Rowers to Watch: 2025 World Rowing Indoor Championships, presented by Concept2 (2000m)

The second part of the 2025 World Rowing Indoor Championships, presented by Concept2 are right around the corner, taking place this coming weekend, 22-23 February. Over 1600 athletes have qualified for the Continental Knockout Heats from the World Open Heats, making this the largest entries for a virtual World Rowing Indoor Championships.

With the 500m and Endurance Relays having wrapped up last weekend, the second weekend will feature the 2000m races across all age and weight categories, as well as the sprint (2000m) relays. Here are the rowers to watch.

Men’s 2000m

Number of entries: 358
50th fastest time in World Open Heats: 6:22.7

Out of the nearly 360 entries in the Men’s 2000m, Ward Lemmelijn, the 2022 and 2024 World Rowing Indoor Champion, is the only one to be part of the exclusive “Sub 5:40” club. He’s also made it clear his eyes are on the World Record of 5:35.8 – only 3.5 seconds faster than his qualifying time in the World Open Heats. Ward is joined by his younger brother – Lode – who qualified with a time of 5:53.2, and currently sits in 6th position. Could we see the Lemmelijn brothers on the podium together?

The inaugural World Rowing Indoor Champion – Jakub Podrazil of Czechia – who won in 2018, is back, and potentially looking to regain his title. Many other big classic rowing names are also taking part – Michal Spzakowski of Poland, Joel Naukkarinen of Finland, Sergii Gryn of Poland, to name a few. Can one of former Versa Challenge participants, Anders Merkestad Jacobsen and Daniel Viger, sneak into the medal positions?

Women’s 2000m

Number of entries: 157
50th fastest time in World Open Heats: 7:31.0

It comes as no surprise that the winner of the 2023 and 2024 World Rowing Versa Challenge, Elizabeth Gilmore of the United States, is the current leader in the Women’s 2000m. With nearly 14 seconds on her closest competitors, Gilmore looks hard to beat. Who can challenge her? Rachel Fisher of Great Britain and Lina Bélanger of Canada are the only other two athletes that have posted a sub-7:00 qualifying time. Two other Former Versa challenge participants, Ella Fox and Morgan McGrath, are also qualified in the top 50 – can they challenge the top 3?

Lightweight Men’s 2000m

Number of entries: 108
50th fastest time in World Open Heats: 6:57.4

Afonso Duarte Costa of Portugal is the top ranked for the Lightweight Men and the only one qualified with a sub 6:00 time. Unfortunate withdrawals from 2nd and 3rd ranked – Igor Khmara of Ukraine and Felipe Kluver of Uruguay, mean that Duarte Costa has a nearly 15 second lead on the next participant – Luca Britten of Germany – heading into the Continental Knockout Heats. Jesus Gonzlez Alvarez of Spain is currently 11th ranked, and could get close to his age category (LM 50-54) world record when under race pressure.
Kenneth McDonald of Ireland broke a long standing age category World Record last weekend in the 500m, when he went 1:23.5 in the World Open Heats. Could McDonald be up to repeat such a feat this weekend?

Lightweight Women’s 2000m

Number of entries: 63
50th fastest time in World Open Heats: 8:39.8

The top name in the Lightweight Women is certainly Martyna Radosz of Poland, who ranked 9th at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the lightweight women’s double sculls. She has the fastest qualifying time, and has a 5 second lead on the next participant. There are a few interesting names to watch – Sarita Kristina Hansen of Denmark and Nourelhoda Arafa of Egypt won respectively a silver and a bronze medal on the 500m distance and are looking to improve on their performances; Marion Reichardt of Germany has a strong on-water pedigree; who will make it to the top 20, and on to the podium?

Sprint Relays 2000m

In the Men’s Sprint Relay, the three teams that were on the podium in the Endurance Relay will take to the stage again. Can ‘Team Finland’, ‘NewWave Crossfit’, and ‘Titans of Piraeus’ come away with more hardware this weekend? In the qualification round, ‘Gym Mettle’ seems to be the only team that could change that fact – qualifying with the third fastest time ahead of ‘Team Finland’.

Want to know more about the 2025 World Rowing Indoor Championships, presented by Concept2? Head to our event page for information on the event, results, how to follow, videos, and more!