2025 World Rowing Championships: Men's Crews to Watch

The 2025 World Rowing Championships kick off in Shanghai, China, on 21 September, and have attracted strong entries from 56 nations around the world.

Here are the men’s crews to watch.

Men’s Pair (M2-)

Entries: 23
Reigning world champions: Roman Roeoesli, Andrin Gulich (SUI)
Reigning Olympic champions: Martin Sinkovic, Valent Sinkovic (CRO)

There will be a new champion in the men’s pair in Shanghai, with the Swiss world champions having retired and the Olympic champions racing in the men’s four. The leading contenders for the title are New Zealand and Romania. Romania’s Florin Arteni and Florin Lehaci were fourth in this event in Paris, are current European champions, and also won at the 2025 World Rowing Cup Lucerne ahead of Kiwis Oliver Welch and Benjamin Taylor. Also in the final in Paris were Spain’s Jaime Canajelo and Javier Garcia, perennial contenders in the pair, and Ireland’s Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney – both boats will want to at least match their Olympic results in Shanghai.

Jonah Plock and Patrick Brunner have a challenge to retain the title for Switzerland, but have produced solid results this season, while the Rienks brothers of the Netherlands combine for the first time in the pair at international level after picking up the Silver Goblets and Nickalls’ Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta this year.

Men’s Double Sculls (M2x)

Entries: 19
Reigning world champions: Melvin Twellaar, Stefan Broenink (NED)
Reigning Olympic champions: Andrei Cornea, Marian Enache (ROU)

After making history in Paris last year, Romania’s Andrei Cornea and Marian Enache come to China in search of their first world title. However, the duo have had a challenging season; they were beaten to European gold by Miroslaw Zietarski and Mateusz Biskup (Poland), and withdrew from the B-final on medical grounds at the 2025 World Rowing Cup Lucerne after missing the A-final.

The most-decorated of their opposition is Ireland’s Fintan McCarthy, reigning world and Olympic champion in the lightweight men’s double sculls, who after taking European bronze and bronze in Lucerne with Konan Pazzaia, teams up with world and Olympic bronze medallist Philip Doyle for Shanghai. The season so far has shown that the former lightweight rowers are excelling in the openweight division, with Greece, Italy, New Zealand and Switzerland’s crews all including smaller athletes now stepping up and taking podium positions earlier in the year.

Men’s Four (M4-)

Entries: 19
Reigning world champions: Oliver Wilkes, David Ambler, Matthew Aldridge, Freddie Davidson (GBR)
Reigning Olympic champions: Nicholas Mead, Justin Best, Michael Grady, Liam Corrigan (USA)

The men’s four has attracted an intriguing and quality field for Shanghai, with multiple crews surely capable of making the podium. Australia, stroked by Tokyo Olympic champion and two-time world champion Alex Hill, come in as heavy favourites after dominating at both 2025 World Rowing Cups. Croatia’s new project of the Sinkovic and Loncaric brothers took European silver before finishing fifth in Lucerne – but you can never count the Sinkovics out when it comes to the top events.

Defending champions Great Britain have an entirely new crew for Shanghai, but it includes two-time under-23 world champion Douwe de Graaf, and 2022 world silver medallist in the quad, George Bourne. The Dutch crew is also a new combination packed with experience – all four athletes are Olympic and world medallists, led by men’s quad world and Olympic champion Lennart van Lierop. The USA, New Zealand, and Romania also bring plenty of experience and quality to the table.

Men’s Single Sculls (M1x)

Entries: 36
Reigning world champion: Oliver Zeidler (GER)
Reigning Olympic champion: Oliver Zeidler (GER)

All three Olympic medallists are back to contest the men’s single sculls at the world championships – with Oliver Zeidler making his 2025 season debut, after sitting out the earlier regattas while he was focused on studying. Olympic silver medallist Yauheni Zalaty (AIN) took the European title in May and was second at the 2025 World Rowing Cup Lucerne to New Zealand’s Logan Ullrich, who showed rapid improvement between the two world cups as he stepped into this boat class for the first time. Meanwhile Dutchman Simon van Dorp won the 2025 World Rowing Cup Varese – and the Holland Beker Regatta – to earn the right to race again in the single.

