20 May 2024
Final Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta: what to expect for the A-Finals?
With just the finals left to race at the 2024 Final Olympic and Paralympic Qualification Regatta, things are really starting to heat up on the Rotsee. We’ve already seen the Olympic and Paralympic campaigns come to an end for some crews but, for others, their dreams will come true as they secure qualification for Paris.
Here’s our look at what we might expect to see:
PR1 women’s single sculls (PR1 W1x)
Qualification Places: 1
Finalists: CAN, UZB, SWE, NED, ARG, DEN
Eva Mol of the Netherlands was the fastest in the heats, winning heat one comfortably. The second heat was taken by Ebba Einarsson of Sweden who is keen to make up for missing out on qualifying ahead of the Tokyo Paralympic Regatta. With just one to qualify in this boat class, it really could go either way.
PR1 men’s single sculls (PR1 M1x)
Qualification Places: 1
Finalists: MEX, CHN, FRA, BRA, USA, EGY
Having won bronze in Tokyo, Rene Campos Pereira is hoping to represent Brazil at his third Paralympic Games this summer and he looked good in the heats, but the time posted by French athlete Alexis Sanchez was quicker so it will be all to play for in the final.
Women’s pair (W2-)
Qualification Places: 2
Finalists: ITA. NZL, GER, DEN, CRO, FRA
The Jurkovic sisters from Croatia will be keen not to replicate 2021 when they missed out on a place at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. However, there was two crews ahead of them in the preliminary race – Denmark and Germany. Can Fie Udby Erichsen and Hedvig Rasmussen repeat on their performance from 2021, when they qualified for the Olympics at the exact same stage?
Men’s pair (M2-)
Qualification Places: 2
Finalists: CZE, GER, LTU, NED, DEN, SRB
This one will be so interesting! The boat from Denmark is the same that won bronze in Tokyo, having come through the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. Meanwhile, if the Netherlands can qualify, Niki van Sprang will have qualified two boats for Paris (having already qualified in the men’s four at last year’s World Rowing Championships). However, the Lithuanian twins were looking dominant in the semifinals, so it really could be tight for the two places.
Women’s four (W4-)
Qualification Places: 2
Finalists: CHI, JPN, IRL, DEN, POL, ESP
Ireland came through the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in 2021 and went on to win bronze in Tokyo so they will be keen to qualify again. However, Denmark posted the fastest time in the preliminary race. Will it be those two who take the qualifying places, or will another nation cause an upset?
Men’s four (M4-)
Qualification Places: 2
Finalists: GER, RSA, ITA, SUI, UKR, DEN
Italy has looked really strong this year. They beat Great Britain in Varese at World Rowing Cup 1 so they have already shown their form. However, Switzerland posted the fastest time across the heats and will be racing on home waters. Can South Africa or Ukraine pull the upset?
PR3 mixed double sculls (PR3 Mix2x)
Qualification Places: 1
Finalists: THA, UKR, BRA, CHN
Paris will be the first time that the PR3 mixed double scull has been contested at a Paralympic Games so it will be a particularly historic moment for the crew that qualifies. Brazil’s Diana Cristina Barcelos De Oliveira and Jairo Natanael Frohlich Klug looked relatively comfortably in the preliminary race, can they match that performance in the final?
Lightweight women’s double sculls (LW2x)
Qualification Places: 2
Finalists: ESP, SUI, GRE, FRA, AUS, ITA
You might have initially called Italy and France in this one. They are the gold and silver medalists from this boat class in Tokyo and it is incredible that they haven’t qualified already. They were both in the same heat on Sunday and the other heat was much faster – that was won by Greece, so neither Italy nor France can rest on their laurels tomorrow. If one of these two crews miss out, it would be a major upset.
Lightweight men’s double sculls (LM2x)
Qualification Places: 2
Finalists: AUT, GRE, FRA, GER, POL, POR
Germany’s Jonathan Rommelmann is already an Olympic silver medalist in this boat class so will want to secure a place for Paris and another Olympic Regatta. Germany posted the fastest time in the heats, but only marginally faster than France’s winning time in the other heat. Greece was hot on the heels of France though, so what can they do in the final? Can France regain their form from last year when they won World Cup III in Lucerne ahead of the Olympic champions of Ireland?
