Rowers to Watch: 2024 World Rowing Under 19 Championships, St Catharines, Canada

St Catharines is ready to welcome the best Under 19 rowers from around the world. An Under 19 rower is 18 years old or younger and often first begin rowing in school. Competitive Under 19 rowers aim to compete at the World Rowing Under 19 Championships, the top event of the year for Under 19 flat-water rowers.

With racing at this year’s World Rowing Under 19 Championships scheduled to begin on Wednesday, 21 August, we’ve had a scan through the entries and here are our ones to watch…

U19 Women’s Coxed Four (JW4+)

Six boats will contest this boat class. Although the USA are defending champions, they come into this event with a complete new lineup from the one that won in Paris last year. Italy perhaps come in as favourites, with two athletes having won a silver medal in this event last year returning to improve on their result.

U19 Men’s Coxed Four (JM4+) 

Italy will travel to Canada to defend their title in the men’s coxed four, and their crew this year has one returner from last year – coxswain Riccardo Doni. However, Italy is likely to face fierce competition. Australia was fourth in this boat class at last year’s World U19s and will be keen to make it on to the podium this year, while Ireland got some great results at the recent “Coupe de la Jeunesse” and will be in the mix for the gold medal.

U19 Women’s Single Sculls (JW1x) 

2023 gold medallist, Bianca-Camelia Ifteni of Romania is undoubtedly going to be coming to Canada looking to defend  her title from last year. She has started the 2023 season well, having already won gold in this boat class at the European U19 Championships. While Ifteni is the favourites, she’ll need to watch out for the Italian sculler, Melissa Schincariol, who finished just behind her at the Europeans, and also Julia Stoeber of Germany, who took fourth at last year’s World Championships. South Africa’s Danelia Price-Hughes is no stranger to international racing, having been in the final of the double sculls at last year’s World Rowing U19 Championships. It will be interesting to see what she can do in the single. The sculler from Ukraine is just fifteen years old so we hope that Mariia Prodan has a long and exciting career ahead of her!

U19 Men’s Single Sculls (JM1x)

With 20 nations represented, the single sculls is the biggest men’s boat class of the championships. The only returning medallist from last year’s World U19s is Panagiotis Makrygiannis of Greece, who will undoubtedly be keen to improve on his silver. Makrygiannis picked up gold at the European U19s earlier this year, where he raced against Switzerland’s William McClean, who claimed the silver. They will face again in St Catharines. Don’t write-off Austria’s Paul Schinnerl either, who just missed out on the podium at the European U19s a few months ago.

U19 Women’s Pair (JW2-)

The women’s pair has only ten entries, but we should have a great race between Greece and Romania. The Romanian boat does include Gabriela Tivodariu, who won gold in this boatclass at last year’s World U19 Championships. But the new combination with Iulica Maria Ursu was beaten by the young Greeks at the European U19s earlier this season. So it’s all to play for!  Keep an eye too on the duo from Hungary; Dora Rebeka Szente and Szonja Bagdacs raced together in the pair earlier this year at the Europeans so we’re excited to see what they can do at the Worlds.

U19 Men’s Pair (JM2-)

This boat class has 12 entries, and is absolutely stacked with talent. The gold, silver and bronze medallists from the European U19s, Romania, Greece and Serbia, will see what they can do on the world stage – the boat from Romania contains two gold medallists from the men’s four at last year’s World U19s. Two other boats from the Europeans will come to Canada unchanged and keen to improve on their previous performance.

U19 Women’s Double Sculls (JW2x)

This boat class will see quite a few medallists from last year’s World U19s. Keep an eye on Great Britain’s duo of Olivia Cheesmur and Violet Holbrow-Brooksbank, who might have a small edge on the rest of the field. Lioliou and Lykomitrou of Greece won the Europeans earlier this year and have the experience at international level. We’ll also be curious to see the Dutch duo of Noor De Witt and Teuntje Mollee, coached by former European Champion and Olympic bronze medallist in the lightweight women’s double sculls, Marieke Keijser.

U19 Men’s Double Sculls (JM2x)

This will be another fiercely competitive boat class with several previous World and European medallists among the 20 entries. Greece perhaps come in as one of the favourites; Konstantinos Giannoulis and Nikolaos Cholopoulos having already claimed gold this season at the European U19s. Cholopoulos went on to Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, where he finished fifth, failing to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.  Silver at the Europeans went to Mario Neykov and Vladimir Botev of Bulgaria and they will be Greece’s main challenger. With great representation from all over the world (UAE, China, Mexico, New Zealand, Mexico), racing promises to be intense!

U19 Women’s Four (JW4-)

Italy come into this event as reigning World U19 champions, and the boat has one returner and two silver medallists from the Coxed Four from last year’s event. Romania took bronze last year, but their new line-up – which includes the gold medallist from the women’s pair from last year –  could be equally as strong. Don’t ignore the British crew either, which has one silver medallist from their U19 four last year.

U19 Men’s Four (JM4-)

Romania are defending champions in this boat class and while they don’t have any returners from that crew, they do have Darius Simion on board, who won bronze in the eight at last year’s World U19s. The crew from Great Britain will be worth keeping an eye on. Two of the boat won gold in this boat class at the World U19s last year. Don’t ignore Italy either, who won gold in this boat class at the Europeans and, with an almost unchanged line-up, will hope to replicate their performance and pick up a medal in Canada.

U19 Women’s Quadruple Sculls (JW4x)

Two out of the three medal-winning boats from the European U19s will travel to Canada unchanged; Italy and Poland. But, how will they perform when the rest of the World turns up? Germany won gold in this boat class last year but has no returners from that crew and they didn’t race a women’s quad at the European U19s. Meanwhile, the USA, also with a fresh line-up, will be keen to improve on their fifth place from last year, and what can China do, too? This one will be an interesting boat class to watch unfold.

U19 Men’s Quadruple Sculls (JM4x)

Germany are defending champions and, as the sole returner from last year’s crew, Oscar Krause, will be keen to be on top of the podium again this year. But they will once again come up against the crews that took gold, silver and bronze this year at the Europeans. Could we see the young Dutch crew being inspired by the gold medal won at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in that boat class? However, there are several non-European nations who will also be looking to get on the podium, so nothing is certain!

U19 Women’s Eight (JW8+)

Six boats will contest the women’s eight and there’s plenty of pedigree in the line-up. While the reigning World Champion in that boat class, Great Britain, return with a brand new line-up, the Italians have put six gold or silver medallists from last year in the eight, bringing very high hopes in this combination. The USA won this boat class in 2022 and this year’s crew includes three gold medallists from the women’s coxed four that won U19 gold last year. It is bound to be a competitive boat class!

U19 Men’s Eight (JM8+)

Also with six entries, the men’s eight is another stacked field. Great Britain will be looking to repeat their success from last year, with a new lineup. Germany will look for a revenge after last year’s silver medal, and will coxed by Sadeepa Jogoda, who was in Germany’s coxswain seat last year in Paris. Will he drive his crew to a better result?  Watch out too for France, returning three athlete with international experience, and Canada, who would want to produce a solid performance on home waters.

 

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