Daily Digest: Supersonic 2000m Heats at the 2025 World Rowing Indoor Championships

The second weekend of the 2025 World Rowing Indoor Championships, presented by Concept2, got underway today with the Continental Knockout Heats for the 2000m distance. With potentially two more races on Sunday, some athletes played it safe… while some others broke World or National Records.

Supersonic times for Podrazil and Lorgen

The very exclusive sub 5:40 club almost welcomed two new members today! While we thought the top names in the Men’s 2000m category were going to play it safe, and save some energy for the two races coming on Sunday, that was clearly not the intentions of Marcus Lorgen and Jakub Podrazil.

Podrazil of Czechia is no stranger to erg competitions – he was the inaugural World Rowing Indoor Champion in 2018, and won a bronze medal on home soil last year. But on Saturday, the 33-year-old, two-time Olympian went off like a rocket in his Continental Knockout Heat, clocking an amazing 5:40.6! A personal – and National record for Podrazil, winning his heat by more than 15 seconds.

But Marcus Lorgen did even better in the afternoon, blistering off the blocks and clocking a fantastic 5:40.0! The 19-year-old Lorgen, son of Barcelona 1992 Olympian Snorre Lorgen of Norway (read below), is a Stanford alumni, and since Saturday afternoon, a name to watch in the Elimination Semifinals and the Grand Final.

 Favourites in cruise control

One member of the sub 5:40 club – and reigning World Rowing Indoor Champion – is Ward Lemmeljin. The Belgian athlete knew he didn’t have to do too much to enter the Elimination Semifinals, and he clearly managed his race, with a very respectable 6:02.2 – more than enough to crack the top 50. He, and his brother Lode – who clocked 6:07.4, will race on Sunday in their hometown, in front of 1000 people; will the boost from the crowd and the energy saved on Saturday be enough to win it all on Sunday? Could we see Joel Naukkarinen of Finland – also in cruise control through his Continental Heat – sneak into podium places? Sunday’s racing will be spicy!

The Lorgens, in the name of the father

Brothers Marcus and Finn Lorgen easily progressed to the Elimination Semifinals. The name Lorgen might ring a bell – Marcus and Finn are Snorre Lorgen’s sons. Snorre rowed for Norway at International level, and competed at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games in the Men’s Coxless Pairs, where he won the B-Final. Snorre and his brother both rowed at Harvard.

Now committed to Stanford University, Marcus and Finn are also very good basketball players – Finn was Team Norway’s MVP for the 2023 U16 European Championships. Their brother, Andreas, is also a rower and a Stanford alumni. What a story from the Lorgen family!

Gilmore seems untouchable

Having a qualifying time that is 14 seconds faster than the second-best qualified athlete is usually a good sign that you’re a favourite to win it all. Elizabeth Gilmore, the reigning 2023 and 2024 Versa Challenge winner, left no doubt about her intentions today, when she dominated her Continental Knockout Heat with a time of 7:08.4… but sitting at 27 strokes per minute the whole race, clearly saving her energy for the next two races. Who can stop her? Maybe her former competitors in the Versa Challenge, Lina Bélanger or Morgan McGrath? Or the “Latvian Army” of Evija Freimane and Laine Rumpe? Or maybe fellow Americans Elizabeth Martin and Sara Clarin Clarin?

Two more World Records broken

Two more World Records were broken on Saturday morning – including Rod Stewart in the LM 75-79 2000m, with a time of 7:15.4. The other one was Tokyo Paralympian Sylvia Pille-Steppat of Germany, breaking the W PR1 55-59 record, clocking 8:42.9. With the five World Records that were broken last weekend on the 500m distance, these Championships are proving to be fast and furious.

The competition continues tomorrow with the Elimination Semifinals, followed by the Grand Finals. Racing will start at 16:00 CET and will be livestreamed on worldrowing.com.