Tuesday debrief : the Under 23s and Under 19s paving the way for the seniors

With the 2023 World Rowing Under 23 and Under 19 Championships now over, focus moves on to the 2023 World Rowing Championships which will take place at the start of next month (3-10 September) in Belgrade, Serbia. Reflecting on the youth competitions, we had a think about any patterns and what we might expect to see in Belgrade.

1. Strong eights from Great Britain

At both the World Rowing U23 and U19 Championships, the men’s eight from Great Britain was the class act, winning all of their races throughout the competition and being crowned World Champions at both. Great Britain won gold in the men’s eight at last year’s World Rowing Championships so we can’t wait to see whether they can defend the title in Belgrade, and do the triple. While their women’s eight missed out on a medal by 0.6 seconds at the U23s, their younger crew did win gold in the most exciting race of the World Rowing U19 Championships. They’ll likely be keen to try and qualify a women’s eight for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games while in Belgrade but will undoubtedly face tough opposition.

2. Italy dominant in lightweight boat classes

It may not have always been gold, but at the World Rowing U23 Championships, Italy picked up a medal in seven out of the eight lightweight boats. The only one they missed out on was the lightweight men’s double scull where they finished sixth. The same boat classes are on offer at senior level so it will be interesting to see how Italy perform there.

3. Young Scullers give hope for Germany

It’s fair to say, Germany appears to he having a bit of a dip in their performance at senior level at the moment, they’ll probably be hoping to finish slightly higher than eighth in the medal table which they did at last year’s World Rowing Championships. However, their performances at this year’s World Rowing U19 and U23 Championships perhaps offer some promise. Of particular note, their men’s quads, which won comfortable golds at both age groups. The gold for the U19 men’s quad came just after their women had beaten Italy to gold by just 0.35 seconds. Germany didn’t enter a senior men’s quad at the World Rowing Championships last year, and their women’s quad finished twelfth overall. We look forward to seeing this young talent work its way through the age groups over the coming years

4. Next generation of Romanian women’s sweep rowers

Romania has a strong pedigree for women’s rowing, sweep rowing in particular. Their women’s eight comfortably won gold at last year’s World Rowing Championships. While there seems to be a gap at U23 level, their junior women’s sweep rowers performed very well, pickup medals across the pair, four and the eight, so they’ll will certainly be ones to watch over the coming years. Don’t forget Bianca Camelia Ifteni too who looked so strong in the women’s single scull throughout the U19 Championships,  winning all four races, including the final. Their U23s performed much better on the sculling side, becoming World Champions in both the double and quadruple sculls – following in the footsteps of Simona Radis and Ancuta Bodnar!

5. Janzen to target Senior gold?

Switzerland’s Aurelia-Maxima Janzen has gradually been working her way up the age groups and has now won gold in the women’s single sculls at U19 and U23 level. She took silver at senior level at this year’s European Rowing Championships too, finishing just a few seconds behind Dutch sculler Karolien Florijn. With Switzerland’s top female sculler Jeannine Gmelin having announced her retirement earlier this year, there is perhaps an opening for Janzen to race at senior level this year and try and secure a place at next year’s Olympic Games for her country?