to win Gold with a new World Best Time of 07:07.02, beating the previous best time of 07:12.70, leaving Brazil on their own to win Silver. Ukraine’s Stanislav Samoliuk and Dariia Kotyk had a tussle with Great Britain’s Annabel Caddick and Samuel Murray for Bronze, with the Ukrainians winning out.

“We’ve been feeling pretty good in training the last few days. Today, we stuck to our race plan, and executed pretty well. There’s good communication and friendship in the boat, we have a great team around us, that makes our life easier. We will try to qualify the boat this year at the Worlds, and obviously win gold at the Paralympics next year in Paris,” reflects Altschwager.

Women’s Four

World Rowing Cup Leader: United States of America

Great Britain 1 and USA were both in the front of the pack in the first quarter of the Women’s Four A Final with a stroke rate of 38 per minute – with China 1 not far behind. In the middle stretch of the race, USA took advantage and held a faster boat speed over Great Britain, with Australia and China having their own separate battle for the Bronze medal.

By the finish line, USA had a clear length to win Gold with a World Cup Best Time of 06:17.55, beating the previous time of 06:18.64. Great Britain crossed the line for Silver. Despite China’s brave row that challenged for a medal for the majority of the race, Australia’s gutsy performance meant they sneaked ahead to earn Bronze.

“We weren’t expecting this performance! We will continue to do the best we can. Kudos to Josy (Verdonkschot) our performance director for what he brought to the programme, to us, it is amazing,” says USA’s Molly Bruggeman.

Men’s Four

World Rowing Cup Leader: Switzerland

One again we witness a duel between the reigning European Champions Great Britain and Olympic Champions Australia. Australia had a higher rate above 40 strokes per minute but Great Britain wrestled the lead in the final quarter to win Gold by half a length over Australia who win Silver. USA crossed the finish line to get Bronze.

“We came out on the right side today. It is a big confident boost, we had a good European Championships a couple weeks ago, it is good to consolidate the speed we’ve accumulated in the winter. Even if it wasn’t our cleanest row, it was good enough for the win today,” says Freddie Davison of Great Britain.

PR3 Mixed Coxed Fours

In a three way A Final, Great Britain held a strong lead over France and Italy, winning Gold in some style, with both clear water and a new World’s Best Time of 06:47.29, beating the previous 2022 record of 6:48.34. France came second to win Silver with Italy third.

“It’s a privilege to be part of this crew. It brings pressure, but it also shows the programme we’re in at the moment. It drives us to World Best Times! It’s exciting to be part of such a team. I wasn’t there when the team broke the World Best Time last year and I wanted my name associated to the record,” exclaimed Great Britain’s Erin Kennedy.

Women’s Quadruple Sculls 

World Rowing Cup Leader: Switzerland

The People’s Republic of China’s 2022 World Champions looked confident as they took half a length over their closest competitors Great Britain, leaving the chasing pack as they move down into the third quarter. China maintained their lead against a determined Great Britain to win Gold and Silver respectively, with a separate battle for Bronze won by Germany over Switzerland. Italy came fifth and France sixth.

“We are so happy to have won Gold here in Varese. We are determined to continue to win more as the season progresses,” remarks Ling Zhang, member of the China’s Women’s Quadruple Sculls.

Men’s Quadruple Sculls

World Rowing Cup Leader: Switzerland

Poland performed excellently to resist the pressure from both Great Britain and Italy. While Italy surged ahead in the final metres, spurred on by the Italian home fans, it was not enough, with Poland winning Gold by a canvass and Silver coming to the exhausted Italians who gave it their all. Great Britain win Bronze less than two seconds behind. Switzerland, Germany and Australia took up the remaining positions respectively.

“After Bled, we did longer sessions and worked on the steady state a lot. It was an amazing result for us. We wanted to show that we could win such a race in a very competitive field, where three crews were level  at the 1000m mark,” says Mateusz Biskup of Poland.

Women’s Eight

World Rowing Cup Leader: Australia

For the first time in the 2023 World Rowing Cup II, we see the Women’s Eight in full action between Great Britain, Australia and Canada.

Australia took an early lead with Great Britain and Canada neck and neck fighting it out for Silver. At halfway, Great Britain with a higher rate pulled away from Canada while staying just in contact with Australia. In the end, all three boats overlapped across the finish line. While Canada admirably pulled closer to Great Britain in the final metres, it was not enough, with Australia winning Gold, Great Britain Silver and Canada coming third.

Men’s Single Sculls

World Rowing Cup Leader: Germany

The gladiatorial combat that is the Men’s Single Sculls started with Germany’s Oliver Zeidler keeping his rate above 40 strokes per minute for the first 500 metres, which was rewarded by a length lead over Denmark’s Sverri Nielsen. The German’s lead stretched further to clear water for a convincing Gold medal, with Silver to Nielsen who worked hard all the way. Japan’s Ryuta Arakawa composed sculling meant he held third position throughout the race to earn a well-deserved Bronze, a historic first for Japan.

Women’s Single Sculls

World Rowing Cup Leader: Germany

Australia’s Tara Rigney and Germany’s Alexandra Foester showed superior acceleration to pull away from the field, with Rigney narrowly ahead at halfway. USA’s Kara Kohler shadowed the two and then put in a hard push in the third quarter to threaten Foester before the German countered with phenomenal power that propelled her ahead of Rigney in the final strokes, winning Gold by three quarters of a length.

Rigney consistent scull allowed her to stay just ahead of Kohler to win Silver, with Kohler holding Bronze. China’s Ruiqi Liu, after a bright start finished fourth, followed by the Czech Republic’s Anna Santruckova and Azerbaijan’s Diana Dymchenko. Reflecting the fast finish, Foester says, “I just pushed to the maximum! I didn’t see Tara or Kara, the only thing I was looking for was the finish line. I am delighted with the win. I had a difficult time over the winter because of injuries and I was a bit afraid of what I could do achieve today, so I am just very pleased with the result.”

Men’s Eight

World Rowing Cup Leader: Great Britain

In the final race of the day, favourites Great Britain lived up to their reputation with a strong start, holding nearly a boat length lead by halfway, followed by Canada, with Germany and Italy scrapping for the Bronze position.

Great Britain’s lead continued to extend to win Gold with clear water. For the other medals, the race was shaken up in the final quarter when Australia accelerated to row through most of the field to win Silver, with Germany outpacing Italy to win Bronze. Canada’s eight could not live with the pace and fell back to 5th, with the young Czech Republic boat coming sixth.

“We are very happy, we worked on ourselves, we did good work after Bled but we still had work to do. World Cups are a good opportunity to learn between races, we tried to work on our middle part, maintaining more speed towards the end, we are quite happy with that,” reflects Rory Gibbs, who is part of the Great Britain eight.