Road to Paris: The Quadruple Sculls

Get ready for some fast and furious rowing with the men’s and women’s quadruple sculls. Even the name sounds quick! After the eights, the quad is the fastest boat on the water over 2000 metres and in any given six-boat final, that’s 48 sculling oars pounding through the water.

Through recent rowing history the quad has produced some iconic races and equally iconic rowers who take pride in the teamwork needed to get eight oars down the rowing course in perfect synchronicity.

At the Tokyo Olympic Games the Dutch topped the podium for the men with China the fastest for the women. These two nations have been consistently strong in the quad and in this 2023 season they have both had medal success.

We take a look at what may happen during Paris Olympic qualification at this year’s World Rowing Championships and beyond in the row to Paris.

Total quota places for Paris : 9 for the men’s quad, 9 for the women’s quad

Total number of athletes : 72

Qualification pathways:
7 quota places for men and 7 for women at the 2023 World Rowing Championships
2 quota places each at the 2024 Final Olympic qualification regatta

Men’s Quad

Reigning Olympic Champions : Netherlands
Reigning World Champions : Poland
World Rowing Cup III winner: The Netherlands

When the Netherlands won at the Tokyo Olympics it was their first Olympic medal in this boat class since silver in Sydney 2000. What does this say for their chances in Paris? Dirk Uittenbogaard has retired. Abe Wiersma is sweep rowing and still on the national team. Tone Wieten and Koen Metsemakers are back in the quad and this season have notched up a silver at the European Championships and gold at World Rowing Cup III.

This bodes well for the Dutch, not just for qualifying for Paris but also for being medal contenders.

Finishing first at the Europeans was Poland. They finished fourth in Tokyo and have retained two members of that crew as they head towards Parish Olympic Qualification. The Poles have a history of success in the quad. They had a winning streak that went from 2005 to 2009 and took in gold at the Beijing Olympics.

In the qualification mix will also be Great Britain. Their silver in Tokyo was the best result of any British crew and one of just two medals at the Games. Thomas Barras is leading the charge in this boat that finished second at World Cup III.

Pushing into a boat class that is regularly dominated by European nations is Australia. Their qualification prospects are high along with Italy and Romania. Ukraine and Germany will be knocking on the door. And don’t forget to watch out for the B-Final at the World Championships. The winner will fill the seventh qualifying spot.

Women’s Quad

Reigning Olympic Champions : China
Reigning World Champions : China
World Rowing Cup III winner: The Netherlands

As the reigning Olympic and World Champions the quad is China’s oyster and also theirs to lose. The women’s quad has been China’s most successful Olympic rowing event with gold at both Tokyo and Beijing. Their crew from Tokyo of Yunxia Chen, Ling Zhang, Yang Lyu and Xiaotong Cui has remained constant – a feat that is unusual in Chinese rowing. There has, however, been a chink in their winning armor. At World Rowing Cup III the crew finished fourth with the Netherlands, Great Britain and Switzerland all in medal positions.

The results at World Cup III gave an indication that all is not going to be straightforward in this boat class. The Netherlands finished sixth in Tokyo with both Great Britain and Switzerland not featuring at all. Have these crews found their pace and are they coming after the coveted top spot? If we look back at the 2022 World Champs we see that both the Netherlands and Great Britain medalled with Switzerland not far behind. China looks to have their work cut out for them.

Keep a look out for Ukraine and Australia. Both countries have had strong quads over the years with Australia taking bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.

Like the men, the women’s B-Final at the World Rowing Championships will be the race to watch as the winner will earn an Olympic qualification spot. Watch this space!