PR2 mixed double sculls (PR2 Mix2x)
Qualification Places: 2
Finalists: USA, FRA, GER, ISR, BRA, THA
The boats from Brazil, France and the USA all contain one rower with experience from the last Paralympic Games, but they are new combinations and all hoping to take one of two places for Paris. However, it was Israel and Germany that posted the fastest times in each of the two heats, so it really could go any way!
Women’s double sculls (W2x)
Qualification Places: 2
Finalists: RSA, SUI, GER, CZE, GBR, POL
This one could be super interesting! Czechia and Germany won their respective heats with Great Britain and Switzerland in second places. In the repechage, Great Britain were comfortably ahead of Switzerland. It’ll be interesting to see how the final unfolds when two Olympic qualifications spots are at stake.
Men’s double sculls (M2x)
Qualification Places: 2
Finalists: AUS, MDA, USA, SRB, GRE, SWE
Can Moldova make history qualifying a boat for the first ever Olympic Regatta? They have been super impressive so far! The USA posted the fastest time across the heats and the semifinals so they look fairly comfortable, but the second place could really go anywhere between Moldova, Serbia, Greece and Australia.
PR3 mixed coxed four (PR3 Mix4+)
Qualification Places: 2
Finalists: MEX, ESP, BRA, ITA, KOR, UZB
Italy and Brazil posted the fastest times in the preliminary race so, on paper, are the likely two boats to qualify. But don’t count out the other crews just yet – anything can happen tomorrow!
Women’s quadruple sculls (W4x)
Qualification Places: 2
Finalists: POL, NZL, UKR, USA, CAN, FRA
This one could be tense! A sprint to the line saw USA and Ukraine finish within less than 0.2 seconds of each other and Canada was less than a second behind them. France has a strong experienced crew with three Olympians on board too so what can they do when it really matters?
Men’s quadruple sculls (M4x)
Qualification Places: 2
Finalists: FRA, USA, AUS, NOR, EST, UKR
Norway and Australia were the heat winners but the times were all close. Estonia was just behind the experienced Australia crew and it was Estonia that booked their slot for the Tokyo Olympic Games via the FOQR in 2021, so could history repeat itself this time around?
Men’s single sculls (M1x)
Qualification Places: 3
Finalists: IRL, NOR, USA, ROU, GBR, ITA
There’s so much going on in this one field! All of the scullers have already come through three rounds of racing. Despite a challenging couple of years, the Tokyo silver medalist, Kjetil Borch of Norway has had a good regatta so far here in Lucerne and has showed promise, but it’s far from certain. Bourne of Great Britain, Chiruta of Romania and Pazzaia of Ireland have all won two of each of their races so shown plenty of promise. It is worth noting that the third qualifying place will go to the highest NOC that has not yet qualified any boats for the Olympic Games so only the top two from the A-Final will qualify.
Women’s eight (W8+)
Qualification Places: 2
Finalists: DEN, GER, ITA, CHN
In Sunday’s preliminary race, Italy crossed the line with clear water ahead of Germany. If they can repeat that, it will be the first time ever that Italy has been represented in a women’s eight at the Olympic Regatta. But can Denmark or China cause an upset?
Women’s single sculls (W1x)
Qualification Places: 3
Finalists: JPN, CZE, IRL, ESP, SUI, SLO
Can Puspure qualify for her fourth Olympic Games in the single sculls? The Irish athlete has been consistent so far in Lucerne, comfortably winning her heat and semifinal so is potentially the favourite, but Spain’s Virginia Diaz Rivas has done the same also. Could Janzen of Switzerland pull the upset in front of her home crowd? As for the men’s single, the third qualifying place will go to the highest NOC that has not yet qualified any boats for the Olympic Games.
Men’s eight (M8+)
Qualification Places: 2
Finalists: AUT, CAN, USA, ITA
The USA had a commanding lead in the preliminary race with Canada in a comfortable looking second place, but can Austria or Italy sneak into the top two?