Germany top medal table after day of surprises in Seville

Germany ended 2026 World Rowing Cup I on top of the medal table after winning four gold medals on a sizzling Sunday of racing in Seville.

But the Netherlands top the World Rowing Cup points table, with points from eight events putting them comfortably ahead of Great Britain in second.

Czechia claim maiden World Rowing Cup win

Anna Santruckova and Pavlina Flamikova of Czechia got the best start, chased by Antonia and Melita Abraham (CHI) and world silver medallists Emma Cornelis and Hezekia Peron (FRA). France were in front by halfway, but Chile and Czechia stayed in touch. The Czechs pushed back into second place at 1500m and brought the race back to France. There was nothing in it in the red buoys between the two leaders, with Chile now in a battle for bronze with Lithuania. Czechia took the win, their first World Rowing Cup victory, with France second and Chile holding off Lithuania.

Results: CZE, FRA, CHI, LTU, AUS1, ROU3

Another win for the Kiwi pair

Stefan Berariu and Florin Lehaci (ROU1) had the better start in the men’s pair A-final, but world champions Oliver Welch and Benjamin Taylor (NZL) had a narrow advantage by 500m. Behind them, but not off the pace, were perennial contenders Jaime Canalejo and Javier Garcia of Spain, the Stankunas twins of Lithuania, and Slovenia. World bronze medallists Jonah Plock and Patrick Brunner (SUI) were not really in the picture. Coming through 1500m New Zealand were stretching out their lead, with Romania comfortable in second and Lithuania set for bronze – and that was how they crossed the line.

Results: NZL, ROU1, LTU, ESP, SLO, SUI

Welch said: “It feels great, really rewarding that the training over the summer has paid off and we’re in a good place at the moment. It’s a really good step in the right direction heading towards the World Champs later this year.”

Bodnar and Radis back on top in women’s doubles

After spending some time sweeping, former world champions and Tokyo 2020 Olympic champions Ancuta Bodnar and Simona Radis have reunited in the women’s double sculls – and are straight back to winning ways. They executed a superbly timed race in the final, allowing Lisa Bruijnincx and Tessa Dullemans (NED1) to take the early lead before moving through them in the third quarter of the race. Zoe Hyde and Margaret Cremen (IRL1) went with the Romanians, and also caught the Dutch, but Bruijnincx and Dullemans’ sprint was too good and pushed the Irish back to third at the finish.

Results: ROU, NED1, IRL1, POL, IRL2, SUI

Gold in doubles for Twellaar and van Dorp

The new Dutch combination of Melvin Twellaar and Simon van Dorp lived up to their pre-race billing in the men’s double sculls. Their power took them to an early lead, and none of the other crews could stick with that pace. The race for silver and bronze, however, was much closer; Serbia’s world silver medallists Martin Mackovic and Nikolaj Pimenov found themselves under immense pressure from Belgium’s Aaron Andries and Tibo Vyvey, and indeed the Belgians rowed through the Serbs in the closing stages of the race to claim an excellent silver medal. It was Vyvey’s first World Rowing Cup podium. World champions Poland did not feature.

Results: NED, BEL, SRB,

Twellaar said: “Of course I already knew how competitive this field is. It’s a really nice field to row, and I’m really happy with it. Today we found the right models to row together fast.”

Women’s four gold for the Netherlands

The four fastest boats from the heats were the ones in contention in the women’s four final, with Australia and the Netherlands fighting for the lead in the first half. New Zealand sat in third, with Great Britain staying in touch in fourth. Under the bridge at 1250m the Dutch had pushed their bows into the lead by about a canvas, forcing Australia to respond. The Dutch push gave them more momentum and they stretched out their lead further as the race came into the red buoys – but Australia responded again, keeping the margin tight. New Zealand took bronze, but Great Britain just had overlap at the finish.

Results: NED, AUS, NZL, GBR, POL, IRL

Ymkje Clevering (NED) said: “It went very good for us, we had a plan to make it very hard in the middle part, because we saw the times in the heats, a gap too close, and we really made it hard in the middle part and could hold on just to the finish.”

British imperious in men’s four

Men’s four world champions Great Britain made no mistakes in the men’s four final, one of the most decisive results of the regatta. They took the lead early and stretched it out down the track. By 1500m they had a five-second lead, and won by plenty of clear water. The Netherlands were the only boat initially able to stay in contact, but as Great Britain drew further ahead France found more pace and came level with the Dutch. And it was France who claimed silver, crossing the line with shouts that were audible in the stands.

Results: GBR, FRA, NED, ROU1, DEN, NZL

James Robson (GBR) said: “It was really warm out there. Most of the warm-up was me trying to get us to the start on time, but cool enough to start racing. It was such a lovely rhythm to work in and felt very simple. Epic feeling to cap the first bit of the season off with a win.”

Germany take superb quads victory

The first quarter of the women’s quadruple sculls final saw all six crews tightly packed, but as they approached halfway Germany had taken a canvas lead and were being tracked by Great Britain and Romania. Canada sat in fourth with Switzerland and New Zealand slipping backwards. Great Britain had the better boat speed into the 1500m mark, rating slightly lower than Germany and Romania, but Germany were clinging on to a slight advantage and went early in a bid to hold on to the gold medal. And they had done enough, claiming their first win in this boat class for some time. Great Britain held off Romania for silver.