But the field is packed with contenders: Tokyo Olympic champion Stefanos Ntouskos (Greece); Japan’s Ryuta Arakawa; 2024 European bronze medallist Giedrius Bieliauskas (Lithuania); the impressive rising Norwegian Jonas Slettemark Juel; 2025 European bronze medallist Mihai Chiruta (Romania); under-23 champion Cevdet Ege Mutlu (Türkiye); and Uruguay’s Bruno Cetraro. Making the A-final will be an achievement in itself.

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (M4x)

Entries: 14
Reigning world champions: Lennart van Lierop, Finn Florijn, Tone Wieten, Koen Metsemakers (NED)
Reigning Olympic champions: Lennart van Lierop, Finn Florijn, Tone Wieten, Koen Metsemakers (NED)

Defending champions the Netherlands have not entered a men’s quadruple sculls crew for Shanghai, so a new champion will be crowned. Great Britain will come in as favourites, after winning the 2025 European Rowing Championships and taking gold at the 2025 World Rowing Cup Lucerne, as well as bronze in Varese. Matthew Haywood won silver in this event in 2022. Poland have brought back together the quartet that secured European bronze this year; bowman Dominik Czaja also won silver at both World Rowing Cups in this event.

The Italians won silver at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games behind the Netherlands, and that whole crew is back for the first time since Paris, with Luca Chiumento returning to join his teammates who took fourth at the European Rowing Championships and first at the 2025 World Rowing Cup Varese. Another crew which has reached the podium this season is the USA, with three members of the third-placed boat from Lucerne joined by Nathan Phelps to race in China. Czechia also bring quality, as their crew features three under-23 world champions in this event.

Men’s Eight (M8+)

Entries: 10
Reigning world champions: Jacob Dawson, Morgan Bolding, Rory Gibbs, Sholto Carnegie, Charlie Elwes, Thomas Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford, Harry Brightmore (c) (GBR)
Reigning Olympic champions: Sholto Carnegie, Rory Gibbs, Morgan Bolding, Jacob Dawson, Charlie Elwes, Thomas Digby, James Rudkin, Tom Ford, Harry Brightmore (c) (GBR)

A strong 10-boat entry should make for some thrilling racing in the men’s eights. Chief among the favourites are Great Britain, who have consistently excelled in this event in recent years – including this season, where they won the European Rowing Championships and the first World Rowing Cup. There are, however, no returners from the squad which took gold in Paris last year. As ever, chasing the British are Germany. The 2025 version of the Deutschlandachter has improved through the season, from fourth at the European Rowing Championships to victory in Lucerne (in the absence of Great Britain).

A young Australian crew came second to Germany in Lucerne and will certainly be in contention, as will the Netherlands, Poland and Romania. Indeed, when it comes to prior success at the World Rowing Championships or Olympic Games, the Dutch have the most experience on board with three silver medallists in this event from Paris back in the 2025 boat. Can they find the speed to challenge Great Britain again?

Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls (LM1x)

Entries: 16
Reigning world champion: Paul O’Donovan (IRL)

Jacob McCarthy picks up the challenge of defending the lightweight men’s single sculls title for Ireland from his decorated compatriot Paul O’Donovan, but on paper, other scullers have arguably stronger chances. The season so far has seen a number of exciting races and historic results. Felipe Kluver became the first Uruguayan to win a World Rowing Cup in Varese, and backed it up in Lucerne with a second gold. European champion Fabio Kress (Germany) has not raced since Plovdiv, but with three previous World Rowing Championship medals in the lightweight men’s quadruple sculls, knows what it is like to shine on the big stage.

Hin Chun Chiu (Hong Kong, China) has also had a good season, taking second behind Kluver at both World Rowing Cups. And European silver medallist Halil Kaan Koroglu (Türkiye) continued to impress with gold in this event at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships – he could well challenge for the senior title too.

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x)

Entries: 4
Reigning world champions: Fintan McCarthy, Paul O’Donovan (IRL)
Reigning Olympic champions: Fintan McCarthy, Paul O’Donovan (IRL)

Germany’s Joachim Agne and Paul Maissenhaelter have not raced together in the lightweight men’s double sculls, but Agne is reigning European champion in this event, while Maissenhaelter – 10 years his crewmate’s junior – won gold in the under-23 lightweight men’s quadruple sculls last year. They are the heavy favourites in this four-boat field, facing China, Georgia and Indonesia for the title.