Paris 2024 Olympic Games Preview : the Single Sculls

There’s no doubt that this blue ribband event will receive top interest not just from the rowing community, but from the wider sports world. It holds a level of fascination in a sport where teamwork is the key. Why do these athletes choose to go solo? For some it’s a matter of necessity – they might not have anyone else to row with. For others it’s convenience – the freedom to pick when and where you row without relying on teammates. For some it’s the love of being completely self-reliant – there’s no one else to blame and no one to blame you.

These athletes have gone through a qualification path which started at the World Rowing Championships last year and finished with the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta last month. Now it’s the final training block to the Paris start line on Saturday 27 July.

Men’s Single Sculls

Reigning Olympic Champion: Stefanos Ntouskos, Greece

Reigning World Champion: Oliver Zeidler, Germany

2024 World Rowing Cup winner: Netherlands

Usually leading into the Olympics there’s about six men regularly making the final at regattas and the order of the medallists roughly changing. Not this time. The only consistent name has been Oliver Zeidler and despite him always looking to be the one to beat, he has been beaten. At the Tokyo Olympics, an unfortunate semifinal saw him fail to make the A-final. Instead a plucky, young Greek, Stefanos Ntouskos took everyone by surprise to win Greece’s first Olympic Gold in rowing.

Zeidler has remained regularly in the medals since Tokyo, however at World Cup II Dutch sculler Simon van Dorp just beat the big German to the line. Van Dorp comes from a background of eights rowing. He switched to the single in 2023 and finished second at the World Rowing Championships that year. Now he looks in contention for the gold medal. Cut from a similar cloth as van Dorp, New Zealand’s Tom Mackintosh raced in the eight at the Tokyo Olympics. Unlike van Dorp’s fifth-place Olympic finish, Mackintosh took gold.

Mackintosh, however, is yet to beat either van Dorp or Zeidler but his bronze medal at last year’s World Rowing Championships showed the world what he’s capable of. That World Championship final is probably the clearest indication of how the Olympic final may play out. As well as Zeidler, van Dorp and Mackintosh there was also Sverri Nielsen of Denmark, Olympic Champion Stefanos Ntouskos of Greece, and Damir Martin of Croatia.

This group is a mixture of relatively new blood and the old sculling guard. Martin has been in the single for nearly a decade and taken in an Olympic bronze (Tokyo) and silver (Rio), several World Cup medals and is a European Champion. He also has World and Olympic medals from the men’s quad. Finishing fourth at Tokyo must be a motivator for Nielsen who first raced in the single internationally in 2012. Keep an eye out for Yauheni Zalaty who is racing as an Individual Neutral Athlete. The 24-year-old finished third at World Cup II and has been limited in his ability to race.

Women’s Single Sculls

Reigning Olympic Champion: Emma Twigg, New Zealand

Reigning World Champion: Karolien Florijn, Netherlands

2024 World Rowing Cup winner: Netherlands

Karolien Florijn of the Netherlands stepped into the single at the first World Cup of 2022, won the race and hasn’t lost a race since. This versatile rower, and daughter of Olympic Champion Ronald Florijn, has been on the international scene since 2015 and has raced in the eight, pair, four, double, and quad. At the Tokyo Olympics, her crew was second in the four. There is no doubt that Florijn is in a perfect position for success in Paris, and could score the Netherlands their first ever Olympic medal in this boat class. But watch out for Emma Twigg of New Zealand. This will be Twigg’s fifth Olympic Games in the single, and at Tokyo she struck gold. The 35-year-old can’t get enough and her wealth of experience will play to her advantage.

Also watch out for Tara Rigney of Australia. She took bronze at last year’s World Championships and at World Cup II last month she was in silver behind Florijn and ahead of Twigg. In this same race, Tatsiana Klimovich, racing as an Individual Neutral Athlete finished fourth. This came off the back of her qualifying for Paris at the European Olympic Qualification Regatta in April. Klimovich will need to peak again for Paris but looks to be a likely A-finalist.

Then there’s Alexandra Foester of Germany who has seen the World Cup podium and at 22 years old is just coming into her true rowing self. Foester was fifth at World Cup II but will need the race of her life to get close to the medals in Paris. Austria’s Magdalena Lobnig has been keeping her rowing interesting. After taking bronze in the single at Tokyo, she has rowed in a double with her sister and also competed successfully in coastal rowing and beach sprints. With her wealth of experience, Lobnig must have her hat in the ring.

Want more? Wacth World Rowing’s mini-series ‘single minded’. https://worldrowing.com/2024/03/19/single-minded-world-rowings-new-miniseries/

Olympic quota places: 29 for each men’s and women’s single

Total number of athletes: 58

Qualification pathways for men and women: 9 quota places each at the 2023 World Rowing Championships:

Men: GER, NED, NZL, GRE, DEN, CRO, JPN, LTU, AIN

Women: NED, NZL, AUS, USA, BUL, LTU, AUT, GER, SRB

5 quota places each at the Asian/Oceanian, Americas, and African Qualification regattas:

Men: EGY, TUN, ALG, ZIM, ANG, BRA, URU, PAR, BER, CUB, KAZ, INA, IND, HKG, THA

Women: ALG, RSA, UGA, TOG, MOR, BRA, MEX, PAR, PER, CUB, UZB, IRI, PHI, VIE, SGP

3 quota place at the European Qualification regatta:

Men: BUL, BEL, SLO

Women: AIN, AZE, UKR

2 quota places each at the 2024 Final Olympic Qualification Regatta:

Men: ROU, USA

Women: ESP, SUI

Universality places:

Men: MON, LBA

Women: NCA, KUW

Host country Reallocation:

Men: HUN

Women: TUR

Olympic schedule: https://worldrowing.com/event/2024-olympic-games-regatta