Defending Versa champions look strong on day 1 of World Rowing Indoor Championships

The 2024 World Rowing Indoor Championships, presented by Concept2, got off to a strong start in Prague on Friday, with a full day of racing over 500m and 2000m as well as the first two rounds of the World Rowing Versa Challenge.

World Rowing Versa Challenge

‘Beep’ got the Versa Challenge off to a great start on Friday morning, with first the men and then the women taking to the stage. Defending men’s champion Joel Naukkarinen made it clear he wants to retain his title, with a consistent and strong performance throughout the eight 1150m pieces – each rowed with a decreasing amount of time. 2023 champion Elizabeth Gilmore was even more dominant in the women’s Beep Challenge, leading every piece by a substantial margin and finishing 52 seconds ahead of Anna Muehle.

In the evening, it was time for ‘Elimination’, where one athlete would be eliminated after each two minutes of a 22-minute piece. Again, Naukkarinen and Gilmore came out on top, beating Britons Cameron Buchan and Jessica Eddie respectively in the final two minute sprint. The challenge proved thrillingly tactical, with several athletes managing to sprint themselves into safety in the closing seconds of a block. The result means that the two reigning Versa champions are in pole position going into Sunday’s three remaining tests.

Naukkarinen said: “I didn’t need to use all of my energy today, so I’m quite confident for tomorrow. I have trained more than ever, my heaviest training weeks have been 36 hours. I have enough endurance and stamina for this very exhausting event.”

After Beep, Gilmore said: “I’d love to see the title again, but it’s an interesting competition, just the way it tests things.”

New stars in the making

The 2000m events for para athletes started off the day, with several competitors making their first mark on the para-rowing scene. In the men’s PR1 2000m, Britain’s Jake Woods took gold in his first international event, rowing through the fast-starting Alaa Ibrahim of Egypt in the last 500m with a well-paced race to win in 7:41.2. Woods brings a background in swimming, something he shares with women’s PR3 champion Karina Petrikovičová of Slovakia, who has only been rowing for five months. Petrikovičová edged out Italy’s Carolina Foresti to win in 7:28.0, 0.8 seconds quicker than the Italian.

The women’s PR1 and PR2 2000m races were won by established para rowers. Germany’s Sylvia Pille-Steppat set a world record for PR1 55-59 women, winning in 8:32.1, while Poland’s Jolanta Majka won the women’s PR2 2000m in 8:45.2. Majka’s on-water partner Michal Gadowski was second to Czechia’s Josef Duchan in the men’s PR2 2000m.

Woods said: “It’s a bit mad, isn’t it? It’s pretty crazy. I’m really grateful to be here, really grateful for this event. It’s my first time racing internationally so to be in such an amazing venue in a beautiful city like Prague, surrounded by some of the world’s best athletes, is amazing.”

Vrastil sets world record again

Czechia’s Miroslav Vrastil was aiming to break 6:10 in the lightweight men’s 40-44 2000m, after setting a world record of 6:13.6 at last year’s World Rowing Indoor Championships. Competing in person this year, Vrastil went out hard and was well ahead of that pace at the 1000m. But he faded in the second half – although still crossed the line in a world record time of 6:13.1, almost 15 seconds ahead of second-placed Czech Václav Válek. Although unhappy with the time, Vrastil said competing at home had been a great experience – and the result surely sets him up well for the water racing season to come.

Vrastil said: “My target was 6:10, so a little disappointed because in training it was going really good. But sometimes the motivation from the crowd is too much. Fly and die. But I’ll take it.”

The sprinting Finns

Both the women’s and men’s 23-39 500m races were won by Finland, and both champions came from behind to triumph. In the women’s race Britain’s Emma Simpson led out but was challenged by Finland’s Iida Niemi and Faroese rower Sára Maria Johansen, representing Denmark. Niemi proved the stronger at the finish to post a 1:31.0, showing that the coaching of her boyfriend Joel Naukkarinen is paying off. In the men’s race, Thomas Wilson of Great Britain had the better start but faded while the even pacing of Joonas Kuivalainen saw him come through to win by 0.1 seconds in 1:13.2.

Community matters

The day’s racing highlighted the importance of sport and the way it brings the rowing community together – something that Concept2 founder Peter Dreissigacker noted after he raced in the men’s 70-74 2000m. “Someone was asking me if I ever thought this was going to happen. Basically 47 years ago we said ‘we should make an erg for our house’, and then it took off. It’s more about the rowing community than it is about us; they just took it on,” said Dreissigacker. That was particularly noticeable in the team relays, with several teams comprising rowers from several nations working together for a common cause, including men’s relay champions ‘International Men of Mystery’. Elliott Anwin, of fourth-placed men’s team NewWave, said: “It’s a share of the pain. Everyone shares that.”

Racing resumes tomorrow, 24 February, at 9:00 CET.

Follow all the action live through World Rowing, more information here.