The 2025 World Rowing Awards winners are revealed

The winners of the 2025 World Rowing Awards were revealed Saturday night in Lausanne, Switzerland on the occasion of a gala evening held at the Olympic Museum.

The Italian men’s quadruple sculls made history by becoming the first-ever Italian crew to win the Men’s Crew of the Year award. The Women’s Crew of the Year award went to the Dutch women’s eight. The Netherlands’ success at the 2025 World Rowing Championships in Shanghai also saw Diederik Simon taking the title of Coach of the Year for 2025. Great Britain and Ben Pritchard went home with the Para Crew of the Year award, while India and Lithuania were rewarded with the Rowing Programme, and Artistic contibution of the year award. Czechia’s Ondrej Synek is the recipient of the Thomas Keller Medal.

World Rowing Coach of the Year

Diederik Simon, The Netherlands

Diederik Simon is one of the most respected figures in International Rowing, being a former elite athlete turned high-performance coach. As an athlete, Simon represented the Netherlands in five consecutive Olympic Games, winning Olympic gold in the Men’s Eight at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, and two Olympic silver medals (Sydney 2000 in the Men’s Quadruple Sculls and Athens 2004 in the Men’s Eight). After a long career as an athlete, he transitioned to coaching within his home club, ASR Nereus in Amsterdam, and later with the Dutch national team. Under Simon’s leadership, the Netherlands achieved a milestone performance – the first-time ever that the Netherlands won gold in the men’s AND the women’s eight at the World Rowing Championships. Coaching the men’s eight, Diederik helped the Dutch boat beating the GB men’s eight, who had been dominating the field for the past four years.

World Rowing Para Crew of the Year

Benjamin Pritchard, PR1 Men’s Single Sculls, Great Britain

Ben Pritchard enjoyed a flawless 2025 season, on his way to the PR1 Men’s Single Sculls world title in Shanghai. The reigning Paralympic champion once again demonstrated his dominance, consistency and competitive edge at the very highest level of Para Rowing. Unbeateen since the 2024 Paralympic Games, Ben Pritchard, also a member of World Rowing’s Athletes Commission, is a force of nature – both on and off the water.

World Rowing Men’s Crew of the Year

Giacomo Gentili, Luca Chiumento, Luca Rambaldi, Andrea Panizza, Men’s Quadruple Sculls, Italy

Italy’s Men’s Quadruple Sculls delivered one of the standout performances of the season, storming to a dominant world title at the 2025 World Rowing Championships in Shanghai. Combining power, precision and racing maturity, the Italian crew set the benchmark in one of rowing’s most competitive boat classes – and made history by becoming the first-ever Italian crew to be named Crew of the Year since the creation of the World Rowing Awards.

World Rowing Women’s Crew of the Year

Women’s Eight, The Netherlands
The Dutch Women’s Eight made history in 2025 by claiming their first-ever world championship title in Shanghai. Their gold-medal performance marked a breakthrough moment for the crew, built on relentless speed, cohesion and a season-long rise to the top of the world. An amazing accomplishment for reigning Olympic champion Ymkje Clevering, stepping up from the Pair to the Eight, and coxswain Dieuwke Fetter, who successfully coxed the men’s crew to a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, to then lead the women’s crew to a world title.

Thomas Keller Medal

Ondrej Synek, Czechia

“He looks like a mean bastard. But he’s the sweetest person you could ever imagine. He always smiles. I’ve never seen him angry. He would give away his pants if you needed them.”  Olaf Tufte’s appreciation of his great friend and rival, Ondrej Synek’s character pays tribute to one of the nicest, most competitive and iconic scullers in the world.

Synek was one of that incredible ‘band of brothers’ who dominated single sculling from 2005-2016. Among them: Tufte, Cop, Drysdale, Karonen, Campbell, Hacker. Their friendships deepened when they jumped in an eight in 2009 and beat the world on the Thames and on the Charles in Boston. The fact that Synek has become the 4^th member of that group to receive the Thomas Keller medal speaks volumes about their impact. 

Ondrej Synek is the natural choice to receive the 2025 Thomas Keller medal.

Distinguished Service to International Rowing

Ryszard Stadniuk (Poland)
The winner of the 2025 World Rowing Distinguished Service to International Rowing is Ryszard Stadniuk of Poland.

Ryszard Stadniuk rowed internationally for Poland from 1975 through to 1983. Over this period he competed in four World Championships and two Olympic Games.

In 1992 he was elected Vice-President of the Polish Rowing Federation and in 1997 he was elected as President. Ryszard served as the President for 26 years. In 2006 FISA formed the European Rowing Management Board with the remit to resurrect the European Rowing Championships, last held in 1993. Ryszard was appointed as one of the founder members of this Board.

In 2007 the first European Rowing Championships of the modern era were held in Poznan, Poland and in 2008 Ryszard was appointed as Chairman of the European Rowing Board. Under his wise and confident leadership the European Board introduced the European Junior Championships (2011), the European Indoor Championships (2015) and the European Under 23 Championships (2017). Ryszard retired as Chair of the Board in 2021.

Rowing Programme of the Year

Army Rowing Node (Pune, India)

The Army Rowing Node (ARN Rowing club) in Pune stands as a beacon of India’s commitment to combining discipline, innovation, and inclusivity in sport. Established under the aegis of the “College of Military Engineering (CME)”, ARN represents the country’s premier rowing development center — a program where military precision meets modern athletic science. It is not merely a facility, but a living institution designed to cultivate champions and leaders through the principles of resilience, teamwork, and national pride.

The Node features a two-kilometer world-class rowing channel, a fully equipped boathouse, and modern facilities for ergometer training, sports science, and athlete recovery. Within this ecosystem, approximately 300 athletes train daily, following programs that merge traditional Army discipline with the latest in sports periodization performance methodology. This dual philosophy ensures that every athlete under ARN’s guidance develops both physical capability, spiritual and mental resilience — attributes that define success not just on the water but in all aspects of life.

Artistic Contribution to Rowing

Rima Karaliene (Lithuania)

Rima Karalienė is being honored for her exceptional literary and cultural contributions to rowing, including her internationally recognized book Rowing Through the Barbed Wire Fence and a broader body of work preserving the heritage of Lithuanian and international Rowing. Rima’s passion for Rowing, her motivation as an author, and the significance of documenting Rowing’s history is recognised internationally, as well as her personal connection to the sport and the role her books have played in preserving rowing culture across generations. Rima is the mother-in-law of Rio 2016 Olympic Bronze Medalist Donata Karaliene.