Road to Paris : The Pair

The Pair is certainly the boat where trust in your partner is paramount. Moreso than a single, the pair is one tippy boat. Two rowers, only one oar each, every movement of each of the rower’s body and oar impacts the other rower. Their movements and power output has to be completely in synch.

The pair is known for famous partnerships and also famed flips from some of our best. There’s been Milos Vasic and Nenad Bedik at the Rio Olympics. There was Juliette Haigh and Nicola Coles at the Athens Olympics.

But back to famous partnerships. Redgrave and Pinsent, Murray and Bond, Glover and Stanning, Andrunache and Susanu, Pinsent and Cracknell, Heddle and McBean, the Landvoigt twins, the Sinkovic brothers, the Winklevoss brothers (although perhaps more for different reasons). The list is long.

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

Total quota places for Paris : 13 for the men’s pair, 13 for the women’s piar

Total number of athletes : 52

Qualification pathways:
11 quota places for men and 11 for women at the 2023 World Rowing Championships
2 quota places each at the 2024 Final Olympic Qualification Regatta

Men’s pair

Reigning Olympic Champions : Croatia
Reigning World Champions : Romania
World Rowing Cup III winner: Great Britain

Leading up to the Tokyo Olympics, Valent and Martin Sinkovic had been setting the pace in the pair. Their win in Tokyo was almost expected from the talented brothers. The Sinkovics have moved back into the double and this has in many ways really opened up the field to a clean slate.

Coming through from a silver medal at Tokyo, followed up by gold at the 2022 World Rowing Championships is Marius Cozmiuc of Romania. Cozmiuc raced with Ciprian Tudosa in Tokyo and then Sergiu Bejan at last years champs. The duo also raced in the men’s eight. They have stuck together and finished second at World Cup III while also earning a fourth in the eight at this three-day regatta. Ending at the front of the field in Lucerne was the British duo of Oliver Wynne-Griffith and Tom George. Wynne-Griffith and George come out of the bronze medal Olympic eight and in the pair together they have not only remained their country’s top pair but been consistently on the medals podium.

Very much in the mix is the combination of Jaime Canalejo Pazos and Javier Garcia Ordonez. Heading towards being one of Spain’s most successful rowing duos, Canalejo and Garcia raced the Olympic final and since then have been either in the medals or in the Final. A new combination for 2023, the Swiss have put the experienced Roman Roeoesli with Andrin Gulich and they have medalled at all of this season’s races.

It would appear, though, that there is still a lot to come in this boat class as so far no crew is in dominating form. Watch out for some potential surprises.

Women’s pair

Reigning Olympic Champions : New Zealand
Reigning World Champions : New Zealand
World Rowing Cup III winner: Australia

Olympic Champions New Zealand (Prendergast and Williams) stuck around long enough to win the 2022 World Rowing Championships and then retired. This left a hole at the head of the field as the 2023 season got under way. Grabbing it wholeheartedly was Jessica Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre. The duo had raced to gold in the four at Tokyo and doubled up in the pair only to make the b-final. It looks like this season the pair is their sole focus and it’s paying off. They won both World Cup II and III and in a commanding open-water style.

Unless the Australians have peaked too soon, they are making this boat class look like a race for second. Up there in the mix is the new Romanian combination of Roxana Anghel and Ioana Vrinceanu. They finished second at World Cup III and at the same regatta raced in the eight.

The door remains wide open for the rest of the A-Finalists. Going by their past strengths expect to see the United States and Canada. And there could also be Spain with the experience of Aina Cid in the boat. As well as Greece who have been known to do something big when it counts. There may also be a Danish crew with Rio bronze medallist Hedvig Rasmussen in the boat. Then watch out for Great Britain. Will we see two-time Olympic Champion Helen Glover back in the pair?

There are 11 Olympic qualification spots at the 2023 World Rowing Championships and judging by all of the new combinations, this could be the boat class to sneak on into.