Race report - Blistering Finals and World Champions crowned at the 2025 WRICH

The first weekend of the 2025 World Rowing Indoor Championships, presented by Concept2 concluded in thrilling fashion as the world’s top Indoor Rowers battled for supremacy in the Elimination Semifinals, and later on in the Grand Finals. With fierce competition across all categories, the event showcased exceptional performances from elite and amateur competitors alike.

Men’s Open 500m Grand Final

The Men’s Open 500m final delivered an edge-of-the-seat showdown, with reigning World Champion Joonas Kuivalainen of Finland surging ahead in the final meters to retain the World title… by 0.1 seconds! Matt Snare of the USA put up a relentless fight, crossing the line just behind, while Spyridon Kalentzis of Greece rounded out the podium with a strong finish. The winning time of 1:13.5 demonstrated the sheer power and endurance required to dominate on the Indoor Rowing stage. And there was a huge delight on Kuivalainen’s face, celebrating with the Finnish flag around his shoulders once again.

Women’s Open 500m Grand Final

The Women’s Open 500m final was equally intense, as Stefanie Preiksa of Australia executed a perfectly paced race to take home the gold – not an easy fit as she was racing in the middle of the night Down Under. Ella Fox, who competed at the World Rowing Versa Challenge last year, remained a close contender throughout, securing silver, while Kees Karpatskij of Finland delivered a gutsy performance to clinch bronze.

Men’s and Women’s Lightweight 500m Grand Finals

In the lightweight categories, the Men’s final saw Joonas Makipelto power through with a commanding lead, holding off Adham Mahgoub of Egypt and Amirreza Ebdali of Iran in a remarkable display of endurance and speed. On the women’s side, Meriam Mamieliekova of Ukraine claimed the title after a perfectly executed strategy, leaving Sarita Kristina Hansen of Denmark and Nourelhoda Arafa of Egypt to battle it out for the remaining podium spots, marking one of the closest finishes of the day.

Para Rowing Grand Finals

The Para events were a testament to resilience and determination. In the PR1 Men’s category, Frank Oberdoff of France secured the Championship title with a stellar performance, while Yigit Dogukan Bozkurt won the PR2 Men’s race and Marko Frank of Italy, the PR3 Men’s race. The PR1 Women’s final saw Eva Mol of the Netherlands claim victory.

Endurance Relays Grand Finals

The relay races saw high-energy performances from teams around the world. But it was two more gold medals for Finland – the Open Men Endurance Relay, led by Indoor Rowing phenomenon Joel Naukkarinen, won their race by 13 seconds ahead of Newwave Crossfit. On the women’s side, the race was a bit more tight, but the combination of Sonja Salin, Tiia Ronkainen, Anna Heikkilä and Eija Härkönen claimed victory after a hard-fought race.

The 2025 World Rowing Indoor Championships are not drawing to a close just yet  – the competitions continues next weekend, with the Continental Knockout Heats for the 2000m distance being raced on Saturday, 22 February throughout the day, and the Elimination Semifinals and Grand Finals being raced on Sunday, 23 February, starting at 16:00 CET.

For full race results, visit the event page here.