Results: GER, GBR, ROU, CAN, SUI, NZL

Frauke Hundeling (GER) said: “I just thought the last 200m ‘now it’s time to go’, and it was time to go. I’m really happy. I knew if I can see GB then it will be fine, so I was confident it would be enough.”

German men make it two for two in quads

Not to be outdone by their female teammates, the German men’s quadruple sculls crew won the A-final after a brilliant race. Through 500m there was overlap across the field, with Croatia leading the way out in lane 1, and Czechia going with them on the other side of the course. By halfway, Czechia had the lead, but then the Netherlands pushed and grabbed a half-length advantage at 1500m. Germany moved through Czechia and started to challenge the Netherlands – and their sprint took them past for gold. The race for bronze was frantic, with Czechia paying for their early efforts and Croatia rebounding from fifth at 1500m to take the medal, a fantastic comeback to racing for Damir Martin and his young teammates.

Results: GER, NED, CRO, ROU, CZE, POL1

Marc Weber (GER) said: “We are a really new crew, new together, two guys out of gap year, two real youngsters, and we just managed to perform I think better than we expected and do it step by step, race to race. It’s a really fabulous feeling.”

Dutch impress in men’s eights

The Deutschlandachter burst out of the blocks in the men’s eight final, but another medal for Germany was not on the cards. Although the green bows led at 500m, both the Netherlands and Great Britain were close behind. In the second 500m the Dutch drew ahead, bringing the British with them. By 1500m the Dutch world champions held a lead of a few metres over Great Britain, both of them starting to leave the rest of the field behind as Romania started challenging for bronze. The Netherlands moved further ahead of Great Britain, making their gold secure, while Romania’s sprint brought them closer to the British – but not enough to claim silver.

Results: NED, GBR, ROU, GER, POL

Mick Makker (NED) said: “For us it was a really important one because we came here as world champions from last year, and the Romanians have a new crew and in the prelims they gave us hell. We did not know what to expect from the final. I’m really pleased that we came away with the win and kept the winning streak from last year alive.”

Henry wins thriller for Great Britain

The women’s singles sculls A-final was packed with drama from start to finish. Emma Lunatti (FRA) again stormed out of the blocks, but was caught before halfway by Viktorija Senkute (LTU), Fiona Murtagh (IRL), Lauren Henry (GBR) and Roos de Jong (NED2). Only Alexandra Foester (GER) was unable to stick with the pace. Under the 1250m bridge Henry put in her push and closed up on Senkute, and kept moving, with Senkute choosing or unable to respond. It was bowball for bowball between the two scullers but Henry led when it counted, winning the photofinish by 0.14 seconds – after losing one in Shanghai to Murtagh. The Irishwoman was third, beating de Jong by 0.05 seconds.

Results: GBR, LTU, IRL, NED2, FRA1, GER

Henry said: “It was a good race. I think my first half was maybe a bit sluggish, I’m not sure I got my heat strategies right. But I really really trust my second half of the race, I know that if I’m within a sniff I can do it.”

Australia stun in women’s eights

Romania’s women’s eight did not show much in the preliminary race, but they were the fastest out of the start in the A-final. Australia and the Netherlands went with them, while Great Britain, who won the preliminary race, were a little back. Germany were not in the contest. Through halfway Great Britain had moved into third ahead of Romania, but there were four bows almost level at 1250m. Australia’s push under the bridge saw them stretch out their lead to almost a second, and they had done enough for victory. The Netherlands and Great Britain were locked in the battle for silver, and the Dutch hung on with the British women not finding enough in the closing metres.

Results: AUS, NED, GBR, ROU, GER

Paige Barr (AUS) said: “The prelim we did have a good second k, so we wanted to make the most of that and hit it even harder, and I think we did a good job of that.”

Zeidler dominant in men’s singles

There was no doubt about the winner of the men’s single sculls: Germany’s Oliver Zeidler took a huge victory, crossing the line at a canter almost seven seconds up on Yauheni Zalaty (AIN). Zalaty was in a scrap with Jonas Slettemark Juel (NOR) in the middle of the course, but had significantly more left at the finish and faded. That allowed Belgium’s Tristan Vandenbussche to cross the line third – winning his first World Rowing Cup medal.

Results: GER, AIN, BEL, NOR, ESP1, LTU1

Zeidler said: “I’m back into full training, trying some new things this year, just checking out what I could do towards the LA Olympics, because I want to take the next steps, really find out how fast I could move that boat. I think so far it works out pretty well.”

Germany finish on a high

There was one final gold medal for Germany, as they took the win in the mixed double sculls. Sarah Wibberenz and Arno Gaus led the race throughout in their second race of the day, after previously contesting the B-finals of the women’s and men’s double sculls. Kimberlin Meneses and Jose Guipe were the faster of the two Venezuelan boats, and took silver, the nation’s first-ever World Rowing Cup medal.

Results: GER, VEN1, VEN2